REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST I907 35 



of 1907 has demonstrated beyond all question the practicability of 

 controlling the San Joss scale by thorough applications of a lime- 

 sulfur wash or other material in early spring. This is true not 

 only in young orchards where it is comparatively easy to cover all 

 the trees, but also in larger commercial orchards where spraying is 

 considerably more difficult. 



The lime-sulfur wash continues to held its place as a standard 

 remedy for San Josi scale. The majority make the application in 

 early spring just before the bu:ls begin to -swell, and the results 

 have been uniformly successful. Furthermcre, growers of pears 

 are coming to see in this wash a practical remedy for the pear 

 psylla (Psylla pyricola Fcrst) an insect which in recent 

 years has been exceedingly destructive in some sections of the State. 

 It is also of considerable service in checking the oyster scale 

 ( L ep i d o s a p h e s u 1 m i Linn. ) , the scurfy bark louse 

 (C h i o n a s p i s f u r f u r a Fitch) and possibly to some extent, 

 plant lice or aphids. In addition, it possesses, as is well recognized 

 at the present time, valuable fungicidal properties. The benefits re- 

 ceived in this latter direction are, in the estimation of some of 

 our best fruit growers, more than sufficient to cover the cost of 

 spraying. There can be at the present time no question as to the 

 value of the lime-sulfur wash, so far as controlling San Joss scale 

 and several other insects is concerned, and even more important 

 than this it is an absolutely safe application. This latter is some- 

 thing of considerable moment to a man interested in producing the 

 largest quantity of high class fruit during a series of years. 



There has been in the past considerable objection to the employ- 

 ment of the lime-sulfur wash, partly because of the labor necessary 

 to make the preparation and particularly on account of its caustic 

 properties rendering spraying therewith exceedingly disagreeable 

 for all concerned. This insistent demand has led to the develop- 

 ment of a number of miscible or so called " soluble oils " which 

 have been put on the market under a variety of trade names. Cer- 

 tain of these have been used with considerable success, so far as 

 immediate results are concerned, by some of our best fruit growers. 

 The cost per gallon, for example, is considerably greater than that 

 of the lime-sulfur wash, but on the other hand a diluted gallon of 

 this material will cover a much larger surface than does the lime- 

 sulfur wash and spreads more easily, thus making it possible to 

 spray rapidly and in part offset the increased cost of the mateiial. 

 Furthermore, and this is important in sections where winds are 



