SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 31 
make them destructive in the orchard have not so far been successful. 
Mr. E. K. Alpaugh, of Los Angeles, who has a ranch at Sunny Sloep, 
in the San Gabriel Valley, called my attention to the fact that it was 
much less in his orchard than it had been formerly. A visit to the ranch 
indicated to me that a disease was attacking his scale and cultures of the 
supposed diseased scale have been made, but without definite results as yet. 
During the summer of 1898, I found on trees in San Bernardino county 
some black scale (Lecanium oleae), that were evidently diseased. 
I brought samples of these scales to our laboratory in Los Angeles, 
where cultures of the fungus, which was apparently getting in its deadly 
work, were made. Subsequently many cultures of this fungus were 
made and were distributed widely through our scale infested districts. 
In some districts the work was quite effective that season. Mr. A. B. 
Smith, of San Dimas, had his ranch cleaned up by this fungus. In other 
places the disease seemed to make little headway. 
Believing that a disease is by far the cheapest method of getting rid 
of our scale pests, this department has persistently continued to make 
cultures annually, and has distributed them widely through Southern 
California. ‘These have thrived, more or less indifferent, for a short time 
and then disappeared. This year the results were quite different, and 
I find ‘that this fungus disease has been doing effective destruction in 
many localities, and it would appear to have become acclimated and | 
trust has come to stay, although it seems to have been “winter killed’, 
for several successive years. 
The fungus is grown in Petrie Dishes, i. e., cultures are made of it 
on pieces of sterilized bread about 2 inches in diameter. When the 
cultures are made they can be kept a long time, under proper conditions, 
ready at any desired time for application. At the proper time three of 
them are mixed with a barrel of water at a temperature of about 70 
degrees Fahrenheit. Such a barrel containing 45 gallons of water is 
enough to spray 1600 trees. [| have done this by merely spraying, 
through an ordinary hand syringe, say one pint of the mixture on a tree. 
Every fifth tree is enough to put the spray upon. 
On one tree at least wet a limb infected with the scale with the mixture 
and wrap with piece ef cloth also wet with the mixture, (a cloth about 
2 inches wide and 3 feet long will answer). This cloth should be kept 
moist for aweek, thus enabling the spores to get a start upon its host. 
If the fungus gets a start on any tree it will more than likely spread, not 
only over the orchard, but throughout the neighborhood. 
It is evidently desirable that tests should be made as extensively as 
possible of this method of destroying the black scale, and the work wil! 
be continued by this department. 
South Pasadena, California, December, 1905. 
