THE COTTONY GRASS SCALE. 1 73 



come about, would take 2 years or 20, it is certainly much safer 

 to relieve the parasites of the responsibility and burn over the 

 badly infested grass lands. Owners of grass lands can with 

 comparative ease control the situation, and failure to destroy the 

 pest is likely to place a heavy tax upon the hay crop in the 

 infested districts. 



A practical demonstration of the worth of this remedial 

 measure was given on Deer Isle last spring (1905). The 

 meadows there had been seriously attacked by the grass scale 

 for several years. During the summer of 1904 the hay crop was 

 reckoned at a third less than the usual amount and the hay was 

 reported to be inferior in quality. Several of the fields were 

 burned over the following spring. Concerning this, one of the 

 meadow owners writes about October twentieth, " We have 

 hardly seen a scale since burning the land last spring. The hay 

 crop was unusually large and we think it did the land good to 

 burn it over." 



lif^e; history notes. 

 Description and Habits. — The white egg sacs, appearing like 

 " a strange fungus " attached to grass blades, are what have 

 attracted attention to the cottony grass scale. This is not a 

 stage of progressive injury, but of quiescence. The eggs 

 deposited by the fall brood of scales winter in the protective 

 oval cases. The active larvje emerge during the warm spring 

 days and seek a suitable grass blade. That they are able to 

 travel for a considerable distance at this time was proven by the 

 sprightly journeys of these microscopic creatures in the labora- 

 tory. In confinement as many as 50 have been observed to settle 

 upon one grass blade. (Figures 2 and 3). In the field a single 

 blade with 12 full sized &gg sacs is sometimes found, though the 

 number is usually much less. Probably more than 12 could 

 scarcely mature upon one leaf, but 20 to 30 young scales to the 

 blade were not at all an unfrequent occurrence in Portland 

 meadows. Once accepting a favorable location, the young scale 

 must abide by its decision, for after piercing the blade with its 

 minute beak the insect becomes stationary, the legs atrophy and 

 a little clear delicate scale rests flat upon the blade, continuously 

 draining the plant of sap. The scales invariably settle head 

 down the blade, sometimes on the under side but more frequently 



