140 • NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Early and thorough spraying wit,h a whale oil soap solution, 

 1 pound to 4 gallons, has been found thoroughly effective in the 

 hands of Mr Albert Wood of Carleton Station, who states that he 

 has succeeded in keeping the insect well in subjection by this 

 means. Thorough work in the early part of the season will do 

 much toward preventing subsequent injuries, and if the necessity 

 arises of repeating applications, much better results will be ob- 

 tained if the work is done just after a rain, which serves the use- 

 ful purpose of washing away the honeydew and therefore exposing 

 the growing insects to the deleterious action of the insecticide. 



San Jose scale ( A s p i d i o t u s perniciosus Oomst. ) . This 

 pernicious insect has become so abundant in some orchards in the 

 State that its control is a serious problem, and anything bearing 

 on its habits and disseminative powers is of interest. , The latter 

 part of the summer was marked by the development of very large 

 numbers of insects, the breeding being so rapid that in some 

 places the bark of entire trees was covered. 



The rapidity of its spread in a locality is of great importance, 

 and is undoubtedly influenced by a number of factors. In the 

 first place, there is no doubt that the spread is much more rapid 

 where the pest is allowed to breed unrestricted than in localities 

 where such is not the case; for example, the scale has been in 

 the large orchard of Mr W. H. Hart of Poughkeepsie for 13 years, 

 and yet it has failed to spread to any great extent, portions being 

 practically free from it even after the lapse of years. A close 

 examination of the center of infestation existing at Clinton 

 Heights shows that while the insect has been present there for 

 about the same time there has been no extensive spread. The 

 primary point of infestation is a little to one side of the center 

 of an isosceles triangle, which has an altitude of J mile. This 

 is bordered on one side by a public highway and on the other by 

 a trolly line. Several contiguous orchards lie within this area, 

 and the pest has gradually made its way from one to 1 the other, 

 though the spread has by no means been rapid. Aside from the 

 point of original infestation, the injury to the trees has not been 

 very marked, in fact, the spread through these small orchards 



