FUMIGATION OF CITRUS TREES. 39 



tion season of 1908 fully a dozen outfits in various parts of Los 

 Angeles and Orange Counties were using the new method in prefer- 

 ence to the old. The experience of the first season has led to the 

 rapid and successful introduction of the new system quite generally, 

 so that it now has been adopted by many outfits in Los Angeles, 

 Orange, Ventura, and Riverside Counties, while in San Bernardino 

 County it is used almost exclusively. 



Naturally there was considerable opposition, at the commence- 

 ment of this investigation, on the part of the professional fumigators. 

 Their prejudice has been overcome to a large extent by demonstra- 

 tions and personal cooperation, and many of them are now endorsing 

 the new methods. The chief means of exploitation have been lec- 

 tures, demonstrations, and personal contact with the fruit growers. 

 In this educational campaign the assistance of many county horticul- 

 tural officers and managers of citrus associations has made success 

 far easier than it otherwise would have been. 



The rapid and general adoption of the new method indicates its 

 practical economy, for new ideas are not adopted by California 

 horticulturists merely for the sake of novelty. The primary ques- 

 tion before the grower is whether in the long run the new system of 

 fumigation is more economical than the old one. The new system 

 has been used in and about Whittier for nearly two years. Having 

 been located in that region, the writer has been able to keep in touch 

 with the condition of fumigation thereabouts. 



A year ago almost all fumigation in the Whittier and Rivera dis- 

 tricts was carried on under the new method. Packinghouse statis- 

 tics of last year's crop at the Whittier and Rivera Citrus Associations, 

 which handle most of the fruit from this section of several thousand 

 acres, showed that a considerably smaller percentage of fruit was 

 discarded because of being infested with scale than during any 

 season when the old method of fumigation was practiced. Such 

 statistics are conclusive and their significance is plain. 



One of the writer's early contentions was that, after one or two suc- 

 cessive thorough treatments under the new method, using the proper 

 dosage, most orchards would be in such a clean condition that they 

 could go without treatment at least every other year. Indicating 

 the correctness of this belief, Mr. William Wood, the very efficient 

 former horticultural officer for. the Whittier district, states that 

 many more orchards in his district which were treated during 1908 

 under the new svstem were sufficiently clean not to need fumigation 

 the following season than has been the case under the old method 

 at any time within his experience. To show the general attitude of 

 the growers it is only necessary to say that they are so satisfied as 

 to refuse to have their orchards treated except under the new pro- 

 cedure. This condition at Whittier is illustrative of what is taking 

 70975°— Bull. 90, pt 1—11 4 



