34 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



simply by irregularities on the surface and rather slightly discolored, 

 corky trails in the interior. This work materially reduces the 

 value of the fruit. 



Many a fruit grower has vainly wished for a spray that might 

 be used to control this pest. Unfortunately the greater portion of 

 its life is passed under ground or within the apple, places where 

 it is practically impossible to destroy the pest with the means now 

 at our command. By far the most successful method of controlling 

 this insect is by promptly gathering and destroying the infested 

 fruit. The early sweet varieties can frequently be fed to stock, 

 and in that way some return secured for the labor involved in 

 collecting, or in some instances it may be practical to pasture the 

 orchard so that the wind falls are devoured without further labor. 

 This insect is quite local in habit, appearing to display a marked 

 preference for sheltered hollows. Advantage can sometimes be 

 taken of this habit, and the writer would further suggest that it might 

 be advisable, in places where the pest is quite injurious to winter 

 varieties, that it be attracted therefrom by setting a tree or two of 

 an early variety, say Garden Royal, in the near vicinity and 

 promptly destroying the infested fruit. Should this latter not be 

 done the tree might become a center of trouble instead of a trap 

 to draw away the insects from the more remunerative varieties. 



San Jose scale (Aspidiotus perniciosus Comst.). 

 This pest continues to attract much attention from orchardists 

 throughout the State. The season of 1907 was favorable for its 

 breeding, and in many places where no attempt was made to con- 

 trol the insect, the scale became very abundant by the end of the 

 season. In some instances this was very marked. The breeding 

 v/as so rapid in some portions of the Hudson valley and in the 

 western part of Connecticut, that the fruit on infested trees was 

 nearly covered by the pest and rendered practically worthless 

 thereby. On the other hand, spraying for this insect has been 

 exceptionally successful in many places throughout New York 

 State. We have in mind one orchard which, at the end of 1906, 

 was very badly infested by scale, so much so that many of the 

 smaller limbs were well incrusted. A thorough application of a 

 lime-sulfur wash was made in the spring of 1907, and as a result 

 of this treatment the fruit crop was practically unspotted. This 

 is only one of several instances which came to our notice. This 

 exceptionally favorable result was probably due in large part to 

 the fact that the spraying was unusually thorough. The experience 



