THE FLUTED SCALE IN CALIFORNIA 243 



pollen washed off, and there is some risk of poisoning the bees 

 and the honey. 



(C.) Clearing with fire. — This was resorted to in the case of 

 dense underwood or particularly bad infestations of woodland 

 tracts. It was sometimes necessary to fell the trees and clear 

 the ground completely. Where the trees are to be spared 

 autumn is the best season for clearing. 



(D.) Burlaps. — It was observed that the larger caterpillars, 

 half-grown and over, sheltered themselves from the heat of the 

 sun in crevices or beneath rubbish, and this suggested the 

 laying of traps for them. Strips of 8 oz. burlap (a coarse 

 canvas), 12 in. wide, were bound round infected trees. The 

 canvas in rolls is carried on the shoulder, passed round the 

 tree, cut with a sharp knife, a margin being allowed for 

 shrinkage, tied with string along the middle of the strip, and 

 then turned down, so that the two flaps hang from the string 

 like a piece of linen hung out to dry. The workers visit each 

 tree daily, and kill the caterpillars found in the burlaps. The 

 upper flap is turned up or down on alternate days, so that it 

 may be seen at a glance whether the tree has been examined 

 or not. Either plan will answer, as the caterpillars generally 

 hide between the bark and the canvas. Other traps, such as 

 empty tin cans, or wisps of hay and straw were found service- 

 able, but the burlaps are the best of all in a wooded district. 

 The labour of the frequent visits is the only drawback to this 

 very effective remedy. 



Birds were seen to devour the larvEe and moths in great 

 numbers, but they did not destroy the eggs to any material 

 extent. It is otherwise in Europe, where tits, wrens, and other 

 tree-haunting birds have been observed to devour the eggs with 

 avidity. Insect-parasites were not so numerous as in Europe. 



THE FLUTED SCALE IN CALIFORNIA 



About the year 1880 the orange-groves of South California 

 seemed to be infected with a kind of leprosy. White patches 

 appeared on the trunks and branches, which at length ran 

 together and covered the bark, the leaves turned yellow, and 

 no fruit could be ripened. The plague spread with rapidity, 

 and all the time-honoured remedies were found to be in- 



