164 PROCEEDINGS OF TWENTY-SIXTH FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION. 



to undertake the work, and his discovery of the Vedalia cardinalis and 

 its introduction into California saved the orange and lemon groves of 

 the State and made Mr. Koebele famous the world over. 



This is not the only instance of the benefits derived from beneficial 

 insects in checking destructive scale and other pests. The soft brown 

 scale was a very serious pest when first introduced, and destroyed bear- 

 ing orange trees until it was checked by two species of internal parasitic 

 flies. The yellow scale is not feared now, for a parasite from Japan 

 keeps its numbers down. The once-dreaded San Jose scale is not so 

 troublesome now, in fact it can hardly be found in the orchards around 

 San Jose, and no spraying or fumigation has been done for years. A 

 very small four-winged fly, belonging to the same, order as the others I 

 have just mentioned, keeps it in check. The brown apricot scale, that 

 filthy pest of the prune, apricot, and peach trees, is rapidly disappearing 

 from the orchards of Santa Clara, Alameda, and other counties, where 

 its parasite has been established. I can enumerate about a dozen 

 other internal parasites that have relieved the fruit-grower from ruinous 

 expense. 



We are now at work propagating two other internal parasites, which, 

 if we succeed, will be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to Cali- 

 fornia. One is the insect that keeps the black scale in check in South 

 Africa. I have recently received from Prof. Charles P. Lounsbury, Gov- 

 ernment Entomologist at Cape Town, two boxes containing these valuable 

 insects. A number reached us alive and are now in a glass breed- 

 ing case containing oleander infested with black scale. They took 

 kindly to their new quarters, and I hope will increase. We have to 

 breed them in confinement in order to prevent the introduction of a 

 secondary parasite which preys upon them in South Africa. By keeping 

 the secondary parasite out, we can reasonably hope to have as good, or 

 even better, results than they have had in Cape Colony. The other para- 

 site we are now propagating is a very minute chalcid fly that destroys 

 the red scale. This was found in China, and introduced upon a small 

 orange tree by George Compere, a collector of beneficial insects, and 

 special agent of the California State Board of Horticulture. Owing to 

 the "Boxer" trouble in China at the time of Mr. Compere's visit, he 

 experienced great trouble and risk in securing the tree. We have it in 

 a glass case, and the parasites are breeding remarkably well. The 

 scales are more numerous than when the tree arrived from China. 

 This is because we remove the parasites as fast as they breed and send 

 them to infested orchards. 



To California belongs the credit of first suggesting the introduction 

 and propagation of beneficial insects for the purpose of benefiting her 

 fruit-growers and farmers. 



To California belongs the honor and credit of having furnished the 



