TWENTY-EIGHTH FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION. 



19 



around the recent cut. I tied those leaves at those places so that the 

 wind could not hlovv them away. The eggs hatched into the larvae of 

 the ladybirds and they did the work; the larvae did the work, and we 

 never had any trouble with the woolly aphis afterward. 



There has nothing yet been discovered that we could depend on for 

 the purple scale. The ladybird that was imported from Australia and 

 liberated in Los Angeles County was not a success, for the reason that 

 in Hawaii, where it was successful, there were always young and tender 

 and soft scales upon the trees upon which the larvae of this ladybird 

 could work. It was not the case in Southern California. They were 

 killed out in the winter. So something else will have to be secured 

 for the purple scale. W e have now liberated in various parts of the 

 State parasites for all the pests that are seriously dangerous except the 

 codling-moth and the purple scale. 



George Compere is now on a voyage around the world to look for the 

 parasite of the* fruit-fly. He is a member of the Agricultural Depart- 

 ment of Western Australia, and is traveling for the West Australian 

 government. Before his departure he visited me and I planned a voyage 

 that he should make and how he should make it, expecting to get an 

 appropriation from the Legislature. But as that appropriation failed, 

 we will have to resort to some other plan to get the money. However, 

 we suggested to the Governor a plan, and he has assented, and we may 

 be able to get a sufficient amount of money so that I can have the 

 direction of George Compere on this voyage. The West Australian gov- 

 ernment will pay half of the expense and California the other half, and 

 they will be very glad, indeed, to co-operate with us; and it is my opinion 

 that they will also be willing for Mr. Compere to be directed by the 

 fruit-growers of California in his travels. And the hope is that we will 

 secure, or gain the knowledge where we can secure, the parasite for the 

 fruit-fly, for the Morelos orange maggot, and for the gypsy moth which 

 has denuded the forests around Boston. 



MR. ALLEN. Mr. President, you spoke some time back about the 

 competition to be met with in the West Indies in the shippers' business. 

 You were formerly a resident of the West Indies for some years ? 



PRESIDENT COOPER. I lived in the West Indies for ten years. 



MR. ALLEN. I would like to ask you whether, in your opinion, 

 lemon culture will be equally successful with orange culture in the 

 West Indies; that is, are the natural conditions such as to favor lemon 

 culture there ? 



PRESIDENT COOPER. No, I doubt whether they will ever go into 

 lemon-growing. They have their lemons, of course, and use them more 

 or less. But they depend largely, for all their culinary purposes, on 

 the sour orange; that is to say, they clean all the dishes and all the 

 pots and everything with sour oranges. They don't use soap. So far 



