108 TWENTY-EIGHTH FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION. 



insects, which were a species of thrips. And he gave the name of the 

 insects as Euthrips tritici. But Mr. Cook gave the name of Euthrips 

 occidentalism and from later reading I am of the opinion that Professor 

 Cook's name is the right one. I have occasionally found the black 

 thrips with them, so I think there are two species. As I before stated, 

 I also sent a phial of the specimens to Newton B. Pierce, of Santa Ana. 

 The first letter of mine that he answered, he stated that I might be 

 right. And the last one — perhaps I might read just an extract of the 

 last. The letter is from Newton B. Pierce, dated Santa Ana, California, 

 April 15, 1903. I sent specimens of apples to him, and after answering 

 that, he referred to the orange trouble. He says: "Relative to the 

 orange trouble, I will say that the study I have given it for years past 

 shows no evidence of bacteria or a higher fungus present which could 

 explain its causes, and is wholly in favor of your view and observation. 

 Personally I think it probable that you are correct." So, you see the 

 authorities are pretty well in line. Newton B. Pierce says I am right 

 in assigning the damage to the thrips; L. 0. Howard says I am right; 

 C. L. Marlait, assistant to L. 0. Howard, says so; Professor Cook says 

 so; and I think so. (Applause.) 



MR. KOETHEN. It appears to me from this discussion that there 

 must be several causes that have been at work spotting fruits through- 

 out the past winter. In speaking to an inspector of fruit cars at Riverside 

 the other day, he told me that he found that fruit which was picked 

 while the dew was on the trees and brought to the packing-house would 

 spot before it was packed, if it was kept there for a week or ten days. 

 Now, it might possibly be that the injury was first made by some insect 

 like this thrips, and that the moisture in that injury would cause the 

 spotting. I raise this question for the purpose of finding out whether 

 that is the case. Certain it is that he found — and he is perfectly 

 competent to judge — that the spotting of the fruit was invariably before 

 the fruit was thoroughly ripe, when it was picked with the dew on the 

 trees. And he passed the word along the line to all the packers and 

 the association for which he was working not to allow any fruit to be 

 picked while the dew was on the trees, and it remedied the trouble at 

 that time, while the fruit was still immature. 



MR. PEASE. All this fruit that I have been examining has been 

 good, and you can see the work of the insect before the fruit has ever 

 been in the packing-house at all. You can find the work of the thrips 

 without trouble, if you are looking for it. It is so slight that the graders 

 can pick the fruit and pack it and get it out of the way. For that 

 reason much of it gets into the shipments. In order to prove this 

 theory, two packers have taken a dozen boxes of the fruit, marked them, 

 and packed them away for the length [of time the fruit would be in 

 transit if sent to market, and at the end of the time the fruit was 

 spotted, and in these spots are the thrips. Further than that, I have 



