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THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
GEORGIA HORTIGULTURE. 
State Society’s Annual Meeting—Professors 
Rolfs and Alwood on San Jose Scale— 
President Berckmans Re-elected. 
The twenty-first annual meeting of the Georgia Horticul¬ 
tural Society was held August 4-5 at Savannah. Nearly 200 
members were present. Among those present were President 
P. J. A. Berckmans and his sons, of Augusta; Professor P. H. 
Rolfs of the Florida Experiment Station, and Professor W. B. 
Alwood of the Virginia Experiment Station. 
The delegates were welcomed by Mayor P. W. Meldrim. 
Dr. George H. Stone, chairman of the Savannah Park and 
Tree Commission, whose boyhood was passed in the fruit 
regions of Western New York, talked interestingly on horti¬ 
culture. 
PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS. 
President Berckmans gave an interesting review of the 
development of horticulture in the state and the work of the 
horticultural society since its organization in 1876. The rapid 
progress in fruit growing and diversified farming generally was 
alluded to and the statement was made that Georgia is more 
largely engaged in fruit growing than any other southern state. 
The conditions which have arisen with the development of the 
industry and the dangers confronting the fruit growers and the 
necessity of availing themselves of all means of combating 
plant diseases and enemies were dwelt upon and the failure of 
this year’s peach crop alluded to. Other states, he said, have 
adopted laws to prevent the importation of diseased plants, 
but Georgia is without any inspection law whatever. A cau¬ 
tion was given against the slaughter of insect-destroying birds. 
The work of the society in maintaining a careful list of the 
varieties of fruits grown in the state was alluded to. The list 
to-day is but little larger than when the society was first or¬ 
ganized, eighty-five varieties having been eliminated and 112 
added. 
Professor S. F. Earle of the Alabama experiment station, at¬ 
tributed the failure of the peach crop this year in Middle 
Georgia and Alabama to a fungus, commonly called the rot or 
ground fungus, superinduced, he held, by the moist and foggy 
weather which prevailed during the budding season. Mr. 
Miller of Rome, said that the peach crop in the “Piedmont” 
section of the state had been good. The season was dry with 
but little rain when the trees were in bloom. 
Professor P. H. Rolfs of the Florida experiment station at 
Lake City, gave the results of some experiments which he has 
made in combating the destructive work of the San Jose scale 
with a fungus found upon the water oak. A description is 
given in another column of this journal. 
ALWOOD ON THE SCALE. 
Professor W. B. Alwood of the Virginia Experiment Station 
discussed “Enemies of the Fruit Grower.” Professor Alwood 
devoted himself chiefly to the discussion of the San Jose scale, 
giving its general history. “The most fruitful source of dis¬ 
semination has been and will continue to be the nurseries,” he 
said. “ In the nurseries the scale crawl from from one plant 
to another and are thus distributed far and wide throughout 
the country, not knowingly by the nurserymen, but unknow¬ 
ingly. The scale are produced so rapidly that efforts for its 
extermination must be begun immediately on discovery, if the 
orchard is to be saved. The results of experiments for the 
destruction of the scale were given. A strong solution of fish 
oil soap has been found effective, but does not completely 
eradicate the scale. Kerosene emulsion has been used, but 
will not kill the scale unless used very strong, but there is 
danger to the plant in this. Pure kerosene has been used, but 
the results have not been determined.” The best plan. Pro¬ 
fessor Alwood said, was to grub up the trees and burn them. 
If it should be possible. Professor Alwood said, that Profes¬ 
sor Rolfs’ discovery of a fungus enemy of the scale disease 
should prove effective, it would make his name famous as long 
as fruit is grown, but he was very much afraid that this would 
not be the case. This scale attacks such a wide list of trees 
that if it once obtains a hold upon the forests of the country 
it will be with the fruit growers of the country as long as fruit 
is grown. A new scale, known as the new peach scale, or 
Persian scale, which is very dangerous to peach and plum 
trees, was described and methods of extermination were given. 
Another peach enemy known as the peach maggot, which 
prevails in Bermuda, was described. The eggs are laid in the 
fruit, where the young develop and destroy the fruit. 
Professor Von Henf mentioned an instance of the success¬ 
ful eradication of the San Jose scale by the gas treatment at 
Southern Pines last May. Professor Alwood replied that the 
gas treatment has proved a failure in the treatment of orchards 
in Virginia, the result proving that the scale were destroyed 
for one season only. 
SCALE IN GEORGIA. 
Some twigs bought in by Paul LeHardy of the Persian pur¬ 
ple plum were submitted to Professor Alwood, who said that 
the twigs were effected by two varieties of scale, one of which 
closely resembled the San Jose scale, and would certainly 
destroy the tree, sooner or later. It was important, he said, 
that the park and tree commission should be watchful lest 
these scales should take hold upon and destroy the trees of 
the streets and parks. A gentleman from Irwin county sub¬ 
mitted a plum twig, which Professor Alwood promptly pro¬ 
nounced to be one of the worst cases of San Jose scale he had 
ever seen. This almust produced a stampede in the conven¬ 
tion, and the delegates crowded forward to view the diseased 
twigs. This instance satisfied the members that the San Jose 
scale does prevail to a greater or less extent in Georgia and 
that the fruit growers have a dangerous enemy to fight. 
The discussion of the preventive measures to be taken 
against the San Jose scale was reserved until the night ses¬ 
sion when Professor Alwood read a paper, giving his exper¬ 
ience in dealing with the scale in Virginia. His experience 
showed the scale to be a most difficult enemy to deal with and 
his conclusion was that the only sure means of eradication 
was to dig up the affected trees and burn them. Plants in 
nurseries could be successfully disinfected by means of hy¬ 
drocyanic gas, he said, and this had not proved successful in 
the open air except to the extent of greatly reducing the rav¬ 
ages of the pest. He advocated legislation, both state and 
national, to provide for the inspection of nurseries and or¬ 
chards, to prevent the shipment of diseased plants and to pro¬ 
vide for the treatment and destruction of diseased orchards. 
This subject was discussed at some length and the presi¬ 
dent was instructed to appoint a committee of seven, of which 
he should be a member, to take the question of legislation 
