254 _ TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY REPORT. 
generally much more effective on the scale and when applied to 
dormant trees in the spring, proved entirely safe. Because of the 
ease in which they may be prepared, they are very convenient sprays 
for the treatment of a few trees and small orchards and their use 
is largely advised for this purpose. 
With the establishment of the utility of these sprays for scale 
treatment, attention is now being given by the Station chemists 
to determine a formula by which fruit growers may prepare their 
own miscible oil at a much less cost than the commercial prepara- 
tions. Formulas for making home-made miscible oils are now 
known but their use is largely experimental, until the ability of the 
average orchardist to prepare them or have them properly com- 
pounded has been satisfactorily determined. 
‘ a 
NEW YORK PLUM LECANIUM. 
(Eulecanium cerasifex Fitch.) 
The sudden appearance of this species as an important fruit pest 
in 1894 in overwhelming numbers in some of the large plum 
orchards in western New York, prompted some extensive experi- 
ments!® at Geneva and Hector to determine a practicable method of 
combating this insect. As kerosene emulsion was the most efficient 
spray for this purpose, tests were planned to determine its relative 
merits when applied during the winter, in the spring, and later upon 
newly hatched scales. The results of the experiments showed, all 
things considered, that the best time to spray is during the winter, 
and that kerosene emulsion, diluted with four to six parts of water, 
can be depended upon to kill the hibernating scales. 
PISTOL CASE-BEARER, 
(Coleophora malivorella Riley.) 
In 1896 this species appeared in unusual numbers in the western 
part of New York where it was causing serious damage to apple 
orchards. It was thought by some fruit growers to be a new pest 
of the apple, but examination?? proved the insect to have been a 
well known species, which, however, had not caused sufficient dam- 
age, except in certain localities, to occasion more than a passing 

* Bul. 136; same in Rpt. 16:437-469 (1897). 
* Buls. 122 and 136; same in Rpts. 15:545-557 (1806) and 16:437-430 
(1897). 
