Los Angeles daily herald., 1876-04-16

l have read with interest Mr.. Gays
articles and suggestions on the disease
that threatens the orange and lemon
industry of California, and am de-
lighted and pleased that an intelligent
gentleman has the time, patriotism,
patience and industry to devote to this
subject. The charming, profitable,
agreeable and humanitizing pursuit
of tree and plant culture, particularly
those of the semi-tropical variety in
California, is threatened with utter
annihilation, and if Mr.. Gay has dis
covered the cause and the cure he is
entitled to the gratitude of the people
of California, particularly those of
the valley of Los Angeles, whose
genial and uniform climate and
wonderfully fertile and generous
soil renders it a peculiar home for those
plants, many degrees North of these
isothermal lines pointed out to US for
the development of them; indeed
Mr.. Gay should be awarded gift
by the Legislature of $4,000 or PEN
sion. l have at intervals examined
the roots of my trees and have failed
to discover the minute destroyer. Yet
my trees are diseased. l have watched
them at every stage. At the opening
of Spring l find minute gnat
buzzing around the orange, the lemon
and lime, the oleander and rose bush,
and carefully avoiding the apple, pear
aud the hardy Northern plants. I
have followed them up, and found
them at work within the leaf, deposit
ing their eggs. The tender leaf soon
curls and the young shoots are utterly
eaten up with the young vermn, soon
Matched into life from these eggs by
the warm sun. This little fly to the
naked eye looks like small Summer
evening gnat in the Middle States.
When examined by magnifying
glass is found it to be about twice the
size of mosquito with dark body
and with two white wings, a pro-
boscis like mosquito with numerous
flexible and long jointed, sectioned
legs. You can see the deposit of eggs
and the various shapes the insect as
sumes from the deposit of egg to the ra-
pid incubation and disgusting louse-
like form before it gets wings. This fly
must be the creature that deposits the
eggs at a later season and envelOps the
deposit with mucous gum which we
call the scale bug. In taking offthis
scale in the Fall, you find the envelope
full of yellowish brown eggs. Each
envelope has from 25 to 80 eggs. Ifnot
examined with a magnitying glass
they fall out of the envelope like dust.
When the tree or plant is afflicted,
the leaves of the tree become black,
the respiration of the tree is impaired
the bark of the trunk and limbs in
stead of being able to perform their
functions in carrying upthe life blood
to the lungs for oxygenation, are pre-
vented by an unhealthy emulation,
which they are unable to throw off.
1t settles on the surface and assumes
black fungus form. The result is de-
cay, the fruit few and small, and the
days of these long lived orange trees
are numbered. Rich manuring is q
partial relief 1t stimulates vigorous
secretion and flow of sap, which throws
off partially the pest, but it is only
partial and to continue the remedy
wi II result injuriously. When | ar.
rived here in 1850 and for many years
after, the trunk of the orange tree was
as green and healthy as the leaf The
disease has not reached the CucamOn-
go or Camulas Ranch (Mr, Del VAL
le's) and the curious can still see the
same condition existing there.
Soap, ashes, water and brush will
do much but the remedy is tiresome
and expensive. An infusion of quas-
sia sprinkled on floor will kill the
house fly instantly. The quassia is a
gentle tonic to the higher organiza-
tion of animal lfe, while to the fly it
is violent stimulus that produces in
slant death. The quassia is cheap; a
pound of it would make barrel of a
decoction, and c"st perhaps % cents.
But believe that We have the reme-
dy at home. A decocton of the leaves
of the Eucalyptus will answer every
purpose. This little fly seeks for sweet
scented and sweet tasting plants.
Sprinkle the trees with this decoction
and besides killing the insect it will
give a taste and odor that will disgust
the little hut fearful pest. We should
all experiment and give our results to
the public. A ystematic raid Oh this
insect whether il be at the root or the
L u IA