Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-07-02
washes for the Scale Bugs.

When one sees the limbs of his fruit trees
being covered with scales under which mill
ions of little insects are Matching out to suck
the sap from those limbs, and thus destroy
his trees by degrees, and that this is the con-
dition of his entire orchard, in the planting
and cultivation of which he has spent years
of time and labor and all the means he could
command, he feels like doing something to
kill off these insects and prevent further de-
struction of his trees and property. Such
has been the situation of many an orchardlst
in many sections of the State for the past
ley seem to have suffered more from this
cause than in any other locality, and
the people there have been more
alive to the danger than elsewhere.
Some of the orchards there were badly in
jured before their owners knew what was
doing the damage and when they did find
out what was the matter they were entirely
ignorant as to what should or could be done
to remedy or abate the evil. The consequence
was that experiments were lnstltuJed-dltfer
ent ones by different owners-to find out
what would kill the scale and save the trees.
Various things could be found to kill the in
sect when applied to him, but mixtures that
would kill when applied to the insect direct
would not penetrate the scale with which the
insect eggs were covered; and then what
would kill the insect might also kill the tree.
The books at command gave but very little
information on the subject, and but very
little satisfaction was found from experiments
tried. Coal oil, crude petroleum. I've from
wood ashes, and soaps made of different
greases were tried. 1t was found that strong
I've and the various petroleum oils would kill
the insects, and parties were divided as to
which would be the best to use Some
washed with lye and some with coal oil, with
apparent equally good results. 1t has been
found, however, that those trees that were
washed with coal oil or petroleum have been
seriously injured by the wash-perhaps more
than they would have been injured by the
insects undisturbed. The oil penetrated
through the outside bark and killed or in
jured the inner bark of the tree, threatening
to destroy it entirely. On the contrary,
those who have used I've and its compounds
as wash have generally killed the insects,
and have at the same time actually benefited
their trees-the I've acting as fertilizer and
causing the bark to assume a smooth and
rapidly growing condition.
Orchard Pests of Santa Cruz County.
In his late visit to Santa Cruz county,
Chief Horticultural Officer Cooke found that
the orchards of that county are remarkably
free from injurious insects. He, however,
found some eggs and other signs of the CEySi0-
campo americana, or the tent caterpillar, the
same worm that was SO plentiful in the
orchard of Mr.. belong of Marin county.
The woody aphis had done considerable
damage i'll one or two orchards visited.
The Pacific scale of Professor Comstock has
made its appearance, though not to any
great extent. The Tussock caterplllars are
also in some of the orchards, but the codling
moth was only found to have been in one
apple tree. Some pupa of the codling
moth were, however, found in some fruit
trees that had been returned from San Fran
cisco. This may prove the first introduction
of the cooling moth into the orchards of that
section. Orchardists of that county should
look sharp to their return boxes and other
modes of bringing the codling moth among
them