Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-07-20

| By Invitation . considerable number
Of gentlemen Interested In the cotsony
scale bug pest met At the orange orchard
Of Mr.. o. "A. Bliss yesterday afternoon
to witness the result Of experiments
made by Professor A. L. de vasques,
who states that be gradusted In Spain
~ an Agricultural engineer" and has
made speciality Of the atudy Of tho
culture and diseases Of orange trees in
Spain. in the provinces Of Seville and
Valencia, in the Island Of Cuba. in Alge-
ris. and finally In Florida Of the United
States. and for three months in Los An.
geles. There were present beside the
reporter Of the HKRALD OK. Mayor Thorn,
Supervisor Foord, A. F. Kerohsval, Col.
Dobblns, Alex. Crow, Mr.. Millard, Mr..
George Dalton, A. Weyse. g. Q. Siedt,
John simmons, Thomas Leahy, George
Rice, H. T. Gage, L. HaGerty. A. Cor
onel, G. A. Compers. H. Kelley, b.
vogt, and the hospitable proprietor Of
the orchard, Mr.. Bliss. Great interest
was manifested In whatever sue
cessss Mr.. de vasquez had 10
exhibit The result Of the
Investigation did not sssm satisfactory
to majority Of the esntlemen present.
The discussion waxsd lively In the mat
ter Of soal5sbugs,o OF which there appeared
In the orchard an overwhelming repre-
ssnsation. especially Of the cotton scale.
The HERALD reporter was desirous Of
learning what Prof. de Vasquez had to
ny upon the subject, H. perohance.
something new and important. So far
q undsrstood, the Professor's theory Il
that the cotton scale ID not destructive
10 the orange trse. II b = parasite be
says not peculiar 70 the orange trss, but
oas which prsys upon almost svery green
thing, especially the cabbage, oauiihow-
q, srtichoke and vegetables Of similar
charaeter. He maintains that the orange
tres may be made to grow and fruit
hsalshily without reference to this pest, |
stating that the death Of orange trses in
thIs section b ohisay osussi 81 the lack
Of proper nutrition; that thsrs b quick |
sand underlying the soil. In whieh the
tap root Of the tree fails to find the neo.
sssary food TO support the tree and its |
fruit, being deficient In potassium !
and the phosphatss. while 1t the |
s.u,s tizss5 .hsss Is >xee==
Of sodium and alumins. which Il i
necessary 70 nsutraliss BY the applies- |
tIon Of material containing phosphorfe |
aoids and slkaloids. The Professor |
ststss that 10 this condition Of poverty
Of soil u 4 necessary to out Of the tep |
root sbout svery ten years and TO supply |
ARTIFICIAL fertilizers, the best being q
mineral oomposision, while stable |
uAnurss srs not desirabls for the pur-
poss, although sheep dropplngs aftes 81
noapheris exposure md eomposting ws
well adaptsd for III parpcss. He nar-
rates Hat N SpajR where oranoo tFses
may b found fruttlng st the 6faat ass
of i've and six hundrsd year. With .
growth In trusk dianetsr Of Over three
lest, il u customary to cut Of the tap
root every ten yeaz1 or tbsreabouts, and
to apply fertilissrs 10 Il, after applying
70 the wound shsllac gum and
sseking soil food. It would sssm
that there Is much sound sense
Ia the Professors sdvooeCy Of |
proper fertilization Of orange trses;
thai II cannot be expected that they will |
grow and fruit probably . ersat mum.
Der Of years without : rsplsnishment Of |
the soil with the neosssary food, but |
this does not settle the soalebug ques-
tion. Prof. de Vasquez states that the |
three varieties Of scslsbuas originated in |
the Philippine IsIsnds, where they are |
termed the Ysidis 0cianica. or Purchssi |
Yssria, sud that they do not there In |
tsrruPt tie growth Of fruit. On the |
other hand, one Of the gentlemen pres
snt declared that The scalsbug had been
utterly destructive Of orange crops 10
the Philippine lslends. Prof. de Vss-
ques olaims 70 havs . paint for the trunk
Of the tree which, with an emulsion |
sprayed upon the tres, will absolutely
destroy the soaisbug, for four montha.
This claim hes not yet proven TO be |
we'll grounded. The long and the short |
Of the interesting examinations |
Of the day 4, that the scale bug qnes-
tion rsmstns where Il was day before |
yesterday and one Of the |
most serious peoblsma Of Southern Cali
fornIa. Hs Who viii fathom its myste-
ries snd show . method 81 oRtnin extsr- |
minalion Of ths pest, viii not only BE-
bsnefaotor TO the State, but may reap /
n ample pscuniary reward.