Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-01-04
INSECT. QUESTIONING PARASITE.

1t Gets in Its Work Effectively on the
Red, Black and White Scale.
The following letter from D. W. Coquil.
lett, published in the Los Angeles Times
will be read with interest by all fruit-grow.
ers and others interested in the welfare OF
the State:
AS in the traditional Garden of Eden
the advent of the woman and the serpent
what a combination caused the exclu.
sion of mankind from the enchanting
place, SO the advent of the white and red
scales-pardon the comparison-has threat.
ened 10 cause the exclusion of mankind
from this modern Eden. Rumors were
afloat, however, that these pests--the scales,
not the woman and serpent-were dying in
great numbers from some unknown cause
and it was mainly to satisfy ourselves OF
the nature of these rumors that the present
visit was made. We found that the scales
were indeed dying in large numbers, but
the cause thereof was far from being
known. A careful examination of the red
scales revealed the presence of the tell tale
hole in their anatomy out of which the
minute parasites had made their escape to
the outside world. The scales which had
thus met their death at the hands, or
rather the mouths, of these little parasites
were mostly females, and, what seemed
very singular, were always located on the
upper side of the leaves. As if it were not
enough for US TO have discovered these i,i-
dications of parasitic attacks. it was our
good fortune to meet Madam Parasite her
self, a fussy, petite atom of animated
nature, scarcely discernable with the naked
eye, busily engaged in searching for new
victims in which to consign her future
progeny.
Evidences of the presence of this little
but powerful friend of the orange-growers
were found in three different orange groves
situated several miles apart, showing that
already it is quite widely spread over this
valley and, although its legitimate victims
to which it is heartily welcome-may for
a time carry everything with high hand,
still it is very evident that this parasite.
which is carrying out one of the fundamen-
tai laws of nature, will eventually reduce
their numbers to such a degree that they
will no longer be able TO prevent our orange
groves from producing their accustomed
quota of fruits.
In several places we found that the white
scales of all sizes and ages had persisted in
large numbers and Mr. Chapman, who has
closely watched the progress of this NOR
tally, tells me that it reached its greatest
hight in the month of August, when fully
three-fourths of the scales succumbed to the
inevitable. 1t would appear that this NOR
tality was due to the enteebled condition of
the trees attacked. The fact that the great
est mortality occurred during the lime
when the trees were in their stage OF partial
dormancy, when tie flow OF sap is very
limited. gives additional weight to this
hypothesis.
While on the subject of scale diseases
and parasites, | may state that several years
ago j. W. Wolfskill and Alexander Craw
found pear orchard in this city very badly
infested with San Jose scales, so badly in
tested that during the entire growing sea-
son the trees had scarcely made any
growth. A few years later they were
much surprised at the changed appearance
of these trees, which had neither been
sprayed nor fumigated, and upon carefully
examining the scales they found that d
very large proportion of them had been
perforated by parasites. At the present
time these trees are remarkably clean and
healthy, while scarcely living scale is to
be found upon them
The advent of these scale DESTROYING
parasites among US is very opportune, aud
the fact that our National Department of
Agriculture, through Professor Riley and
his assistants, is now engaged in lntroduc-
ing other scale-destroyers from foreign
lands, gives US great hopes that in few
years at the farthest the reign of the
ubiquitous scale Dug will have drawn to e
close. and our orchards and orange groves,
the pride and groundwork Of our Gel; ca
bic State, will again flourish in all their
glory, as of yore.
The white scale above referred 10 is
PROBABLY the cottony cushion scale as the
expression, white scales OF ali sizes and
ages" would naturally apply to the cot
tony cushion scale, bat would not TO the
white scale, properly SO called, which
closely resembles in size the red and black
scales, and are too small in their largest
state to be spoken of in 3 con- parison of
size. 1t is good news if The C, tt0ny Gus bion
is really being Toasted upon by the vel
cone parasites.-EDs. RECORD UNION