Los Angeles herald., 1891-01-14
THE BUGS BES7HD:
The Orange Red Scale Com
pletely Corralled.
Hydrocyanic Gas ChOkes Off
Their Wind Thoroughly.
What the Orange Growers Are Doing
at Orange and Tustin.
Spraying Holds His Bugship In Check,
But 1t Requires the Gas Treatment
to Bring the Hostiles Into Camp.

Yesterday the county scale-bug COM
mission made a visit to Orange and Tus-
tin, to inspect the orchards OF these dis
'tricts, in order to see for themselves the
results reached by spraying and fumi-
eating. Those who went were A. +.
Kerchival and Thos. Weiss, of Los An
geles; John Burr, OF San Fernando,
and Mr.. Waldie, OF Santa Paula, Ven
tura county. At Orange they were
joined by DIR. Clafin, of Riverside, and
there they were met by Hiram Hamil-
ton, of that place, who was to act as
guide, philosopher and friend of the
party. A HERALD reporter was along to
act as chronicler OF the event. Having
secured team, the first place visited
was that OF
JAMES r. TRAVIS.
He was found busy in his orchard,
with the care Of his trees. 1t
is well known that the red
scale has been infesting the orchards
of Orange for some six or eight years.
1t is pest different from any other
known in this section. although like all
the others, he came originally from Aus
tralia on some imported trees. The
orange red scale, as he is now called, is
like his cousin that infests the San Ca
briel valley and other districts,
small fiat scale of a reddish tinge. He
differs from this other in that he has q
very hard scale or covering, which no
parasite yet has been found with tools
sufficiently powerful to burglarize. He
is minute and fiat, so that there is but
little fatness in his carcass to make go
much effort to get at. For the past four
years the ravages of this small pest have
been SO general and so destructive that
orange growers in all parts of Orange
county have been discouraged to such
degree as to give up the fight
for the most part. Those who have
valiantly kept up the contest at first
made trial of different washes, which
while they kept the pest in check failed
to exterminate him. The trouble with
a wash is to get it on all parts of the
leaves. fruit and stem of the tree. The
leaves are so made that any LIQUID
poured over them spreads over nearly
the entire surface, and if the tree is well
drenched the bole and the limbs and
branches will be well wet. The fruit is
much more difficult to reach, and here
is where the washes failed. The bug
would survive ON the fruit, and as he
breeds every three months and multi
plies at the rate of 200 to l,
vhe trees were soon COW
cred again! In discussing these matters
Mr.. Travis said in substance that for
two years he had been fighting the bugs
on his trees. He sprayed twice the first
year, and while the work prevented the
spread of the pest, it did not extermin-
ate him. He has $50 trees, and the
first spraying cost him $226.89. He put
the trees, using three men and team,
with fourth man to s'cook" the wash.
The second spraying cost him $218.48
using 14,6OO gallons OF wash. The saw
ing was effected by dispensing with the
cook, and getting the stuff on the trees
with more expedition. Mr.. Travis has
reached good results by his efforts. Two
years ago the work done in his orchard
failed to benefit him to the extent Of
one cent. He had no crop. Last year
he sold his crop for 500, and this year
it brought him $500. Therefore the
expenditure Of $445.37 has brought him
in $4,000.
0. II. LIEFELD'S
Was the next place visited In the past
year he has sprayed twice. Two years
ago he tried gas treatment, but prefers
spraying. He thinks the trees ought to
be sprayed twice year. He thinks his
trees are perfectly free of scale at this
time. The trees all look very clean, and
the soil is in the most perfect condition.
Mr.. Liefeld is very intelligent and in
dustrious horticulturist. He says that
by using the spray he can defy all scale
pests, and make orange-growing pay
large profits. It is his opinion that
every grower should own his own outfit,
and spray whenever he fluids the bugs
multiplying. He uses 70 per cent. Of
.caustic soda, and cooks it well for four
hours. The cost of spraying according
to Mr.. Liefeld's method is 12h cents
per tree, or 25 cents a tree per year for
two treatments. The cost of treating
such trees by gas would be about 80
cents. The trees are small.
DIR. Wallis BEAUTIFUL PLACE.
The next visit was to the splendid
orchard OF DIR. Wall, of Tustin. As this
place is in many respects model one,
and as it was one of the very finest in
Southern California until the scale got
into it, little sketch OF the way it is
cultivated may be OF interest. The
ground is never plowed. 1t is irrigated
as it needs the water, and between the
trees is kept free from weeds by means
of cultivator. The soil near the tree
is never disturbed at all. 1t is fertilized
with we'll decomposed barnyard or corral
manure from time to time. Nor does
DR.. Wall prune his trees at all. The
branches grow on the very ground all
around. For the first six or seven years
after planting, the branches are letgrow
as they will. After that the dead wood
is carefully removed from the inside Of
the tree from time to time. DIR. Wall
says the foliage cannot be too
dense. The more sheltered the bole of
the tree and the ground at the roots are
the better for the tree. The most
highly colored fruit, and the most per-
feet in flavor is that which grows most
concealed from the light and sun.
For two years past DR.. Wall has been
d;ligent user Of all the washes and all
the gases heard of. He has at last dis
carded all other methods Of treatment
for the hydrocyanic gas. He tried itsat
various times Of the year, Of various