The morning call., 1893-12-29
AFTER THE PESTS.
Northern Fruit=GrOWerS
Cooperating.
TO WATCH EASTERN STOCK.
County Horticulturists Outline
Their Plans.
A DAY SPENT IN DISCUSSION.
State Quarantine Officer Craw Thinks
the Pernicious Scale Is
Almost Extinct.
DAY SPENT IN DISCUSSION.

counties in the matter of cooperation, and
meetings to that end have been held re-
Gently at Yuba City and Woodland. Yes
terday commissioners from eight counties
gathered at the rooms of the State Board
of Horticulture, and talked over ways and
means of protecting the fruit interests of
tie State from pests and diseases.
The organization is known as the County
horticultural Commissioners Association
of Northern California. with H. p. Stab
Ter, one OF the most eXten sive Suffer
County fruit-gro wers. president. and
George n. Gray of Chico secretary.
This is not a close organization" eX-
planned Charm an Stabler at the meeting
yesterday, but simply a convention of
horti cultural commissioners"
The commissioners present put in full
day of it, coming together forenoon, after
noon and evening. They were as follows:
From Alameda County. William Barry;
Butte, George Nj. Gray and Eben Boat;
Y olO, Joseph Lamme and II. c. Howard
Tulare, \. w. Motheral; San Joaquin,
w. II. Robinson; Nevada, Stephen Rich
ards; Colusa, +. W. Willis; Suffer, Il. G.
kells and II. P. SJabler. Besides these
there were DR.. y. Ii. Claflin of Riverside,
eX-Commission Toner of San Bernardino Coun-
w. dDu II. NJ &c VI DdktIoASlus cA-AUM-
missioner of Kern County.
Before the meeting reached the business
for which II had come together Secretary
Lelong of the State board called attention
10 the unsettled balance of 5000 on the
Young 81 Powers claim for drafting and
lobbying through the Legislature the tree
pest bill.
or the original amount of S11O9 the COM
missi0ners from the principal fruit-grow-
ing counties had succeeded in liQuidating
as much as $500. and though one or two
of them like Mr.. Robinson had had TO pay
the assessment made on their counties
from their own pockets, i. was felt that
the best thing TO do would be to make a
reappOrtlonment by assessing the liberal
counties once more. which was eventually
done. 1t is expected that the fruit-gTOw-
ers generally will come to the rescue of
the commissioners on the matter, since
the bill was made a law for their particular
benefit.
aThat disposed of. the commissioners
settled down 10 a discussion of fruit-tree
pests and remedies, ,Messrs. MOtheral,
Boalt, Kells, Barry, Stabler. Gray and
others giving their experiences and obseT-
yatiOnS.
The habits and ravages of the pernicious
scale. as IL is called. the woOlly aphS, and
the peach root boTer, an Eastern pest
which now gives much trouble in this
State, and VARIOUS other insects. were
dwet uDon at length, also the formation
and effect of root-knot. The questions
taken up were:
What insects or diseases have we to
contend with and how shall we proceed?
What plan shall we adopt in shipping
trees from one county To another so as to
have as little friction as possible?
''Shall we allow Eastern stock shipped
here? Ii so, upon what conditions 2"
AT the request of Chairman StabIer, the
State quarantine officer, Alexander Craw,
gave his observations on pests, which, in
substance. we're:
1.-The pernicious scale is rapidly becom-
ing a thing OF the past. 1t il almost ex-
tinct in the San Jose district. Resin wash
ana the usual wash OF lime, salt and sui
phur are very beneficial. The brown
necked scymnus Qadybird) is the most
beneficial parasitic destroyer Of the scale
l don't advise sparing the trees where lady
birds are numerous, but rather the proIec-
ton Of the parasites"
Mr.. Boalt interrupted to say that in the
mountainous sections there was still plenty
of scale. Mr.. Craw continued:
THE wOolly aphis is a more serious
pest TO fight, as 1t is mostly in the roots of
trees and out of reach. 1t doesn't thrive
upon resisting stocks. however, like the
Northern Spy and an Australian variety of
apple. 1t is good idea TO scatter wood
ashes around the trunks of trees when
dormant, aud to spray the trees with
resin wash in the summer time. The
aphis breeds in both the roots and the
branches"
Speaking of washes. he recommended a
very good quality OF whale-oil soap. IL that
were used, but said the resin wash was
more penetrating.
About the root knot there was much
that was mysterious. according TO Mr..
Craw. 1t is found chiefly upon peach trees.
and experiments by Secretary LelOng and
himself had not proved II to be contagious.
Even incubation had been unsuccessful.
He advised the rejection of infected trees
only.
On the question of shipping trees from
one county 10 another, it was decided to
have the most rigid inspection made, and
a system of bale tags and certificates will
be used TO fOrtify irut-growers against
suspicious nursery stocks.
Mr.. Craw thought there was very little
danger in fruit shipments, as the fruit was
usually consumed and the pests DESTROYED
in the peeling. To dip or fumigate fruit
might hurt its market value. If anything
were done at all citrus frut,shouId never.be
dipped; it might be fumigated with hydro
cyanic acid gas. but be felt very little ap-
prehensiveness about the likelihood of red
scale infection spreading from orange
shipments.
The Commissioners decided to exercise
the utmost vigilance respecting shipments
of graftings. buds, pits and trees from the
East. Some Pike County (Mo.) stock had
been found very badly infected. A CON-
mittee composed of Messrs. Motheral,
Boalr, Howard, kells and Craw was chosen
to arrange with railroad station agents for
the notification OF county horticultural
commissioners whenever Eastern ship
menis arrived. The committee proceeded
to call upon General Freight Agent Smurr
OF the Southern Pacific Immediately after
the afternoon recess.
When the commissioners assembled for
the evening session it was reported that
the committee had been unable to secure
an audience with Mr.. Smurr and would
make another attempt this morning.
The evening was spent in general dis
cussion of the different scales and their
natural enemies the lady-bird parasites.
A meeting of the Fruit-growers' Ex-
change will be held to-day at Pioneers,