The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-01-24
A RUCTION ALL ABOUT BUGS.
Insects Cause a Row in the
Horticultural Board.
The Eedalia and the .RhizObius
Create Controversy.
Secretary LeIong Has Round With
Professor Riley-The Koebele Dis
cussion Revived.
That extremity useful scale destroyer


been the innocent cause OF strife between
horticultural scientists that promises to
end in a court of law, with non-ento.
mologiosl Judge as referee.
%, In the Examiner yesterday Professor
Ter @. V. Riley. sx-United States entomolo-
" ds,ist, said:
Jus col GAS to your board OF horticulture
ould re,ll could tell you many things of it's
import sretary and his methods that would
a'hef mighty interesting reading. But this
ices j. not the time OF place, and you must
a ,cuse mo from anything further at
''e' Z resent" ~
These words have proved the key to
Pho . Q eide Of story of bugs and ento-
Iir..lll logical jealousy which was told
yesterday by B. M. Lslong, secretary of
the board of horticulture. And from
that story the fact seems to issue that
the voracioua Vedalis Cardinalis-th at
implacable enemy of the cottony cush-
ion scale, has aroused between Professor
. Riley on one eide, and B. M. Lslong and
the state board OF horticulture on the
other. bitter feeling as destructive to
n the peace of mind of these persona 40
IA the Vedalia 10 to tie cottony scale.
a FULL OF BUGS.
! For elk or seven years the entomology.
\ cal department at Washington and the
y state board OF horticulture of California
have been at outs with each other, but
to the general public the following state
ment by Secretary Lelong will come IS
the first intimation of trouble.
Prominent persons are involved in it.
There are dark insinuations OF fraud
Some correspondence is brought to light
and through the lively phases of the
story the vedalia cardinals, the vigor-
ous rhizobiua ventralis, deblis rhizobius
and novius k9belii seem TO crawl with
drawn nippers and luminous backs. 1t
will not be out OF place at this point to
state that B. M. Lslong has consulted
his attorneys.
~ stand ready to meet professor Riley
and his charges, il he has any to MAKE"
seid Secretary Lelong yesterday morn
ing. "The story of Professor Riley's
unhealthy and jealous interference with
the horticultural interests OF this state,
and the true inwardness of his attack
upon me has not been told. He has
ed the first gun and feel justified in
exposing all the facts which have been
reoressed all along for the sake of har-
mony and decency.
Professor Riley and l first met at q
fruit-growers' convention held in River
side in 1887, shortly before l became
secretary OF the state board OF horticul-
ture. | was asked by the convention to
give an expedition of q remedy l had
successfully used in San Gabriel TO de-
stroy pestiferous tree insects. Riley
took issue with me. He declared that
he knew persons who had used it and
\ Ill h A-a
dent Ellwood Cooper telegraphed to
theas persons, and they denied having
said what Riley attributed to them.
Riley never Yetracted -hia statement. At
that convention he poohspoohed the
idea that useful parasites could be
found, but finally, because the senti-
ment in favor OF securing parasites to
fight pests became 90 strong, he decided
to change his views.
THE COLUMBUS OF THE LADY BUG.
"Then Frank McOoppin, present post
master OF San Francisco, who had been
appointed United States commissioners
to the Melbourne exposition, had mis-
attention called to the Importance OF the
matter. McCoppin agreed to set aside
$1,000 OF his appropriation to pay the
expenses of a man to be sent on an in.
sect hunt to Australia, ON condition that
the United States government would
pay the envoy's salary. Albert Koebele
was sent, and is generally known. dis
covered the wonderful vedalia cardin-
alis.
Then il was that Riley, with the most
perfect nerve, laid claim to Koebele's
discovery.
LEAGUED AGAINST THE BOARD.
"Cocquellot acted as Koebele's agent
at Los Angeles, and received from time
to time consignmenta OF insects from
Koebele in Australia calculated to prove
useful. Cocquellot was leagued with
Riley against the state board. He neg
lected the insects and allowed them to
die, apparently for no other purpose
than to hamper Koebele in his remarks
BILE work and throw discredit upon the
achievements Of the state board. A
1.-THE result OF KoeDele's second Aus
tralisn trip was the introduction of thu
rhizobius ventralis, the rhizobius debls
and the noviss koebelii, three inact
species which have since proved effeis-
i've in Kidding trees of scale peets.
SIN 1857 Mr.. Riley's fine handap'
pears again. induced the state lsgiss
lature to appropriate $4,000 to send lome
one abroad to search for more raefol
parasites to war against the black scale
partment of agriculture to senl some
one abroad, We agreeing to pay ais ex
penses. Riley opposed the enterprise
bitterly.
'"When President Harrison end party
came to the coast later on, net Secre-
:ary Rusk, and he agreed TO send Koe-
belle Riley felt sggrieved az this, and
no doubt shat is one reason why hs ia
now so unirisndly to me aad the state
board. He pretended tokpow every
thing. Insoct0 worth getting in AUS
tralia? Impossible, or l, Professor
Riley, eniomologist extraordinary to the
United States and California, would
certainly know it. That, to rny mind,
was his position with reference to this
auspic.ous enterprise fortered by the
state Legislature.
''Riley wrote anonymous letters to
the press in Los Angeles, traduoing
Koesele's work. and Koebele got 30 disa
gusted that he resigned his position.
Heartily sicksned at this unwarranted
interference on the part of Riley. Press
dent Elwood Cooper, of the state board.
preferred charges against Riley to j.
Rnan' o.