The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1895-06-05
THE SAN JOSE SCALE.
The Insect that is Destroying our Fruit
Trees and How to Kill It.

Trees and How to Kill 1t.
The following interesting article on
the San Jose Scale. the little insect
that is playing havoc with the fruit
trees throughout the South, is from
the pen of Prof. J. G.. Hartzell. Jr.,
who has given considerable study to
the subject. and will be found very
interesting 1t should be read by all
our readers, but especially by those
who have fruit trees. The Professor
says:
NV attention has been called to the
blight that is affecting the fruit trees
in this section and destroying large
per cent. of the trees in majority OF
the orchards. Several theories have
been advanced as to the cause of this
blight, but l am of the opinion that
none that I have heard is. correct. |
have examined number of fruit
trees, mainly peach, pear and plum,
in the field, and twigs and undevel-
oped fruit in my laboratory, and have
reached the conclusion that the cause
of the trouble is the San Jose Scale
(Aspidiotus perniciosus COr7ast) This
insect has been the scourse of western
orchards for many years and has
caused the loss of hundreds of thous-
ands of dollars to fruit growers in that
section. In August, 1898, it made It's
appearance in Charlottesville, Va,
and up to that time it Lad moi been
known in the eastern pat of the Uni
ted States, but since then it has spread
over nearly all of the Atlantic States
and is causing great CONSERVATION
among nurserymen and farmers. 1t
attacks the pear, peach, plum. apple;
currant, rose, ounce, gooseberry, and
raspberry, and the only way its first
appearance can be accounted for is
that it undoubtedly infested nursery
stock that was shipped to eastern nur-
serymen and by therl distributed
throughout the severas. States. The
trees upon which it was noticed IN
Charlottesville had been received from
New Jersey nurseryman who had
received them from California, and Of
course when once introduced they
spread like "wild-fre" and it does not
take long for them to 60 from one
State to another. It's work OF destruc-
ton has been noticed from British
Columbia to Florida, and so great
have been its raviges that the Govern
ment has been making vigorous efforts
to check the spread of the insect and
to inform the Agricultural Depart
ment of the several Eastern States as
to the best method of procedure. So
destructive are these San Jose Scales
that it behooves the farmer to act
promptly if he wishes to save his fruit
trees, and the realization of this fact
has prompted me to write this article
to enable him to realize the danger
which threatens the loss of thousands
of dollars.
In the first place the insect is very
inconspicuous and even experts fail
at times to discover it, although of
course its work of destruction can be
seen.
In the second place absolute exter-
mination can not be expected for 1t
has come to stay and it must always
be watched and fought il it is to be
checked and if we would save our
fruit.
The insect is viviparous, that is,
gives birth to living young, and there
fore does not lay eggs: During the
winter it hibernates in the nearly full
grown female condition and about the
middle of May begin to give birth to
living young and continue to do so
for about six weeks. The newly
hatched larvae, after crawling about
for a few hours settle down and COM
mence at once to form scale. In two
days the insect becomes invisible, be.
ing covered by a pale, grayish-yellow
shield, with projecting nipple at the
centre This nipple is at first white
in color. Twelve days after Matching
the first skin is cast. The males at this
time are rather larger than the females
and the latter have lost their
eyes entirely. Six days later the males
begin to change to popa, while the
females have not yet cast the second
skin. At this time the females are so
tightly cemented to the scale that
they cannot be removed without
crushing. In two or three days more
the females cast their second skin or
twenty to twenty-one days after hatch
ing. At twenty-four days the males
begin to issue, emerging from their
scales. At thirty days the females are
about full grown, and the embryonic
young can be seen within their bodies !;
at from thirty to forty days the larv@
begin to make their appearance.
I have taken the above description
from the report on the insect by T.
W. Howard, Chief Entomologist in
the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
These insects produce peculiar red
dening effect upon the skin of the
fruit and tender twings and can only
be detected by close examination with
lens, and in winter theyso complete
ly cover the twigs by overlapping
each other that it is almost impossible
to discover them. The infested leaves
turn purplish-brown, but do not have
a tendency to fall. If twig be
scraped with the finger nail, yellow
ish oily liquid will appear, resulting
from the crushing of the bodies of the
insects. It requires very powerful
microscope to distinguish the insect
itself, but the scale can be seen with a
lens.
will now give two remidies that
have proved very effective in the, des.
truction of the scale: Two pounds OF
whale-oil soap dissolved in one gallon
of water. or resin, 12O pounds; caustic
soda 30 pounds; fish-oil Is pints; water
sufficient to make 100 gallons. These
insecticides must be sprayed upon the
trees and it will be found necessary to
make five or six applications during
the summer and it will be found that
large majority will be killed. Out
of eight different remedies in 80 differ
ent proportions tested by the Govern
ment, the two justmentioned was found
10 be the best. These remedies will