The herald., 1897-01-08
HORTICULTURAL EXPERTS
The Commissioners in Session at the
Chamber of Commerce
Hiram Hamilton of Orange County
Elected President-Many Valuable
Hints for Citrus Fruitgrowers

The horticultural commissioners of
Southern California met at the chamber
of commerce yesterday morning and
elected officers for the ensuing year. Los
Angeles, Ventura, Orange and San Ber-
nardino counties were. represented.
Hiram Hamilton of Orange county was
elected president, J. f. Mcintyre of Ven
tura vice. president, and John Scott of
Los Angeles, secretary and treasurer.
After the officers had been elected
some time was devoted to discussing the
subject of beneficial parasites and it's
relations to the citrus fruit interests of
the state.
Speaking of citrus pests. President
Hamilton said: These may be classed
as two kinds-plant diseases and scale
bugs. OF the former we have several
varieties. concerning the remedies for
which we know as yet but little. or the
latter we have the red, white, black and
purple scale, all of which are very per-
nicious. Besides these we have many
other varieties less destructive because
subject to native parasites. 1t should
be the care of this board to use and
encourage the use of beneficial para
sites to the utmost believing there may
yet be found an enemy to each and every
NeiiiSly VI SSiic pest he WHlle COT
tony-cushion scale is held in perpetual
check by the redalia cardinals II care
be taken to have enough of them on
hand to supply new developments of
the scale
On the red scale We have several va
rieties of native lady-brds and para
sites working, but all of these combined
90 not avoid the necessity of spraying or
fUmigating at least once a year. This is
a very heavy "a nI
For the black scale we have been sup
piled quite literally by the state board
or horticulture with the rhizobius ven
trails. The success of this has been but
partial The purple scale is a new pest
in this country, brought from Florida on
nursery stock. For this we have found
10 remedy but fire.
j. f. Mcintyre OF Ventura county said
in substance: The citrus fruit interests
are in excellent condition in my section
were IT not for the fact that the black
scale Is getting into some young or
chards The lady bird has been liber.
ated in these orchards away from the
coast repeatedly, but the climate seems
TO be too hot for them, for they do not in
crease. The large orange orchard at
santa Paula, owned by N. w. Blanch-
ard, was never SO clear as it is now. and
the cleaning has been done by the twice
stabbed lady-bird, the black lady-bird
the ehalcid fly and the lace winged fly
All of the red, purple and other bad scales
have been externinated by burning as
soon as found, and this policy will prob
ably be kept up. The farthest orchard
from the coast in which the lady-bird
has done good work is at Santa Paula,
sixteen miles,
Commissioner John Scott of this city
said that the last season has, on the
whole, been very unufavorable to the
fruit growers In Los Angeles county on
account of the extremely cold weather
last winter, which did great damage to
the orange and lemon crops. In some
loW-iying localities trees were frozen and
much fruit spoiled. The most serious
damage, however, was done to the COM
ing crop. The trees, both orange and
lemon, blooned profusely, and a great
crop was anticipated, but two thirds or
more of the young fruit dropped re-
sult1ng In leaving little more than half
normal crop for this season.
There was also a shortage of rainfall
last winter, which contributed to the
general failure of the crop. Scale pests
have not been so destructive to orchards
as in former years. The pernicious white
scale has in many localities entirely dis
appeared. The red scale is still de-
oreasing and is now, with a few excep-
tions, confined TO old seeding orchards
south of Los Angeles city. The extreme
heat has destroyed at least 80 per cent
of the black scale.
The rhizobius ventralis has now got
foothold in number of orchards be-
tween Los Angeles city and the coast,
and has done good work. but along the
foot hills and in the interior It is still
a failure.
Fumigation is becoming general in To-
calities where the black scale is still
troublesome. Many attempts have been
made during the past season to eradi-
cate scale pest; by steaming the trees.
but so far but little success has attended
these efforts. The results are much
more uncertain. the danger of injuring
the trees greater and the expense as
great as the cyanide process.
At the conclusion of the discussion
the meeting adjourned subject to cali.