The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1902-05-14
A ROMANCE OF NATURE
SAN JOSE SCALE AND THE LADY
BUG.
Scientists Trip to China and His
Motherly Care Of Insects He
Collected to Rid America
Of Pest.

Of Pest.
Letter OF Lucien Julien Walker In Bir.
mingham Age-Heraid.
The romance Of fact In nature has per-
haps never been more graphically demon
etrated than In recent discoveries rera I'd
ing the San Jose scale and its parasite.
This romance was but dinily outlined In
the press dispatches sent out day or
two ago. II transpires that an expert in
the Department OF Agriculture has dis
which devours and lives upon, the San
Jose scale, that element Of insect life
WHICH Is the most destructive known to
fruit growers the world over.
The facts In this extraordinary case, or
as one might say romance in nature, has
been related by the Secretary of Agricul-
ture, Mr.. Wilson, to Congressman Wiley
OF Alabama. II appears that5the Depart-
ment Of Agriculture was 80 overwhelmed
San Jose scale. that Secretary wilson d.
rected DR.. Mariette to proceed to the far
East. and. II possible. discover some
agency whereby the San Jose scale might
De successfully combatted, 1t being as
ment of Agriculture that the San Jose
scale was In the order of things SUBJECT
ed to parasite. that is to say, another
organism Of insect life which fed upon
this scale.
Secretary Wilson gave instruct ,ns to
Or. Marlette to proceed first to Japan.
Upon hts arrival in Japan, DIR. Mariette
discovered that native Japanese f,uit
trees and fruit trees from America Trans
with the San Jose SCALE The learned
doctor was unable to ascertain whether
the scale had been imported from Amer
lea, or was indigenous to Japan as 1t ap-
peared both upon the native Japanese
fruit he fr,,tt tv,ax a
from America. With the abiding impress
sion or conviction that nature must have
provided a parasite to cons;rne the San
Jose scale DR.. Marlette determined to
Japan to China; arrived in China tic doc-
tor discovered conditions Of the scale and
its. destructiveness to fruit trees, native
and imported from America, to be ideDti-
cal with the conditions that he had OBJ
served In Japan: vet he found no para
site, no enemy of the San Jose scale. He
spent several months In China, travelling
as far into the interior from the treaty
ports as he might In safety. seeking the
unknown insect paracitical to the San
Jose scale: so far the doctor sought in
vain. Still of the conviction that in the
order of nature there must be an insect
that would feed upon the San Jose scale
DIR. Marlette determined to make an ex-
tended and quite dangerous tour OF far
northern China In hopes Of finding cut
this parasiticai insect.
In the north of China. a Thousand rifles
from what we call civilization as mani
found this most eagerly-sought parasite
of the insect world. He found 1t to be a
rather small beetle. called In our I'm
guage a lady-bug. As DIR. Marlette jour
neyed northward in China he found mile
after mile that the fruit trees were less
and less damaged. That revealed to him
that some natural or artificial agency
was at work to preserve the trees. He
readily ascertained that no artificial
methods were adopted, or had been. then
established in his scientific mind conclus-
i've evidence Of the supposition formed in
the minds of the experts in the Depart
ment OF Agriculture in Washington. He
knew at once that the San Jose scale WIS
subject to a most destructive parasite.
When he had reached an ancient fruit
district some twelve hundred miles from
the coast he discovered the lady-bug, the
insect which feeds upon what we know
in this country as the San Jose scale. So
called because its destructiveness was
first observed upon the pear trees around
San Jose. Cal.
DR.. Marlette. In the far interior OF
Northern China. secured sixty male and
sixty female specimens OF this lady-buE.
and packing them as carefully as possible
in community so far removed from CIV
iization, he began his return journey to
the coast. When he reached the nearest
United States all of his sixty pairs of
ladybugs were still alive and apparently
healthy. He boarded ship for the United
States. carefully placing his insect treas
ure so nearly as possible that their nat
ural condition might be preserved. And
throughout that prolonged voyage OF H.
900 miles DR.. Marlette looked after and as
carefully nurtured and nursed those sixty
pairs Of lady-bugs as a mother might
they died. and 1t is not too much to say
that every ending OF insect life in this
particular brought grief to DR.. Marlette.
He redoubled his exertion as the number
of lady-bugs decreased day by day. His
heart being set on preserving the lives
of few of them until he could deliver
them In Washington: so over that vast
stretch Of sea, that 11,000 miles OF salt
water. the scientist. devoted to his work
and duty. strove to save the lives of these
insects. To him the saving of the LADY,
bugs became duty as dear as the duty
of the lover to his beloved. To his scien-
tific mind the romance Of the situation
appealed: he saw in these little lady-bugs
the redemption of the millions of fruit
orchards Of America from the immeasur.
ably destructive influences and effects OF
the San Jose scale. He saw through the
medium of these six score lady-bugs, the
number with which he started, the bios
soming again of the fruit orchards Of his
own country. now for many years blight
ed by the San Jose scale. which night
and day operate to destroy the proH"
of years of labor and millions of expend-
iture in money. Still the lady-buss died:
still DR.. Marlette strove to preserve those
that survived; still he dreamed OF the
of the American orchard
from their most destructive enemy.
But when DIR. Marlette reached San
Fra lcisco but sixteen of the one hundred
and twenty lady-bugs with which he sail
cd from China remained alive: the other
one hundred and four had died and been
cast into the wide. wide sea. He got
ashore in San Francisco as speedily as
possible and on the speediest train he
sped from the Golden Gate to the nation
al capital: his cherished lady-brgs under
his constant observation, and receiving
his unremitting personal care. And still
the cherished lady-bugs died One by one
thev were thrown from the car window.
as If TO mark milestones in the progress
of science that sought to free America
from the curse Of San Jose scale.
Finally DR.. Marlette arrived in Wash
ington with but two. male and &C.
male. Of the one hundred and twenty
lady-bugs which ne had 50 sk!llfully
gathered on the opposite side of the
globe. All the others were dead, some OF
thrown out upon the wide wastes OF the
backbone OF the continent, the barren
lands between the bounding seas.
From the railway station in Washing
ton, DR.. Marlette hurried to the Depart
ment of Agriculture, where lie arrived
with his two living lady-bug3. both of
which seemed to be upon the point of dy-
ing. The ablest scientists having to do
with insect life in America were immcdt-
ately called into consultation regard
ing the case OF the two sick lady,buEs;
all the skill and all the
ripest wisdom having to do with insect
life were brought to bear upon these
two specimens.