The Scranton chronicle. (Scranton, Miss.) 1897-19??, 1904-05-21
The San Jose Scale.

AS many of our readers are en-
osoed in fruit culture, and for the
further reason that we are satisfied
# will prove of interest TO them,
VIC give space this week to the arti-
cle below on the much dreaded "San
lose Scale 1t is from the pen OF
Prof. Glenn ". IIerriok, entomolo-
rist Of the Mississippi Agricultural
College. and is well worth reading.
II follows:
This is one of the most injurious
insects to which peach and plum trees
are subject; and, although 1t Is widely
distributed over the State, very few
fruit growers are sufficiently familiar
with 1t to recognize it when present
in their orchards.
Probably no insect has been the sub
ject of more discussion or experiment
tation than the San Jose Scale, and
small wonder. for it Is the most perni-
cious insect peSt to which the fruit
interests of this country are subject.
As near as can be determined, this
insect was introduced on fruit trees
into the grounds of Mr. James Lick,
of San Jose, Cal, in the early '70s.
By 1886 or 1887 it had been imported
into Eastern nurseries and from this
time on began to spread over the East
and South. 1t is supposed that the in.
sect originally came from China.
This pest is a small, louse-like in
sect. just visible to the naked eye. Ii
lives beneath a hard, round, waxy
scale on the outside of the bark OF
the trees. The scales, which are con
ical and about as large as pin heads,
become so numerous on the trees as
to form gray, scrubby and continu.
GUS layer over the branches. The in
sects are well protected by the scales,
and they have long slender beaks
which they insert through the outer
bark into the tender tissues of the
tree thus enabling them to suck the
juices from the tree, thereby killing
1t, or greatly injuring 1t. On account
of the waxy scales, these insects are
very difficult to reac.. with. any sub
stance.
The mature females give birth to
their young, which issue in the spring
just about this time-from the first
to the middle of May. After the young
are produced, the old females shrivel
up and die, while the young come out
from under the scales and wander
around over the trees searching for
places on which to settle down where
they may insert their beaks and begin
secreting their scaly covering. While
the young insects are wandering over
the trees. they are unprotected and
may be easily killed. One can see the
young insects with the naked eye
especially on trees where they are
abundant They appear as minute
yellow lice moving slowly about
There are two things in regard tc
the San Jose Scale that | wish to EN-
phasize particularly in this paper. The
first is the unprotected state of the
fruit growers in Mississippi Nearly
all of our surrounding States have
laws prohibiting ninserymen iron
sending their stock into those States
unless such nursery stock has beer
fumigated and regularly inspected by
competent entomologist. Moreover
the stock must be accompanied by q
certificate, from an entomologist tc
the effect that 1t is free from San
Jose Scale and other injurious in
sects and diseases. Not so with Mis-
sissippi. This State has been the
dumping ground. as it were, for nur
sery stock from other parts of the
Union. infested or otherwise. How
long are the people of our State go
ing to suffer this? | .ramed n care
full bill and placed it before our las!
legislature, but was told that the peo
pie of the State had not asked fol
such legislation. So, after all, the peo
pie are 10 blame for their own suffer
ings. II you ask your legislators fol
relief. you will surely get it. In every
case in which the scale has been re
ported to me | have traced it to trees