Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1905-12-12
SAN JOSE SCALE.
The Life of Our Trees and Shrubs
Threatened.

The average person pays little
heed to a condition that is going
on around them until the ap-
proach OF a crisis. San Jose
scale has been looked upon with
dread and talked of for years bys
certain of our better-posted fruit
gre wers of this valley, but it
seems that all this talk and ap-
prehension on. the part of these
well Informed persopages has had
no effect on the conditions SO far
as the masses are concerned.
In every place nearly the rose
bushes bear evidence of the scale.
Portland is known as "The Rose
City," but not for long at the pres
ent rate of the spread OF the scale.
Something must be done. The
duties of Inspector Reid have
brought him much in contact
with this pest, and he says that
every effort must be made to
stamp out the scale wherever it
appears, even when this neces-
states destroying trees.
''Were it not for the spraying
and pruning which have been
done, and were no new trees
planted, in eight years it is safe
to say that there would not be
single apple or cherry in West
ern Oregon fit to eat," said Mr..
Reid.
"The damage wrought by this
pest since its introduction in
Oregon many years ago is almost
beyond comprehension. What
it will do if prompt measures are
not taken to stamp it out, can
only be imagined. So infested
with scale are the orchards in
some parts of the state, where
neglect has been the motto of the
orchardists, that roofing up and
burning the trees will be the
only remedy.
sCiackamas county furnishes
US an example of what the scale
will do when allowed to breed
and work without molestation.
It was not many years ago that
Clackamas county exported more
apples than any other county in
the state. Last year it exported
not box.
"The influence of the Sau
Jose scale in Clackamas county
first became apparent in 1890.
In that year the census showed
that Clackamas had more bear
ing apple trees than any other
county, with 100, 344, or four
times as many as Jackson county,
It's only competitor. The Clack.
amas apple harvest that year,
however, was but 26, 3o6 bushels.
Jackson county with only 43,oo1
bearing fruit trees, yielded a
harvest of five times as many
bushels. In the latter county
much attention was given to the
determination of the scale, ano
/ the orchards were cared for.
"In 1900 C1ackamas county
had 211, 188 bearing trees, with
none it for export. 1t is safe te
say that the average yield of al
the trees was not more than S.
iper acre. This year conditions
were even worse, not an apple
exported, while the Hood Rive
district, where the utmost care i
taken, with one-fourth as man,
trees, exported $50, 900 worth
; of the finest apples.
Affairs are not quite so bad i,
Multnomah county, for it ha
not SO many trees, while a littl
more care has been taken will
the orchards, but conditions ar
bad enough. do not know o
any finer fruit land in Oregon
Ethan the foothills in Easter
Multnomah and Clackamas coun
ties, yet the opportunities ofere'
are almost wasted today. I be
lieve that fully three-fourths c
the trees of Clackamas count
eshould be rooted up and burned
81 have used apple trees in m
illustrations, since the action {
8 scales seems particularly fatal t
, them. 1t is almost equally a
bad with cherries, prunes, peal
and and all other trees and eve
rose bushes.
ssFarmers are now beginnin
Ito realize that they must tax
slextreme measures at once if the
=