The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1906-02-22
TREES TRAVEL FAR.
FROM CALIFORNIA TO CHINA
FOR SCIENTIFIC PURPOSE.
An Experiment Is Being Made to
Wipe Out Purple Scale, the De-
streyer of Orange Or.
chards.

chards.
! From San Francisco to New York.
from New York to Brazil. from Brazil
to London. from London to West Au.-
tralia, from Australia to China and
from China to San Francisco is the
Itinerary OF the latest scientific bug
hunt of the state horticultural depart
ment of California, says the San Fran
cisco Call.
The hunter was George Compere,
who arrived in this city by steamship
] from China. COmpere went for para
sites to prey ON two kinds of scales
that infest and destroy orange trees.
One sort he found and carried 10 West
Australia on government order The
second parasite involved the most
curious quest for relief from pests and
the longest one in point of miles trd-
verscd In the interest of science that
the annals of such work may boast.
The purple scale damages the orange
trees OF southern California largely.
Some months ago a parasite that kills
the purple scale was found and many
OF its eggs were sent to this city to The
quarantine station for insect PESTS in
the Ferry building in cold storage.
There the specimens were viewed with
great admiration by Ehrhorn and
Carnes aud great results We're hoped
for Unfortunately. the eggs did not
hatch. Probably the cold storage was
too severe Tor them.
How to get the parasites here in
shape to do business as against the
purple scale was question that be-
came pressing Compere was circum-
navigating the world. Communication
was had with him, and II was agreed
that trees infested with the purple
scale should be sent from San Francis
60 TO China, to be taken inland sew
cra hundreds of miles in China and
there exposed to the visits OF the pur-
pie scale eNtermnator.
COmpere found the trees from Cali
furnia In Ch.aa at a seaport. lie then
had to journey by boat many days up
river that ran so swiftly that oars
men could not row against the current,
and II WAS necessary TO have coolies
on the river banks pull the boats along
with ropes for days at a time. Finally,
after some rough experiences, COmpere
uf the enemy OF the purple scale. There
hc went ashore. Thousands OF Chinese
farmers in the neighborhood had never
seen a white man before. They were
very curious and came miles to see
Compere. simply because he was white.
The owner OF the boat in which Com
pere had journeyed would not tie his
boat 70 the river bank at night, be-
cause he knew that he would be killed
by Chinese thieves who wished 20 get
the boat, and he anchored nightly in
the middle of the river. The travelled
orange trees were taken ashore and
We're carried by two men many more
miles by land. There the purple scale
exterminator finally made its home in
the imported trees.
Once more the trees were picked up
and laboriously carried by hand by two
coolies TO the river. The trees were
shipped by Compere, and he accompa-
MED them to the sea. Then they were
put. after Il time, on steamship for
San Francisco, and they reached this
port simultaneously with Compere.
having iourneyed 10000 miles by sea.
some hundreds of miles by river and
rs many more hundreds by land.
From now on the trees will be
watched with daily and constant care.
II the purple scale parasites on them
develop and live, the problem of relief
to Southern California orchards will
have been solved. II they fail to full
I'LL expectations then a second journey
to China will be necessary. The search
will be kept up as long as the pest ex-
lists.