Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1906-04-08
NOVEL HUNT FOR BUGS
California Horticultural Depart
ment's Plan to Get Parasites.
a.ONe JOURNEY OF ORANGE TREES

i.0Ne JOURNEY OF ORANGE TREES
30 Sc infentrd With Enemies of
| Purple Scale. and Then Brought
6ack TO Their Stirring Fisce-Curi-
osity of Cinnamon TO See George
| Cempcrc, VINO Handled tine Tree.
In the Orient.
From San Francisco to New York,
from New York 10 Brazil, from Brazil
to London, from London to West Aus
tralia, from Australia to China and
from China TO Sun 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 recently arrived in San Francisco
from China. Compere went for para
sites TO prey OH two kinds of scales
that Infest and destroy orange trees
One sort he found and carried to West
Australia oil q government order. The
second parasite involved the most GU
rious quest for relief from pests and
tie longest one in point OF miles ira
verSed i'll 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 q parasite TINT kills
the purple scale was found. and many
Of Its eggs were sent to San Francisco
10 the quarantine station for insect
pests in the Ferry building In cold
storage There the specimens were
viewed with admiration by Ehrhorn
and Carnes. and gleat results were
hoped for. Unfortunately the eggs did
not hatch. Probably the cold storage
was too severe for them.
How to set the parasite 10 San Fran
cisco in shape to do business as against
the purple scale was "A question that
became pressing Compere was cir.
| Communicating the world Commune
cation WAS Ind With him, and it was
agreed that trees infested with the
purple scale should be sent from San
Francisco to China. to he taken inland
several hundred miles in China and
there exposed to the visits of the pur
pie scale eStermlnator.
Compere found the trees from Cali.
fornia IN China at IL seaport He then
had TO journey by boat many days up
n river that ran SO swiftly that oars
men could not Tow against the current,
ana 1t WAS necessary 10 have coolies
tDn IyaI. I'm N null III
with ropes for days ut time. Final,
ly. after some rough experiences. Com
pere reached the province that is the
home of the enemy of the purple scale.
There he Went ashore. Thousands of
the Chinese farmers III the neighbor.
hood hnd never seen q white man be-.
fore. They were very curious and
came miles to see Compere simply be.
cause he was white
The owner of the boat in which Com.
pere had journeyed would not tie his
boat to the river bani at night because
lie knew that he would be killed by
Chinese thieves who wished to get the
Don't. and he anchored nightly In the
middle of the river. The Travelled
orange trees were taken ashore and
were carried by two men many more
miles by land There The purple scale
e1terminator finally made its home III
the imported trees.
Once more the trees were picked IN
and laborlously carried by hand by
two coolies to the river. The trees
were shipped by Compere, aud he ac.
companied them to the sea- Then they
were put after time on steamship
for San Francisco, and they reached
that port simultaneously with Com.
nere, having journeyed 10000 miles by
sea some hundreds Of miles by river
and as many more hundreds by land.
From now OH the trees will be watch.
ed with daily and constnnt care II
the purple scale parasites OH them de.
velop and live the problem of relief to
southern California orchards Will have
been solved If they fail to fulfill ex.
pectations. then second journey to
China will be necessary. The search
Will be Kept up as long as the pest
| exists
Miss Susan n. Anthony an a Cook.
1