Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-02-12
A TREES LUNG JOURNEY.
Taken to Interior Of China 20 be Infested
with Enemies of Purple Scale.

Taken to Interior Of China TO be Infested
With Enemies of Purple scale.
San Francisco Call.
From San Francisco to New York,
from New York to Brazil, from Brazil
to London, from London to West
Australia 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.
The hunter was George Compere,
who arrived in this city by the last
steamship from China. Compere went
for parasites tc prey on two kinds OF
scales that infest and destroy orange
trees. One sort he found and carried
to West Australia on a Government
order The second parasite involved
the most curious quest for relief from
pests and the longest one in point of
miles traversed 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 we're sent to this city to
the quarantine station for insect pests
IN the Ferry Building in cold storage.
There the specimens we're viewed
with admiration by khrhorn and
Oarnes and great results we're hoped
for. Unfortunately, the eggs did not
hatch Probably the cold storage was
too severe for them.
How to get the parasite here in
shape TO do business as against the
purple scale was a question that be-
came pressing. Compere was oiroum-
navigating the world. Communication
was had with him, and 1t was agreed
that trees infested with the purple
scale should be sent from San Francisco
to China, to be taken inland several
hundreds of miles in China, and there
exposed to the visits Of the purple
scale exterminator,
Oompere found the trees from Cali
fornia in China at q seaport. tie
then had to journey by boat many days
up river that ran so swiftly that
onrsmen could not row against the cur
rent, and 1t was necessary to have
coolies on the river banks pull the
boats along with ropes for days at a
time. Finally, alter some rough ex-
periences, Comrere reached the prov
ince that is the home of the enemy of
the Purple scale. There he went
ashore. Thousands Of Chinese farmers
in the neighhorhood had never seen a
white man before. They were very
curious and came miles to see Compefe,
simply because be was white. The
owner Of the boat in which Compere
had journeyed would not tie his boat
to the river bank at night, because
he knew that he would be killed by
Chinese thieves who wished to get
the boat, and be anchored nightly in
the middle OF the river. TteTtraVeled
orange trees we're 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 we're picked up
and laboriously carried fby hand by
two coolies to the river. The trees
we're shipped by Compere, and be
accompanied them to the sea. Their
they we're rut, after q time, on q steam.
ship for San Francisco, and theJ
reached this port simultaneously witt
Compare. having iourneyed 1900
miles by sea, some hundreds of mil
by river and 90 many more hundTedi
by land.
4 From now on the trees will b,
watched with daily and constant care
II the purple scale parasites on then
develop and live, the problem of rslie
TO Southern California orchards will
have been solved. II they fail to full
fill expectations then a second journey
to China will be necessary, Thl
search will be kept Ut as long as tn,
pest exists.