The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1907-04-15

somewhat disputed question with us
as to whether the San Jose scale on the
fruit is really dangerous. Personally
believe it. 1t is early in the season, but
the latter part perhaps not. But our
chief reason for destroying scale-in-
tested fruit is that this is one of the
best ways to reach the man who will
not care for his fruit or trees. Our
laws give us power to destroy such
fruit, and we find that we can reach
careless growers much more effectively
in this way than by any other. Of
course a certain latitude must be al
lowed and fruit that is only very
slightly infected is generally allowed to
pass"
Y
The quotations 1 made are sufficient
to show how our careful students and
close observers have changed from the
old ideas once prevalent regarding the
danger from scale-infected fruit. Of
course many persons have not changed
their earlier views for the simple rea-
son they are behind in their informa-
ton. There is no crime in ignorance,
but the man who does not try to keep
up with the procession is apt to become
a back number. Some persons yet be-
fast to the limbs, fruit and leaves by
it's probosis, will, when rubbed loose,
crawl to another tree and fasten itself
again. This is a mistake for which
there is no excuse but ignorance Only
the new born scale ever crawls to
new spot and that but few inches
away. Another thing that suggests it.
self is that our laws were made when
we all had the erroneous notion that the
insects were largely spread by infected
fruit and now that we are learning
better should not the laws be so chang
ed as to conform to the different condi
lions that we find to prevail.
+
1t is true that friend Newell thinks
that it works to the advantage of the
grower by making him clean up his or
chard. But have we any moral right
to do that? 1t is generally conceded to
be a sound principle of law as well as
of morals that a man shall be allowed
to do as he pleases with his own pro-
vided he does not do harm to his neigh
Dor. If we have right to make a man
clean up and raise better fruit by the
same right we can make him raise bet
ter grades Of fruit, discard his Ben
Davis and Missouri pippin and grow
Spitzenburgs and Newtons. By the
same right we could make a man raise
better horses, cattle, hogs and sheep. |
No one would think of anything of this
kind and yet the principle involved is
the same.
+
If man has scale in his orchard I
believe in making him spray with such
remedies as the lime-sulphur wash, for
his infested orchard is menace to his |
neighbor. The birds will carry the |
scale from one orchard to another. The
young scale as soon as it is born, be-
gins to exude a waxy substance that
forms it's scale and this causes it to
stick to the feet of the birds, and when
they alight in another tree the young |
scale may be left behind. A case is on
record where in California the scale |
was found on a very tall tree in cher
ry orchard where there was no other
scale nearer than two miles away. The
bids flying from this infested orchard |
would very naturally alight on this
tallest tree, which became badly infest-
ed before the scale was known to be in
the orchard at all.
Y
The right thing for our fruit inspec-
tors to do is to get after the men Who
have infested orchards and make them
spray, so their infested orchards will
not be menace to the man who tries
to keep his orchard clean. This is far
better than to hang around the ship
ping points ready to pounce on some
man who has some infected fruit.
There is a good deal of our inspection
OF orchards that is more of farce than