The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-04-01
HOW TO KILL
SAN JOSE SCALE
BIRDS CARRY INSECTS

Prof. Finn of the State Department
of Agriculture Gave Practical De-
monstration in Caring for an Or
chard, Assisted by w. II. Bullock.
The orchard demonstration at the
farm of s. ID. Yost in Sugarloaf
township. Luzerne county, on Friday
and Saturday afternoons, was
great success. Prof Finn of the
State Department of Agriculture
gave a practical demonstration in
caring for an orchard. w. H. Bull
lock, who was to assist was taken i'll
and it was necessary to summon DR..
f. NJ. Brundage of Conyngham to
treat him.
The spraying of trees, the mix
lures for use in killing scale and in
sects and everything connected with
fruit raising was made plain by tests.
The specimens submitted by the
farmers were examined and deter
mined, and cure recommended.
Prof. Finn said: The competition
in fruit raising is getting greater
each year. The pests are getting
more numerous, too. | find five sects
of pests in this section. The Coccidae
insects are among our most destruc-
tive pests. for the reasons CD that
they are so small as to escape OBJ
servation until after they have seri
ously affected the plants on which
they are found; (2) they live by
sucking juices rather than eating
away the tissue of the plant; CD
they multiply so rapidly that they
may cover a plant or tree before their
presence is suspected.
Notwithstanding the serious de-
struction by the insects of this fam
lily, it must be recognized that some
are also of economic value. For ex-
ample. cochineal, which is a red dye
commonly used for cakes and can
dies, is nothing more than the dried
bodies of insects of this family, col
leCted by scraping them from the
cactus plants of Mexico. Shellac
a common form of varnish, is pre-
pared from the shells or covering of
Scale Insects living on tropical trees,
and China wax is also a product of
Scale Insects of Asia Considerable
employment is given to persons en-
gagged in the collection and prepara-
ton of such material.
THE Coccids multiply either by
bearing living young, as does the
San Jose Scale, or by laying eggs as
do the Oyster-shell Scale, Scurfy
Scale and others. With all species
the young move freely and may
crawl around over their food plant
for period of time, varying from
few hours to few days, and may
possibly reach a distance of several
feet from the parent. 1t is during
this young and free-moving stage
only that they are carried from tree
to tree or from plant to plant. ex-
cepting when they are fixed on wood
that is to be used for further growth
as on young trees, cuttings, buds or
sciOns.
'All kinds of young Scale Insects
are carried upon the feet of birds
of many kinds that alight in the
trees when the pests are young and
moving. They are especially liable
to be transported by the English
sparrow The American robin has
been unjustly condemned for it's in
strumentality in carrying scale in
sects as there would be just about
as many transported by other
means, even if these pests should
not occasionally find their way to
the feet of any robins perched on
infested limbs. Young scale insects
are also blown through the air, as
are fine grains of sand. as proven
by our commonly finding them on
plants beyond infested trees, in the
direction they would be carried by
the prevailing wind They are also
carried from plant to plant upon
leaves or twigs that would be brok-
en- off the parent tree and thrown
or blown away, as in a storm.
The larger insects, such as June
Bugs or May Beetles, Grasshoppers,
Butterflies, Katydids and Bees oft
en- unconsciously transport young
scale insects which crawl upon
them, when alighting on their trees.
Quite a collection of insects has been
HlduS transporting upon lHelT DOuleS,
smaller individuals, which have act
ually been found to be young scale
insects. This proves that such a
statement is not the assertion of mere
theory.
THE precaution of burning trim
mings from infested trees is not so
imperative with scale insects as
with trees infected with diseases,
such as Pear Blight and Plum Knot
in which the germs would remain
virulent in the branches il dropped
on the ground and permitted to re-
main there. In plain words. the
trimmings of diseased or infected
trees should be burned at once and
the knife sterilized occasionally to
prevent the infection, but the case il
different with trees infested with
Scale insects. This is not infection
but infestation. Infested trees are
those attacked by insects. Branches