Fullerton Union High School - Pleiades Yearbook (Fullerton, CA)

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DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED The development of the Valencia orange industry has been by no means an easy task. There have always been difRculties to overcome. One of the most serious of these has been the problem of in- sect pests. During the first stages of the industry insufficient care was given to the inspection of im- ported trees and plants. This resulted in the intro- duction of various kinds of scales which attacked orange trees. The worst pests in Orange County in the early days were the black and red scales. It is sometimes said that the Huntington nursery near Orange first introduced the red scale from Aus- tralia, but this scale had probably been introduced before that time. The first method of scale control was the use of caustic soda and kerosene sprays. Since this method was not very efficient, Mr. A. D. Bishop added resin to the spray to make it adhere better to the scale and the tree. His formula was the best method of scale control before the discovery of fumigation. Although D. W. Coquilett, sent by the United States Department of Agriculture to investigate the methods of scale control in Cali- fornia, discovered the value of fumigation with hy- drocyanic gas, the practical development of fumi- gation was done by the orange growers of Orange County. Mr. Bishop, assisted by others, finally found ways of mixing the chemicals and of getting the gas under the tents. When it was discovered that sunlight with the gas damaged the trees, night fumigation was suggested. In 1889 the first night fumigation was done by Mr. Bishop. It is believed that the most important improvement in fumiga- tion since that time has been the introduction of the liquid form of cyanide gas. In 1923 emulsified oil sprays were introduced. They were much better than the sprays previously used. Their popularity is due partially to the fact that fumigation often damages fruit and trees and does not kill the scale easily unless it is done at just the right time. The red scale is the hardest to kill and neither fumigation nor spraying has been entirely successful with it. In 1930 a million and a half dollars were spent for the control of scale and the red spider in Orange County by spraying and fumigation.

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