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it upon the trees with a force-pump through 40ft. or 50ft. of I^-inch rubber hose, to which is attached a nozzle, having for its opening a simple straight slit very narrow in width and one-sixteenth to one-eighth of an inch long. The best spray-tip yet devised is that made at San Jose, called the " Merigot Spray-nozzle." The pumps most used for this purpose are the " Gould " and " Merigot." The latter is cheaper. Great care should be taken to cover the tree entirely with the solution of lye, as upon its thorough application depends its success. One of the greatest difficulties in the use of strong materials is from the sprays falling upon the person of the operator and burning and injuring the ■kin. In order to overcome this obstacle I have devised a simple extension-nozzle of slight cost, which isvery light, and which may be made of any length desired, say from 4ft. to 15ft., or even longer. By the use of this it is easy to spray any orchard tree without danger. The cost is as follows : Gould pump, $16, without accessories; Merigot pump, $12 ; suction and long hose, 15c. to 25c. per foot. Merigot's spray-tip, if purchased alone, $1 50c.; if with pump, $13; bamboo extension, with globe-valve 7ft. long, $2 75c.; all over 7ft. 25c. per foot. The concentrated lye, in. lib. cans by the case of 481b., $3 50c. per case; English caustic soda, in 6001b. drums, $33 to $35 per drum. Whale-oil soap and sulphur mixture, called the " Codlin-motb. Wash," is manufactured in San Francisco, and the price can be obtained by inquiry of Messrs. Allyne and White. In conclusion I will give the analysis made by Professor Hilgard, of'the State University, of a sample can of American Lye Company's concentrated lye. The can sent I took from a lot I had been using, and supposed to be a fair sample of the manufacture. Analysis is as follows: Caustic potash, 8-3; caustic soda and carbonate of soda, 91-7 : 100. With this I Bubmit my report, expressing my firm conviction that ere long we shall be freed from the ravages of one of the most dreaded pests known to horticulturists.

Memorandum foe the Committee feom W. M. Maskell. I.— Question 3. Scale-blight. Question 7. Acacia and Wattle. It has been the habit of gardeners and others to treat scale insects here as they would in England, under the impression that those out of doors would do no great harm. The result is that these insects have increased to a very great extent, and to my own knowledge have effected very great injury, not only to fruit-trees, but to plants of all kinds ; principally, as I imagine, on account of the comparative mildness of our winters. The New Zealand fauna is particularly rich in indigenous scale insects ; more so, perhaps, than that of almost any other country ; and the introduced species seem also to find a very congenial home here. I am particular in drawing attention to this point, because it seems not unlikely that a great part of the injuries to our trees, which appear at first sight to be of independent origin, may be in the first place induced by the attacks of scale, so numerous are these insects, so persistent their operations, and so rapid the weakening of the tree in consequence of them. Economically, the scale insects may be divided into two classes: 1, those which attack the bark of the tree; 2, those which attack the leaves. As a general rule, it may be said that the former infest by preference deciduous, the latter evergreen plants ; but there are many exceptions. Of the first class, the type most prominent and most injurious up to the present time is the common apple-scale — Mytilaspis pomorum. This scale has been found by me upon the following trees and shrubs in New Zealand : Apple, pear, plum, peach, apricot, gooseberry, currant, lilac, elm, ash, cotoneaster, thorn, sycamore, plane, maple; all introduced plants. It is found clustering thickly upon the bark of the trunk or branches, covered over by its elongated, mussel-shaped shield , and, in early spring, the young newly-hatched larvae (very minute reddish specks) may be seen travelling about in search of a resting place. In the greater portion of New Zealand there is only one generation of this insect in the year ; possibly in the warmer parts of the north (as in the extreme southern portion of the United States) there may be two. The insect is only active in its earliest larval stage; very soon after birth it casts off all its legs and becomes stationary under its covering shield. Two things result from what has been here said. First, that as Mytilaspis pomorum is found almost entirely upon the bark of deciduous trees, there is a specially easy time of the year for attacking it—namely, in winter time, when the tree is bare and accessible. Secondly, that as the hatching of the larvae takes place in early spring, and as the insect during the remainder of the year remains stationary, the point to be aimed at is the prevention of the egress of these larvaß from beneath the shield covering the mother and the eggs. The shield is convex above, almost open beneath, adhering not altogether closely to the bark by its edges ; and under it the female insect lies like a minute slug, gradually shrivelling up as she fills the shield with eggs. Consequently, the third thing to be noted is that the simplest and best mode of destruction would be either displacement of the shields and insects by rough brushing, or the employment of some liquid which will insinuate itself under the edges of the shield and surround the eggs. The first method is to some extent successful enough, but many shields are necessarily left untouched by it, and it is a troublesome business. The second is the best and most satisfactory. Of all liquids available for this purpose kerosene seems to be the best. Of course, the application of kerosene requires care, and it should not be used too freely; and, as a matter of precaution, it should be mixed with some other substance. I have frequently recommended the addition of linseed oil, or of soap and water; in the latter case the mixture can only be a mechanical one. For the former, the proportions might be one-fourth kerosene to three-fourths linseed oil. Such a mixture has been, to my own knowledge, quite successful in several Distances. Instead of linseed, some persons have used whale oil with equal success. But there is this point to be remembered: that the action of an oily varnish, as this may be called, must tend in some degree to the stopping up of the pores of the bark, and, consequently, unless used very thinly, to some damage to the tree. 2—l. 9.