The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

that the: ~visited us, A l "REpHTUHMENnt! ~ar-- m it had been bad in the United Statos district, ana tnevaspartment ma98 20 | % O for a number of years. It was first dis-- rangements | to . buy _( eti them, | covered in California in 1887, --and ese e e dome: resson' Dack. | thence it appears to have been' trans-- ons o sie! Aaresment. and as the | ported to the State of New Jersey, , ed out of the agreement, and as the, whence it spread over a large portiox{ ' departmtetnt hatg no p°"'°';,et|%|'ei::l Wi}xt;:' &4 i e are * ol of the New England States. From the | the department woent on making in--| records of all the States and of the de-- vestigation it was found that the insect partment at Washington they found had spread to a very much greater that this is one of the most destruc-- extent than they had suspected. Mr. tive insects that has ever visited t»hlfl' Dryden then went on to urge the ab-- continent. Authoritiecs of the State of | solute necessity of immediate action to Pennsyl\'anla Speflk of it as causing a! ent]re]y stamp out the pest ; he ad-- greater damage than any other agency | vocated the prompt -- destruction -- of| in the known world, and they l'P('fll"| every tree infected by the insect. The] also of the difficulty of eradicating it. | department may be able by prompt In fact some of these gentlemen say lt' meagures to get rid of the pest, but if is practically impossible to destroy it, | they allow its ravages to continue for a that the only thing they can do is to | year or two it will be a most difficult prevent iis spread,but as to actually de-- lask to eradicate it. The provisions stroying it, that seems to be impossible. | \ of the bill were then explained by The difficulty is that the insect is go« Mr. Dryden, and by way of preface very small that it cannot be discover-- 'he stated that he had carefully con-- ed with the naked eye. The hon. #en-- | sidered the question whether its en-- tleman at this stage handed around | forcement should be left to the muni--= several sections of--infected fruit trees cipalities or be carried out by the de-- for the inspection of the members of partmort. _ Owing to the grave nature the House, and called attention to the | of the case and the desirability of fact that although they could not. see | prompt and uniform course of action it anything except perhaps that the bark kad been thought best to place the was not quite right, that an examina-- responsibility upon the Department of| tion with the glass showed the sec-- | Agriculture. _ The bill as drawn pro-- tions to be literally covered with the | hibits the importation, sale or exchange scale. The reason why the pest is so of trees, plants or shrubs infested with| \much dreaded is because it multiplies | | the scale. _ Any person having suspi-- so rapidly, one of the insects; it is said, | | cion that his trees are infested with producing' from three to four hundred | | scale must notify the Minister of Ag-- or more during the season, and as the | riculture and give full information, and i new 'broods reach maturity at least | an inspection will be made of the within 30 days and at once reproduce | suspected tree. Power is given for the in the same way during the entire gea-- . immediate destruction by l)urning Of' son, it would readily be seen the (ian-' such tree, and the inspector must re--| ger which has to be met. The Director port a fair estimate of the value of the | of the Agricultural Farm at Ottawa tree, provision being also made for com--| had expressed the opinion that the pensation to an extent not exceeding | scale would not exist in this northern one--fourth the value. .A penalty of climate, but the fact that it has been | , fine and imprisonment in default is found upon our trees was the best proof | | also provided for neglect to comply that it will live here, and that it will | | with the act. ] thrive was further shown by the fact | In reply to questions by Mr. Whit--! that in one orchard in Ontario the area | ney, the Minister of Agriculture fur--; infested had increased eight times Inl ther explained that fruit which had one season. _ There is an erroneous | been sold in Toronto had been found though popular idea that the insect | to be infected with scale, which is so lvm,,, and that it migrates like locusts, virulent that the parings of the fruit but this is not so. It spreads in nur-- would convey the infection. series, where the limbs are interlaced, The bill was read a first time, by crawling from one tree to another. iri It is chiefly spread by birds in flylng! ' fngsinies: from one tree to another; ants have | \_ _ By Mr. Marter--Has any option or also been known to carry it, and so sim-- | license bsen granted to, or agreement ple an act as tying a horse to a clean entered into by the Government with,; tree with a strap that had been used any company, person or persons to cut for a similar purpose a short time pre-- pulpwood on any lands situated on or viously on an infected tree has con-- near the River Nepigon or any of its veyed the contagion. We are face to tributaries in the District of Algoma ? face with the very worst enemy that If so, what is the date of such option, has attacked the fruit trees of this license or agreement, and how long Province; it is an enemy that cannot does it extend ?¢ To whom has such be reached by ordinary spraying, and ; license or option been granted, or with: it is a case where single individuals , whom has such agreement been enter--| cannot cope with the pest. : When t'h('i ed into ? \ Department of Agriculture first learned | Hon,. Mr. Gibson replied that by an of the existence of the seale in this agreement, dated ?25th April, 1885 (ap-- Province an investigation was at onece | proved of by the Legislature), George set on foot and it was found that It had | Clavel and James -- Whelan of Port been imported in nursery stock trom' Arthur and Thos, Lyle Bray of Wool-- New Jersey. A list of every importer | sey, Assiniboia, were given the right to |oOf trees from the infected district was | cut pulpwood for manufacturing. _A | obtained and the trees traced. He was permit was als'o given to Messrs. Hagle-- sorry to inform the House that the in-- | wood and Whelan to cut a certain sect had spread much more extensively] number of cords of pulpwood in the | than they had any idea of at the begin-- ' T?" nships of Purdon and Buflth, cove=| ning of the investigation. It was first ering an area of 21 square miles, but| \traced to an orchard in the Niagara | he did not know whether any wood was ; = 1 out or not. | ¥7,,, 10e «s