GOOSEBERRY BLIGHT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1328, 30 August 1886, Page 2

GOOSEBERRY BLIGHT.

(Hawera Star ) A new form of scale blight has recently been observed by Mr James Livingston on bis gooseberry bushes at Walpapa. A close inspection is reeded to detect it, as it resembles a minute limpet in shape, and is identical in color with the bark of two-year-old gooseberry bushes, to which it adheres closely. Inside each of these shell-like scales are hundreds of pink, transparent, microscopic Insects, resembling the acari of sheep scab. There can be no donbt felt by those conversant with the destructive powers of this class of insect, that this scale blight may increase and mul'iply to such an extent as to seriously injure the gooseberry crop which has hitherto been the most certain fruit crop ef the district. We should strongly advise all who are making new plantations of gooseberries to examine closely '.he rough bark of the plants for three minutes limpet-like scales, and If they are present, either to dress the stems with castor «oil and soot, tr else destroy or reject the plant. One authority who has been consulted pronounced the blight to be olive scale. However it so happened that at Mr Livingstone’s there are olives, that bear the usual olive ratio, which is an entirely different little fellow. The latter is an almost fltt oblong scale, which when taken off and examined under a magnifying glass is found to contain a a ngle jellylike speck, from which radiate four or five bristly hairs. Possibly there are several sorts of olive scale. Samples of both of these animalcules are at this office, open to the inspection of the cnrions.