neyards, and the
noble Sierra Madre range. The Californians may be excused for using the
term paradisiacal about such scenes. Flowers, flowers everywhere, color
on color, and the song of the mocking-bird!

CHAPTER XII.

HOW THE FRUIT PERILS WERE MET.--FURTHER DETAILS OF LOCALITIES.

In the San Gabriel Valley and elsewhere I saw evidence of the perils
that attend the culture of the vine and the fruit-tree in all other
countries, and from which California in the early days thought it was
exempt. Within the past three or four years there has prevailed a
sickness of the vine, the cause of which is unknown, and for which no
remedy has been discovered. No blight was apparent, but the vine
sickened and failed. The disease was called consumption of the vine. I
saw many vineyards subject to it, and hundreds of acres of old vines had
been rooted up as useless. I was told by a fruit-buyer in Los Angeles
that he thought the raisin industry below Fresno was ended unless new
planting recovered the vines, and that the great wine fields were about
"played out." The truth I believe to be that the disease is confined to
the vineyards of Old Mission grapes. Whether these had attained the
limit of their active life, and sickened, I do not know. The trouble for
a time was alarming; but new plantings of other varieties of grapes have
been successful, the vineyards look healthful, and the growers expect no
further difficulty. The planting, which was for a time suspended, has
been more vigorously renewed.

The insect pests attacking the orange were even more serious, and in
1887-88, though little was published about it, there was something like
a panic, in the fear that the orange and lemon culture in Southern
California would be a failure. The enemies were the black, the red, and
the white scale. The latter, the _icerya purchasi_, or cottony cushion
scale, was especially loathsome and destructive; whole orchards were
enfeebled, and no way was discovered of staying its progress, which
threatened also the olive and every other tree, shrub, and flower.
Science was called on to discover its parasite. This was found to be the
Australian lady-bug (_vedolia cardinalis_), and in 1888-89 quantities of
this insect were imported and spread throughout Los Angeles County, and
sent to Santa Barbara and other afflicted districts. The effect was
magical. The _vedolia_ attacked the cottony scale with intense vigor,
and everywhere killed it. The or