The Deadly Pest Hiding in Fruit Stands
A local doctor warns Seattle citizens that hucksters are selling oranges infested with the destructive San Jose scale, prompting calls for a crackdown on imported produce.
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Dr. W. A. Egbert reports that oranges covered with the San Jose scale are being shipped into the market and sold on the streets of Seattle by hucksters. He purchased a few Southern California oranges recently and brought them to the Post-Intelligencer office; the fruit was literally covered with the eggs of the pest. Dr. Egbert notes that while the scale is not yet widespread in the state, the pest is fatal to rosebushes, shrubbery, and orchards. He proposes to constitute himself a one-man committee to visit city fruit stands and report any vendors carrying infested stock, urging authorities to enforce existing fumigation laws as Spokane has already done.
“If permitted to mature the insect will infest all manner of fruit trees and shrubbery, burrow in the bark and leave death and destruction in its wake.”
This story highlights the constant anxiety of a booming agricultural region trying to protect its biosecurity from the influx of cheap, unregulated trade goods from California. It's a reminder that Seattle's status as a gateway port has always made it a frontline for managing invasive species.
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