52 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



soon be beyond control of the city or town authorities. In 

 the orchards that have been sprayed during early summer 

 with some arsenical poison, no trouble has been found in con- 

 trolling their depredation. This is the most satisfactory 

 method inasmuch as other pests, including the fall web-worm, 

 can be controlled at the same time ; the expense outside of 

 buying a spray pump, is no greater, for no man can get all 

 the nests by going over the trees once and must make two or 

 three inspections ; and there is not the great loss of new growth 

 through cutting back. 



CANKER. 



Of all diseases, canker has been the worst. Many trees have 

 been killed outright and many others have been rendered prac- 

 tically valueless because of the ravages of this disease. 



Gaining a foothold anywhere that permits and spreading by 

 natural means and by pruning saws, it has gone through some 

 orchards like wildfire. It has often followed winter injury 

 and worked under the bark so that it has not been discovered 

 until the bark has fallen off and the wound been exposed. 



In the demonstration work the method of handling was care- 

 fully gone over so that the growers could get an insight into the 

 care of their trees wdien infected. 



The failure to paint over the scars when pruning has been 

 instrumental in many cases, in bringing canker into an other- 

 wise healthy orchard. 



Additional plant food and heavy pruning will go a long way 

 in bringing back many of the trees that appear to be in a dying 

 condition. Spraying with the dormant strength lime-sulphur 

 will tend to keep it in check and prevent its spread, but is not a 

 perfect remedy when the tree is badly infected. 



The natural fruit trees, even when top-worked to some stand- 

 ard variety, appear to be more resistant to the disease. 



SCAB. 



This disease did not appear to any great extent this season. 

 The continued dry and sunshiny weather at the time that it usu- 

 ally appears, probably accounts for the relatively small amount 

 of fruit infected. 



