38 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



the fruit. Now many do admire, if it is possible to get it, the 

 beautiful bloom on the fruit here at the East. At the West, of 

 course, with the heavy spraying, much of the fruit has to be 

 washed in order to get off the hme and hence wiping necessa- 

 rily has to follow. But the question is this, — If we wipe the 

 fruit does it have as good keeping quality? That is the point I 

 would like to have brought out. 



Mr. Gardner: Why, no, I don't think it does; but pro- 

 vided it has been properly sprayed during the season I don't 

 see that the keeping quality would be very much affected. As 

 we are situated here, with the brown-tail moth, it seems to me 

 that the fruit should be wiped. Our spraying for the brown- 

 tail ought to come somewhere around the first of August, and 

 it is a question whether or not there is any poison from that. 

 In most cases, where we are not troubled with the brown-tail 

 and do not have to use the arsenate of lead spray, of course it 

 would not be necessary. The fruit is certainly superior with 

 the natural bloom than without. 



Mr. Castner : I would like to answer Mr. Powell's ques- 

 tion. Wiping western fruit is being done away with. The 

 apple buyers, buying the crop, do not wish it wiped. We real- 

 ize that wiping interferes with the keeping quality of the ap- 

 ple. There may be parts of the West in which they are wiping 

 fruit, but with us in Hood River Valley it is not practiced any 

 longer. 



Mr. Staples : What so far has proved to be the best spray 

 for the brown-tail? 



Mr. Gardner: Arsenate of lead. 



