WEST MICHIGAN FRUITGROWERS' SOCIETY. 341 



It takes from twenty-four to forty-eight hours for the poison to do its 

 work. S])raying will be tried here this season, very generally, on the 

 plum and peach. AVe mainly use London purple, deeming it a little safer. 



W. H. HuKLBUT asked if it is true that the currant worm breeds at the 

 base of the bushes, and that poison may be applied there with good effect. 



Prof. L. H. Bailey: Any insect that eats arsenic dies. There is no 

 question but it kills the curculio, but it is difficiilt to get it into his 

 stomach. The results of syraying for curculio are not so marked as in 

 other cases. l)ut it will kill seventy to eighty per cent, of them. Use one 

 pound of Paris green to two hundred and tifty or three hundred gallons of 

 water, but throw more of it upon each tree. As to the durrant worm, you 

 can always kill it with hellebore, if the latter is good — not adulterated or 

 otherwise worthless, and as this is more safe and quite as efficacious, why 

 use the arsenites at all for this piirpose? The worms hatch out at the 

 roots of the bushes and begin feeding upon the lower leaves, very early. 

 Spray the bushes accordingly, forcing the spray upward through them. 

 Hellebore sometimes fails; so, when it does, resort to Paris green, which 

 always succeeds. I have always disliked the use of arsenites upon currants 

 and gooseberries, as the poison may get into and remain in the calyxes. 

 No machine will thoroughly drench large trees while merely passing by. 

 Stop and do the wetting com])letely. Driving l)y will do well enough on 

 small trees and plants. I did once spray an orchard by driving through 

 it, and issued a bulletin upon the results, but was sorry for it, as it wa«6 

 misleading. The trees were wide apart and I passed through both ways. 

 Where the trees were nearest together I got the l)est results. Spraying is 

 the climax of insect destruction, and can not be done too thoroughly. In 

 New York they spray for the tent caterpillar, canker worm, and codlin 

 moth at the same time, and it is effective against them all. 



AY. H. Huklbut: Currant worms have beaten me heretofore, but this 

 year I went at it early, drenched the bottoms of the l)ushes at blossoming- 

 time, and have seen but two worms so far. There is evidently no need of 

 endangering life by spraying after the fruit is well formed. 



Prof. Bailey: Some do thus with perfect success. 



Mr. Lyon : The eggs are nearly all laid upon a single leaf, at the bottom 

 of the Ijushes, and so the worms may be early and easily killed. 



This concluded the forenoon session of Thursday. 



The Thursday afternoon proceedings began with consideration of the 

 subject, "How new varieties are introduced." C. H. AA^igglesworth said 

 they are usually introduced by the tree peddler who comes around with 

 brilliant lithographs of peaches that require but four or five to fill a basket, 

 other fruits being proportionately big. Growers take hold readily and set 

 a row or two, pulling them out in three or four years; and this process is 

 continued year after year. I have made up my mind to give an order to 

 every peddler that calls — an order to leave the premises. The whole ped- 

 dler system is a great curse. If you want trees, go to some nurseryman 

 you know — not to an unknown one, for some nurserymen are as bad as the 

 agents. There are enough good old sorts, too, that we can buy and make 

 no mistake, though it is well enough to test a few trees of new sorts from 

 reliable men. All earlier peaches than Hale's are a curse to the growers 

 and the fruit a nuisance to the consumer. 



G. H. LaFleuf. : Supposing the peddler shows a long list of recommenda- 

 tions from men of prominence in pomology, who is most to blame if the 

 fruit falls below representations? 



