188 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



2-3 EDWARD VII., A. 1933 



' The whale-oil soap distributed this year was a very superior article and contained 

 about forty-five per cent of oil (said to be pure cod) and twelve and a-half per cent first 

 sorts caustic potash. The cost, delivered, was four cents per pound, and from my exper- 

 ience in buying soap I conclude the manufacturers will not supply a really good soap for 

 less money. This makes a mixture suitable for treating scale, cost 10c. per pound. The 

 effect of this soap in reducing scale was very good for soap ; but I have not found soap 

 so fatal to the scale as some of the other remedies. There is a serious objection to soap 

 on account of its killing the fruit buds if used early and before the frosts are over. The 

 Catawba Island people say that a cold east wind coming up off the lake on trees treated 

 with soap will kill most of the fruit buds. This quality, together with its excessive cost, 

 stands in the way of soap being extensively used. Speaking in a general way, there is no 

 certainty of what soap contains. A manufacturer may turn out an inferior article, and 

 the farmer will know nothing of its defects till the breeding season of the scale, when 

 swarms of larvse will tell the tale. To meet this difficulty I prepared an emulsion of 

 fish oil and potash, using 5 quarts of fish oil and 2^ to 3 lbs. of potash in 10 galls, of 

 emulsion, which is easily made and will hold, with the same quantity of soap as is used 

 for kerosene. As a remedy for scale, this is fully equal to soap and costs § the price. 



'The question is frequently asked "Is it the potash or the oil in soap that kills the 

 scale?" and to settle this I made an emulsion of 5 qts. of fish oil in 10 galls, of emulsion 

 which worked very well. When used at three fourths strength and even at half strength, 

 plentifully apjjlied, the result was really good. A solution of 3 lbs. of potash in 10 galls. 

 had no apparent effect in reducing the scale. Others report better results from potash, 

 and I will try it again next spring, but the results obtained last spring were vei-y poor 

 indeed. 



' Crude petroleum v/as used diluted and undiluted, with and without soap, in the 

 form of a mechanical mixture applied with a combination pump, and also as an emulsion 

 prepared with soap and applied with an ordinary pump. Undiluted crude oil may be 

 applied to peach if a very fine nozzle be used with an orifice of, say Jg- to ^jj of an inch 

 in diameter and the least possible quantity put on a tree to cover it ; but the risk is too 

 great for it to ba recommended generally. A nozzle having an opening larger than -^-^ 

 of an inch in diameter, is too coarse for applying undiluted crude oil ; and, even if it be 

 diluted, a fine nozzle gives the operator more time to look over his work and be sure of 

 what he is doing. With a coarse nozzle a heavy treatment is given before one knows 

 it, and sometimes part of a tree is heavily treated and other parts insufiiciently. Most 

 people do not discriminate between a large and a small quantity nor between weak and 

 healthy trees, and very little crude oil will kill weak peach trees. The effect of soap 

 combined with crude oil, is to lessen its injurious effects on vegetation, and when used 

 of the strength of \ lb. of soap to the gallon of water with 20 per cent of oil, it reduced 

 the scale well without seriously injuring peach trees. Crude oil in any of the above 

 mentioned forms will prevent re-attack, and I think there is a strong tendency on the 

 part of the scale, when oil is used, to go out on the young growth and the fruit. Mr. 

 James Samson, of Niagara, used crude oil last spring undiluted, with one of my fine 

 nozzles so successfully that he now declares in favour of undiluted crude oil for every- 

 thing. He sprayed some peach but did most of his spraying in his apple orchard. 



' The lime and sulphur wash was used in a variety of ways, with and without salt, 

 and in proportions varying from ^ pound of lime to 2 pounds to the gallon of wash. 

 We generally used half as much sulphur as lime by weight, and found about 1 pound of 

 lime and h pound of sulphur to the gallon of wash to work out best and have the best 

 results where no salt was used. Of course my limited experience with this does not 

 justify my speaking with confidence as to details, but I think thorough cooking is im- 

 perative — two, three hours, or more — and besides the trees should be sprayed until the 

 bark is entirely covered. A tree should first be sprayed with reasonable care ; after it 

 is dry, it should be gone over a second time, and any missed parts covered. In this way 

 a very pei'fect treatment is given, which is so impoi'tant in the case of this scale. Lime 

 and sulphur is safe to use on dormant trees, but, if applied very strong and very late 

 when the buds ai-e opening, it may injure the soft young growth in the heart of the tree, 

 which, however, is really no injury. I have never noticed any bad effect elsewhere. 



