248 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



used for pasture. The cultivation should be continued for the moisture 

 alone, if for no other purpose, and when an apple tree is attempting to 

 mature a crop, it draws heavily upon the moisture, and sod land in dry 

 time is always very dry; so it will be impossible for these trees to get 

 enough moisture; so that even where there is moisture, in a great many 

 instances it would be well to continue the cultivation. 



There are other things to be considered. There is the subject of spray- 

 ing, but as that subject is a broad one. it will be dealt with at length by 

 Professor Webster later, and I will simply touch upon it a little. I do 

 not think there is any operation in orcharding that is more essential than 

 spraying, at the present time. We all Ivuow of the pests of the orchard, 

 and it is only a question of time when they will get the best of the orchard 

 and crop, unless we dispose of them in some way. The Bordeaux mixtures 

 are the most effective, and paris green or arsenic of lime, used with the 

 Bordeaux, is very good. 



The treatment of tlie pear and the apple should be about the same, so 

 far as spraying is concerned. We have the same pests and the same 

 insects to contend with. The spraying should be made just before the 

 buds open. The practice of spraying with copper sulphate while the trees 

 are still dormant has been recommended and practiced. 



Professor Burrough, in his discussion of the apple scab, says the 

 fungi does not winter up in the trees, but winters over on the fallen leaves, 

 and does not attnck the growth of the tree until about blossoming time. 

 If we spray at this time with Bordeaux mixture we will get more effective 

 results than with copper sulphate later. But, of course, there is this 

 difficulty about spraying at that time: If the weather is warm, the blos- 

 soms come out very rapidly, yet sometimes we have quite a number of days 

 in which the spraying could be done, but it is not well to delay it too long. 

 I know there are some who advocate spraying when the trees are in blos- 

 som, but I am not prepared to state just what is best about this. In 

 some States there are laws against spraying at this time. In New York 

 State they have been experimenting in this line some with conflicting re- 

 sults. In a great many orchards some spray while the trees are in blos- 

 som, and some while the trees are not, Avith very good results. It is a 

 matter which needs more study and investigation. 



After the fruit is set will come the next spraying, and the most import- 

 ant of all, in both the case of the apple and the pear, particularly in the 

 case of the apple. For a week or ten days after the fruit is set, and 

 sometimes longer than that, the blossom end is open. As most of you are 

 aware, the larva enters at this end, and if the spraying is done just after 

 the blossom falls the fluid will enter the little basin, and wln>n the worm 

 enters he will usually be destroyed at its first meal. 



As to later spraying. I am not prepared to say as to tlie number. Fur- 

 ther investigation is also needed along this line, and I don't know as 

 we will ever be Able to settle it definitely, conditions are so different, and 



