Fire Blight of Pears, Apples, Quinces, Etc. 



165 



these spurs as soon as they 

 show the disease will prevent 

 the bacteria from getting into 

 the limbs (See Fig. 6). In tall 

 trees use a ladder and also a 

 hook on the end of a long 

 handle. 



(b) Rub off with the hands, 

 from the trunks and main limbs, 

 all shoots and watersprouts as 

 fast as they start. This will 

 remove the possibility of the 

 formation of limb and body 

 cankers and save much work 

 in cutting out cankers the fol- 

 lowing season. It will not be 

 necessary to disinfect such 

 wounds. 



(c) Cut out all blighted twigs, 

 shoots and watersprouts (Fig. 

 22). As indicated above, dis- 

 infect the cut with corrosive 

 sublimate. If a long-handled 

 pruner is used the sponge may 

 be attached as shown in Fig. 

 21, simply touching the cut 

 surface with it as soon as the 

 twig is removed. Remove and 

 destroy all prunings. Always 

 disinfect the cut or wound not 

 the tools. If all cut surfaces are 

 disinfected any bacteria left on 

 them by the tools or any 

 brought to them subsequently 

 by insects will be destroyed. 



Cutting out the Blight once 

 or twice during the season, 

 when it has become sufficiently 

 serious to frighten the grower, 

 is a waste of time and an in- 

 jury to the orchard. If it is 



Fig. 21. — Tools, devices, receptacles, used in 

 cutting out and disinfecting. The corro- 

 sive sublijnate tablets, shown in the bottles, 

 may be purchased at drug store. One tab- 

 let to quart of water makes a i-iooo solu- 

 tion. To clean out cankers the wooden 

 bucket and the can with the sponge will be 

 found satisfactory. Wet tJie sponge in the 

 bucket and place it in the can, which is 

 carried at the waist by passing the wires 

 about the body and hooking behind. The 

 bottle tied at the belt or to a strap over the 

 shoulder is convenient, especially when us- 

 ing the pruning hook. Wet the sponge from 

 time to time by tilting the bottle. 



