134 STATE IIOKTICn.rrKAI. S(i( lETY. 



summer flies and bees will cany the bacteria to tender spots in the trees 

 that we do not know about. We ought to find out some preventives for 

 pear blight for it is very serious in some localities. 



Question: I would like to ask if cultivation and pruning have anything 

 to do with the spreading of blight. 



jVIenibor. Yes, I believe that heavy cultivation and heavy pruning 

 would put the trees in a condition that would produce blight. It makes 

 a weak, tender growth and under that condition the tree is more sus- 

 ceptible to blight. 



Question. While we are (Ui tliis sul)joct of pears I would like to know 

 if we could control pear psjdla? 



Mr. Crane: I want to give you the latest I have on that pear psylla. 

 Of course, they tell us to fight the flies, I have the book from Ontario, 

 Canada, where they carried out an experiment that looks very good to 

 me. I am going to try it anyway. They had a bad time of it in 1917. 

 Their trees were just eoverecl with it which was a great injury to their 

 crop. Their Department took hold of it and carried experiments of 

 something to go b}' the next summer and so they went into the green- 

 house. I'hey put some trees into the greenhouse and started the flies 

 to working on them and they simpl}- covered the trees with eggs. Thej^ 

 sprayed the eggs when they had been laid four days. It takes them a 

 period of from four to ten clays to lay their eggs. During those four to 

 ten days they made up different formulae of spray. The}- used 1 to 7 

 lime sulphur, 33 test and their count on eggs was every egg killed that 

 the spra.y came in contact with that had been laid for from four to ten 

 days and in the formula of one to nine and one to ten they would not 

 average over 75% killed. They further tried an experiment of one to ten 

 with addition of starch. They used two pounds of starch to 40 gallons of 

 one to ten of the lime sulphur. This seemed to kill them 100%. There 

 are always a few eggs that are laid after that period of ten days and so 

 they followed this up in the blooming period. They used their poisons in 

 the rest of the work and they caught the eggs in that stage. They 

 carried this on in two large orchards the next summer with jierfect suc- 

 cess and the check rows in tho.se orchards were just covered with psylla. 

 This sure looked good to me. Spray just before the cluster bud begins 

 to open u)). A tree sprayed with a strong solution at that time will also 

 kill any scale that is present. 



Chairman: We will have another oppoitunity for more ciuestions at 

 the end of this session. I think we had better take up the next topic. 

 We will have time before dinner to continue this question. As it is verj^ 

 important we will suggest to the Horticultural Department that they 

 do a good line of work on pear Psylla. Is JNIr. Low in the room? As he 

 is not we will pass over this topic and take up the "Practical Experiences 

 with Commercial Fertilizers." This is divided into four parts and the 

 first is by Mr. Anderson on ''Peaches." Mr. Anderson is not in the 

 room so Mv. Buskiik who has the section on "Grapes" will si)eak on 

 that at the present time. 



Mr. Buskirk: Mr. Chairman. Ladies and Centlemen: You will 

 pardon me if I sj)eak on notes on this subject. There are two or three 

 reasons for that. One of these I feel about this subject as a bo}' in an 

 orchard who got caught stealing apples. The owner met him at the gate 

 and asked him what he had to say. He answered, "I haven't anything 

 to .say." 



