No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 519 



The most important point I would like to take up with you this 

 afternoon is the matter of scale. Not being well supplied with funds, 

 the scale question is a very important one to me. Just at the time 

 I thought the lime and sulphur wash was the standard remedy for 

 the scale, Mr. Atkinson somes out in his November number of the 

 Farm Journal, with very discouraging news. I wrote to him for 

 further information, and he gave me information that was still more 

 discouraging. He believes that lime and sulphur is injurious to 

 fruit trees. Then I wrote letters to a number of New York fruit 

 growers, requesting their replies. Most of them recommended lime 

 and sulphur. Some of them recommended the oils. Now, it appears 

 to me, so far, that oil is too expensive, and it is not a fungicide, while 

 the lime and sulphur is, in a certain measure, and it is still more 

 dangerous to handle. I hardly know what to do. I have not used 

 lime and sulphur since Mr. Atkinson says it is injurious to the tree, 

 as he certainly ought to know what he is talking about. Five years 

 ago I was in his orchard, and saw his trees, and he certainly had 

 fine trees and fine fruit. This year he claims he has very little fruit, 

 and he has Italians at work in his orchard with grubbing hoes, 

 digging up the trees, because they have been ruined. 



Now, I would like to have those of you who have had considerable 

 experience in spraying, to help me out on this question, as to what 

 is really the best and cheapest remedy for the San Jos^ Scale. I 

 believe we are getting to the point where we will have to have a 

 cheaper remedy than these present oils. So far I have been able to 

 control the scale with lime and sulphur, wherever I have sprayed. 

 Of course, where I have noj: sprayed thoroughly, the scale continues.' 



Up in our section, most men know very little about the scale. We 

 do not know the history of the San Jos^ of Oyster Shell Scale, 

 or how to control them, and unless we find some remedy that will not 

 injure the trees, we will have to discontinue fruit growing. If a 

 man wants to raise fruit now a-daj^s, he must use some good scale- 

 cide, and pay more attention to the work, or do what our people up 

 in Schuylkill county are doing — go out of the business. 



It has been claimed that it is much cheaper to fight fungus by 

 painting with whitelead and oil, than to fight it with copper sul- 

 phate. The copper sulphate is better, but quite expensive if one 

 wants to spray thoroughly. A good many people have too weak a 

 pump. A weak pump cannot do proper work; I believe in having lots 

 of pressure. A barrel pump is rather small for me, and I don't care 

 much for them. There should be at least a hundred and thirty to a 

 hundred and fifty pounds pressure to throw the spray to any height. 

 He should make two sprayings, one in the spring, and one in the 

 fall, and spray the tree thoroughly on all sides. I have tried many 

 different nozzles, and have come to the conclusion that the Grant 

 nozzle is the best for my purpose that I have ever used. It is not 

 a nozzle for a low pressure pump, but it responds easily to high pres- 

 sure. It is much better than the Single Vermorel, I have also used 

 the Double Vermorel. It controls the pressure easily. 



