310 REPOKT OF STATE BOARD OF HORTICULTURE. 



seems to have escaped the notice of most experimenters ; we have seen no 

 mention of it except by Gillette and Munson. Just after the petals fell, we 

 found the blossom ends of both apples and pears in the condition shown in 

 Fig. 145 ; that is. the calyx lobes were spread widely open, forming a saucer- 

 like cavity. As several complaints had reached us that the codling- moth 

 was not so easily reached on pears as on apples, we watched the develoi^ing 

 pears also. The fruit at the left in Fig. 14o is a pear, and the only difference 

 we could see at the time between it and an apple was that the latter was 

 covered with a coating of fine hairs. At the time we theorized that possibly 

 the paris green would stick to these "fuzzy" apples better than to the smooth 

 pears, and the worms thus be more liable to get some of the poison on the 

 apple, but this theory was soon exploded by further observations. About a 

 week after the petals fell, w'e found that the blossom ends of apples and 

 pears looked like those shown in F'ig. 146; the center fruit is a pear. The 

 calyx lobes on the apples had begun to draw together, and within the next 

 few days the apples presented the appearance shown at a and b in Fig. 131 : 

 that is, the calyx lobes had drawn completely together, forming a tight cover 

 over the calyx cavity. In the case of pears, howevei% the calyx lobes drew 

 together very little. How this fact may affect the effectiveness of the poison 

 spray for the insect on pears, will be discussed later. On most varieties of 

 apples we found the calyx cavity closed within two weeks after the petals 

 fell. Mr. Card found it closed in about ten days in Nebraska in 1897, but in 

 the case of some varieties of apples, it never closed. Munson records that 

 the calyx lobes on the Baldwin closed in about two weeks. The time doubt- 

 less varies a few days with different varieties. 



Now, of what importance to the fruitgrower are these facts regarding the 

 closing of the calyx lobes V Anticipating a little, it means that the closing 

 of the calyx lobes is the signal that it is too late to get in your most effective 

 blow against the codling moth with a poison spray. 



Returning to our observations upon the insect, Ave found no eggs until the 

 calyx lobes had closed, or nearly so, as shown at a and h in Fig. 131. And as 

 the worms would not hatch until a week later, we were in a quandary to explain 

 how a paris-green spray, applied according to the prescribed rule "of just 

 after the blossoms have fallen,'" could possibly affect a worm appearing on 

 the apple ten days or two weeks later. Our observations on the development 

 of the young fruit, as just described, led us to theorize that the poison must 

 have lodged in the open calyx cup ( see Fig. 145 ) and, no rain intervening to 

 wash it out, remained there while nature proceeded to draw a protecting" 

 roof over it ( see Fig. 146 ) and finally left it securely hidden in the calyx 

 cavity. Here it was found by a young apple worm a week or so later. 



We soon found, as have other observers, that from seventy-five to eighty- 

 five per cent, of the worms which hatch in the spring enter the apples 

 through the blossom end ; and we found also that these young worms got 

 their iirst, and several subsequent meals, in this calyx cavity. It then only 

 remained to prove the possibility of there being poison therein, which had 

 been left there when the trees were sprayed two weeks before. Fortu- 

 nately, about the time the worms were hatching, we found some apples which 

 had been sprayed with paris green and bordeaux mixture just after the blos- 

 soms fell. A careful examination of the calyx cavity with a lens revealed 

 particles of a bluish color. Were these particles of bordeaux mixture with 

 their attendant bits of poison ? Only the chemist could tell us. We at once 

 carefully removed the calyx lobes and surrounding skin from about fifty of 

 these apples and then submitted only that portion of the apples containing 

 the calyx cup to our chemist, Mr. Cavanaugh. He soon reported traces of 



