88 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



upon the foliage, but with the development of liquid spraying machinery 

 they were not deemed economical for tree fruits. Recently several com- 

 panies have perfected large and powerful machines for tlae application 

 of insecticides and fungicides in powder form. As strong claims are 

 made for them and much interest is being shown by fruit growers, we 

 are again giving the matter a thorough trial. The materials used are 

 lime, copper sulphate and sulphur, with the addition of concentrated lye 

 where sucking insects are present. The lime is first dry-slacked with 

 strong solutions of copper sulphate and lye and the sulphur is then added. 

 It is too early as yet to make any definite report upon the results se- 

 cured. The cost of material is considerably less than for Bordeaux mix- 

 ture and Paris green, owiijg to the fact that a comparatively small 

 amount of copper sulphate is used in the dust sprays. The application of 

 dust can be made in about one-half the time required with an ordinary 

 barrel pump but this is largely counterbalanced by the fact that the ap- 

 plication of the dust spray must be more frequent than that of the liquid 

 sprays. The use of the dust spray has many advantages upon land that 

 is uneven and where a sui)ply of water cannot be readily secured. 



COOPERATIVE EXPERIMENTS. 



During the year the plan of checking the results obtained at the Station 

 by means of similar experiments carried on at different parts of the 

 State has been continued. In the fall arrangements were made for test- 

 ing various cover croj>s in the Station orchards at the College and at 

 South Haven, and upon the farm of Benton Gebhart at Hart, Oceana 

 county, and on that of W. W. Dickinson at Carl, Berrien county. For 

 the most part the results secured were quite similar. The seed was sown 

 during the first half of August and as the weather was quite cool, it was 

 no surprise to have the poorest results secured from cow peas and soy 

 beans. They made a slow start and small growth and were then cut by 

 frost. These crops, however, have given -fairly good results when sown 

 during the month of June, when the weather is warm and fairly dry. 

 The plots upon which flat turni])? and rape were sown did fairly well. 

 The rape reached a height of eighteen inches and served a good purpose 

 in holding the snow and leaves being rather better for this than the flat 

 turnips. The oats started very evenly and gave a thick, strong growth, 

 reaching a height of about twenty inches. They form an excellent cover 

 crop during the winter and in the siu-ina; serve as a mulch to hold the 

 moisture and keep down the weeds. The barley also made a good growth 

 and by Mr. Gebhart was thought superior to oats. The plots sown to 

 Canada field peas gave comparatively poor results. The vines mildewed 

 badly and made but a weak growth. The results obtained from buck- 

 wheat were also rather disappointing. 



Mammoth and crimson clover gave about equally good results. At the 

 College a very good stand of each was secured and the plants came through 

 the winter in good condition. In the spring they started early and soon 

 reached a height of from fifteen to eighteen inches. As soon as they 

 were well in blossom the plants were turned under and furnished a large 

 amount of humus. Altogether less valuable as a winter cover crop, 

 owing to its spreading habit which does not favor the holding of snow 

 and leaves, the hairy vetch at all places where it was tried gave good 

 satisfaction. The plants interlaced forming a regular tangle. When 



