348 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc 



spray for the scale — if we can do tiiat spraying just at the proper 

 time, then we not only control the scale, but we control so many 

 other insects along with it. It has been customary to spray for 

 scale at any time in the winter when the tree was dormant. We 

 realize that at this time many people have more time to do the 

 spraying than at some other time, but we have learned this, that 

 if we can put that spraying off until the buds of our trees are 

 bursting open, tlien there is not only the scale to control, but there 

 are a number of other very injurious insects that we also control 

 with this scale, making it an application not only for the scale 

 but for a great number of other insects. 



We have come to a time if we expect to get the best prices for 

 our fruits we must control the insects in our orchards. In order 

 to better understand how to control them, it becomes necessary 

 for us to know something of their life history, that we may attack 

 them at the weakest point. The study of insects offers a very in- 

 teresting field for the orchardist; we can watch them as they go 

 through the different changes in their life cycle. Right in our 

 orchards we have two classes of insects to deal with : one class 

 known as a sucking insect, which pierces whatever they are on and 

 extract their food from it, consequently we cannot poison their food 

 and must kill them with something that comes in contact with their 

 bodies; hence these remedies are called "Contact Insecticides." 

 There are several materials that are used for tliis purpose. The 

 ones commonly used are soluble oil, lime-sulphur solution, and 

 tobacco preparations. 



The other class of insects are the chewing insects, or insects that 

 take their food by biting. The potato beetle is a common t\'pe of 

 this class of insects. For their control arsenic in some form is 

 used. We believe for practical control of the insects in the orchard 

 affecting the tree and fruit, three sprayings are all that is neces- 

 sary. The fi7*st spray is for the insects affecting the tree. There 

 is no doubt that the soluble oil on the market has the greatest 

 killing power of any of the contact insecticides. But in the use of 

 the oil. there is an element of danger. If we always realize this and 

 use it rightly we believe it can be used safely and with profit. It 

 should be used on a bright sunshiny day so that it may evaporate 

 off the trees as soon as possible. A very fine nozzle should be used 

 and never hold the nozzle on any part until it forms in drops and 

 runs down the trees. This is where the danger lies. Lime and sul- 

 phur solution is a much safer remedy: you may drench the trees 

 with it and not injure them. The formula for tlie home-boiled solu- 

 tion is, 2 pounds of suly)hur, 1 pound of lime. 1 gallon of water. Boil 

 for about forty-five minutes or until the sulphur has all gone into the 

 solution. Many growers are using the commercial lime and sulphur. 

 As a rule it is more dense. Usually it is worth about three cents 

 more per gallon than home boiled. In our work we use the com- 

 mercial lime and sulphur as a contact insecticide. For an arsenic, 

 we use the arsenate of lead in paste form. We believe it goes into 

 solution better and sticks on the foliage lonsrer than any other form. 



The first spray should be made just after the bnds have burst 

 open. The materials used should be lime sulphur solntion at scale 

 xtrenglh and two pounds of arsenate of lead to each fifty gallons of 

 material. We realize that it would be impossible in large comraer- 



