FORTY-FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT. 49 



The points I shall attempt to discuss are a few factors in connection 

 with sj)raying, thinnings, pruning and marketing. 



Every year's experience adds to my conviction that spraying is 

 almost invariably the most important cultural operation in an orchard. 

 Insects and diseases have become so prevalent and destructive, there are 

 such a great number of kinds of them and there is such a great difference 

 in their feeding habits and so on, that spraying is made a very difficult 

 operation and I want to add emphasis to several things that have been 

 said here^ — particularly what Professor Eustace said this morning in 

 regard to spraying being preventative instead of curative. If every man 

 that is spraying will once get that feature firmly in his mind, in his 

 whole being and not forget it from one years' end to another and then 

 just as far as he possibly can, manage his spraying on that basis, I 

 liave no doubt but that there will be a great many more "bugs" and 

 fungous diseases die before they get a chance to do any harm. You 

 know the easiest time and the least expensive time to kill a chewing 

 insect is when it first hatches. Then it is a little fellow and requires 

 only a little poison to kill it. The best time to control a fungous disease 

 is when the spore is just germinating. If it has been allowed to grow 

 long enough so that it has gotten into the flesh of the fruit, into the 

 interior- of the leaf or through the bark, you cannot stop it by spraying. 

 You may use any spray material and be as thorough as you can, you 

 cannot stop it. 



The fact that many do not fully appreciate this essential points to 

 the reason why they omit one of the most important sprays, why they 

 do not have more complete and convenient equipment and why they 

 do not always take care of the fruit crop first. 



In this connection, I want to say just in passing, I have come to 

 believe that the fruit business is going largely into the hands of the com- 

 mercial fruit growers, that general farmers must, as a rule, give it up. 

 Unless the general farmer is an exceptional manager and has excep- 

 tional facilities and conditions and has a true notion of the relative 

 value of things, he should keep out of extensive commercial fruit grow- 

 ing. There are things on a general farm which must be done about the 

 same time that spraying should be done, such as pre]>aring the land for 

 beans, corn, potatoes, etc. If the spraying is delayed, insects and 

 diseases get a start and much damage results in spite of subsequent 

 spraying, no matter how carefully or thoroughly done. The money crop 

 should surely be given first consideration and care and, as the fruit 

 crop is the fruit grower's major money crop, it is not only advisable, but 

 necessary, for him to give it his first and best care. 

 But to continue with the theme of my talk. 



I have said some jNIichigan fruit growers neglect one of the most 

 important apple and pear sprays. I mean the one "when the buds are in 

 the pink." This practice has been more or less prevalent for several 

 years. It was thought the scale spray could be ai)plied real late and 

 the expense and trouble of this spray eliminated. We find it cannot be 

 safely done. The scale spray is too strong to put on late enough 

 to cover the small leaves and l)lossom stems without doing much 

 damage. This early summer spray is especially necessary on such 

 varieties as Mcintosh, Faraeuse, Winter Banana and Canada Red apples 

 7 



