U S. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 413 



see at once how absurd this fear is; for, even if the poison that originally killed the 

 worm remained intact, one would have to eat many barrels of apples at a meal to get a 

 sufficient quantity to poison a human being. Moreover, much of the poison is washed 

 off by rain, and some of it is thrown off by natural growth of the apple, so that there 

 is, as as a rule, nothing left of the poison in the garnered fruit. Add to this the further 

 fact that few people eat apples raw without casting away the calyx and stem ends, the 

 only parts where any poison could, under the most favorable circumstances remain, 

 and that these parts are always cut away in cooking, and we see how utterly groundless 

 are any fears of injury and how useless any prohibitive measures against American 

 apples on this score. 



i 



SPRAYING FOR FUNGOUS DISEASES OF THE APPLE, PEAR, AND 



OTHER FRUITS. 



Probably f\ no other country of the world is spraying for fungous diseases 

 of fruits practiced to the same extent as in the United States. Five years 

 ago practically nothing was known of this subject; in fact, the number 

 actively engaged in spraying their trees, vines, etc.. for such diseases as 

 apple-scab, black-rot, downy mildew, and other diseases of the grape, did 

 not exceed half a hundred, all told. Now, as a fair estimate, probably no 

 less than 50,000 fruitgrowers are engaged in this work. From the Atlan- 

 tic' to the Pacific, and from the great lakes to the gulf, the methods recom- 

 mended by the department are practiced every year. Canada has also 

 adopted many of the suggestions made by us, and even now Australia is 

 actively engaged in experiments in the treatment of apple, pear, peach, 

 and other diseases, in accordance with suggestions originating with this 

 department. 



DOES IT PAY TO SPRAY ? 



This question is in large part answered by the facts already given. No 

 work that did not carry merit with it could have had such a phenomenal 

 growth. To give a more direct answer; however, it may be stated that last 

 season two hundred and fifty grape-growers in different parts of the coun- 

 try made a series of observations with a view to obtaining some definite 

 information as to the value in dollars and cents of the recommendations 

 made by the department in the treatment of grape diseases. The facts 

 reported by these men show conclusively that the actual profit to them over 

 all expenses, resulting from the treatment of black-rot and downy mildew, 

 was in round numbers $37,000. Thirteen thousand dollars of this sum 

 was reported from the state of New York alone. 



Other examples equally as striking could be given, but this is sufficient 

 for our purpose. Of course every one is not successful, but where failure 

 is reported it is usually easy to locate and remedy the trouble. 



FUNGICIDES OR REMEDIES USED IN SPRAYING. 



Numerous preparations have been recommended and used for this work. 

 For all practical purposes, however, there are but four which properly may 

 be called remedies. They are (1) Bordeaux mixture, (2) ammoniacal 

 solution of copper carbonate, (3) eau celeste, and (4) modified eau celeste. 

 The latest experiments indicate that the best results will follow the use of 

 these preparations when made as follows: 



