332 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



In case one has but a few infested trees it will be cheapest and safest 

 to uproot and burn them, especiallj^ if they are small and incrusted with 

 the scale. 



In attempting to destroy the scale by spraying, some material must be 

 used that has considerable penetrating power. The leading remedies are 

 whale-oil soap and kerosene, either alone, mechanically mingled with 

 water, or as an emulsion. 



As a v/inter treatment use either a solution of whale-oil soap (one 

 pound to one gallon of water), or kerosene emulsion (one part kerosene, 

 one part soft soap, or whale-oil soap, and three parts of waterj. A pump 

 should be used to make the emulsion, and the agitation should be kept 

 up until a cream-like mass is produced. In either case the soap should 

 be dissolved in boiling water and applied while still hot. If kerosene is to 

 be added to form an emulsion, the soap should be removed from near the 

 fire before adding the oil. 



Before spraying the trees it will be well to cut them back severely 

 and remove as many as possible of the small shoots; thus the surface to be 

 sprayed will be reduced, and what remains will be near the ground. The 

 application should be very thorough, so as to reach every part of the 

 tree and soak all of the scales. The insects are often under bits of bark, 

 in the crevices of the buds and even beneath the surface of the soil, and 

 pains should be taken that none escape. This application will kill most 

 of the scales, but, as some may survive, another application should be 

 made shortly before the buds open in the spring. At that time the bark 

 will be full of sap. and, if a warm bright day is selected for the spraying, 

 it will be safe to use undiluted kerosene, (except, perhaps, upon the 

 peach) provided it is carefully applied. Care should be taken to use a very 

 fine mist-like spray, and to use only as much as will hold to the bark 

 without running down the trunks. If it is allowed to saturate the ground 

 about the roots it may be fatal to the trees. 



Nearly as good results can be obtained with less danger of injury to the 

 trees, from a mechanical mixture of kerosene and water, using three or 

 four parts of water to one of kerosene. Special spraying apparatus is 

 required, among the best being the kerosene sprayer made by the Deming 

 Co., Salem, Ohio. 



About the middle of June the young insects appear and a careful watch 

 should be kept for them. If any are found the trees should be sprayed 

 with w^hale-oil soap solution, or with kerosene emulsion, with eight parts 

 of water to one of kerosene. 



THE CANKER WORM, 



This insect has in some seasons done much harm to apple trees, and, 

 when its ravages have been unchecked for two or three. years, it has even 

 killed the trees. There are two kinds of canker worm, as well as other 

 insects of similar habits; one form deposits its eggs during October and 

 November upon the twigs of the apple trees, while the other appears dur- 

 ing warm spells of late winter and early spring. The female moths are 

 wingless and, as they have passed their pupal form in the ground, the 

 only way they can reach the branches is by crawling up the trunks of the 

 trees. Some endeavor to trap the moths, as they ascend the trees, by 

 placing bands of paper about the trunk and smearing them with printer's 

 ink or tar; others use various other bands and traps, but to be off(,'ctual 



