EXPERIMENT STATION REPORTS. 129 



spraying purposes and when necessary to transplant small fruits and 

 vegetables during the dry period. 



SPRAYING. 



Aside from the regular spraying of the college orchards, various exper- 

 imental tests have been made, both regarding materials and the time of ap- 

 plication. The most marked results have been secured from experiments 

 upon peach trees to prevent the curl leaf. As the College orchards, for the 

 most part, contain but two trees of a variety, it has been necessary to re- 

 tain one of these as a check for the application given the others. The 

 materials tested were, first, a solution of copper sulphate at the rate of 

 one pound in fifteen gallons of water; second, Bordeaux mixture, made 

 from four .pounds of copper sulphate and ten pounds of lime in forty 

 gallons of water; third, a whitewash with the same amount of lime as in 

 the Bordeaux mixture. 



These materials were applied to ten trees each of as many different va- 

 rieties, during the last week in March. Although the spraying was made 

 in a thorough manner, it was impossible to reach all sides of the 

 branches, as a strong wind was blowing, and a second application was 

 necessary. As soon as the leaves appeared it was evident that those 

 upon many of the unsprayed trees would be destroyed by the disease. 

 A great difference, however, was noticed regarding the extent of the 

 attack upon the different kinds. In some cases hardly a leaf escaped, 

 while in others the injury was scarcely noticeable. Frequent examina- 

 tion of the sprayed trees, during the period in which the disease prevailed, 

 showed that the treatment had been effectual, and that there was but 

 little difference in the results secured from the three preparations. In 

 a few cases, some of the sprayed trees showed a slight injury, but this 

 could be ascribed to the fact that the buds from which the leaves came 

 had not been properly sprayed, as in most cases the injured leaves were 

 upon branches that extended beyond the others. 



As is usually the case, the fruit dropped from the trees that were most 

 severely injured, and there was a marked loss where no more than half 

 of the leaves were destroyed, while upon the trees that were sprayed, 

 the fruit remained and ripened. In order to learn if the spraying would 

 be beneficial after the leaves had developed, a part of the unsprayed trees 

 were treated with the three preparations above mentioned, soon after the 

 fruit had set; but the conditions after that time were not favorable for 

 the spread of the disease, and little benefit could be observed. It has been 

 noticed that the disease has been most troublesome in cold, wet springs, 

 and, although the conditions were favorable for it at the time the leaves 

 developed, the warm weather that followed the blossoming period seemed 

 unfavorable for the spread of the disease. In other years the greatest in- 

 jury is done after the trees have blossomed, and our experiments indicate 

 that when such is the case a spraying with Bordeaux mixture after the 

 blossoms have fallen will do much to prevent the spread of the disease. 

 From experiments conducted in previous years, it seems that the applica- 

 tion of fungicides to peach trees any time after the leaves have fallen and 

 before the first of April will suffice to prevent the attack of this disease, 

 and as farmers and fruit grow r ers generally have more leisure during 

 the late fall and early winter than in the spring, we recommend that the 

 IT 



