384 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



The first being the operator not understanding his business and 

 not having the proper appliances al hand has failed to get the com 

 bination desired. A good chemist lakes no chances; he makes sure 

 of the purity of his materials. He weighs out the exact proportion 

 of each ingredient that is required to form a new compound, knowing 

 that certain elements having a strong affinity for other elements 

 combine with them, thus forming new compounds, but always in 

 fixed proportions. For instance, water may be taken from a moun- 

 tain spring, from artesian well, or from the depth of the ocean and 

 each contain exactly the same proportion of oxygen and hydrogen. 

 They may be impregnated with foreign substances, but the vehicle, 

 water, is alwavs the same. The air we breathe always contains the 

 same amount of nitrogen and oxygen, even though it be loaded with 

 poisonous gases. So in the preparation of lime, sulphur and salt, 

 certain manipulations are necessary. You cannot form bysulphide 

 of calcium by simply mixing together proportion of lime and sulphur. 

 You must have heat and moisture and the length of time necessary 

 for the chemical change depends upon the intensity of the heat. 



One or two well conducted orchard demonstrations, using the best 

 modern appliances that practical science has devised for the prepara- 

 tion and appliance of the material, conducted by a thorough practical 

 man who knows when the preparation is right, will be more effectual 

 in educating the farmer and fruit grower than fifty demonstrations 

 improperly conducted in the same territory and the expense less. 



Two years back I had the pleasure of addressing this honorable 

 assembly on the San Jose" Scale. I then recommended public orchard 

 demonstrations, but had in mind a thorough up-to-date outfit. The 

 United States might as reasonably expect to cope with some strong 

 foreign power who is fully equipped with the heavy armored vessels 

 and powerful guns of modern warfare, by using the old flint-lock 

 gun and wooden vessels of Revolutionary times as can the fruit raiser 

 expect to subjugate and hold under control the most powerful insect 

 foe that ancient or modern times has ever had to combat. It is a 

 fallacy for us to attempt to teach the farmer to prepare the lime, sul- 

 phur and salt in small kettles or dripped over an open fire, when 

 we know that intense continued heat is necessary to bring about the 

 chemical change and without this all labor and money is lost. 



You may argue, we must come down and meet the farmer on his 

 own grounds, that he may use such implements as he has on hand. 

 Why does not the same farmer cut his grain and grass with the 

 cradle and scythe and save the heavy expense of the reaper and 

 mower? Why does he use the cream separator, feed from the silo 

 and adopt other modern methods? Because practice and science 

 tells him he must do so or drop out of the business. Can we as 

 practical fruit raisers, as well as scientists, who are looked upon as 

 teachers afford to come down to this level and leave a trail behind 

 us marked by utter failure. Our reputation, the good of the cause, 

 will not permit it. We have a foe to fight, the most subtle, the dead- 

 liest one that requires the very best intellect and implements of war- 

 fare to control. Then let us thus equip ourselves instead of hold- 

 ing demonstrations at every little out of the way place that no one 

 can conveniently reach. Select some suitable orchard of fair size, 

 convenient to railroad station, advertize for at least a two-day 

 demonstration, go there with the most complete outfit obtainable, 



