No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 877 



sites: It must be powerful enough to do satisfactory work, yet it 

 must not be too expensive to come within the reach of the average 

 small fruit grower, nor too heavy to be easily conveyed from place 

 to place. The kind of apparatus must be adaptable to the needs 

 of small growers, as the large grower who wishes expensive appara- 

 tus has interests enough involved to cause him to go, of his own 

 initiative, to places where he can get the information or instruction 

 he desires. This is just what the small grower cannot do, and such 

 help must be taken to him. 



The Lime-sulphur-salt wash was used in this spraying, for the 

 reason that at present this mixture has met with the approval of the 

 best scientists and has been the most successful of all materials 

 with the majority of practical men. Besides it is the simplest to 

 make and the cheapest of the home-made preparations. The objec- 

 tions to it are the trouble in preparing small lots and its caustic 

 action on the exposed parts of the persons applying it. None of 

 the present commercial preparation could be conscientiously used 

 for the simple reason that no such preparation has as yet proven 

 successful enough, nor has any such material been used for a 

 sufficient length of time to justify the recommendation of it at this 

 time. It is to be remembered that this is practical work and not an 

 experimental proposition. 



This work during the past fall has been necessarily to some ex- 

 tent preliminary. The State was divided into twenty sections of 

 from one to five counties in each, according to the relative values 

 of interest involved. A man w T as sent into each district on No- 

 vember 1st with instructions to spend at least two weeks in finding 

 out where San Jose" Scale was most abundant, for at that time 

 there was reason to believe that there were wide areas in the Cen- 

 tral and Northern sections of the State where it had not yet 

 appeared. If the Scale could be checked at the boundaries of these 

 uninfested areas, it was reasonable to suppose that such localities 

 could be kept clean for probably many years to come. 



Where they found Scale and where demonstrations of spraying 

 were desired and conditions favorable, they were to make arrange- 

 ments and to schedule such appointments for a later date. All 

 persons making application through the central office were re- 

 quested to send, with their applications, twigs thought to be in- 

 fested, since many persons are unable to distinguish San Jose" Scale 

 from several other scale insects, prominent among which are Scurfy 

 and Oyster-shell. Demonstrations were scheduled only at places 

 found to be favorably situated, centrally located, and five miles or 

 more from any other demonstration to be given. As soon as a 

 schedule of meetings was arranged by the agent, some time ir/ 

 advance, they were advertised in the local papers and by circulars 

 or posters placed in conspicuous places. 



On the day fixed for one of these demonstrations, the agent 

 prepared one kettle of the material used, which in all cases for 

 San Jose" Scale was the boiled lime-sulphur-salt mixture, and ap- 

 plied this to trees where spraying has been arranged previously. 

 The apparatus used was the ordinary barrel pump with correspond- 

 ing equipment. The material was boiled in most cases in an ordinary 

 iron farm kettle, holding about 25 gallons. Fifteen or twenty gal- 

 37—6—1905 



