^iXPERIMEXT STATION REPORTS. 93 



well as a large uinouut of iiitrugeu where leguminous crops were sown. 

 Mammoth clover made a much stronger growth than crimson clover which 

 did not make a very good stand and was somewhat injured by the winter. 

 While winter vetch made a slender growth in tlie fall and was of little value 

 as a winter cover crop, it developed very rapidly quite early in the srping 

 and covered the ground with a thick tangle which furnished an abundance 

 of humus as well as nitrogen. This crop, however, has two serious draw- 

 backs, first, it is very difficult to plow and turn under, as it can only be 

 handled by using either a xery sharp, rolling coulter, or by first working 

 it down with a disc harrow; second, it may become a noxious weed if any 

 of the plants are allowed to form seed. These are produced in great abund- 

 ance and remain for a long time in the ground. Especially upon farms 

 where grain is grown it cannot be safely used as an orchard cover crop and 

 it is of no value as a forage crop as it does not seem palatable to most farm 

 animals. 



Various spraying experiments were carried on during the season. These 

 in many respects duplicated the work doi)e in previous years, but especial 

 attention was given to a test of the efifect of a late spray upon apple trees 

 for the prevention of the attack of the second brood of the codling moth 

 and of applications made to peach trees late in the fall for the prevention 

 of leaf-curl. Very noticeable results were secured from an application 

 made in early August in controlling the codling moth and, while the benefit 

 from the fall application of copper sulphate in preventing leaf-curl was 

 less marked than can be secured with sj^ring applications, from the fact 

 that many orchardists find their work so distributed that they can more 

 readily give attention to the spra.ying in the autumn than in the spring, 

 it will be of value to the owners of large peach orchards in the Lake shore 

 districts, especially as high winds from the west generally prevail during 

 the spring months, making thorough spraying at that time practically 

 impossible. 



CO-OPERATIVE EXPERIMENTS. 



fc 



Several lines of horticultural experimental work have been carried on 

 in various parts of the state during the year. Especial attention has been 

 paid to the use of several of the more common remedies for the San Jose 

 scale, with the idea not only of destroying the scale and at the same time 

 learning the comparative merit of the different materials but that it should 

 serve as a sort of object lesson for the people in the vicinity upon the bene- 

 fits of spraying and the methods that should be pursued. Particular atten- 

 tion has been paid to the importance of first pruning the trees and of making 

 sure that the spraying is very thorough. These points are too commonly 

 overlooked by the average fruit grower and a failure to see that they have 

 proper attention accounts for a majority of the instances where imperfect 

 results have been reported. 



Among the other co-operative experiments are several in connection 

 with the use of Bordeaux mixture and various arsenites for the prevention 

 of apple scab and to destroy' the canker-worm and codling moth. Various 

 cultural experiments wdth orchards have also been undertake^. These in- 

 clude the trial of different cover crops and methods of handling the orchards. 

 In the maift, the results with cover crops do not differ materialh^ with those 

 reported at the South Haven station, but they will have fully served their 

 purpose if they merely call the attention of fruit growers in sections where 

 the experiments are being carried on to their desirability and the compara- 



