94 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE, 



tive merits of the different kinds. In the case of apple orchards, while the 

 best growth of trees has been secured where regular cultivation has been 

 given during the early part of the season, fairly good results have followed 

 in a number of orchards where the trees are in sod but the grass has been 

 cut and allowed to remain, or has been packed about the trees to serve 

 as a mulch in 3'oung orchards. 



The experiments with remedies for the San Jose scale have up to the 

 present time shown nothing better than a winter application of the sul- 

 phur, lime and salt mixture prepared by boiling. When used upon a large 

 scale, this work is simplified by employing steam for the purpose but if 

 only a small quantity is required, the mixture may be cooked in a kettle 

 or feed cooker. It answers fairly well, however, when the boiling is pro- 

 duced by slaking the lime in hot water, or by the chemical action produced 

 by the addition of caustic soda. ■ttf-'id 



Numerous patented mixtures have been tested during the past winter 

 and spring, among them were "Con-Sol," "Kil-o-Scale,"' and "Anti-Scale." 

 The former is said to be a concentrated form of the sulphur, lime and salt 

 mixture, while the others are soluble petroleum compounds. Up to the 

 present time, the results seem to be about equally beneficial from these 

 mixtures, as very few live scales could be found two months after the ap- 

 plications were made. As a half-dozen scales left upon a tree will quickly 

 re-infest it, the real benefit of the application cannot be determined until 

 the second brood has developed. All of these remedies are readily pre- 

 pared and, if they prove effectual, the only drawback to their use will be 

 the cost, which ranges from three to six times that of the expense for ma- 

 terials required for the sulphur, lime and salt mixture. 



Other experiments with fertilizers for orchards and various vegetable 

 crops are under way, as are tests of fungicides for the control of potato 

 blight and the diseases of cucumbers. 



Respectfully submitted, 

 L. R. TAFT, 



Horticulturist. 

 Agricultural College, Michigan, June 30, 1905. 



REPORT OF THE CONSULTING VETERINARIAN. 



Director C. D. Smith: 



Dear Sir — During the past year as in previous years much of my work in 

 this connection has been the answering of inquiries with regard to the vari- 

 ous diseases of live stock. There have been no serious outbreaks of the 

 contagious disorders. There seems to be much less trouble from the in- 

 ternal parasitic disorders of sheep than was experienced three or four years 

 ago. 



Circumstances over which we had no control, to a ver}^ great extent, 

 destroyed the value of the work we had hoped to do in discovering a pre- 

 vention for the so-called "Grand Traverse" disease. We hope -to continue 

 the work the coming year under more favorable circumstances. While the 

 disease is confined to a comparatively small portion of the state, yet the 



