104 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



SPRAYING. 



More than twenty years ago in Michigan and the East generally it 

 became necessary to spray to protect against scab and rot fungi. Soon 

 we heard fruit growers praising the spray as a stimulant to growth and 

 vigor. They said: "The spray had other uses than to kill the fungous 

 spores. It invigorates the plants, as shown by their deeper colored 

 foliage and more vigorous growth. ' ' They did not recognize the whole 

 truth that the renewed vigor came as a sequence to the death of the 

 spore of minute obscure fungi that were infesting the vines and trees. 

 We must remember that fungi hide behind their own minute size so 

 that they are seldom seen and thus their presence and mischief are 

 entirely unsuspected. I believe the time will come when we will spray 

 as surely as we will plant and cultivate. Often we can spray with a 

 double purpose, as when we combine the lead arsenate and Bordeaux 

 just as the apple blossoms fall. This eliminates the codling moth evil 

 and kills the fungous spores at one and the same time. 



One of the most prized publications that comes to our office is the 

 "Agricultural Gazette" from New South "Wales, Australia. In the 

 November issue, 1915, page 945, we read: "The diseases of the orange 

 orchard are for the most part due to fungous parasites, which may be 

 kept in check by sprays." The writer adds: "It would probably pay 

 to spray the whole of every citrus orchard at least once with lime-sul- 

 phur, spraying just after the fruit is set." This writer also advises 

 pruning oft' old dead or diseased twigs and branches, cutting at least 

 four inches of sound wood and burning all of the prunings. ' ' Diseased 

 w^ood is the source of almost all infection. ' ' — A. J. C. 



