December, ipip 



BETTER FRUIT 



Timely Topics and Advice for the Fruitgrower 



Individuals who engage in the work of 

 spraving and fumigating plants as a business 

 for hire in California will be required to 

 register with the horticultural commissioner's 

 office and file regular reports with the State 

 Department of Agriculture according to plans 

 now being made by the department. The 

 purpose of this ruling is to give more effec- 

 tive control over plant pests and diseases, 

 through close cooperation with the men who 

 do the spraving and at the same time to gain 

 better results in spraying for growers. Regis- 

 tration of this kind has been required for some 

 time in one county in California and its 

 results have been so beneficial that it will be 

 made the basis for further extension. 



It's a good time now to look for the scale 

 insects which attack fruit trees, says C. L. 

 Fiske, entomologist at the Wisconsin Experi- 

 ment Station. San Jose is the most destruc- 

 tive of all the scale insects. It spreads very 

 quickly and kills trees outright unless soon 

 checked. The scales are about the size of a 

 pinhead, usually circular in outline and dark 

 gray in color. The distinguishing feature is 

 a central raised portion which is surrounded 

 by a sunken ring, which is again surrounded 

 by a vellowish raised ring. The insects pass 

 the Winter as partly grown scales on the bark 

 of branches or limbs of trees. Young scales, 

 thin and flattened, may be found on the 

 under side of small branches during the 

 Winter. The eggs are laid in a white cottony 

 mass of waxen threads secreted by the body 

 of the mother scale. 



Formulas that have proved very efficient 

 in poisoning gophers and digger squirrels are 

 as follows: 



For Gophers: Mix dry % ounce of strych- 

 nine alkaloid and 1-10 ounce of saccharine 

 and sprinkle over a quart of chopped carrots. 

 Place the poison bait in main runways, using 

 care to close the burrow against any light. 



Digger Squirrels. Part 1— Mix dry one 

 ounce of strychnine alkaloid, one ounce of 

 baking soda, four tablespoonfuls of table salt 

 and % ounce of saccharine. 



Part 2 — Make 1% pints gloss or laundry 

 starch paste and add one pint of Karo or other 

 heavy corn svrup and one ounce of glycerine. 

 Mix No. 1 and No. 2, stirring thoroughly to 

 prevent lumps. This mixture is sufficient to 

 poison 16 quarts of rolled barley. Do not put 

 bait in burrows but scatter just outside. 



R. H. Robinson, associate chemist of the 

 Oregon Agricultural College school of agri- 

 culture and experiment station, who has com- 

 pleted examination of apples from Oregon 

 orchards, which bear heavy deposits of spray 

 material, is quoted as saying, "that it would 

 be impossible to eat a sufficient number to 

 cause fatal arsenic poisoning." Mr. Robinson's 

 laboratory tests of the fruit followed a recent 

 alarm raised by Boston health authorities who 

 ordered the condemnation of California Bart- 

 lett pears and Yakima Jonathan apples, de- 

 claring the fruit dangerous for food purposes. 

 The action of the authorities resulted fiom 

 the illness of a woman in a Boston suburb. 

 She had eaten California pears, and analysis 

 of her stomach contents, it is said, showed 

 traces of arsenic poisoning. 



"I endeavored to obtain samples with ex- 

 ceptionallv large quantities of spray sediment 

 left on the apple and consequently picked 

 apples from trees that had received five appli- 

 cations during the season," says Mr. Robinson. 

 "Also the strength of these applications was 

 double that ordinarily used by horticulturists 

 generally. , , , 



"Chemical analysis of these apples showed 

 that the average amount was only .0007 grams 

 of arsenic. Compared with an average fatal 

 dose, it would be necessary for a person to 

 eat 300 apples." 



The question has been much discussed as 

 to the possible life of an apple tree, grown 

 in the Wenatchee district and nurtured by 

 irrigation, says the Wenatchee Advocate. This 

 much onlv has been established — no apple 

 tree in this part of the state has yet lived 

 long enough to show signs of dissolution or 

 decay from old age. On I'ogue Flat there are 

 trees approaching 10 years of age, still thrifty, 

 flourishing and producing fine apples. In 

 the Wenatchee valley proper, trees more than 

 3D years old are still in a vigorous condition 

 yielding increasingly large crops of apples. 

 Recently the little town of ProcterviUe, Ohio, 

 held a celebration to commemorate the history 

 of the oldest living apple tree in the United 

 States according to the local chroniclers. This 

 tree is said to be 102 years old and is claimed 

 to be the first Rome Beauty tree propogated. 

 While dying at the top, the tree is said to 

 annually produce several bushels of apples. 



Probably there is no way of preventing the 

 formation of scum which is universally found 

 on cranberry vines in the spring, according 

 to the Wisconsin Horticulturist. It is a growth 

 or accumulation that comes from long sub- 

 mersion in the more or less stagnant water of 

 the Winter flooding. The longer the vines are 

 kept under, the greater the amount of scum, 

 and the more difficult to remove. Instead of 

 holding the Winter flood till late in May as 

 was the general custom years ago, many suc- 

 cessful Wisconsin growers now let the water 

 down, exposing the vines in March or early 

 April. The vines then have the benefit of 

 Spring rains ^-hich wash off and remove this 

 scum before it has become so thick and ten- 

 acious, leaving the vines in a clean and 

 healthy condition, and before there is any 

 start of new life or growth. Early in May 

 bogs are reflooded and kept under a week or 

 ten days, from the ponds or reservoirs which 

 have also been freshened and improved by 

 the rains of early Spring. 



Page 7/ 



Why Hens Won't Lay 



When Eggs 



Are High Priced 



They miss the green of a summer diet, 

 they become lazy laggards, have not the 

 vitality to molt quickly, or digest properly 

 the usual feed. They lack the ability to exer- 

 cise, and eat and drink what you give them 

 without relish. Laymore. the greatest Egg 

 Tonic, persists In making layers out of winter 

 laggards. It adds to their vitality, sharpens 

 their appetite, and tones up the laying organs 

 without force or injury. 



Two full packages is sufficient for 100 hens 

 three months, and cost but $1.00 (delivery 

 charges and war tax paid.) Guaranteed to 

 give results or money refunded. Write today 

 to Mayer's Hatchery, 213 First Ave. N., Route 

 60, Minneapolis, Minn., for these two pack- 

 ages, and it is not necessary to send any 

 money with the order. Simply say. "I'll pay 

 when the packages arrive," and delivery 

 charges will be paid. 



Cletrac 



TANK'TYPE TRACTOR 



ijonaerly inown as the Cleveland Tractor) 



Paihing a wheetbairow 



throagh soft soil is almost aji 



impossible job. The wheel 



links in and gets stuck. 



Lar a track of boards 



over tbe groand and 



rou can roll aloog 



easily eoougb 



^u^ 



.^^^(«.^^"i^>-^-'' 



iiS*" - 



It runs on tracks 



as a wheelbarrow runs on a plank 



TRY to push a loaded wheelbarrow 

 through soft plowed ground. You 

 have to exert every ounce of your 

 strength. The wheel sinks in deeper and 

 deeper and you finally get "stuck" alto- 

 gether and have to take off your load. 



But lay a plank over the same soft 

 ground and you can roll the same 

 wheelbarrow over it with the same 

 load — but with only a fraction of the 

 effort. It was the plank that made 

 the difference. Its broad flat surface 

 distributed the weight of the load so 

 that there was very little pressure at 

 any one point. 



And right there you have the prin- 

 ciple back of the Cletrac Tank -Type 

 Tractor. It runs on broad flat tracks 

 in much the same way as the wheel- 

 barrow runs on the plank. No power 

 is wasted. You can pull a bigger 



load. Fuel and oil go further. And 

 more work cam be done in less time 

 — at less cost. 



Ideal for orchard work 



The Cletrac is compact, powerful, 

 easy to operate, can be turned in a 

 1 2-foot circle, and performs practically 

 all kinds of work formerly done with 

 horses or mules, and does it faster and 

 better and cheaper. On account of its 

 compactness and short turning radius 

 it's ideal for orchard work. 



Order your Cletrac now. We have an in- 

 teresting 32-page book entitled "Selecting 

 Your Tractor" that will be sent free upon 

 request. It discusses tractor farming problems 

 on a "brass tack" basis. Write for your 

 copy today. 



1^ Cleveland Tractor G). 



19145 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 



Thm largest producers of tank'type 

 tractors in the world 



WHEN WRITING ADVERTISERS MENTION BETTER KRUIT 



