THE MONTHLY HI'LLETIN. 



439 



As in some others of the counties, when the appropriation for the work is so 

 limited that the appointment of local inspectors is out of the question, the commis- 

 sioner at times is at his wits end to carry out the necessary quarantine work. He 

 has to travel to cover his county. This means expense and eats into what should 

 he his salary. The quarantine must be carried out thoroughly to be effective and 

 in order to perform his work conscientiously he lias to exceed his limit many times. 

 He is told he must keep within the amount and therefore has to pocket the loss. 

 While he is still busy with his quarantine work the time for spraying is on and 

 little show he has for a campaign in that line. He must do his educational work 

 with the grower after the pest has got in its work and it is probably forgotten when 

 the proper sens, n comes again. Bui as the dropping water wears the hard stone so 

 ilir constant plodding tells. Progress is continually being made and will no doubt 

 go on ar increased rai io. 



PEAR SCAB EXPERIENCES. 



By Claude Van Dyke, County Horticultural Commissioner. Uklah, Cal. 



If the pear grower, who is harrowed and wrought to auger by the ravages of pear 

 s' ab, is to be permitted to rest and completely forget this invader during any time 

 of the year it should be during the present month (October). But as the pear growers, 



generally, are in a splendid mood for punishment at 

 this time I shall again revive the worn subject and 

 relate a few conclusions at which the producers of 

 this section have arrived. These conclusions are 

 based upon observations made during the past three 

 years, the first two of which were very favorable to 

 scab production. 



Our orchards, when properly sprayed to control 

 scab, need no dormant or early winter spraying. It 

 is found that after the trees have been sprayed and 

 resprayed several times with fungicides and insecti- 

 cides which go to complete the scab campaign, a 

 timid litle pernicious scale will never get settled nor 

 will a particle of moss get started. Likewise a fall 

 spraying is of no value iu preventing the attack of 

 the disease the following spring. I make this state- 

 ment since it has proved to be impossible to eradicate 

 the spores of the fungus entirely and work done 

 during early winter must simply be repeated later. 

 li is more economical then to save the material and 

 energy for the spring drive which starts with the growing scas.ui. 



All available materials in the nature of spray combinations, including commercial 

 preparations with both sulfur and copper sulfate as basic ingredients, have been 

 tried. In the successive use of these the unusual has happened. Instead of each 

 grower finding some different material with which he had satisfactory results, 

 practically all combinations were discarded as unsatisfactory and the survivors were 

 lime-sulfur and Bordeaux mixture. 



In this county, the past three years have marked lb.' decline in popularity of the 

 copper sulfate and lime combination, and the increasing favor of the lime-sulfur 

 solution. There are several factors which augment the growing favor of the latter 

 aside from its fungicidal value. It is less expensive, simpler to prepare and easier 

 to apply. It is generally conceded, however, that there is a greater chance of 

 "burning" through its use than through the use of the Bordeaux mixture. From the 

 comparative percentages of clean fruit resulting from the use of these two fungicides 

 (he writer is unable to say one is more effective than the other. There is apparently 

 no choice. 



What is true with the control of many other fungus diseases of fruit holds true 

 with pear scab in the time of application of the fungicide. This is of first import- 

 ance. Owing to weather conditions it is not always possible to complete the work 



4—33855 



