SPEAYING FOR CONTROL OF PEACH BROWN-ROT AND SCAB. 21 



pearance in all respects than the unsprayed fruit. Another significant 

 fact is that in each case all the sprayed fruit was sold before the buyers 

 began purchasing the unsprayed fruit, showing that they readily recog- 

 nized the superiority of the former. This marketing test indicates 

 that the enhancement in the market value of sprayed fruit would 

 pay the cost of the work several times over. 



COST OF THE TREATMENT. 



As previously stated, the spraying was done with a gasoline-power 

 outfit of 200-gallon capacity. Three men operating the machine 

 sprayed 900 to 1,000 trees a day. The mixture was prepared in 

 quantities of 32 pounds of lime and 32 pounds of sulphur in a barrel 

 with a small quantity of water, then strained into, the spray tank or a 

 supply tank, and diluted to 200 gallons. When the blocks farthest 

 from the mixing platform were being sprayed, a 200-gallon supply 

 tank was used to haul the mixture to the spraying outfit so as to keep 

 the machine in operation and avoid delay as much as possible. One 

 man was required at the mixing station to prepare the mixture, but 

 his time was not entirely occupied in keeping the spraying outfit sup- 

 plied. In fact, one man should be able to prepare the mixture 

 rapidly enough for five or six spraying outfits. 



The quantity of mixture required for each thousand trees varied 

 with the size of the trees. Medium-sized 7-year-old Elberta trees 

 required about 1,400 gallons per thousand for each application. To 

 make that quantity, 224 pounds of sulphur and the same weight of 

 lime were required. The block sprayed with arsenate of lead required 

 32 pounds of the poison in the first application (when the foliage was 

 scant) and 56 pounds in the second application for each thousand 

 trees. 



The price of materials and labor used in the work at Fort Valley, 

 Ga., was as follows: Sulphur (flour), $2.85 per hundred pounds; lime, 

 $1.10 per barrel; arsenate of lead, 12 cents a pound ; gasoline, 13 cents 

 a gallon; team (pair of mules), $2.75 a day; and labor, 75 cents a day. 



At the above prices the cost of the self-boiled lime-sulphur treat- 

 ment was 1^ to 1| cents per tree for each application, or an average 

 of 44, cents per tree for three treatments. The combination lime- 

 sulphur-arsenate-of-lead treatment cost 5| cents per tree for four 

 applications. Where labor is higher and working hours shorter the 

 cost would of course be greater, but in the South, under conditions 

 similar to those existing at Fort Valley, it appears that the work can 

 be done at a cost of $15 per thousand trees for each application, or 

 $45 for three treatments. This cost is insignificant when considered 

 in connection with the fact that an increased yield of 25 to 50 per 

 cent, or in some cases 100 per cent, may be expected from the treat- 

 ment. 



174 



