Page 4 



great aid, however, of which the grower 

 may make use. Its advantage is so 

 great that a good many successful or- 

 chard men now employ it and more are 

 adopting it every year. 



Copperas (Iron Sulphate) Indicator. 



This is the addition of copperas to 

 the lime-sulphur spray which results in 

 giving a black color to the solution. 

 Without injuring the fungicidal value, 

 this enables the spray operator to tell 

 instantly exactly how well he is cover- 

 ing his tree and how fine the mist he is 

 using. A half pound of copperas is 

 taken for every gallon of concentrated 

 liquid lime sulphur used in the tank or 

 for every four pounds of dry lime sul- 

 phur put in. The required amount is 

 dissolved in a little water and added to 

 the tank. That is all. The foreman 

 can check on the work of his crew 

 without difficulty and the sprayer can 

 see for himself. 



Thoroughness All-important. 



Spraying is not done for the chemical 

 or medicinal effect on the tree. We use 

 sprays that have as little effect on the 

 tree as possible and as much effect on 

 the pest. To be successful the spray 

 must cover every susceptible surface 

 completely. That is why high pressure 

 and a fine mist spray are employed. In 

 a finely divided condition the drops of 

 spray are able to float like a mist 

 through the tree and cover everything 

 with tiny particles close together. W 7 ith 

 a coarse spray the large drops reach 

 the fruit and foliage in big spatters 

 leaving many good-sized unprotected 

 spaces between which are open to at- 

 tack. The recent introduction of the 

 spray gun and high-powered engine 

 have helped much to add to the speed 

 of spraying and to the ease of operation 

 but the successful use of the spray gun 

 requires the development of consider- 

 able skill. The gun must be adjusted 

 quickly from the broad cone mist for 

 closer branches to the long drive for 

 the upper reaches but with skillful 

 handling the results are practically 

 equal to those with the extension rod 



BETTER FRUIT 



and double angle nozzles. The gun, 

 however, cannot be used with success 

 on low-power or small-capacity outfits 

 for the result is a coarse spray that 

 does not permit of the thoroughness of 

 application essential to good work. 

 Materials. 

 Success cannot be hoped for unless 

 the right materials are used for the 

 particular diseases and pests to be com- 

 bated. There is no one spray that will 

 do everything. Oil sprays, for instance, 

 are valuable for certain insect pests 

 but thus far have not proved useful for 

 the control of fungous diseases. This 

 fact should be remembered for in these 

 days when much is being said about 

 this class of spray materials growers 

 are likely to be misled into expecting 

 the impossible of them. For fungous 

 diseases in general lime-sulphur is the 

 proper material for spring sprays ex- 

 cept on stone fruits where self-boiled 

 lime-sulphur may be substituted. For 

 autumn and winter protection Bor- 

 deaux is the most reliable material. 

 New developments are taking place in 

 the field of spray materials rapidly these 

 days, but growers are wise who await 

 the results of careful tests under condi- 

 tions similar to their own before put- 

 ting their trust in them. The Oregon 

 Experiment Station and other experi- 

 ment stations are performing this serv- 

 ice of testing new sprays for the bene- 

 fit of the fruit men and as soon as merit 

 is demonstrated the facts are made 

 known. 



Particular Sprays for Particular 

 Troubles. 

 Much time, labor and money have 

 been in the past and still are wasted 

 annually in sprays that do not get the 

 results hoped for. This is particularly 

 true of the so-called general clean-up 

 spray given while the tree is dormant 

 in trie winter. The dormant spray has 

 its uses. Peach leaf curl, for instance, 

 cannot be controlled excepted by a dor- 

 mant spray and this should be put on 

 in most peach sections by the fore part 

 of February if sure control is to be ob- 



Febrnary, ip2i 



tained. For peach blight prevention, 

 however, a spray must be applied as 

 soon as the crop is off or infections will 

 come with the fall rains. Apple and 

 pear scab can be controlled only by 

 spring sprays. Apple tree anthracnosc 

 demands a spray which will protect 

 against fall infections and sprays given 

 at other times cannot be expected to 

 bring results. Similar statements may 

 be made in reference to insect pests. A 

 dormant spray will kill San Jose scale, 

 but there are many of our most trouble- 

 some pests that cannot be reached ex- 

 cept during the growing season. Suc- 

 cessful control depends on a knowledge 

 of such facts. 



Cumulative Effects. 

 One of the most notable results of 

 consistent, thorough spraying is the 

 gradual reduction in the severity of 

 most pests and diseases. This has been 

 strikingly demonstrated in the Hood 

 River Valley where the general adop- 

 tion of standardized spraying programs 

 and thoroughness of application has 

 very measurably reduced the preva- 

 lence of apple scab under climatic con- 

 ditions exceedingly favorable for this 

 disease. Similar cumulative effects may 

 be looked for wherever over a period 

 of years close attention is given to the 

 details of the spraying game. 

 Spraying Economy. 

 Successful sprayers have found out 

 that economy in spraying is measured 

 in the degree of prevention secured, not 

 in the amount of spray saved. Thor- 

 oughness is essential and as much spray 

 must be used as will give the most pei - 

 feet protection. For the commercial or- 

 chardist the cutting down on the num- 

 ber of sprays necessary or the saving 

 of spray on the trees has only resulted 

 in immeasurably greater losses in the 

 final pack than the value of the spray 

 and labor saved. Profit comes from 

 thorough spraying at the right time and 

 with the right materials. This is the 

 secret of spraying success. 



Spray Guns and Their Operation 



MUCH has been said and written 

 regarding the results obtained 

 by using the spray gun, yet I 

 have never seen a word written as to 

 how to use one. 



Mr. Black is very enthusiastic about 

 the gun and reports excellent results. 

 Mr. White says you could not hire him 

 to use one in his orchard as they are no 

 good. Why this difference of opinion"? 

 There are two reasons, cither Mr. White 

 did not have the same gun as Mr. Black 

 or else he did not know how to operate 

 it. Recently I met a man who was 

 very emphatic about the gun being no 

 good. I handed him another make of 

 gun with a five-gallon disc in it and 

 2fi0 pounds pressure on the sprayer be- 

 hind it, and he soon changed his mind. 

 Do not condemn all the guns because 

 you could not get results with one. 

 There are several makes of guns on the 



By T. J. Renner 



market with large differences as far as 

 results obtained and also as to ease of 

 handling. 



In regard to operating I will mention 

 only the gun which has the largest sale 

 and' which when properly operated has 

 given universal satisfaction. Pressure 

 is the primary thing in getting results. 

 The amount of pressure needed depends 

 on the height of your trees; also as to 

 whether the wind is blowing or not. 



Numerous tests have been made at 

 different pressures and it was found 

 where the object to be sprayed does 

 not exceed fifteen feet from the nozzle 

 that 2-10 pounds gives you just as good a 

 spray as 300 pounds does. In spraying 

 greater distances than this 240 pounds 

 docs not break the spray fine enough 

 to enter the calyx cups or lo cover the 

 largest amount of surface with a mini- 

 mum amount of liquid. Therefore the 



higher your trees are the more pres- 

 sure is needed. The same is true when 

 the wind is blowing and you have to 

 stand farther from the tree in order to 

 avoid the spray blowing back on you. 



In small trees or on the lower 

 branches of large trees it is only neces- 

 sary to open the gun a trifle which is 

 accomplished by turning the handle to 

 the left. As the distance from the noz- 

 zle to the place to be sprayed in- 

 creases, gradually turn the handle more. 

 Five-eighths of a full turn gives you 

 the extreme range and should you not 

 be able to reach the desired spot then 

 increase your pressure. Be sure not 

 to open the gun any more than is 

 necessary to reach the part you want to 

 cover and close the gun as the distance 

 decreases. This is important. If you 

 have a gun which does not permit this 

 Continued on page 26. 



