156 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



ordinarily sufficient for au orchard of twenty acres, and is often used 

 in orchards more than twice that size. The question of whether one 

 can afford to spray has been answered. It would not be so easy to 

 determine how anyone who owns an orchard can afford not to spray. 

 The next thing I want to mention is a few things on 



CO-OPEKATION IN SPRAYING SMALL ORCHARDS. 



For the most part the commercial orchards of the state are now 

 being sprayed. On the other hand, the small home orchards that receive 

 this attention are exceptions rather than the rule. 



Nearly every farmer in eastern Nebraska has fruit trees growing 

 about his place, though he may consider this a very minor phase of 

 his farming business. The mere fact that fruit growing is incidental 

 to his general farming, coupled with the seeming trouble of mixing and 

 applying the materials, is why these small orchards are neglected. Early 

 in the spring is the time when there are many things demanding the 

 farmer's attention. This is the time, also, when the important sprayings 

 have to be made, if the apples are to be protected from codling moth 

 and scab. The average man with an acre or two of orchard does not 

 feel he is justified in spraying it if his other work is interrupted. This 

 same man would probably appreciate the difference between sprayed and 

 unsprayed fruit enough that he would be willing to pay a reasonable 

 price to have someone else spray his fruit. 



If some method were introduced whereby these small orchards could 

 be sprayed a great need would be fulfilled. Spraying outfits could be 

 run on the same plan that threshing machines are operated in this 

 state. Just what that charge should be would depend somewhat on the 

 local conditions. It seems to me that if a man were to introduce such a 

 system it would be not to charge per tree, but per gallon. I heard a 

 man making a talk about it at St. Joe at the association there about a 

 month ago; he said a man could make a profit at it by charging five cents 

 a gallon. A five or ten acre orchard is enough to justify a man getting a 

 power sprayer, the capacity of such a machine is easily twenty acres. 

 Under these conditions the owner of the outfit might co-operate with 

 fifteen or twenty of the small orchard owners in his immediate locality 

 to the extent of spraying their trees. He could in this way make his 

 machine pay for itself, besides reducing to a minimum the possibility of 

 infection to his own orchard from outside sources. 



LIME-SULPHrrR AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR BORDEAUX. 



While Bordeaux is probably the best all round fungicide we have 

 at present, it has certain characteristics that sometimes make it undesir- 

 able. Some varieties of apples, for instance, are russeted so badly that 

 their market value is materially decreased. Improperly mixed Bordeaux 

 or unfavorable weather conditions often cause a burning of the foliage. 

 With the evidence we now have regarding spray materials, it is highly 

 probable that it is necessary to abandon Bordeaux at least for certain 

 varieties. 



