291 



objections was felt while the experimeuts were in progress, and they 

 were uuido with the expectation of giving this method a thorough trial 

 from the standpoint of the commercial orchardist if these preliminary 

 tests were suflicicntly encouraging. The theory on which the method 

 rests, and the conditions necessary for a fair held trial are stated to be 

 as follows : 



The remedy undoubtedly acts mainly by destroying the adult beetles that feed upon 

 the poisoned surface of the fruit and foliage, thus preventing, to a greater or less ex- 

 tent, the deposition of'the eggs. It need not necessarily act at all upon the beetles 

 when engaged in oviposition, nor upon the larvae after hatching. Consequently a 

 fair test can not be carried on with a half dozen trees close together, three of which 

 are sprayed and the others not. Beetles from the unspraycd trees may oviposit in 

 the fruit of those sprayed, and the beetles killed on the sprayed trees will lessen the 

 injury to their checks. For the same reason a fair test can not bo carried on in an 

 orchard in which only every alternate tree is sprayed. A conclusive experiment 

 necessitates an orchard of considerable size, one half to be sprayed and the other lialf 

 either to be jarred or left untreated, or else two orchards near togetlier with a simi- 

 lar difference in treatment. 



For the purpose of a thorough test an orchard of nine hundred five 

 year-old plum-trees, near Gypsum, Ottawa County, Ohio, in the mids( 

 of a region where fruit is extensively grown, was placed at the disposal 

 of the station. " The orchard was admirably adapted for a fair field 

 test of the method, and contained about ten varieties of plums. An 

 imaginary line was drawn through the middle of the orchard east and 

 west, and the south part was reserved for spraying, while the north 

 half was jarred." Pure Paris green, mixed with water in the propor- 

 tion of 4 ounces to 50 gallons, was sprayed on the trees in the south 

 half of the orchard May 8, 15, and 26, June 2 a fourth application was 

 made, but by mistake 4^ instead of 4 ounces of Paris green was used 

 with each 50 gallons of water. The north half of the orchard was jarred 

 from May 6 to Juno 7, and many curculios were thus obtained. Dur- 

 ing the latter part of June the foliage of some varieties began to show 

 injuries due to the Paris green. " Not over 3 per cent of the sprayed 

 fruit had been stung at that time, while about 4 per cent of that on the 

 jarred trees had been injured. But on both the fruit was so thick that 

 artificial thinning was necessary to prevent the trees from overbearing." 

 In July and August the jarred portion of the orchard suffered froni 

 attacks of the plum-leaf fungus (Septoria cerasina) and brown rot 

 [MoniUa fructhjena), while the sprayed trees wholly escaped the former 

 and were comparatively free from the latter. " So far as one experiment 

 can be relied upon, it indicates that this method is as efficient as jarring, 

 while it is vastly cheaper and easier of application. We hope to re- 

 peat the experiment another season, and shall use, at least for the later 

 sprayings, not over 3 ounces of pure Paris green to 50 gallons of water, 

 hoping thus to avoid injury to foliage." 



Remedies for the striped cucumber beetle, C. M. Weed, D. 

 Sc. (pp. 229-231, illustrated). — In 1880 experiments were made at this 

 1571 7_No. 6 3 



