804 



HORTICULTURE 



December 14. 1907 



PETROLEUM EMULSION FOR THE 

 SAN JOSE SCALE. 



Bulletin No. 49 of the Storrs Experi- 

 ment Station by C. D. Jarvis, treats 

 of a new remedy for tlie San Jose 

 scale. The lime-sulphur wash, which 

 for a number of years has been con- 

 sidered the standard remedy, has many 

 undesirable qualities. It is corrosive 

 to man. to horses and to spraying ap- 

 paratus; its preparation requires care, 

 time and an elaborate outfit; it must 

 be applied while warm, and if applied 

 in the fall frequently causes injury to 

 the trees. 



The various proprietary remedies or 

 so-called "soluble oils" on the market 

 have been thoroughly tested and fa- 

 vorably reported upon by several ex- 

 periment station and prominent fruit 

 growers. The cost of these prepara- 

 tions, however, makes their use almost 

 prohibitive for commercial orchardists. 

 These soluble oils are concentrated pe- 

 troleum emulsions, made by a process 

 known only to the manufacturers, and 

 are the outcome of the strong demand 

 for an efficient scale remedy that may 

 be more conveniently prepared and less 

 offensive to handle. 



The Storrs Experiment Station, in 

 the bulletin referred to, describes a 

 method of preparing a "soluble oil," 

 which after one year's observation, 

 shows signs of becoming a very effi- 

 cient and convenient remedy. Messrs. 

 J. H. Hale, of South Glastonbury, and 

 Barnes Brothers, of Yalesville. who 

 tested it in an experimental way last 

 year, report favorable results. The 

 formula, which consists of two parts, 

 follows: 



1. — The Emulsifier. 



Cai-lKilio .Ti-id (crude liqiiiil Kiii 



per oeut.) — . . . '^ quarts 



Fisli oil (pure Menhaden or 



whale oil) 2\4 quarts 



Caustic potash (granul.Tted) 1 pound 



Heat to 300 deg. I'., remove from tlii' 



file and immediately add 



Kerosene HV^ quarts 



Water .ji/a quarts 



Very serious difficulty has been ex- 

 perienced in getting materials of the 

 proper grade. This is especially true 

 with regard to the local dealers who 

 are not familiar with the requirements 

 and who are likely to substitute "some- 

 thing just as good." 



The emulsifier may be made up in 

 any quantity and kept indefinitely. The 

 cooking is best done in an iron kettle 

 equipped with a cover and so arranged 

 that it can be readily removed from the 

 fire. The mixture being inflammable, 

 it is unsafe to do the cooking near a 

 building. 



2. — The Complete Soluble Oil. 



Emulsifier .S parts 



Crude petroleum 18 parts 



Rosin oil 4 parts 



AVater 1 [lart 



This part of the fortuula may be 

 made up at any time without heat. 

 The materials should be added sepa- 

 rately and in the order named. 



By securing the materials in large 

 quantities the complete "soluble oil" 

 may be made up for 16 to IS cents per 

 gallon. If diluted with 15 parts water, 

 as is recommended, the spray mixture 

 costs slightly over one cent per 

 gallon. The lime-sulphur wash costs, 

 including labor and fuel, at least one 

 and one-half cents iJer gallon and the 



commercial soluble oils cost, depend- 

 ing upon the amount of dilution, from 

 two and one-half to three and one-half 

 cents per gallon. 



Directions for Use. 

 After a thorough stirring, take one 

 part of the "soluble oil" to fifteen 

 parts of water. Before mixing up 

 large quantities, pour a few drops in 

 a glass of water to see if it mixes. If 

 it has been properly made the mixture 

 will form a milky emulsion without 

 any free oil on the surface. When 

 satisfied that it will readily mix or 

 "emulsify" a convenient way is to pour 

 three gallons of the soluble oil into a 

 fifty-gallon spray barrel and fill the 

 barrel with water. 



Thoroughness of application is of 

 utmost Importance. Badly infested 

 orchards should receive two applica- 

 tions, one in the fall and the other 

 in the early spring. As a regular prac- 

 tice, however, one application, just 

 after the leaves drop in the fall, should 

 keep the insect in check. 



Where the leaf curl is prevalent in 

 peach orchards the oil spray in the fall 

 may be supplemented by a spring ap- 

 plication of lime and sulphur. A finer 

 nozzle should be used for the oil than 

 for the lime-sulphur wash. In this way 

 more thorough and more economical 

 work may be done. Because of its 

 greater spreading action and of Its 

 adaptability to a finer nozzle, one 

 gallon of oil emulsion will go as far as 

 one and one-half gallons of the lime- 

 siilphur wash. 



Complete information is given in the 

 bulletin regarding the source and cost 

 of materials, the preparation of the 

 "soluble oil," the necessary precautions 

 and the time and method of applica- 

 tion. 



The bulletin will be sent free upon 

 request by addressing the Storrs Ex- 

 periment Station, StoiTs, Connecticut. 



GREENHOUSES BUILDING OR CON- 

 TEMPLATED. 



Youngstown, O. — H. Heck, one house. 



Omaha. Neb. — Lewis Zardine, one 

 house. 



Lincoln. Mass. — Chas. Luut. one 

 house. 



Horseheads. X. Y. — R. S. Treat, one 

 house. 



Gorham. Me.— N. Hannaford, 50 ft. 

 addition. 



Bristol. Tenn. — Simiison Floral Co.. 

 one house. 



Simsbury, Conn. — Miss M. Bullock, 

 one house. 



Topsfield, Mass.— Thomas E. Proc- 

 tor, one house. 



Seattle, Wash.— Woodland Park 

 Floral & Seed Co., range of houses. 



VERMONT AGRICULTURAL EX- 

 PERIMENT STATION. 



The present status of San Jose 

 scale infestation in Vermont is some- 

 what better than that of a year ago, 

 as reported at the Society meeting. 

 The writer visited the orchard of Mi . 

 Emerson of Thompson's Point, early 

 last summer and made a somewhat 

 careful inspection of the infested 

 trees. At that time there were less 

 young scales than during the preced- 

 ing season and it was thought that a 

 large number of them had been killed 

 during the past winter. In conversa- 

 tion with Mr. Emerson the writer was 

 informed that he had already made ar- 

 rangements with a professional spray- 

 er from Boston to spray all the in- 

 tested trees thoroughly, in the tall, 

 after the leaves had fallen. 



A few weeks ago, not having heard 

 in the mean titne that anything had 

 been done by Mr. Emerson, except 

 very indirectly, the orchard was again 

 visited and it was found that all of 

 the old trees had been cut dovi-n and 

 burned up. There were, however, 

 some thirty or forty young trees, some 

 of which had been planted last spring, 

 still remaining in the orchard. An ex- 

 amination of all remaining trees re- 

 vealed the fact that only three or four 

 out of the whole lot were actually free 

 from scale, showing that, even though 

 clean trees were planted in the spring, 

 practically all of them were more or 

 less infected during the first season. 

 This furnished additional evidence of 

 the rapid spread of scale throughout 

 an orchard, when a few trees in the 

 orchard are infested. 



At the present time these trees, ac- 

 cording to information given by the 

 superintendent, have been thoroughly 

 sprayed with one of the standard, sol- 

 uble oils and it is the intention to 

 give them another spraying next 

 spring, before the buds begin to 

 swell. If this work is thoroughly 

 done and a spring application is made 

 it is believed that practically all old 

 scale will be eradicated from the 

 young trees. There are some half 

 dozen trees, however, on which it is 

 quite likely a few scales will escape 

 being hit by the spraying materials 

 ana it would seem advisable ihat a 

 careful watch be kept on these sus- 

 pected trees during the coming sea- 

 son. It young scale make their ap- 

 pearance, the writer would advise 

 that all infested trees be at once de- 

 stroyed. 



Careful examination of adjacent or- 

 chards and scattering roadside trees 

 have not revealed the presence of 

 scale in a single instance. 



WM. STUART, Sec'y. 



NEW HEATING APPARATUS. 



Fillow Flower Co., Westport, Conn., 

 boilers. 



M. Cook's Sons. New Orleans, La., 

 Hitchings boiler. 



R. W. Patterson. Montgomery, Ala.. 

 Kroeschell boiler. 



Peter Fisher. Ellis. Mass.. More- 

 head return steam traps. 



Charles Serveau. San Francisco. 

 Cal., No. 3 Morehead return steam 

 trap. 



A meeting in the interests of the 

 Los Angeles Flower Show (Cal.) was 

 held on Dec. 30 at Chas. Winsel's 

 store. Secretary Hand was instruct- 

 ed to send out notices to exhibitors 

 of Pasadena. Hollywood and Santa 

 Barbara and the millionaire residents 

 of Southern California with a view to 

 making this the most extensive show 

 of the kind ever given. A date, from 

 April 5 to 11, was tentatively agreed 

 upon. 



