1901 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



If crude petroleum is applied to the trees as late as possible before the buds open in spring 

 it covers the parts treated with a film of paraffine which remains on the trees during most of the 

 summer and effectually keeps off the scale. 



Hon. J. Dryden : Which treatment would you put first? Can you depend on any of 

 them to destroy the scale ? 



Mr. Fisher : There is no doubt that crude petroleum is the best for destroying the scale, 

 but it cannot be used with safety on some trees. I should not think of using it on peach trees 

 which were in any way weakened ; it should only be applied to the most healthy and vigorous 

 trees. It can, however, be safely used on apple, pear and most plum trees, but not on .Japanese 

 or egg plums. Where it can be trusted its effect on the trees is very good indeed. One great 

 difficulty is that the ordinary nozzles aie too coarse. I should much prefer a finer one than 

 those made. (Here he exhibited three nozzles — one made by the Spramotor Co., of London, 

 Ont., the other two finer ones that were made by a watchmaker according to his instructions). 



Whale-oil soap is a very useful remedy for peach trees which would not stand the petroleum 

 treatment. It should be thoroughly applied until the trees are completely saturated and the scale 

 is entirely soaked. The difficulty regarding it is that it is too expensive. It costs 12 cents 

 for soap to spray each peach tree, while the crude petroleum would only cost 2 cents. A combin- 

 ation of the soap and the oil would cost from 4 to 5 cents. The lime, salt and sulphur wash, 

 taking the lime at 12 cents, the salt at 8 and the sulphur at 30, would cost 1 cent per gallon or 

 2 cents per tree, using two gallons to a tree. Fumigation costs from 15 to 17 cents for the 

 chemicals required for a full grown peach tree. 



The peach tree grower should allow the branches to grow close to the ground without a 

 long trunk, the lowest branches being only a foot above the surface. This produces a tree 

 which is better than a tall one for picking, for spraying, for fumigation and for obtaining 

 shelter ; it also has no long trunk for harbouring borers. 



He found that in using crude petroleum with 20 p.c. water more trees were killed by the 

 Ontario oil than by the American, the latter being much heavier. The specific gravity of the 

 Ontario oil was 39| and that of the American 4^. The former was procured from Wallace- 

 town, Ont., through David Barr of Button, and the latter from Titusville, Penn. Undiluted 

 oil sprayed with an ordinary nozzle would kill all trees. 



The speaker then gave an account of some of his experiences during the past season. One 

 instance was an orchard at St. Catharines in which he treated a block of trees ; these are all 

 healthy now, while east of them, only twenty yards distant, there are three or four rows of 

 peach trees which were partially treated by the owner and have since all died. 



Near Niagara 370 trees, plum and pear, were inspected on September 20th and found so 

 much infested with scale that they could not stand them during the remainder of the season 

 and the fruit was no good. He made a light application with 25 gals, crude petroleum, half a 

 pint to a tree diluted with 25 p.c. of water ; it did not hurt the trees and killed most of the 

 scales. These trees will be treated again in the spring. The addition of water to the oil 

 increases the volume and enables the oil to be more readily sprayed ; it soon evaporates and 

 leaves only the oil on the trees. 



I cannot — he said — recommend any remedy that will fit every case, nor any nozzle. These 

 may be one-fourteenth inch, one-twentieth, one twenty-fifth, one-thirty-third, one-fiftieth ami 

 one- sixty-sixth. One-fortieth is a good size ; it makes a very fine spray, and the operator can 

 regulate without difficulty the amount applied, as it works more slowly than a coarse one. 



Mr. John Law : Does this nozzle ever get clogged ? 



Mr. Fisher : No ; the pressure keeps it clear. A long extension pipe should not be used ; 

 the shorter it is the better for satisfactory work. 



After replying to several questions regarding spraying apparatus, materials and methods of 

 application, Mr. Fisher said : I find now that there is an entire change of feeling amongst the 



