60 



We have nearly, if not entirely, overcome the clamour as to the use of a "deadly 

 poison," and now I have rather to attend to the other side of the question and warn as 

 to the necessities of care. 



My correspondents are not without a sort of dry jocoseness in the matter, for having 

 cautioned one inquirer that if he sprayed his gooseberries he had better have a large 

 gooseberry pie made and consumed by himself and household as a proof that all was right, 

 I presently received a donation of as fine green gooseberries as could be desired. Did he 

 wish to transfer the experiment, I wonder ? About effect of Paris green on leafage, one 

 of my correspondents reports to me that in his plum garden (32 acres) he syringed twice 

 with Paris green at a strengh of 1 ounce to 10 gallons, using the " Gelair" sprayer. He 

 did not begin until the plum blossoms fell, and had to syringe twice because of the bad- 

 ness of the attack, also because rain came. The syringing was very carefully done so 

 that there was no observable dropping from the leaves, and on the 10th instant he wrote 

 me : " I have an extraordinary crop of plums in consequence." 



With regard to foliage of the sprayed trees, he says : 



I find that the Pershore Egg Plum, Victoria, and Damsons, have their foliage quite uninjured and 

 looking very healthy : but Czar and Rivers Early Prolific are decidedly injured, and New Orleans in a 

 lesser degree. These are all the varieties I grow. Evidently same varieties of plums are much more easily 

 injured than others by Paris green. (I.R.) 



T hope, before preparing my next annual report, to obtain detailed information on 

 this subject from various quarters, but I think the further observation of my cor- 

 respondent (M. J. Riley, of Putley Court, W. Ledbury) well worth attention here until 

 we are more experienced. 



I syringed 60 acres of apple trees which were badly attacked by caterpillars, 1 ounce to 20 gallons, 

 which seemed to kill the caterpillars, so that one naturally asks, why make it any stronger for 

 plums? (I.R.) 



But I find difficulty in persuading people to be moderate, as they desire a strong 

 spraying to do all the work at once. 



M. J. Riley further notes, relatively to effect of method of spraying, that last year 

 (before we could procure proper sprayers) he had only common garden syringes ; that he 

 syringed " Damascenes," badly infested, with the same strength of Paris green now used 

 with success on several kinds of plums, namely, 1 ounce to 10 gallons, and too much 

 being put on so that the trees dripped, the lower branches were killed. 



After our real difficulties, and the boundie-^s and fathomless amount of damage and 

 trouble predicted last year, it is a very great satisfaction to me to have trustworthy reports 

 of the excellent state of foliage of trees pioperly sprayed last year, and also to find the 

 greatly lessened amount of caterpillar presence which occurs compared to previous ap- 

 pearances where Paris green applications or banding have been properly attended to. 



But I should be ungrateful and fail in proper thankfulness if I did not acknowledge 

 that, for this benefit to British fruit-growers from the use of Paris green, we are indebted, 

 I believe, primarily, to the exertions of our respected friend, now holding the distin- 

 guished office of Entomologist of the Department of Agriculture of the United 

 States of America, and likewise to the careful working forward of the subject both 

 in the United States of America and Canada, and for myself I am bound to say 

 (and I hope you will permit me to acknowledge) that but for the efficient and kind 

 help you were good enough to give myself and our Gresham committee, I greatly 

 doubt if we could have pushed the subject to its present well-based standing. 



Our Gresham fruit committee is doing good work by the investigation of the 

 members being extended to all our noticeable injurious fruit attacks which they discover 

 to be present. These are entered on at their meetings. Where the insect pest is un- 

 known to them they forward it to me and I identify (or procure its identification) 

 for them, and with the addition of their practical observations of life history, and 

 means of prevention and remedy, added to what we find recorded, we make service- 

 able advance. 



It would be very advantageous if we had more such committees, for the work is so 



