GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 7 



their needs, and treat them accordingly. A general spray 

 given with a vague hope of " doing some good " rarely ever pays. 

 It is important that the application be made at the proper time. 

 Development of the buds and blossoms should be watched and 

 the spraying timed accordingly. It is not safe to go by the cal- 

 endar. Unless the spraying is done thoroughly it is likely to 

 be wasted effort — do a good job but do not overdo it. Use 

 enough liquid and put it in the right place at the right time, 

 thus avoiding waste and unnecessary expense. A sprayer 

 should be selected adapted to the crop and to the size of the 

 orchard. Use the best nozzles, pump and engine you can buy ; 

 a good workman deserves good tools, and they pay in the long 

 run. Use only standard spray materials and buy them of 

 reputable dealers. It is expensive business to experiment with 

 quack remedies or to use cure-alls of unknown composition. 



Dusting. 



Insecticides are sometimes applied in the form of a dust. 

 The results obtained by dusting have in general not been so 

 satisfactory as those obtained by spraying, but more recent 

 experiments where finer materials were used have shown that 

 this method may be of great value. It is especially useful 

 where the supply of water is not convenient or limited. 



Clean farming. 



In many cases the application of insecticides alone is not 

 sufficient to control orchard insects, but must be supplemented 

 by other measures. The accumulation of dead leaves, grass 

 and weeds along fences or in hedgerows provides ideal winter 

 quarters for many insects. Stone walls, stone piles, and similar 

 shelters make the control of the plum curculio unnecessarily 

 difficult. Uncultivated apple orchards are usually more sus- 

 ceptible to injury by curculio, apple maggot, leaf miners, and 

 insects with similar hibernating habits. By practicing clean 

 farming many of these pests will be reduced to a minimum, so 

 as to be more readily controlled by spraying. Furthermore, 



