Febrimry, '09] JOURNAL OP ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 67 



THE CALYX CUP MUST BE FILLED* 



By A. L. Melander, Pullman. Washington. 



In the June, 1908, issue of this Journal there appeared an article 

 on codling moth spraying, entitled "Filling the Calj'x Cup." The 

 style of this article was purposely made assertive and accusing in an 

 effort to arouse Eastern entomologists, by its extreme causticity, to 

 try out in the orchard the treatment which has proved successful in 

 the Pacific Northwest. Copies of this article and Washington Popu- 

 lar Bulletin 5, giving detailed descriptions of codling moth spraying, 

 were circulated among official entomologists and horticulturists. Nat- 

 urally a radical departure from customary methods stirred up many 

 objections, which have come to us in letters and through the press. 

 A symposium of the objections will certainly interest the student of 

 the codling moth, especially since it is contributed entirely by officials. 



The Western method aims simply to place poison beneath the 

 stamens. This can best be done by throwing a driving spray through 

 Bordeaux nozzles, at a pressure approximating 200 pounds. Most of 

 the spraying is done from a raised platform, and a crook is used at 

 the end of the rod to direct the spray downward. The spray must be 

 thrown squarely into every blossom for success. A dilute spray of 

 one pound of arsenate of lead to fifty gallons of water copiously ap- 

 plied is more conducive to thoroughness than is a sparing use of a 

 concentrated wash. One such application destroys the first brood 

 and thus actually insures practically 100% of clean fruit. Thus there 

 is no need for later applications. In addition to assuring thorough- 

 ness, high pressure means rapid work, thus reducing the labor-cost. 

 The weak formula saves quite an item. The absence of late genera- 

 tions of worms eliminates disfiguring "stings," which always result 

 when late larv^ have to be destroyed by late surface applications. 

 The single application *leaves time for other orchard work after mid- 

 summer. Irrigation is not interfered with, as the orchard does not 

 have to be dried out to permit the passage of the spray outfit. There 

 is no damage to apple-laden branches, low hanging because of their 

 weight of fruit, from driving a spray wagon through the closely- 

 planted orchard. Moreover, for oily skinned and glaucous varieties 

 it is the only method that can be successfully used. 



A single thorough spraying has afforded practically 100% returns 

 over hundreds and hundreds of acres of Washington orchards. The 



*Contribution from the Zoological Laboratory of the State College of 

 Washington. 



