I 



April, '10] BALL AND OTHERS : ARSENICAL POISONING 189 



trict. The orcliard of ]\Ir. C. H. Eogers of Watsonville was chosen 

 for investigation as being the oldest and longest sprayed of the com- 

 mercial orchards. Spraying has been carried on in this valley for 

 seven years and the average number of sprayings applied has been 

 about four. Nowhere in the valley was evidence seen of injury to 

 the trees of any kind other than accidental. 



The Rogue River Valley of southern Oregon has a similar soil and 

 uses very- little irrigation water. No traces of alkali were seen except 

 for a very slight spot in the lowest portion of the valley and the 

 scarcity of water prevents the possibility of seepage conditions. The 

 Burrell and Bear Creek orchards are two of" the oldest in the Medford 

 district and have been sprayed for a number of years, ever since spray- 

 ing was undertaken in the valley. No injury could be found on any 

 of the trees in these orchards or in any others examined except for 

 the small alkali spot before mentioned, in which a few young Newtons 

 that had never been sprayed, were dying. 



In the Hood River Valley the soil is much lighter, consisting of 

 volcanic ash, and little water is used, the orchardists depending very 

 largely upon the excellence of their soil mulch, as they are compelled 

 to do in the Eogue River Valley. No traces of alkali were seen in this 

 valley and seepage is almost unknown, being confined to small and 

 isolated spots in which the character of the injury is perfectly evi- 

 dent. No injury that could in any way be attributed to the effect 

 of arsenic was found in this valley. Two of the oldest commercial 

 orchards, those of Sears and Porter and of Cliriss Dethman, were 

 examined carefully. One had been sprayed for twelve years and the 

 other for considerably longer, both of them heavily, as is the usual 

 manner in Hood River, but without any apparent injury to the trees. 



The Wenatchee Valley in Washinglon is one of the younger 

 orchard valleys, but is already experiencing some trouble. In a num- 

 ber of places trees were seen dying of apparently typical cases of 

 collar rot and often the last tree in the row, where the water had been 

 allowed to stand was found to be dying or dead. They suffered 

 somewhat from sunscald one season several years ago and the injury- 

 is still noticeable on many of the older trees, but wherever the trees 

 were found to be dead or dying without showing the sunken area at 

 the base, the evidence of excess of water, together with traces of alkali 

 along the edges of the furrows where the water had stood, was always 

 in evidence and where the collar rot condition was the most prevalent, 

 brownish or whitish margins were present along the irrigation furrows 

 and these areas were quite damp and sticky at the time the writer 

 visited this section. Mr. Z. A. Lanhan's orchard and that of Mr. P. 



