New York AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 207 
ately incrusted trees by any of the sprays, and subsequent growth 
and crop yields were in every respect equal to the checks. Trees 
much weakened by scale sustained the usual injuries consequent 
to a destructive winter. 
The lime-sulphur wash, the lime-sulphur-salt wash and the 
lime-sulphur-caustic soda wash were equally effective as insecti- 
cides. Applications of these sprays controlled the scale, and with 
some slight exceptions insured the production of clean, market- 
able fruit. 
INTRODUCTION. 
With the complete infestation of large orchards, much trouble 
is usually experienced by fruit growers, especially when the 
sulphur washes are used, in spraying all of the trees satisfactorily 
during the dormant season in the spring. To facilitate treatment 
it has been frequently suggested in certain quarters that fall 
spraying be employed for a portion of the trees. While this has 
been seriously considered, orchardists have been deterred from 
this practice because little was known as to the results upon 
fruit trees and scale likely to attend such treatment. 
As the exact effects of sulphur sprays applied at this season 
upon fruit and leaf buds and upon the scale had not been deter- 
mined, the writer, in the fall of 1902, conducted a preliminary 
experiment with two of these washes for the treatment of peaches. 
In this work* it was shown that the applications of the lime- 
sulphur-salt wash and the lime-sulphur-copper sulphate wash were 
not detrimental to Elberta and Crosby peaches of Burbank and 
Lombard plums; and in the destruction of the scale compared 
favorably with early spring treatments. As it was desirable to as- 
certain if these results would hold good upon these and other varie- 
ties of fruit under different winter conditions before drawing any 
conclusions upon the use of these sulphur sprays for fall treat- 
ment the experiment was repeated in 1903 along essentially the 
same lines, but with some changes that were suggested by the 
previous year’s experience. 
In addition to this problem, a test was also made of several 
sulphur washes to ascertain their comparative insecticidal quali- 
ties. Since its introduction in the East a number of modifica- 
tions of the lime-sulphur-salt wash have been proposed, which, 
*Ohio Ag. Exp. Sta. Bul. 144; 37th Ann. Rept. Ohio State Hort. Soc.,"p. 57. 
