No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 579 



They do business on a better business basis. Times have changed. 

 You have to find a man out of his head almost to have a farm 

 change hands in our neighborhood. Farmers are prosperous. They 

 have automobiles; they have steam-heated houses, and live as well 

 as anybody. Sentiment is all right, but sentiment won't hold boys 

 on the farm. But let me tell you, if you make your boys think that 

 a farmer can make more money, have more fun,, lay by a better 

 competence for old age than any other line, you will put those boys 

 in a state of mind that you cannot drive them off the farm with a 

 club. You may think that is not true, but it is, and if you want 

 to talk to real enthusiastic farmers, talk to my boys. 



I don't care what kind of soil you have, you have to learn what 

 it is good for, and then apply scientific business principles; we have 

 great faith in the producing value of land and we are only beginning 

 to appreciate our calling. 



ESSENTIALS OF SPRAYING 



By C. E. BASSETT, Fennville, Mich. 



Spraying is of really modern origin, and its use has only been 

 general practically during the time I have been interested in fruit 

 growing. The matter of spraying is practically a fixed proposition. 

 It is something I don't believe we are ever going to get along with- 

 out. I believe it is something we are going to improve upon, and 

 1 believe, in a general way, that while spraying is a most expensive 

 operation, it has paid us, outside of the known foes it has com- 

 bated, in the improved condition of trees and vines and plants. I 

 was rather startled this morning by the statement of Prof. Stewart. 

 I think it was that he feared that spraying was of detrimental in- 

 fluence, had a bad effect. It is possible the chemist may analyze the 

 work and state it has some injurious effect, but at any rate, we know 

 in the cleaning up of our trees, as a result of spraying for San Jose 

 scale, with lime and sulphur, we have certainly rid the trees of a 

 condition or conditions that were quite disastrous. It is not possible, 

 I believe, for scientists to tell us absolutely what we have destroyed. 

 I try to get to the Department of Agriculture at Washington at 

 least once a year and look over things there, to keep in touch with 

 the improved methods of spraying, and so on, and I have often had it 

 emphasized and brought close to my mind, that although scientists 

 understand a great deal, the knowledge we have yet to gain is many, 

 many times that we have already secured; that really science is an 

 experimental state, and there are many lower forms of plant life 

 Avhich we classify as fungi, that we don't know and in cleaning up 

 our trees with lime and sulx)hur as we have done for the scale, we 

 have also destroyed certain conditions and have improved the general 

 health of our trees by the application of these chemical sprays. 



The success of spraying depends upon three things, — the use of 

 the proper mixtures or the proper chemicals, at the proper time and 

 in the proper way, and just what those proper things are is a 

 difficult matter, perhaps, to absolutely say, but there is one thing 

 that you and I must know first of all. I wish I could talk to some 



