386 BOARD OF AGRICULTITEE. 



time on the subject, devoting your leisure hours— or lay off a few days if 

 necessary— and study up a little about your orchard pests and the best 

 methods to hold them in check, your orchard will be more profitable. If 

 you do this in an honest way you will find this "monster" a monstrous 

 friend. In fact, there is so much to be gained by spraying that one can 

 not fully realize, when the future benefits are considered as well as the 

 past, just how valuable it is. 



Some of you who have never sprayed, and probably some who sprayed 

 last year for the first time, will not agree with me and will point out the 

 fact that a neighbor who had never sprayed had as good or better fruit 

 last year than you or some other neighbor who had sprayed. That oc- 

 curred in a very few instances I will admit. To those I will say that 

 there are exceptions to all rules; but, where the one or two exceptions hap- 

 pened, on the whole, even last year those whose orchards were thoroughly 

 sprayed were gi-eatly benefited. Not only was this majiifest in the last 

 crop, but it is noticeable in the present crop. I believe that if you will 

 examine carefully the orchards that have been sprayed the past season 

 you will find the trees have formed more healthy fruit buds than those 

 which received no spraying. Sprayed orchards also withstood the drouth 

 of last year much better than those unsprayed— the same conditions pre- 

 vailing. On an experimental plant in our orchard we had trees that 

 were sprayed from three to fourteen times and it was a very noticeable 

 fact that those trees which had received the greatest number of applica- 

 tions stood the drouth best, while those receiving the fewest doses suffered 

 most. The fact is that last year was an exceptionally good one for the 

 orchards of southern Illinois and Indiana so far as the codling moth and 

 the scab were concerned; and, for that fact, it was a discouraging year for 

 the man who had sprayed for the first time or the man who had been on 

 the fence or was prejudiced against spraying. If we had no insects or 

 fungi, why, of course, we could not kill any. Early in the season we did 

 not know but what we would have an abundant crop of pests, and the 

 only sure and safe way was to spray. Who of you feel discom-aged when 

 you insure your house against fire and the fire fails to visit you? Can 

 you condemn the insurance company? No, you can not, if you are a busi- 

 ness man; neither can you comdemn spraying because the insects and 

 fungi were not as bad last year as usual, thus making less difference be- 

 tween sprayed and unsprayed orchards. It is a fact that sometimes we 

 derive more benefit from our last spraying the coming year than we did 

 the past. 



In combatting insects and fungus diseases I would advise the follow- 

 ing steps to the man who is contemplating spraying next season for the 

 first time and to those who have no better method: 



First. Find out what insects and fungi it is that has been making your 

 high grade apple into seconds and culls. Then go to work and plot against 

 them (no one wants to or will admit that a little worm can get ahead of 



