638 NEW JERSEY STATE AGRICULTURAL 



towns like riainfichl, Montclair, the Oranges, Red Bank, etc., 

 the pernicious scale had proved so destructive that the owners 

 had become seriously desirous of obtaining some relief, and ap^ 

 plied to the local florists, gardeners and nurseiymen, vho in turn 

 applied tO' nie. In almost ever}- instance I advised this lime- 

 sulphur- soda combination and went to considerable trouble in 

 g"ettin.g this matter of local spraying agents started rightly. A 

 very large numl>er of trees and shrubs of all manners and kinds 

 were accordingly treated, and while nowhere extermination w-as 

 promised, vet material improvement was foretold. Had there 

 been a record of failure from one or two' persons only, it might 

 have been charg'ed to carlessness or ignorance, but the reports 

 were almost uniform of practical failure to get satisfactory 

 results. 



In the "Notes from the Rural Grounds" of the Rural Nezv 

 Yorker/' October 8th, 1904, the general situation is depicted in 

 strong, yet not Ol^■erdrawn colors. Among the orchardists 

 where this material was used the results were the same, almost 

 universally. The summer experiments with the half strength 

 wash are recorded in the records of the Marsh orchard experi- 

 ments. 



CAUSTIC SODA. 



This material came into prominence through publications in 

 the Farm Journal, during the early months of 1904. and very 

 positive assertions were made as to- the effect of the simple so- 

 lution, I poimd of soda in 7 gallons of water, in California. As 

 it seemed probable that a considerable amount of soda would 

 be used as a result of this suggestion, repeated in other agricul- 

 tural papers, it was determined to- keep track of some applica- 

 tions made in New Jersey, and to make a few trials myself. 

 ] had the fortune also t(3 learn of the results of applications made 

 in Georgia during my visit there, and Mr. Newell has been good 

 enough to send me an early copy of his pulilished results. 



Caustic potash and caustic soda are not new in New Jersey, 

 and man^' of our fruit growers have used one or the other as 

 a winter wash on tnmks and branches to clean them of moss 

 and other undesirable growths. The treated trees usually ap- 

 peared, next summer, as if they had been polished, and there 

 seems little donbt of the usefulness of the caustic S(^da applied 

 in keeping the trees clean and in destrcwing such insects and 

 fungus or other spores as might li dge on parasitic growths or 



