EXPERIMENT STATION REPORT. 575 



for, while the neglected ones are disappearing, so that as a matter 

 of fact the actual numbers of the insect are smaller. 



For the most part spraying- has been done in the spring, and 

 tlu^ elTort is made, apparently, to spray late — say, during March 

 or April. It is generally known that fall spraying with whale 

 oil soap will kill fruit buds, and several have claimed that they 

 injured tender gTowth on peach with the lime, salt and sulphur, 

 if applied before the wood is fully mature. Moreover, it seems 

 to be generally believed that where applied thoroughly in spring, 

 the lime wash remains for a long time, forming a coat that pre- 

 vents scale larvae from setting in such places. This and the proba- 

 bility that the fungicidal effect is greater when applied in spring, 

 form additional reasons for making the application at that time. 

 Yet I foimd numerous places v.liere Scalecide had been applied 

 in fall, and without apparent detrimental effect on the trees. This 

 fa.ll work is due largely to the recommendations in the Station 

 bulletin, which suggests that applications made at that time would 

 be of greater effect because the insects are not so fully dormant. 



Mr. Diekerson further notes a tendency to spray more than 

 once, and says the above materials (lime-sulphur washes and sol- 

 uble oil) have also been in some instances applied twice i-u one 

 season, i. e., once in the fall and again in the spring. There is a 

 tendency to do this where the trees are badly infested, for it is 

 realized that even with the best materials it is often difficult to 

 clean a badly infested tree with a single application. In like 

 manner, some orchardists have used different materials the same 

 season ; one in fall, the other in spring. He cites one of the lead- 

 ing orchardists of the State as an example and I wrote him di- 

 rectly on the subject. This gentleman has probably a greater num- 

 ber of fruit trees under his control than any other one man in the 

 State, and his experience with the San Jose scale dates back almost 

 to the time of its first appearance wdthin our boundaries. He has 

 used almost every material that has ever been suggested as valuable 

 and has spraying outfits in as great a variety as are to be found 

 in Xew Jei'sey. He is also gTowing more and better fruits than 

 ever before and is setting out new orchards yearly. His reply, 

 under date of N'ovember Stli, is as follows : 



"Thee asks just what is responsible for my good results with 

 the scale. My theory was this : The lime and sulphur works 

 slowly — is not apt to kill all the scales on the terminal buds — 



