24 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD 



crop saved in a year of general disaster brings a 

 large price in the market, so that these three extra 

 crops of peaches may be credited with more than 

 average returns. 



The method has not been v^idely adopted, though 

 it is rather hard to see why it should not be more 

 popular. Whitewashing is easy and cheap, and the 

 results seem to be such as to pay well for the work. 



Whitewash for treating peach trees is made in the 

 usual way from stone lime, the object being, of 

 course, to get the heaviest coating of white lime on 

 the peach twigs. It has been found that the white- 

 wash will adhere better if a considerable amount of 

 skimmed milk is added to the water. Salt will also 

 serve the same purpose. The whitewash is always 

 applied with a spray pump, using a fine nozzle. 

 From two to four sprayings are commonly required, 

 though the former number is likely to suffice, if ap- 

 plied at the proper time; that is, just before warm 

 weather may be expected in the spring. From four 

 to six quarts of whitewash are required for the treat- 

 ment of each tree at each spraying. Dr. Whitten 

 estimates that the total cost of four sprayings does 

 not exceed lo cents a tree. 



In this connection we should not entirely lose 

 sight of the fact that there are occasional beneficial 

 secondary effects from this lime spraying. It has 

 long been customary among unskilled farmers to 

 whitewash trunks and branches of fruit trees with 

 a view to kill insects and fungi. This purpose is 

 actually served to a considerable extent. Mr. W. 

 T. Macoun in his Canadian experiments found that 

 spraying with whitewash in the manner recom- 

 mended for frost protection would almost com- 

 pletely clear apple trees of oyster shell bark Hce. It 

 would seem feasible, furthermore, to combine the 



