78 THE KANSAS PEACH. 



tion should be merely sufficient to wet the plant without causing the 

 liquid to run down the trunk and collect about the crown. Usually 

 at this situation there is a cavity caused by the swaying of the plant 

 in the wind, and the accumulation of the insecticide at this point 

 may result in death or injury of the plant. It is even advisable to 

 mound up the trees before spraying or to see that the earth is firmly 

 packed about the base. Care should also be taken in refilling the 

 tank to see that no free oil is allowed to accumulate in the residue left 

 at the bottom. 



In line with the use of kerosene emulsion may be suggested the 

 use of pure kerosene mechanically combined with water in the act of 

 spraying, as is now effected by a style of pump specially made for the 

 purpose. A twenty to twenty-five i^er cent, solution of the kerosene 

 can be used without danger to the plant in its dormant condition, but 

 it is necessary to watch the apparatus employed for this work very 

 carefully to see that the proportion of oil to the water does not change, 

 and on the whole it is much safer and more satisfactory to use the 

 kerosene emulsion, the strength of which may be known definitely in 

 advance and is not subject to variation. 



SPRING OR FALL TREATMENT WITH ARSENICALS. 



The possibility of destroying the larvse of the peach twig-borer by 

 spraying the plants with arsenicals, either in the fall or spring, has 

 also been suggested ; but such treatment demands the greatest cau- 

 tion on account of the extreme sensitiveness of the foliage of the trees 

 ordinarily attacked by this insect to scalding when sprayed with these 

 poisons. 



The fall treatment is directed against the last brood of larvre, and 

 to be efPective the poison should reach the parts of the plant where 

 the eggs are most apt to be placed, presumably the crotches of the 

 branches. Many of the larvae might thus be poisoned while eating 

 through the bark preliminary to the construction of their winter re- 

 treats. To effect anything of value by this course the poison must 

 be applied early — that is, before the eggs are deposited — and the 

 feasibility of the treatment will depend somewhat on the condition of 

 the trees and the damage that might result from scalding of the foli- 

 age in late summer. 



As a spring treatment, the arsenical spray should be applied to the 

 trees at the moment the leaf-buds begin unfolding, so that the first 

 meal taken by the wintered-over larvse will be a poisonous one. The 

 difficulty with this method is that already given — namely, the extreme 

 sensitiveness of the foliage of the peach and allied fruits to damage 

 by scalding with arsenical sprays — and if this method is followed the 

 poison should not be used in much greater amount than one pound 



