ORCHARD PESTS. 



217 



neighbors had about 300 cherry trees of the 

 same varieties and picked 15 baskets of 

 poor fruit, and other fruit growers in the 

 district east of Hamilton, who' did not spray, 

 obtained about the same results. I am 

 satisfied that my success in securing a crop 

 was due to the thorough spraying. In view 

 of the returns I have secured I have con- 

 cluded that it pays handsoniely to spray. 



" Before I purchased n^y sprayer I was 

 told that it would be difficult to maintain 

 the pressure when it was derived from the 

 rear wheel, but I experienced no trouble of 

 this kind. It was possible to work the 

 pressure up to 175 pounds in five minutes. 

 The sprayer could remain opposite one tree 

 for several minutes without the pressure de- 

 creasing to any great extent." 



Enemies in the Orchard 



J. O. DUKE, RUTHVEN, ONT. 



1FIND oystershell bark louse one of the 

 most difficult pests to handle. Spray- 

 ing with whale oil soap may check but does 

 not eradicate it. I have used lime, salt and 

 sulphur for the past two years and hope to 

 have better results from this. 



The peach tree borer is easily kept out of 

 an orchard by carefully digging the borers 

 out with a knife. 1 ms should be done 

 twice a year until the tree is five years old, 

 after which, if the trees have been kept 

 clean and have no scars at the base, the 

 borers will have difficulty in securing a 

 lodgment. 



In the spring, during the months of April 

 and May, I have the earth removed from the 

 base of the tree. In doing this all large 

 borers can be easily found and dug out. In 

 a couple of weeks I send a man over the or- 

 chard again. This time most of the small 

 grubs can be found, their presence being in- 

 dicated by their excreta appearing as fine 

 brown sawdust at the entrance to their hole. 

 This man also paints the tree from the 

 ground to the height of a foot or so with a 

 mixture containing equal parts of whale oil 

 soap, crude petroleum and water. In a 

 week or 10 days the trees are again gone 

 over and banked up six or eight inches 

 above the level of the ground, each tree be- 

 ing carefully inspected, before the earth is 

 put around it, for signs of grubs that may 

 have been overlooked. This final banking 



up should be done before June 10, as that 

 is about the time the borer moth begins to 

 hatch in Essex county. 



In October I like to go over my trees to 

 bank up for the winter, always keeping on 

 the watch for a stray borer. I believe that 

 trees painted with the mixture mentioned 

 are practically insured against mice, as none 

 of my trees that were painted in the sum- 

 mer of 1903 were girdled, while a few rows 

 that were missed were nearly all taken. 



Spraying Trees When in Bloom 



PROF. H. L. HUTT, O. A. C, GUELPH, ONT. 



A number of farmers in this locality are 

 advocating the spraying of apple trees when in 

 full bloom. One prominent fruit grower cites 

 an instance where a man had started, but stop- 

 ped part way up a row, being warned that the 

 blossoms would not mature. That fall the fruit 

 on the sprayed trees was far superior and the 

 place he left off could be distinctly seen. 

 Kindly give me your opinion as to spraying 

 when in bloom. — (C. F. Bailey, Colebrook, N. S. 



I cannot recommend spraying while the 

 trees are in bloom, for this would mean the 

 destruction not only of the honey bees but 

 the wild bees which help to bring atx)ut 

 fertilization of the blossoms. The good 

 results obtained from spraying would no 

 doubt have been just as marked if the trees 

 had been properly sprayed before and after 

 blossoming. 



From your statement it appears that trees 

 sprayed while in bloom show marked results 

 over those unsprayed. This is nothing 

 more than might be expected, still it does 

 not show how many bees were destroyed 



