288 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Floral Edition 



^ 1'he ibuds burst. They have b&en used 

 generally <'it the rate of 1 gallon to 15 

 gallons of vvater. OnJy one appliesitioii 

 should be made, amd that on -a day 

 w-'htMi the temperature is above freez- 

 ing. 

 ' In cases of severe infestation the oils 

 should be sujppleiiiented by thorough 

 .sprayings wiitfh arsenate of lead ait the 

 raite of 6 pounds to 100 gallons of water, 

 or of linie-su'liphur solution. At least 

 one application should be' made before 



Hatched eg-g masses of the apple leat-roUer. 



trees were alive with larvae and 40 per 

 cent of the erop was ruined. 



In 1914 the writer and Mr. R. W. 

 Leiby carried out an extensive series 

 of experiments in the field at Hilton, 

 New York. The writer had determined 

 by laboratory' experiments made in 



1912 that the miscible oils were very 

 effective in destroying the eggs. In 



1913 some limited orchard experiments 

 demonstrated the effectiveness of these 

 oils under field conditions, and in 1914 

 we deitermined to try ithem on a much 

 larger scale. In these experiments ive 

 used Soal^cide, Orchard Brand, and 

 Target Brand miscible oils. Suffice it 

 to say, without godng into details, that 

 the miseilMe oils gave very gratifying 

 results. We Avere a'ble to destroy from 

 74 to 92 per cenlt. of the eggs and we 

 believe that tliese oils furnish a means 

 of control for the leaf-roller if they 

 are intelligently and thorouglily ap- 

 plied. Such has also been the experi- 

 ence and conclusion of Gill in Colorado, 

 Ohilds in Oregon, and Weldon in Col- 

 orado and California. 



Conclusions ajid Reoommendations. 



The leaf-roller is difficult to control 

 because of its habit of hiding in the 

 opening buds or in rolled leaves. Thor- 

 ough spraying vi'ith arsenate of lead 

 in heavy proportioTis has not proved 

 effective in cases of sevehe infestation, 

 either in New York or in the Western 

 States. 



Extended experiments show that the 

 eggs of the leaf-roller are susceptible 

 to the effect of miscible oils, which, 

 when thoroughly applied, have de- 

 stroyed from 74 to 92 per cent, of the 

 eggs. In Colorado, New Mexico, and 

 Oregon, where these oils have also been 

 used extensively, even a higher pro- 

 portion of the eggs have been destroy- 

 ed. In experiments made during the 

 last three years no injury has resulted 

 from the use of miscible oils. The oils 

 have been applied in the spring (April) 

 at as near the active growing period of 

 the tree as possible, but always before 



the blossoms open, and another aftei 

 the petals fall; the latter will serve 

 altx) OS the regular spraying for codling 

 moah. In lightly infested orehard.s 

 spraying with miscible oils may be 

 omitted and reliance plaeed on thor- 

 ough apjjlicatioiLs of arsenate of lead, 

 at the rate of 6 pounds to 100 gallons 

 0(f water or lime-sulphur solution. One 

 or two applioations should be made be- 

 fore the blos-soms open and anotlx i 

 after the petals fall. 



Lessons From Failures 



D. Johnson, Dominion Fruit Commissioner, Ottawa 



Now that the apple crop of 1916 has 

 been harvested it would, I believe, be 

 good business for the fruit growers to 

 review the season and draw from it 

 lessons that may be of value for next 

 year's returns. Early in the spring it 

 was freely predicted by the majority 

 of growers that the apple crop would 

 be so large and the demand so poor 

 that apples would be of practically no 

 value. It was pointed out that the 

 transportation facilities to Great Brit- 

 ain were seriously impaired, and that 

 we could expect but a poor demand at 

 home. The consequence was that most 

 of the growers neglected their orchards 

 and devoted their energies to other 

 lines of agriculture. The result is that 

 the 1916 apple crop is one of the small- 

 est, and is of the poorest quality that 

 Canada has ever produced. At the 

 same time, prices are exceedingly high 

 and the demand strong, not only in 

 Canada, but also in Great Britain. The 

 prices realized for apples in England 

 have been the highest ever obtained in 

 a commercial way so far as Canadian 

 shipments are concerned. Those who 

 have devoted the necessary time and 

 energy to their orchards have received 



returns surpassing anything in their 

 experience. 



Last summer I had an opportunity t < > 

 visit practically all the leading fruit 

 growing districts of Canada. I regret 

 to say that in most of these districts I 

 found the orchards neglected ; many of 

 them so badly neglected that it will 

 possibly take many years to restore 

 them to their former production. Two 

 essentials in the production of fruit 

 have been neglected this year to an 

 extent never, I think, equalled in any 

 year in the past — these are spraying 

 and cultivation. 



True, it was difficult to spray in the 

 early spring owing to the constant wet 

 weather. Yet those who went about it 

 in a determined manner, realizing that 

 their crop largely depended upon the 

 application of spray were, in all but a 

 few districts, able to demonstrate what 

 could be accomplished, even under ad- 

 verse conditions. In districts in which 

 there were practically no apples of 

 value, I have found orchards that stood 

 like an oasis in the desert, showing 

 that they had received the required at- 

 tention, and had responded by develop- 



Apples injured by the leaf-roller. 



