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Methods of Control. (a) A look-out should be kept for 

 the first signs of the pest in an orchard or garden, ;vnd treat- 

 ment given at once before serious damage is done. Buyers of 

 young stock will find it worth their while to inspect prospec- 

 tive purchases before the leaves have fallen, and if mite is 

 discovered to go to another nurseryman. If this precaution 

 has not been taken, special care should be taken to destroy 

 Blister Mite at once in a young plantation as, if left for two 

 or three years, the chance of obtaining successful growth ia 

 greatly prejudiced. 



(b) Spraying during the dormant season is satisfactory In 

 destroying the mites which are then under the bud-scales and 

 not so well protected as when in the leaves. The spraying 

 should be earned out either directly after the leaves have fallen 

 (about November) or just before the buds begin to open in 

 spring (about February). Either lime-sulphur or oil emulsions 

 may be used. Lime-sulphur should be obtained from the 

 makers and be mixed with water according to the makers' 

 directions for winter use. In experiments at Wye, Theobald 

 found that a lime-sulphur-caustic-soda wash applied in 

 November and February was more effective than either lime- 

 sulphur alone or paraffin emulsion. His formula for such a 

 wash, in addition to lime-sulphur, contains 1 Ib. of caustic 

 soda and 1 Ib. of soft soap to each 10 gallons. Oil emulsions 

 may be bought in the form of a miscible oil* which merely 

 requires dilution with water according to the maker's instruc- 

 tions. A home-made emulsion may be obtained as follows: 



Paraffin oil 1 gall. 



Soft soap l-2 Ib. 



Water 10 gall. 



The soap is first dissolved in about a gallon of boiling water. 

 The soap solution is then removed from the fire and the 

 paraffin at once added, the whole being well mixed by squirting 

 the liquid back into itself with a hand syringe. The strong 

 emulsion may be kept until required for use, when the remain- 

 ing nine gallons of water should be added and the whole 

 thoroughly stirred or better, mixed as before with a hand 

 syringe. 



(c) It is said that attacks may be checked by spraying in 

 summer with a weak oil emulsion, but in view of the success 

 obtainable by winter spraying a partial remedy is hardly worth 

 troubling about. 



* Miscible oils may be taken as comparable to paraffin emulsions in 

 their action. They are so prepared as to emulsify at onco in water 

 without the addition of soap, but are not usually designed for summer 

 washes only for winter use. The makers' instructions for mixing should 

 be taken. 



