THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 



95 



Thoroiii:;liiicss of application- necessary for success — In doing 

 this work great care was taken that every part of the trees were 

 covered with the solution, yet it was found that with using all 

 the care possible many spots on the trees were left untouched 

 by the solution as it does not show well while the trees are wet 

 from the spray. A day or two after the application, all the 

 "untouched spots become very noticeable owing to the difference 

 in color, as the solution on becoming thoroughly dry turns a 

 }'ellowish white, making it very conspicuous. After the trees 

 had all been sprayed, one and one half days were spent in 

 going over the orchard a second time and covering all places 

 that were missed at the first application. The time spent this 

 way was short as compared with the time spent in making the 

 first application, which took twenty-one full days. 



This retouching is very important, as a few small places on 

 a tree left without spraying may leave enough scale to reestab- 

 lish the pest in a short time. The trees had been thoroughly 

 pruned previous to the spraying, without which, thorough spray- 

 ing would have been much more difficult. 



Frequent rains occurred during the time the work was being 

 done, but these seemed to have practically no- effect on the solu- 

 tion where it had become thoroughly dry on the trees. 



The time spray remains on the trees — At the end of the spray- 

 ing the trees first sprayed were as white as those recently 

 sprayed, and at the end of three months a good coat of spray 

 adhered to the trees. In other orchards that have been sprayed 

 with the same material, a considerable coat of spray could be 

 detected at the end of one year. 



Cost of spraying — Cost of treatment is always an important 

 factor in deciding wdiat remedy shall be used for scale-infested 

 trees. In this work care was taken not to cut down the cost 

 of the operation at the expense of good work. The best appli- 

 ances and materials were used that could be procured, yet the 

 cost ^^■as not such as to debar its use when compared with 

 kerosene, whale oil soap or hydrocyanic acid gas. The total 

 cost of the materials and appliances, including the wear of the 

 tools, amounted to $355.90, and the cost of the time of men and 

 horses was $321.60, making a total cost of application of $677.50. 

 This divided by the number of trees sprayed, or 11,170, gives a 

 cost of 6.06 cents per tree. These trees were all peach or plum 



