THE FAKMER'S ORCHARD 



153 



the trees 

 The soil 



San Jose scale which attacks the bark and sucks the sap from 

 the growing cells. Spray before the buds open with a strong 

 solution of lime and sulphur, one part of sulphur to eight of 

 water. 



The codling moth does some damage but is easil}^ controlled 

 with the same preparation and method as that used on the apple 

 tree. 



Pear scab may be controlled by spraying with Bordeaux 

 Mixture or lime sulphur, sununer mixture one to forty. 



Pear blight or fire blight is the worst disease. It attacks 

 various parts of the tree causing the tips of limbs to wither and 

 die and the bark on the trunk and limbs to shrink, tighten close 

 to the wood and become sunken black blotches. This disease is 

 prevalent Avhere the soil is very rich and the tree has grown soft 

 and rapidly. No remedy has yet been discovered. Cutting out 

 the diseased areas and spraying Avith lime and sulphur may 

 check the disease. Buy varieties that are less subject to its 

 attack, such as the Seckel, Angouleme, and Kieffer. 



Plums. — For a limited planting about the home, 

 are most generally planted on the lawn, and in sod. 

 should be moderatel}^ fertile and well 

 drained. While the plum thrives best 

 in a clay loam, yet it Avill succeed in 

 almost any kind of soil. 



Make the holes large so as not to 

 cj'owd the roots. Place the sod in one 

 pile, the fine, mellow surface soil in 

 another, and the subsoil in a third 

 pile. Place some of the mellow soil 

 mixed with two pounds of bone meal 

 to each hole, in the bottom. After 

 packing the mellow soil around the 

 roots, fill in the sod and finally the 

 subsoil. Cut off all broken or mutil- 

 ated roots and prune back the top or branches so as to form 

 a symmetrically headed tree. 



The i^lum tree requires considerable moisture to complete the 

 development of a crop. After planting in the early spring, fif- 

 teen to twenty feet each way, mulch the surface of the sod with 

 straw or coarse manure. If the trees are planted on cultivated 

 soil, form a dust mulch about them and continue to cultivate. 

 Of course where there is sufficient rainfall to keep the soil moist, 

 mulching is not altogether necessarv. If the cultivation is dis- 



yf^ 



Fio. 73. — The phim tree our- 

 culio. a, the larva; b, the 

 pupa; c, the beetle; d, cur- 

 ciilio, natural size, on 

 young plum. 



