114 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



grower should begin to spray, and if he is fortunate he may 

 have three or four days in which to do this spraying. He 

 may have only a day or two. He should spray the varieties 

 that are ready to spray and not start at the north side of 

 the orchanl and spray across. If these two sprayings are 

 thoroughly and effectively done, in most seasons only one 

 more spraynig will be required to control the apple scab, and 

 that will be a spraying about the last of July or the first of 

 August to catch the late infection which we sometimes have in 

 seasons that are wet at the end, — such a season as you had this 

 year. In some cases it might be desirable to spray ten days or 

 two weeks after the second spraying, that is, after the spraying 

 following the falling of the blossoms, but in New York, at 

 least, this is not necessary. Spray with lime-sulphur 1-40, 

 arsenate of lead 2 lbs. to 50 gals. Use high pressure angle 

 nozzles, and high tower so as to get above the trees. You can't 

 spray effectively and stand on the ground. We don't know 

 anything about spraying in this country. Some of us do a 

 fairly good job at squirting some seasons, occasionally a man 

 has sufficient equipment to really do good work if he knew 

 how, and a few growers really do fairly good spraying, but 

 before we grow those fancy apples we will have to do a good 

 deal better spraying. 



Question: Wouldn't it be desirable to burn those leaves as 

 they lay on the ground ? 



Prof. WJictzii: Any method of getting rid of those leaves 

 of course in the fall would be desirable, but as a general propo- 

 sition the leaves fall rather late from apple trees, they are 

 seldom dry enough in the fall to burn and burn them all up. 

 Any method of putting straw or similar material over the or- 

 chard and burning them is apt to injure the trees, so we have 

 never found it rlesirable to undertake to control the scab in 

 this fashion. However, growers who plough in the fall usually 

 have much less trouble from the scab in the State of New York 

 than those who do not plough until late in the spring. You 

 can't depend on those things absolutely. On the other hand, 

 there is a great deal more to be learned in the way of sani- 

 tation in the control of these diseases than we have yet dis- 

 covered. Any way to get rid of these leaves is a good thing. 



