r,ru.i-:TL\ 



A little work in the garden in the fall of the year may add greatly to 

 the results secured from the elVorts put forth during the following 

 spring and summer. 



PREVENTING FRUIT TREE INJURY 3Y FIELD MICE 



F^Ich* mice ('"MMX nily cau.se severe losses to fruil growers by gii'dling 

 (eis. Such injury is more ol't'Mi found on young trees and usually 

 only when there is snme material around the Iree which makes a good 

 1'ai hoi -ing place for the mi<e. A heavy growth of a cover crop or :\ 

 mulch of strav/ around the trees makes an attractive place for field 

 mice to \voik. Injury is very common in neglected young orchards 

 v.'heic there is a heavy growth of grass and weeds. 



Many paints and washes have been recommended to prevent such in- 

 jury. Some of them are unisons and others simply repellents. "During 

 the winter of 1!)1S and 1 !)!':) the experiment report e 1 here was planned 

 to test several of these materials. 



Materials. 



Several of the more commonly recommended poisons and repellents 

 were use:l. The materials ar.d the strengths at which they were used 

 are listed below. 



1. Concentrated commercial lime-sulphur. 



1\ Concentrated commercial lime-sulphur with slaked lime to make 

 a rather thick wash. 



:. Concentrated commercial lime-sulphur and lead arsenate. 



1. Sulfocide la proprietary material). 



5. Whitewash. 



(>. Whitewash and lead arsenate. 



7. Strong bordeaux mixture. 



S. ('heck. No treatment. 



The concentrated lime-sulphur was nsed at full strength. Knough 

 lead arsenate was nse:l to make a strong poison. The mixtures con- 

 tained much more poison than is ever used for spraying purposes. 

 Sulfocide was not diluted. The whitewash and other mixtures with 

 which lime was used were made of about the same consistency as rather 

 thick cream. The bordeaux mixture was made by the 10-10-50 formula 

 and then thickened with slaked lime. 



77/r Trees. 



Large sized nursery trees, ilin-r years old, were used for this work. 

 The variety was Wagener. Seven or eight trees were painted with each 



