-3^ 



gainst wood rot and other pests it is advi; abl* to treat lirab-pruning scars over 

 2 inches in diameter and all deep cuts, bruises, splits or other injuries on the 

 trunks and larger branches. No doubt a few bark injuries were unavoidable during 

 the straightening and reestablishing of trees. 



Before wounds are treated, it g»es without saying that all broken limbs 

 should first be removed with a clean cut of the saw and all stubs sawed off. 

 Also-, the injuries on the trunks and larger limbs should be so shaped and trimmed 

 to insurt; drainage and pruper healing. 



vtcBund Qr&gsings ; Any one of the following will be satisfactory to dis- 

 infect rj3d protect the wounds s (l) Bordeaux paste, prepared by adding about one 

 ;,ua.rt of vv-tfer to one pound of a proprietary powdered Bordouuxj stir into a thick 

 i.^st^, .Jid then dilute with enough raw linseed oil (at least one pin-^) to all«w 

 replication with brush. After drying, this coating may be v/aterproofod by apply- 

 ing tanglefoot* (2) Any good tree wound paint such as asphultum or coal-tar 

 r.aint. (3) Regular shade-tree formula-; Shellac the edgus whore the cambium is 

 exposed, then apply creosote to the remainder of the wound for sterilization fol- 

 lowed by asphalt for lasting protection. (4) Spar varnish may be usod as a 

 phort-cut treatment instead of (3) but is less permanont. This treatment or the 

 Bordeaux paste should be used for peach and other stone fruit treos since they 



c\re easily injured by creosote and asphaltum mixtures. 



0. C. Boyd 



V/eather Conditions in 1938 Unfavorable for Macro centrus Parasites 



The hurricane during the afternoon of September 21 supplied most of ll'.w 

 England with enough weather t« talk about for many years to come. There wer^, 

 however, several earlier periods of unfavorable weather which in themselves have 

 made the year 1938 one we would be glad to forget. The rainfall in July, as 

 recorded at the College, was nearly twice the normal for that month and had been 

 exceeded only three times in the last 50 years. Some parts of the State exptsr- 

 ienced even heavier precipitation. Extremely heavy and frequent showers caused 

 severe dsanage to crops. Agricultural operations were seriously hampered and 

 uften brought to a standstill. These frequent showers, with intervening periods 

 of high temperature and humidity, proved almost ideal for the development of the 

 Oriental Fruit Moth, and at the same time constituted the worst possible condi- 

 tions for the activities of the parasites, so that on the vdiole the Macrocentrua 

 parasites released in Massachusetts peach orchards in 1938 proved less effective 

 than in any year liberations have ¥een made. 



Similar weather conditions prevailed over much of Connecticut where re- 

 sults with the parasites correspond with those in Massachusetts. In Nev; York and 

 Ohio, however, the prevailing weather was more nearly normal as regards teiapera- 

 ture and humidity, and the results with Macrocentrus and similar pt.rasites were 

 very satisfactory, indicating that under normal midsummer conditions, favorable 

 results can be expected from the parasites liberated in the orchard. The New York 

 Experiment Station has observed a direct correlation betv/een parasitism of the 

 twig-infesting larvae and the percentage of infested fruit at harvest time. 

 Where parasitism is high, damage is correspondingly low. Their observations 

 indicate an average parasitism uf 25^ of the first brood and 53/^ uf the second 

 brood in sections whore liberations have been rnade for 6 to 8 years as contrasted 

 with 4-^/t for the first brood and 7^ for the second brood in those areas where 

 liberations have been made for only 3 or 4 years, indicating the advantage of 

 successive liberations of parasites over a period of years. 



Arrangements are again under way to make possiblu a supply of Macro cen- 

 trus parasites for Massachusetts peach growers during the season of 1939. 



A* J. Bourne 



