APPLE DISEASES 



491 



factory methods of application. Only good 

 material should be used, and the follow- 

 ing of the directions for making the solu- 

 tion is important. The foliage must be 

 thoroughly covered, but dripping from 

 the leaves indicates an excessive or care- 

 less application. The nozzles should be of 

 a kind adapted to give a very fine spray. 

 Nozzles that give good results with insect- 

 icides may be entirely unsuited for Bor- 

 deaux. The Mistry and Friend's nozzles 

 have given good results. The liquid 

 should be applied to the tree as a fine 

 mist and never allowed to sprinkle or 

 drip from the nozzles. Mistakes are of- 

 ten made by trying to spray with insuf- 



Fis. 1. .\pple Russeted by Bordeaux 



— Charles Brooks 



ficient power. A pressure of 70 pounds 

 is essential, and one of 100 pounds or 

 over is very desirable* 



In looking for a solution of the prob- 

 lem various kinds and strengths of Bor- 

 deaux have been tested. While weaker 

 solutions may produce less injury, they 

 do not obviate the trouble. The use of 

 an excess of lime has had little or no ef- 

 fect upon the amount of injury. The 

 3-3-50 formula seems to produce as lit- 

 tle injury as any, and is most satisfac- 

 tory for the majority of apple diseases. 

 The patent Bordeauxs which are on the 



• (In the Northwest 200 lbs. pressure 

 a common practice. — Ed.) 



market have not been shown to be any 

 less liable to produce injury than the 

 home-made mixtures, and many of them 

 have proven quite inefficient in control- 

 ling diseases. 



During recent years lime-sulphur solu- 

 tions have been rapidly gaining favor 

 as fungicides. They seem to be almost 

 as effective as Bordeaux in controlling 

 diseases and to be less likely to cause 

 injury. In the summer of 1909 commer- 

 cial, home-made and self-boiled lime-sul- 

 phur were used alongside patent and 

 home-made Bordeaux. None of the sul- 

 phur mixtures caused injury, while none 

 of the Bordeauxs failed to do so. Re- 

 cent experiments in other states have 

 shown that when sprayings are followed 

 by excessively hot dry weather the lime- 

 sulphur is more likely to cause injury 

 than Bordeaux. Probably the strongest 

 argument against the use of lime-sul- 

 phur in New England is that it is very 

 soluble in water and in rainy seasons 

 more frequent applications are likely to 

 be required to secure the same efficiency 

 as obtained with Bordeaux. 



Charles Brooks 



New Hampshire Experiment Station Bulletin 

 157. 



Stag Horn 



Very frequently apple trees are seen 

 with the topmost branches dead and re- 

 maining as dry sticks like antlers pro- 

 jecting above the foliage. This condition 

 may be due to various unfavorable con- 

 ditions, but in New England it is chiefly 

 encountered with old trees which have 

 long remained unsprayed. unpruned, un- 

 cultivated and unfertilized. This allows 

 opportunity for wood destroying fungi to 

 gain an entrance. Once started their 

 growth will eventually destroy the whole 

 tree. Severe heading back and clearing 

 out of the dead and fungus infested wood 

 followed by cultivation and fertilization 

 should be resorted to. In some instances 

 it may be necessary to top-graft to rene-v 

 the head of the tree. The full results of 

 such treatment do not show the first 

 year. Great care should be taken not to 

 leave wounds through which the spores 

 of fungi can gain an entrance to cause 

 future decay. W. J. Morse 



