34 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



150 pounds high-grade sulphate of potash 

 750 " basic slag 



1200 '' 



This gives me a mixture containing about 

 '2j\ per cent nitrogen 

 12^ " phosphoric acid, available 



12i\j " potash 

 and the mixture contains no chlorine which I consider injurious 

 to fruit and to the land as it tends to make the land become sour. 

 As this mixture contains a large proportion' of slag which carries 

 from 30 to 50 per cent of available lime, it will help to lime the land. 



Now this will seem tedious to most persons, but 1 find such cal- 

 culations necessary to enable me to decide intelligently what to buy 

 to fertilize the peach orchard for the best results and the greatest 

 economy." 



Mr. Morse was asked if he sprayed. He replied that he would 

 not get any fruit if he did not. For the San Jose scale he used 15 

 pounds each of sulphur and lime to 50 gallons of water. 



Mr. Parker stated that he had no scale in his orchard and he 

 sprayed with Bordeaux mixture. 



]\Ir. Hixon called attention to the practice of planting peach 

 stones for the raising of trees and advised against it. Although it 

 was interesting as an experiment it would not pay commercially. 

 He had tried it and had the trouble of pulling up the trees later. 



Duncan Finlayson inquired if Mr. Morse had experienced trouble 

 with borers. 



Mr. Morse replied that he had trouble with borers; he painted 

 the trunks with lime paint for he found the borers put in their work 

 in spite of the spraying with lime and sulphur. He said that spray- 

 ing with lime and sulphur accomplished two things; it destroyed 

 the scale insect and it was also a remedy for fungi and leaf curl. 

 One spraying served for both purposes. He sprayed once a year, 

 whether the need was apparent or not, and should continue to do so. 



Mr. Hixon remarked that the scale was not got rid of easily and 

 advised making sure of new stock being clean. 



William N. Craig inquired if any of the nurserymen present 

 had ever used hydrocyanic acid gas in fumigation of nursery stock. 



