332 



The Principles of Fruit-growing 



of lead, although arsenate of lime is much used; the 

 leading fungicide for most fruits is lime-sulfur, and it 

 is also a good scalecide. 



8. The time to spray must be determined for each particu- 

 lar case. The grower himself must decide when and how 

 often to spray, because he should know what enemies he 

 desires to reach. If he has the bud-moth, he should spray 

 with the first swelling of the buds, and if he has the plum- 

 scale he should spray in the winter. But, leaving the 

 special insects aside, it is safe to say that for the two 

 staple enemies the apple-scab and the codlin-moth at 

 least two sprayings should be given. Spraying when the 



tree is dormant has an 

 important effect in de- 

 stroying the apple-scab 

 fungus. As a general 

 statement, one may 

 spray apples and pears 

 two or three times, 

 once when dormant, 

 with lime-sulfur; once 

 just as the fruit-buds 

 break but before the 

 flowers expand (Fig. 

 129) with weak lime- 

 sulfur and arsenical, and again just as the last blossoms 

 fall, with the same combination. The first spraying is 

 for the scab fungus in particular. The second spraying 

 (which is often omitted) is for the scab and bud-moth. 

 The third is particularly for the codlin-moth. If scab is 

 very bad, other sprayings may be necessary. Whether or 

 not it is necessary to spray again will depend largely 

 on the season. The operator must watch matters 



FIG. 129. Showing when apple trees are 

 ready for the main spraying. 



