WorK of ErXperiment Stations with Insects and Fungi 



A BULLETIN, No. 150, entitled: "The Com- 

 mon Fungous and Insect Pests of Grow- 

 ing Vegetable Crops," was prepared 

 by Prof. Wm. Lochhead and Mr. T. D. 

 Jarvis, and issued by the O.A.C., Guelph. 

 Growers may obtain a copy on application to the 

 college or to the Dept. of Agri., Toronto. 



In the bulletin an attempt is made to de- 

 scribe concisely the common fungous and in- 

 sect enemies of vegetable crops, and to state 

 briefly the best methods of controlling these 

 pests. "It is believed that the publication of 

 such information in bulletin form will fill a 

 long-felt want. While criticism may, perhaps, 

 be made of some of the treatments recom- 

 mended, to the eiTect that they are too expen- 

 sive, too burdensome, or but partially effective, 

 it can at least be said that they are the best 

 that up to the present have been devised. It 

 is true that with some vegetable crops the re- 

 turns are so small that every means must be 

 taken to reduce the cost of growing and mar- 

 keting the crop. As a consequence, some 

 growers will, perhaps, prefer to replant rather 

 than practise the treatments recommended 

 in the bulletin." 



SPRAYING FOR SAN JOSE SCALE 



We are just in receipt of a bulletin, No. 107, 

 issued by the W. Va. Exp. Sta. on the results 

 obtained from commercial insecticides for the 

 San Jose scale. Tests were made of various 

 concentrated materials that are on the market. 

 Of the spray materials used in the experiment 

 Target Brand Scale Destroyer and Kil-o- 

 Scale gave the best results, being practically 

 identical. The bulletin says in part: 



"Concentrated soluble oil preparations are 

 the most convenient to use of any material 

 yet devised for the destruction of scale insects. 

 They mix readily with cold water and are not 

 injurious to spray pumps, harness, horses, nor 

 the face and hands of the user. None of them, 

 however, seem to possess the fungicidal prop- 

 erties of the lime and sulphur sprays, but as 

 scale killers some, at least, are entirely satis- 

 factory and greatly simplify the matter of 

 combatting scale insects on fruit trees. The 

 pasp. with which these materials may be pre- 

 iwred for use in small orchards and fruit gar- 

 rt'ns, as well as larger plantations, offer good 

 reason for the hope that in the future more 

 interest will be taken in the matter of spray- 

 ing by those who own scale-infested trees." 



PETROLEUM EMULSIONS 



In bull. No. 75, of the Agr. Exp. Sta. at New- 

 ark.. Del., an attempt is made to describe meth- 

 ods of making petroleum emulsions without 

 guaranty of their efficiency as insecticides. 

 "These emulsions depend on soap for their exist- 

 ence, and sometimes on other auxiliary agents. 

 Different formulas call for different proportions 

 of emulsiiier, and are, accordingly, differently 

 adapted to summer and winter applications. 

 Soluble oils sometimes require a preliminary 

 ' manipulation ' with a little water before they will 

 emulsify. It is cheaper to prepare the emulsi- 

 fier, or 'concentrated oil,' alone and to add the 

 necessary amount of petroleum oils at the place 

 where the material is to be used. High ratio 

 '.soluble oils' are usually turbid, separate in 2 

 parts and need to be mixed before using. Prob- 

 ably a small fraction of the oil emulsified is 

 visible when magnified. Some emulsions separ- 

 ate within a short time, others last for months. 



"Most of the various insecticides, except 

 Paris green, decompose soap, and therefore 

 destroy the emulsions that they are mixed with. 

 Hence, there is urgent need of clean vessels and 

 utensils. Kaolin, or even good clay, may be 

 used as a 'marker' to indicate the completeness 

 of the spraying. Crude oil emulsions are some- 

 what more difficult to make than those with 

 kerosene, but they are practicable. The cost of 

 materials needed to emulsify a gal. of kerosene 



or of petroleum oils ranges from IJ^ cts. to 15 

 cts. 'Soluble oils' may easily be made, with 

 but a few appliances and with but little skill." 



INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES 



The Agr. Exp. Sta. of Fort Collins, Col., has 

 ssued a bulletin. No. 114, containing informa- 

 tion in regard to the common insect pests and 

 the remedies that are commonly used for their 

 destruction or prevention. The 1st part deals 

 with the most important insects attacking both 

 large and small fruits, detailing, in particular, 

 those that attack the different parts of the tree, 

 bush or plant. The description, life history, 

 habits and remedies for each are included. 



The 2nd part takes up the preparation and 

 use of the more common insecticides, giving in 

 detail those substances that kill by being eaten 

 by external contact, by being inhaled, and those 

 that repel. Insect traps are also dealt with. 



The best methods of applying insecticides, wet 

 and dry, are described. Spraying is taken up 

 as follows: "The first requisite for a good job 

 of spraying is a pump that will give plenty of 

 pressure in the hose. Then, if one has a good 

 spraying nozzle and a liquid that is free from 

 solid particles of a size to clog the sprayer, there 

 will be no difficulty in getting a good spray. 

 Barrels and tanks should always be filled through 

 a strainer to avoid loss of time and annoyance 

 through the clogging of nozzles. 



"A very fine spray is most economical of 

 material and, for an even and thorough distribu- 

 tion, is best, and is especially useful for the de- 

 struction of caterpillars, slugs and other insects 

 that devour the foliage of plants. In case of the 

 first spraying for the codling moth, however, 

 I am still constrained to recommend, as I have 

 done for years, that the spray be a medium 

 coarse one. By this I do not mean that the 

 spray should be composed largely of large drops 

 produced by the breaking up of a solid stream 

 thrown forcibly into the air, and it should not be 

 a fine mist or fog. A rather coarse Vermorel, 

 or a good Bordeaux nozzle with a pressure of 

 100 or 125 lbs., will ftUTiish such a spray. When 

 spraying is being done to destroy leaf-eating 

 insects, care should be taken not to spray too 

 long in one place, as this will result in the little 

 drops that collect upon the leaves uniting and 

 running off, carrying the poison with them. 

 Here again this rule does not apply to the first 

 treatment for the codUng moth. In that appli- 

 cation there should be but one end in view, and 

 that to fill every blossom or calyx cup with the 

 spray. 



'"There are two types of nozzles that are used 

 almost exclusively for the distribution of liquids. 

 Perhaps the most popular among these are the 

 Bordeaux and Seneca nozzles which throw a 

 flat spray or a solid stream, and the Vermorel 

 nozzles which throw a cone-shaped spray, which 

 may be graded from medium coarse to extremely 

 fine, depending upon the pressure and the tip 

 that is used upon the nozzle. It is a big advan- 

 tage in nozzles of this class to have them joined 

 to the connecting rod so they may be turned 

 at any angle to the rod that is desired. Any of 

 these nozzles may be used singly or in batteries 

 of 2 to 4." 



FUNGICIDES AND INSECTICIDES. 



A brief treatise on the subject of spraying was 

 issued during the past summer by the Agr. Exp. 

 Sta. at Columbia, Mo. It is bull. No. 23. It 

 contains formuhe for combatting insects and 

 fungi and a spray calendar. Among other in- 

 teresting points mentioned are the following: 



"Plant diseases are caused by some or all of 

 3 causes — fungi, bacteria, and insects. Many 

 fruit growers attribute the failure of their plants 

 to bad weather; too wet, too dry, too hot, or too 

 cold. These causes are only secondary and 

 their influence is of minor importance. By far 

 the greater amount of damage done to fruit and 

 vegetables is due to fungi, which are minute 



plants closely related to the moulds, and live 

 entirely on the bodies of the higher plants. These 

 fungi are very numerous, occurring everywhere 

 on the bodies of both dead and living plants and 

 sometimes on animals. When occurring on dead 

 tissues, they cause the tissues to rot or decay, 

 while on the hving plants cause various effects 

 which we know as diseases. These diseases are 

 often attributed to bad weather, but as said 

 above, the weather exerts only a secondary 

 influence. For instance, in the early spring, 

 just after the apple has dropped the petals from 

 its flowers, many of the young fruits are found 

 to have turned yellow and dropped off. Close 

 inspection of these yellow fruits discloses a black 

 mould growing on the body of the apple and also 

 on the stem. Many persons consider this black- 

 ening to be directly caused by the cool, wet 

 weather in which it always occurs. It is, how- 

 ever, caused entirely by the apple scab fungus, 

 which develops most rapidly in the cool, wet 

 weather. 



"The curling of peach leaves in spring will take 

 place in the same sort of weather, and like the 

 apple scab, is caused directly by a fungus attack- 

 ing and living on the tissue of the peach leaves. 

 It may be seen as a white mould covering the 

 curled parts of the leaves or twigs. The 

 mould which attacks the fruit of the peach 

 at the time it begins to ripen, causing the fruit 

 to become covered with a grayish mould and 

 quickly rot, is another of the many fungi which 

 attack and destroy tlie fruit cro 



" No plant is exempt from the ravages of fungi. 

 Nearly all of them develop more rapidly in ,wet 

 than in dry weather, and the cool, wet weather 

 of spring will usually be followed by a great loss 

 of the fruit through the ravages of fungi. In 

 such cases, it behooves the fruit grower to 

 spray and spray thoroughly. 



"For all forms of fungous diseases certain 

 measures may be adopted to control their 

 development. When once a fungus is will 

 established in the plant, however, there is no 

 way by which the disease may be eradicated. 

 Plants differ from animals in being unable to 

 take into their bodies remedial agents, and on 

 this account all material intended for the control 

 of diseases must be put on the outside of the 

 plant. Boring holes in the trees and injecting 

 materials of unknown composition is to be con- 

 demned, since it does more damage to the trees 

 than good " 



STRAWBERRY CROWN GIRDLER. 



The Maine Agri. Exp. Sta. has sent out 

 Bulletin 123 on insects. The strawberry crown 

 girdler is discussed with reference to its tendency 

 to enter houses, and data concerning its food 

 plants and suggestions as to remedial measures 

 are given. Notes on other insects which have 

 been conspicuous during 1905 are recorded. 

 Among these are the tussock moth, red-humped 

 . caterpillar, stalk borer, mourning cloak butter- 

 fly, chain dotted geometer, rosechafer, carpet 

 beetle, wire worms, and a grey snout beetle. A 

 list of insects sent to the station in 190.5 for 

 identification is appended. 



It is pointed out that the strawberry crown 

 girdler in the larvae or grub stage feeds on the 

 roots of grasses and other plants. Strawberries 

 are especially susceptible to attack and should 

 not be set in or very near soil infested by these 

 grubs. The only known practical remedy is 

 clean cultivation. The adult beetles feed upoti 

 the leaves of the strawberry and many other 

 plants. When they are numerous enough to 

 cause much injury, arsenate of lead should be 

 used as a spray. 



Send us two new subscriptions to The Cana- 

 dian Horticulturist, and we will extend 

 your own subscription one year. Send us one, 

 and we will extend it six months. The more 

 subscriptions, the greater influence behind the 

 editorial chair 



