PEACHES AND NECTARINES iig 



scale makes any headwaj', taking about se\en ounces for every looo cubic feet, 

 fused 50 per cent. For every pound of cyanide take one quart of sulphuric 

 acid and two quarts of water. Use earthenware receptacles. First place the 

 water in the jar, according to the amount of acid that is to go in. Then pour 

 in the sulphuric acid, and finally the cyanide. This completes the operation. 

 For a house fifty feet long prepare three vessels, as the fumigation is so much 

 stronger than for growing stock. Do not remain in the house after dropping 

 in the cyanide; get out at once and close the door tight. Bear in mind that 

 the combination in the jars develops a deadly gas, which is not to be handled 

 carelessly; but with proper precaution there is no danger. Leave the house 

 closed up for one hour, and then throw open the ventilators. This fumigation 

 will free the house from all insect pests, even mealy bug. The United States 

 Department of Agriculture publishes a pamphlet on this method of fumigation, 

 which gives explicit directions as to the precautions to be taken. This has had 

 several years' test and the results are quite satisfactory. 



Green fly is occasionally troublesome in the peach-house, especially during 

 the period when the fruit is setting. This is precisely the time when the grower 

 is handicapped in fighting it, for he cannot spray until the fruit is set, nor can he 

 fumigate. Green fly will play havoc with the young foliage. The foliage will 

 curl up, turn yellow and lose its vitality if the fly is allowed to remain on it for 

 any length of time. 



When the fruit is set, the fly may be cleared out very quickly, for the trees 

 can again be sprayed both in the morning and the afternoon; this will check 

 the fly's progress. Spray also everj- ten days with a solution of whale oil soap, 

 using just enough soap to color the water. This is a preventive against green 

 fly, red spider or any other insect pest, and it will give the foliage a glossj', . 

 healthy appearance. First dissolve the soap in hot water, and then pour enough 

 into the water intended for spraying the trees to soften it, but no more. I 

 believe that this treatment is of benefit to the foliage, aside from destroying 

 insects, for after a couple of applications the foliage will look as if it were polished. 

 Good, clean, healthy foliage is the first requisite for perfect fruit; the latter, 

 indeed, cannot be finished satisfactorily unless the foliage is in perfect shape. 



I have never found mildew troublesome in the peach-house, when proper 

 attention is given to the airing. Air the house freely; too much coddling will 

 invite all kinds of diseases. With good management, there are not many fungi- 

 cides to fight under glass. But there is one disease, generally the most notice- 

 able, which needs close watching, namely, fruit rot or blight. It appears in 

 the latter part of Summer, usually after a spell of very close, muggy weather. 

 The best remedy for this is to keep the house a bit drier, gather immediately 

 any fruit that begins to decay, and destroy it, otherwise this fungous disease 

 will spread rapidly. It will be found on examination that the decayed part 

 of the fruit is full of diseased spores; these will spread if left to remain on the 

 tree, and will affect the young wood next to the diseased Peach, occasionally 

 killing it. If the disease is allowed to go unchecked, it will cause serious trouble 

 and the destruction will be rapid. As a precaution against this disease, whether 

 it appears or not, keep the atmosphere a bit dry. There is no danger of trouble 



