98 FRUIT TREES AND THEIR ENEMIES 



good may be done in the case of gooseberries by- 

 leaving the bushes unpruned till the latest possible 

 date ; with other fruits, the only method of protection 

 is to spray the trees with a thick lime-wash, and, 

 to economise labour and material, it is best to use 

 one of the washes which will act as an insecticide 

 and detergent agent as well, — either the lime-salt 

 wash (12), or one of the lime-sulphur-salt washes 

 (22 or 23). The adhesion of the wash to the tree 

 would seem to be the chief point to be aimed at, 

 for the washes appear to protect the buds more by 

 concealing them from the birds, than by making them 

 distasteful to them ; and, as birds seem to have no 

 power of smell, it is useless to seek to protect the 

 trees by pungent substances. 



Considerable misapprehension exists as to the 

 powers of fruit growers to destroy harmful birds, 

 and the notices issued by the County Councils do 

 little to elucidate the matter, often the reverse. The 

 Wild Birds Protection Acts, 1880 to 1896, created a 

 close time (March i to August i) during which it 

 is unlawful to destroy any wild birds or their eggs ; 

 but the owners or occupiers of land, or any person 

 or persons authorised by them, are exempted from 

 this prohibition, except as regards certain birds, which 

 are scheduled in the Act, these being, for the most 

 part, rare birds, and, therefore, birds which do little 

 or no damage. Both as to the extent of the close 

 time, and as to the birds named in the schedule, 

 modifications may be, and are, made by the Home 

 Secretary at the instance of any County Council. 

 Fruit growers, therefore, are at full liberty to destroy 



