FIFTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 55 



from those trees of salable apples, and we haven't over four 

 per cent, scab apples in the whole lot. either from those that 

 fell off or were picked off. and the same is true of the Straw- 

 berry, with this dift'erence, that we had four crops of Straw- 

 berrys in the six years instead of the six. Now take the non- 

 sprayed trees of the Winesaps, and we had two crops in the 

 six years, and of those over fifty per cent, were scabby ; off 

 the Strawberry, we didn't take one single crop off. Mind you 

 now, those trees were paying us too at the rate of $10.00 a 

 tree. Now the outcome of all this is that I have had eleven 

 consecutive crops off of those Winesaps, and I am going to 

 take another one next year. 



A ^Member : I would like to ask Mr. Derby if he has had 

 any experience, or what his observation is, with the gas 

 sprayer. I saw one working in a commercial orchard last 

 3'ear and was much impressed with it. 



Mr. Derby : Well, the gas sprayer is used, and it does 

 magnificent work, as fine work as you need to ask. We know 

 that the material they use in those iron receptacles will keep 

 on eating ; they claim they coat them with something that won't 

 eat, but I don't know about that. One of these days when 

 those cylinders get weakened, and with a hundred pounds 

 pressure on it, and you sit on top of it, you will go heaven- 

 ward. Then again there is the difference in cost ; with oil 

 and an engine it will cost about $1.25 to $1.50 a day. but 

 with gas it will cost you over five dollars for gas with a gas 

 engine, and I can't afford it. By the way, in my belief, very 

 soon we will be running our sprayers through our commercial 

 orchards by electric power, not only pumping the material 

 by power, but we will run the machine itself ; we are going 

 to take the horse right off. There is no question about that 

 in my mind. It is very close to it to-day. I have been 

 looking the subject over very carefully for two or three years, 

 and 1 keep taking an automobile paper, and when I see one I 

 go to the bottom of it, and see how it is made, and all about 

 it, aiifl I tell you we are going to run the whole business with- 

 out any horses. Just exact!}- how tlie power will be rigged, 

 I don't know, but here is something that appeals to me — if 

 we can use gas. why not use compressed air? We can get 



