Early History of Liquid Applications. 3 



grower took what was left. Indeed, this method is still fol- 

 lowed by many cultivators, but it is not the safest, nor is it the 

 most profitable one. 



The best is generally the most profitable commodity, and the 

 poorest is the least so ; and the grower of to-day has it in his 

 power to produce the best. It rests entirely with him whether 

 his apples shall be wormy or not, whether his trees shall retain 

 their foliage or lose it from disease. There are few evils that 

 affect his crops which he cannot control, in many cases almost 

 absolutely. Only a few diseases remain which still refuse to 

 submit to treatment, but the number is rapidly decreasing, and 

 the time will come when these also will disclose some vulnerable 

 point which will allow of their destruction. 



Foremost among the operations by means of which cultivated 

 plants are protected from their enemies, is spraying. This con- 

 sists in throwing upon plants any fluids, or semi-fluids, in the 

 form of a fine rain or mist. It rests upon the general principle 

 of covering the plants, or the parts of plants to be protected, with 

 a thin but uniform layer of some material that is poisonous, 

 caustic, or offensive to the organism which it is desired to de- 

 stroy. The word " spraying," as understood in this connection, 

 has not been in general use more than ten or fifteen years, for 

 the operation previous to this time was practiced only to a very 

 limited extent. It was then referred to as " syringing," from 

 the fact that hand syringes were generally used as a means of 

 making the applications. This term is still in common use 

 among florists and gardeners, whose daily duty it is to throw 

 water upon their plants either for the purpose of promoting 

 growth, or in order to keep them free from foreign matter, 

 such as insects or dust. It is essentially a term which, in this 

 country, is used in connection with plants grown wholly or 

 partially in a greenhouse or in some similar structure. Spray- 

 ing, on the other hand, is a term now used by farmers and 

 fruit-growers to designate a similar operation, but the plants 

 treated are grown entirely out of doors, and pure water is 

 rarely used. The operation of both syringing and spraying is, 

 however, the same ; namely, the throwing of liquids, more or 

 less finely divided, upon plants or other objects. 



It is impossible to tell when plants were first syringed. It 

 is very probable that the value of the operation was understood 



