W. VA. AGR. EXPERIMENT STATION [Bulletin 141 



a wound is to heal over, it must be supplied with food from the 

 downward flow of sap returning from the leaves, the digestive 

 organs of the plant. If a stub is left where a limb is removed, the 

 wound can receive no nourishment for the sap ceases to circulate 

 through the stub. Death and decay that reaches into the heart-wood 

 soon follow. (Pig. 3). On the other hand a limb cut' off close to 

 the main branch leaves a wound directly in the path of the decend- 

 ing stream of plant food; new growth begins to spread over the 

 cut and in a year or two the surface is completely covered. When 

 limbs more than two inches in diameter are removed, it is advisable 

 to paint the cut with a heavy lead paint to keep out the moisture. 



SPRAYING. After the tree is pruned the matter of spraying 

 should be considered. Whenever San Jose Scale is present, it is 

 absolutely necessary to apply a dormant spray. Either of two 

 materials may be used to control the scale, lime-sulphur solution 

 or a soluble oil. Commercial lime-sulphur solution used at the rate 

 of one gallon to eight of water, is to be preferred because of its 

 fungicidal properties. In fact whether the San Jose scale is pres- 

 ent or not, it pays to apply this dormant spray because it cleans 

 off the moss, lichens and fungi that usually cling to neglected 

 trees. It must never be applied at this strength after the leaves 

 come out. 



The subsequent sprayings should number at least two or more 

 if necessary. The first of these should be applied as soon as the 

 blossoms drop. Either lime-sulphur solution diluted 1 to 40, or 

 Bordeaux Mixture (3 Ibs. blue vitriol, 5 Ibs. unslaked lime, and 

 50 gals, of water) may be used but the first named solution is now 

 more generally coming into favor. In either case two and one half 

 pounds of arsenate of lead should be added to a barrel of the liquid 

 to act as a poison for the Codling Moth. This spray should be 

 applied with considerable pressure to drive it well into the blossom 

 end of the small apple. The second summer spray should be applied 

 about three weeks after the last and consists of exactly the same 

 materials. Unless these three sprays are religiously applied little 

 profit or satisfaction need be expected from the orchard. It is 

 usually advisable to spray a fourth time during July to catch the 

 second brood of Codling Moth, although if the earlier sprayings 

 have been thorough, the necessity for this last application is lessen- 

 ed. Special diseases as Bitter Rot, Cedar Rust and others require 

 special treatments, the details of which cannot be given here. 



