340 FRUIT AND ITS CULTIVATION. 



addition is a winter wash to clear the trees of moss and 

 lichen. 



There are, of course, other washes which do the same 

 work, including numerous excellent proprietary prepara- 

 tions. It is also possible to use cheaper materials for 

 some purposes. We have merely suggested the above 

 materials because they seem to reduce the whole subject 

 of spraying to the simplest possible dimensions, at the 

 same time being some of the most modern and effective 

 remedies. 



We will now consider the use of these materials, and 

 some others, in the spraying operations required in an 

 average season. 



Winter Spraying. This has to be done whilst the 

 trees are dormant, and may take place at any time from 

 the fall of the leaves in autumn to the first signs of the 

 bursting of the buds in spring. It is, however, found 

 to be most effective when done in February, or up to 

 the first part of March, for at that time the trees are still 

 dormant, but the insect pests are beginning to awaken 

 into life, and are more vulnerable in consequence. Feb- 

 ruary is probably the safest month. 



The chief object is to remove moss, lichen, and loose 

 bark. A tree cannot long remain healthy if covered with 

 such growths, which in time sap its energy and cause it 

 to produce small and worthless fruit. Worse than this, 

 moss and lichen harbour pests and diseases. Some of the 

 hibernating insects, notably American Blight (woolly 

 aphis), are certainly killed, as are the eggs of some other 

 pests. It is hoped that fungoid disease spores also are 

 destroyed, although this is doubtful. But the chief thing 

 is that the trees are cleaned of encumbrances that would 

 harbour pests and diseases in future. Growers find that 

 winter spraying gives them cleaner crops, but it is not 

 wise to expect too much from it, and to think that it 



