30 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



February, 1915 



Spraying the Small Fruit Garden 



A simple sprayiiiff machine for small orchards. 

 The E. C. Brown Co.. Rochester. N.T. 



ries to use the sweetened poison in the 

 manner and at the time outlined. If he 

 does this thoroughly he will obtain al- 

 most totally maggot-free cherries. The 

 spraying will also help against the Plum 

 Curculio. Our experiments lead us to 

 believe that arsenate of lead alone will 

 also give good results, but as the cost of 

 adding the molasses is not great and as 

 the flies are known to be fond of sweet 

 substances, it is advisable to sudd this. 



A test with lime-sulphur and arsenate 

 of lead showed that the lime-sulphur in- 

 terfered with the results. We, therefore, 

 recommend not using a fungicide with 

 the poison in either of these sprays. As 

 the result depends largely on having no 

 infested trees near by, we also recom- 

 mend strongly that the useless trees be 

 cut down and neighbors be asked to co- 

 operate in freeing their orchards of the 

 pest. Two years, as we have said, 

 should almost exterminate the flies; in 

 fact, there will be very few after the first 

 year, but they would soon increase un- 

 less they were treated the second year. 

 Our observations show that honey bees 

 are not attracted by the mixture, and 

 that there is no danger to bees of any 

 kind provided that molasses and not 

 sugar is used in making it. 



We can well afford to have what we 

 call a propagating bed of strawberries, 

 where each spring we can select from the 

 most promising looking plants a few 

 good, strong, vigorous well-developed 

 plants. Set them out, restrict their plant 

 making to a certain extent and grow 

 from them. Their vigor is thus main- 

 tained and they make a strong growth. — 

 W. J. Kerr, Ottawa, Ont. 



IF you desire to have success in the 

 production of fruit in your garden do 

 not neglect to spray. If your garden or 

 orchard is a small one it is not necessary 

 to buy an expensive spraying outfit. 

 Many of the knapsack spraying devices 

 or barrel pumps are well adapted for use 

 in the garden and often much more than 

 pay for their cost in one year through 

 the increased yield of high-class fruit 

 their use makes possible . 



Spraying is really a form of insurance. 

 Unless you spray you run the risk of 

 considerable loss. The operation is as 

 essential as any of the other processes 

 necessary to the production of good 

 fruit. Before you commence to spray be 

 sure you- know what you are spraying 

 for. This means that you should try 

 to acquaint yourself with the life history 

 of the pests you are spraying to prevent. 

 The best means of doing this is to write 

 to some of the Agricultural Experiment 

 Stations, such as those at Guelph or 

 MacDonald College, or to the Depart- 

 ments of Agriculture at Toronto and Ot- 

 tawa, or in any of the other provinces, 

 and ask for their bulletins, dealing with 

 the spraying of the orchard and garden. 



There are a few simple points that 

 should always be borne in mind : Sprays 

 recommended for the dormant season 

 should never be tried when the trees are 

 in leaf. \ever spray when the trees 

 are in bloom. A day's delay at this time 

 will not materially affect the result of 

 the spray. Bees and many other insects 

 are very numerous when the trees are in 

 bloom and accomplish a good work in 

 fertilizing the flowers. A spraying com- 

 pound thrown on them will lessen the 

 amount of fruit set in destroying the 

 honey bees. 



The amount of spray to apply will 

 vary with the size of the tree. A tree 

 having a spread of twenty-fiVe feet in 

 full leaf will require at least four gallons. 

 The person just learning to spray ordin- 

 arily does not put on a sufficient amount 

 but stops before even half of the requir- 

 ed amount has been given. This is one 

 of the main reasons why spraying is not 

 as successful as it should be in the hands 

 of the beginner. 



Currants and gooseberries have a num- 

 ber of insect pests. The imported cur- 

 rant worm or currant saw fly, can be 

 easily controlled by the use of arsenicals. 

 Give the first application just before the 

 blossoms appear and again soon after 

 the fruit has set. This should be com- 

 posed of two pounds of arsenate of lead 

 to forty gallons of diluted lime sulphur 

 or of bordeaux mixture. All the inner 

 and lower leaves should be covered. If 

 a second brood is seen to be present use 

 hellebore one ounce to one gallon of 



water, without delay. Only fresh helle- 

 bore should be used. 



Green plant lice or aphids often attack 

 the leaves of currants and sometimes 

 gooseberries as well. One of the best 

 means of control is the use of Black 

 Leaf 40, a tobacco extract. It should 

 be used with lime sulphur as soon as 

 the eggs have hatched which is a day 

 or two before the buds burst. A second 

 application, combined with the lime sul- 

 phur or bordeaux mixture, just before 

 the blossoms come out, will mean that 

 these in.sects will give little further trou- 

 ble. Red spiders sometimes cause con- 

 siderable trouble, but are easily con- 

 trolled. The lime sulphur spray is an ef- 

 fective remedy especially when the un- 

 der surface of the leaves is well covered. 



Raspberries and blackberries are fre- 

 quently troubled with "worms." Spray 

 with lead arsenate, two pounds to fifty 

 gallons of water, up to the time the fruit 

 sets, but after that use hellebore which 

 may be applied either dry or with water. 

 Hellebore may be mixed with three or 

 four parts by weight of flour and dusted 

 on the in.sects or it may be mixed with 

 water at the rate of one pound to twen- 

 ty-five gallons, and used as a spray. Use 

 only a strictly fresh article. 



Spray strawberries when growth be- 

 gins and later as often as necessary, and 

 again after picking the fruit. Use bor- 

 deaux mixture for rust or leaf spot. Use 

 four pounds of copper sulphate and four 

 pounds of lime for fifty gallons. 



Grapes should be sprayed more fre- 

 quently than most other varieties of fruit. 

 It is often advisable to spray them when 

 the first leaves are one-third grown, just 

 before the blossoms open, just after the 

 fruit sets, again ten to twenty days after 

 the fruit is set, and possibly a fifth ap- 

 plication ten to twenty days after. For 

 the first spraying for mildews and black 

 rot use Bordeaux mixture. Add lead 

 arsenate four pounds and molasses one 

 gallon to fifty gallons for flee beetles, if 

 needed. On the second spraying use 

 Bordeaux mixture for mildews and black 

 rot. Use lead arsenate three pounds and 

 molasses one gallon to fifty gallons of 

 water, or Bordeaux mixture for grape 

 root worm, rose chafer, berry moth, and 

 curculio, if needed. Use the same 

 sprays for the third and fourth spraying. 



Prevention is better than cure, and 

 the best way to prevent the worms from 

 getting your currants is to spray with 

 Paris green when they are in blossom, 

 using a teaspoonful pf the powder to a 

 gallon of water. Spray the lower part 

 of the bushes near the ground, as the 

 worms commence to eat as soon as they 

 come out, their first nibble will be their 

 last. 



