34 



and copper, and when pure contains about sixty per cent, of 

 arsenious acid. It i.s sometimes used dry, with various 

 substances as flour or plaster of Paris as dilutent, in the 

 proportion of one pound of the poison to fifty of the 

 dilutent. It is more commonly used in water, one pound to 

 about 200 gallons, and applied with a force pump with a 

 spray attached to the nozzle. It has been found that if this 

 mixture be sprayed over the trees just after the petals have 

 fallen, sufficient of the poison will lodge inside to destroy 

 the young caterpillars when they hatch, and before they eat 

 their way into the apple. Great care must be taken not to 

 apply the poison until after the flowers have passed their 

 prime. No time is saved, as the eggs do not hatch until 

 several days after they are laid, and the poison is apt lo be 

 washed off by heavy rains before it has done its work ; and 

 bees and other useful insects are apt to be destroyed. 



Paris green is also an effectual remedy for the canker 

 worm and the plum curculio, and is used by the more intel- 

 ligent orchardists of our country. Many object to it on 

 account of the danger in handling it. Care must be taken 

 not to inhale any of the powder, or to let animals eat the 

 grass under the trees until the poison has been washed off 

 by rains. 



London purple is used in the same way as Paris green, 

 and for insects is equally effective, if pure, and has the 

 advantage of being much cheaper ; but as it is apt to 

 be adulterated, its strength cannot be relied on. 



DISEASES. 



There are many diseases to which the apple is subject, 

 all of which are, as yet, more or less imperfectly understood, 

 but of the most common, as collar rot, leaf blight, black 

 heart, black spot, the last mentioned is the only one 

 that has really become a matter for serious considera- 

 tion. It is a fungus disease known to scientific men 

 as Fusicladium Dentriticum, and attacks not only the 

 fruit, but the leaves and stems. It has become so prevalent 

 of late years, that such varieties as the Fameuse and 

 Bishop Pippin have become worthless as market varieties. 

 I have found it the present season on fruit of the latter 

 variety not larger than a pea. The scab was also growing 

 on the stem. The known remedies for the disease are 

 only partial ; but as experiments are being continually 

 made, it is to be hoped that before long an effectual remedy 

 will be discovered. 



