454 THE APPLE 



that even field peas will not germinate unless drilled in deeply. 

 Other seeds simply lie in the soil without germinating until the fall 

 rains come in October. There are two ways of getting a cover 

 crop in the orchards of the Inland Uplands. Some crop must be 

 found that can be sown in early fall and will make growth enough 

 before winter to protect the ground. For this purpose no more 

 satisfactory crop than field peas has yet been found. Another way 

 would be alternate strips of cultivated land and spring-sown cover 

 crops ; reverse from tillage to cover crops the next season or from 

 cover crops to tillage. 



4. Insects and diseases. The Northwest was at first quite free 

 from serious insect pests and diseases. On the strength of this 

 experience many of the early fruit-growers based the hopeful pre- 

 diction that fruit pests would never be a serious problem in this 

 region, and called to the aid of the argument certain peculiarities 

 of climate which were supposed to be unfavorable to their develop- 

 ment. Stringent laws which aim to exclude all diseased and in- 

 fested nursery stock and fruit have been passed. All nursery stock 

 grown there and all that is shipped into this section is supposed 

 to be carefully inspected for injurious insects and diseases before 

 being planted. In spite of these precautions practically all the 

 common insects and diseases of Eastern orchards are now found 

 in the Northwest. Laws have failed to keep them out, and the 

 responsibility for their control now falls on the shoulders of indi- 

 vidual growers. 



The humid climate of the Coast Region is favorable for the 

 growth of fungous diseases. Apple scab, bitter rot, and brown rot 

 are serious. Careful spraying keeps these diseases in check, but 

 the frequent rains in the early part of the season make spraying 

 less efficient and more expensive than in inland orchards. The 

 russeting of fruit from spraying is also very common in this wet 

 climate. The New York apple canker and a somewhat similar dis- 

 ease, called the dead-spot apple canker and known only in the 

 Northwest, are found in neglected orchards. This canker appears 

 as small sunken areas of dead bark, from 1 to 2 inches in diameter, 

 which are often so numerous as to girdle the trunks or scaffold 

 limbs of young trees. Painting with Bordeaux mixture, wrapping 

 the trunks with building paper or burlap, and top-working on 



