58 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 258. 



only will (hey as individuals reap incalculable benefit from such 

 a course, but the people of the state as well. Experiments 

 must be carried on by some one ; individuals certainly can- 

 not bear the expense;' hence, if the state or national govern- 

 ment is unwilling to appropriate the necessary funds, the work 

 of scientiiic investigation cannot be thoroughly done. 



The work carried on at these stations is such that it is well- 

 nigh impossible to obtain immediate results. Much time is 

 required to make accurate and reliable investigations and ex- 

 periments, and as all of the stations are comparatively young, 

 it is not fair to demand too much of them at present. Ten 

 years hence, when the stations are well under way, their impor- 

 tance will be universally recognized, and then there will be no 

 difficulty in obtaining appropriations ample for their work. 

 I call upon you, members of this society, to exert all the influ- 

 ence you possess to secure for this state institution the funds it 

 needs. 



PREVENTION OF APPLE-SCAB. 



Professor S. A. Beach, of the Geneva Experiment Station, 

 after naming some twenty preparations which had been tested 

 as preventives of Apple-scab, continued in part as follows : 



Of the many fungicides thus far tested for Apple-scab, the 

 copper mixtures have undoubtedly given the best results, but 

 some of them are liable to injure the foliage. The ammoni- 

 acal solution of copper sulphate has proved decidedly bene- 

 ficial in several experiments. It does not injure the foliage, 

 and it also has the advantage of being readily prepared and 

 easily applied, but when mixed with Paris green or London 

 purple it is liable to injure the foliage seriously. Therefore, 

 if this solution is used, it is necessary to make separate appli- 

 cations of Paris green or London purple for the codling- 

 moth. 



The strong Bordeaux mixture (six pounds copper sulphate, 

 four pounds lime and twenty-two gallons water) is more expen- 

 sive than the ammontacal solution of copper carbonate, and it 

 is not so readily prepared or so easily applied as that solution. 

 But dilute Bordeaux mixtures, which contain from two to four 

 pounds of copper sulphate for twenty-two gallons of water, 

 have given practically as good results as other fungicides and 

 are more easily applied than the strong mixture. They are 

 also less expensive than the ammoniacal solution of copper 

 carbonate. All Bordeaux mixtures have these advantages, 

 namely, that they compare favorably with any other fungicide 

 so far as efficiency is concerned, that they do not injure the 

 foliage, and that Paris green or London purple in the propor- 

 tion commonly used for the codhng-moth may be mixed 

 with them without any fear of injurious results. Where 

 orchards are badly infested with the codling-moth, it is best to 

 apply Paris green or London purple immediately after the 

 petals fall, and follow with two more treatments at intervals of 

 about ten days. Since the Paris green may be mixed with the Bor- 

 deaux mixtures, it is readily seen that such a combination will 

 save the labor of three applications as compared with the am- 

 moniacal solution of copper carbonate, with which the appli- 

 cation of Paris green must be made separately. 



A few weeks ago a circular letter was mailed to each experi- 

 ment station in those sections of the United States where ap- 

 ples are grown extensively, requesting the station horticultur- 

 ist to state what remedies had been used for Apple-scab dur- 

 in"' the present season, and with what success. The verdict of the 

 replies was almost unanimousfor Bordeaux mixture for Apple- 

 scab, and usually a dilute formula was particularly specified. 

 Ammoniacal solution of copper caibonate and modified eau 

 celeste also received favorable mention in two or three in- 

 stances. 



After describing the simplest way of preparing the mixture 

 and the best method of applying it. Professor Beach said : 

 The true improved Vermorel nozzle is considered best for 

 applying the Bordeaux mixture, better than the modifications 

 of it which are sometimes offered. It forms a perfect spray, is 

 easily cleaned when it becomes clogged, and uses the fungi- 

 cide in a very economical manner. 



The cost of spraying for both Apple-scab and the codling- 

 moth for the entire season will vary from fifteen to twenty-five 

 cents a tree, according to the skill of the operator, the kind of 

 tools used, the kind of fungicide selected, the cost of materials 

 and the number of applicafions. At the Geneva Experiment 

 Station, even under the unfavorable conditions of the past 

 season, three treatments of five Fall Pippin trees with the 

 ammoniacal solution of copper carbonate and two treatments 

 with Paris green apparently reduced the scab on the foliage 

 thirteen per cent.; on the fruit, four and seven-tenths per 

 cent., and the worminess of the fruit, twenty and eight- 

 tenths per cent., as compared with six untreated trees of the 

 same variety, making a total increase of twenty-five and five- 



tenths per cent, in the first-class fruit, seemingly due to 

 spraying. Much more favorable results were secured from 

 .the same treatment on Roxbury Russets and Golden Russets, 

 but it not best to exaggerate the benefit of this particular 

 treatment by selecting exceptionally good results for the pur- 

 pose of illustration. There can be little doubt that better re- 

 sults could have been secured by varying the time and 

 increasing the number of the treatments in the manner 

 hereafter recommended. Even this low per cent, of gain in 

 first-class fruit will more than pay for the expense of treat- 

 ment. ■ 



In the light of our present knowledge of the nature of the 

 Apple-scab fungus, and guided by personal experiments and 

 those of other investigators, the following line of treatment is 

 suggested : 



After the buds open and before the first leaves are half- 

 grown, make the first application, using either the ammoniacal 

 solution of copper carbonate or dilute Bordeaux mixture. 

 Mr. D. G. Fairchild found, last spring, that the Pear-scab in- 

 fection begins before the blossoms open, and the writer found 

 that the same thing is also true with Apple-scab. The foliage 

 and the calyx and pedicels of the unopened flower-buds be- 

 come thus early infected with the scab fungus. Spraying at 

 this time is therefore considered very important. The second 

 application, using the same fungicide as before, should be 

 made after an interval of ten days, and shorfly before the 

 flowers begin to open. The third application should be made 

 immediately after the blossoms fall, using also at this time 

 Paris green or London purple for codling-moth. Many pre- 

 fer to use the dilute Bordeaux mixture at this time, because 

 Paris green can be added to it without fear of injurious re- 

 sults, whereas if the ammoniacal solution of copper carbonate 

 be used the Paris green must be used by itself. A fourth ap- 

 plication should be made after an interval of from ten days to 

 two weeks, using the same material as before, including the 

 Paris green. 



After another interval of from ten days to two weeks make 

 a fifth application, using the same material as before, includ- 

 ing the Paris green. If it is desired to make further treat- 

 ments after this time the Paris green may be omitted. 



BIRD NOTES FOR HORTICULTURISTS. 



This was the subject of a most interesting paper by Walter 

 B. Barrows, Assistant Ornithologist of the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture. The greater part of it is here repro- 

 duced : 



The interrelation of birds and horticulture is a many-sided 

 problem, one requiring for its complete solution a larger array 

 of facts than has been made yet, and a more careful study of 

 these facts than most people imagine to be necessary. No well- 

 informed person can doubt that, as a whole, birds are benefi- 

 cial to the agriculturist, yet many a farmer and fruit-grower 

 has a strong feeling that he bears more than his share of the 

 damage inflicted by birds, and receives less than the average 

 of benefit. 



It is useless to deny that fruit-growers suffer a' direct loss 

 each year. It is equally useless, in the present state of our 

 knowledge, to attempt to demonstrate that the particular birds 

 which cause this loss make any safisfactory return. In some 

 cases a considerable offset to the harm could be shown, but 

 the exact amount of the credit could not be determined, and in 

 many cases it would be difficult to show any compensation to 

 the loser. As a rule, the larger the area of any one cultivator, 

 and the greater the variety of the crops grown, the smaller 

 will be the relative loss and the larger the direct compensation 

 for the harm done. An example may make this point clearer. 

 Suppose a man to cultivate 100 acres, giving a fair proportion 

 to vegetables, small fruits, orchards and vineyards, with shade- 

 trees and shrubberies, and a little lawn or pasture. Ignoring 

 the English sparrow, almost the only loss occasioned by birds 

 will be in the damage to cherries, strawberries, raspberries and 

 grapes, and this will be caused mainly, or entirely, by four or 

 five species of birds, probably the robin, cat-bird, cedar-bird or 

 cherry-bird, red-headed woodpecker and Baltimore oriole. 

 Purple finches (red linnets) may cause annoyance by nipping 

 the flower-buds of choice Cherries and Pears early in the 

 spring, orioles and grosbeaks may destroy some Peas, and the 

 goldfinch or yellow-bird may eat and scatter the seed of Let- 

 tuce, Turnip and Cabbage ; but these are minor and irregular 

 thefts, and ordinarily not worthy of notice. 



Except in the case of grapes the harm will he done mainly 

 during June and July, and nearly all the marauders will be 

 local, that is, birds with nests in the immediate vicinity, and 

 will obtain all the food for themselves and their young from the 

 same farm. Cedar-birds ai'e great rovers and very possibly may 



