apple spraying experiments in i915. 175 



The Effect of) the Different Sprays on the Fruit. 



It has been the custom in the past to harvest the apples on 

 the experimental plots some time during the first 10 days of 

 October and then immediately sort them into three classes — 

 the smooth or perfect apples ; those which are scabby ; and 

 those which are russeted or show spray injury. In 191 5 a 

 heavy wind took over half the crop from the experimental trees 

 on the night of September 26. These apples were immediately 

 picked up and sorted, but the remainder were not harvested 

 and sorted till October 6 and following. 



As has already been mentioned the plots in each case con- 

 sisted of four rows of 6 trees each. For sorting for the pur- 

 pose of record it is the custom to take only the fruit from the 

 12 trees which constitute the two inner rows, limiting t'he 

 sample to 20 barrels for each plot in case the crop on the two 

 central rows exceeds this amount. In this way the effects of 

 spray blowing from one plot onto another, receiving a different 

 treatment, is largely eliminated. 



In the instance under consideration it also eliminated the 

 danger of mixing the samples from the different plots in the 

 case of the apples blown off by the wind. 



The following, Table 1, (page 176) is a summary of the results 

 obtained from sorting and counting the number of fruits on each 

 of the different plots. 



Discussion of Results. 



The fact that scab developed in such a slight degree on the 

 experimental plots in 191 5, even where no spray whatever was 

 applied, makes the results regarding its control less valuable 

 than those obtained in certain previous years. 



Efficiency of the First Spray Application. 



In this discussion the spray application made just before the 

 blossom buds open is the one under consideration. In the case 

 of lime-sulphur it refers to the first application made with the 

 material diluted to summer strength. This phase of the ex- 

 periment in which a comparison of two plots, numbers 1 and 

 2 in 191 5, sprayed exactly alike except that on one of them 

 the first application when the blossom buds were showing pink 

 was omitted, has been going on for four years. In 1913 anil 

 1914 the differences in the amount of scab resulting from such 



