32 



should be thoroughly painted with thick lead paint, to keep 

 out moisture and prevent decay. White lead and boiled lin- 

 seed oil make the best kind of covering for such wounds, but 

 it is well to add a little brown color, merely to take off the 

 glaring whiteness of the painted wounds. One frequently 

 sees the advice to take the paint pot into the tree when prun- 

 ing, and attend to the painting at once, when the limb is 

 removed, but in the writer's experience the pruning tools are 

 all that one wants to be bothered with at one time, and the 

 paint will certainly adhere better to the cut surface when this 

 has dried somewhat. 



Our "thirdly" is the spraying problem. This will vary 

 somewhat, according to the insect and fungous diseases which 

 may be present in the orchard or locality. If the San Jos6 

 scale is there a thorough spraying with oil in the autumn, 

 after the leaves have fallen, and with lime-sulfur just as the 

 buds are swelling in the spring, will be found to be the most 

 eflBcacious treatment. Where one does not have too bad 

 an infestation of scale, in the writer's observation the best 

 thing to use is the lime-sulfur, and one has the satisfaction of 

 knowing that while he is driving this pest out of his planta- 

 tion he is also most effectively reducing the vigor of a num- 

 ber of fungous diseases which might have caused trouble 

 later in the season. In this connection (fighting insects and 

 fungi) one is frequently asked as to the desirability of scrap- 

 ing the trees to remove the rough, scaly bark. While this 

 ought not to be necessary as a regular practice in orchards 

 which are cared for, and especially in those which are sprayed, 

 yet in the beginning I believe it is an excellent treatment for 

 such orchards as we are considering. Certainly it will add 

 materially to the effectiveness of any spraying which may be 

 done in the orchard. 



It will not usually be found necessary to use oil after the 

 orchard is once cleaned up, and the following spraying schedule 

 will generally be satisfactory for future years. 



First Spraying. — Early spring, just as the buds are break- 

 ing. Commercial lime-sulfur, about 6 gallons, and arsenate of 

 lead paste 4 pounds, or powder 2 pounds, 40 per cent nicotine 

 sulphate, three-eighths of a pint, to 50 gallons of water. This 



