BuEEAU OF Agriculture 523 



some of the orchardists, as well as the county fruit inspector, that 

 they had better success with this than with the commercial pro- 

 duct. However, I don't think it was because the spray was better, 

 but, as it was cheaper, it was applied stronger. I am not attempt- 

 ing to say that the home-made spray is better than the commer- 

 cial, but I am contending that it is as good and very much cheaper. 



It may be that the grower with only five or six acres cannot 

 afford to equip a plant with a steam cooker. He can, however, cook 

 his spray in an open vat. And while it will cost him more and he 

 will not get so large a proportion of his materials in solution, yet 

 it will probably be cheaper than to pay the prices the commercial 

 manufacturers are asking us. The ideal way, of course, would be 

 for each community to co-operate and have one person to make 

 for them all. 



A few years ago I took charge of an orchard project in the 

 Bitter Eoot Valley, Montana. There were about ten acres of apples 

 in one old orchard that had never been sprayed. This was planted 

 as a family orchard and was a mixture of varieties. I was told 

 very little of the fruit was marketable the year before, because of 

 apple scab and oyster shell scale. 



I at once began asking for prices on lime sulphur solution 

 and found the best 1 could do was $12 per barrel for the commer- 

 cial. I was seriously contemplating making my own when I re- 

 ceived a quotation from a couple of young fellows in Missoula, of 

 $6.25 per barrel. They had previously had no experience at this 

 work but were putting out a good looking product that tested 25 

 to 26 degrees Beaume. Of course this could hot be diluted the 

 same as the more concentrated commercial spray, but at the dif- 

 ference in price I could afford to use more spr.-iy and less water. 

 We always test each barrel with a hydrometer before using. And 

 while we use a dilution table as a guide, each tank of spray is 

 tested to see that no mistake has been made. AVe lay greatest stress 

 on the test of the diluted. spray. 



This orchard was sprayed the first time just as the buds 

 began to swell. This mixture tested 4-41^ degrees after dilution. 

 Our second spray was applied as the buds began to show pink. The 

 diluted spray tested two degrees. As soon as the petals had fallen, 

 the third and last spray testing ll/o degrees, was applied. 



We used a gasoline spray outfit and maintained a pressure of 

 250 pounds with three lines of hose and six Bordeaux or Bean noz- 

 zles. Two men worked on the ground and the driver sprayed the 

 high branches from the top of the tank. I attribute some of the 

 results to the high pressure used and to the thoroughness of the 



