

Boiling the lime-sulphur mixture in kettles on an open fire. The two ingredients 

 are boiled together for an hour 



If a large quantity of the mixture is to he made, a regular cooking boiler will be 

 the more handy. Stir the mixture 



Winter Spraying and What it Does— By Leonard Barron, 



New 

 York 



WHILE THE TREES ARE DORMANT IS THE BEST TIME TO USE POWERFUL SPRAYS AGAINST SCALE AND 

 OTHER PESTS -GETTING THE GREAT RESULTS WITH LITTLE EFFORT AND AT A DULL TIME OF YEAR 



SPRAYING in winter — or at some time 

 between the fall of the leaf and the 

 bursting of the buds in spring — has become 

 a mere matter of routine, with the up-to-date 

 orchardist, and is largely a "habit" also in 

 parks and other places having somewhat 

 extensive masses of trees or shrubbery. 



The suburban dweller, with only a few 

 shrubs and perhaps only a half-dozen fruit 

 trees, lags behind in the fight for control with 

 a feeling that it is hardly worth while to go to 

 so much bother. 



The fact is, however, that the bother is 

 largely in the anticipation. Winter spray- 

 ing is just as profitable to the owner of one 

 tree as it is to the owner of a thousand. 

 We spray as a precaution just as much as 

 for a remedy, because we cannot foretell 

 that the season will be characterized by 

 marked attacks of any one insect or disease. 



Winter spraying became popular through 

 the startling results that followed the use of 



In the home garden the mixture may be distributed 

 by a whisk broom! 



a combination of lime and sulphur, and 

 to-day the "lime-sulphur wash" is as nec- 

 essary a part of the equipment as fertilizer. 



There is one blessing about the San Jose 

 scale, after all: so devastating was it that 

 for a time its attacks of our fruit trees, 

 especially, and the search for some practical 

 method of control was the most serious one 

 occupying the attention of fruit growers, 

 entomologists and horticulturists generally. 

 These matters monopolized the programme 

 of convention and state horticultural meet- 

 ings for some years and indeed the interest 

 is alive yet. Probably it always will be, 

 but we have learned how to handle it. 

 Curiously enough, in finding the remedy or 

 preventive for the scale we have also found 

 a remedy for so many other ills of the orchard 

 that we may well regard that once dread 

 pest not only with equanimity, but even 

 with some sort of friendly consideration. 

 The available sprays are of three kinds: 

 i. Home-boiled lime-sulphur. 



2. Self -boiled or factory-boiled sulphur 

 washes. 



3. Oils. 



Each of these has its advantages and dis- 

 advantages. The home-boiled lime-sulphur 

 wash is the best for use on a large scale, 

 because it is the cheapest, but it is somewhat 

 troublesome to prepare and at best is 

 "messy." The most approved formula is: 



Lump lime 20 lbs. 



Sulphur 15 lbs. 



Water 50 gals. 



The lime and sulphur are first mixed 

 with about half the water, or less, and boiled 

 together for an hour, stirring frequently to 

 prevent any caking on the side of the vessel. 

 Boil in an iron tank. When cooking is 

 270 



complete the rest of the water is added, hot 

 or cold. The mixture is at once used- 



Another method of cooking is to mix the 

 sulphur and lime in a barrel, and inject steam 

 from a stationary boiler. This method will 

 probably be the most practical for many 

 amateurs. A piece of hose may be connected 

 to a steam boiler and by fastening to an iron 

 rod the other end, it may be kept at the 

 bottom of the barrel quite easily. A small 

 boiler may be rigged up for about thirty 

 dollars, and will be useful in many ways 

 besides cooking spray mixtures. 



The self-boiled spray is made with these 

 quantities: 



Lump lime 



30 lbs. 



Sulphur (flower) 



15 lbs. 



Caustic soda 



6 lbs. 



Water 



50 gals 



Slake the lime in a barrel with hot water, 

 using just enough to do the work. When 



But a force pump mounted on a low-down wagon is 

 far more convenient 



