188 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



May, 1918 



mixture is not a " cure " for any of these things, 

 because once the plant is attacked, the 

 bacteria are in the tissues of the leaf, stem, 

 or fruit, and cannot be reached by any spray 

 applied to the surface. The spray is applied 

 to healthy plants as a prophylactic, forming 

 a thin coating over the surface which makes 

 conditions in which the spores or bacteria are 

 not able to live. Therefore, bordeaux 

 mixture and all other "preventive" sprays 

 must be applied in advance; and they must 

 be applied frequently enough to keep all new 

 growth covered, for otherwise a vulnerable 

 point may be left that makes all the other 

 protection vain. During rapid growth, and 

 at times when conditions are especially 

 favorable to the development of the trouble 

 expected (close, muggy weather), or the 



Some sort of a compressed air tank with extension rod is 

 handy for reaching high places 



blight or rot in question has been reported 

 in the vicinity — repeat the spraying every 

 week or ten days; under normal conditions, 

 every two weeks or so. 



Methods of Applying 



T^HE materials mentioned above may be 

 -*- obtained in either the liquid or the dry 

 or powder form. There are good preparations 

 in each form. 



Up to the present time, spraying of liquids 

 has given more general satisfaction, and has 

 been found cheaper than dusting. The 

 argument is often given that dusting is more 

 convenient than spraying. It is true that the 

 material in dust or powder form is ready to 

 use without any fuss and loss of time in 

 getting it ready. You merely take the dust 

 gun off the shelf. But the work of actually 

 applying the spray is another matter. It is 

 impossible, especially by hand, to distribute 

 the dust as evenly as a wet spray. This is 

 especially true in applying either contact 

 poisons, for sucking insects that usually 

 congregate on the under sides of leaves, or 

 preventives, for blights or rots, which must 



cover all parts of the plants to be effective. 

 Dusting is likely to be more successful against 

 chewing insects than against sucking insects 

 or fungous diseases. But as it is very im- 

 portant to apply the poison for chewing 

 insects immediately they are discovered, many 

 gardeners have found it advisable to have a 

 "powder gun" for applying insecticides for 

 eating insects in addition to their liquid 

 spraying equipment. 



In trying to decide on the particular style 

 of machine to buy there is one general rule 

 that always applies; get the best equipment you 

 can find of whatever type you may select, 

 even though it may cost several times the 

 price of the cheaper makes of the same type. 

 1 his it may be noted is true of tools, in 

 general. Don't leave spraying solutions in 

 the tank after you get through spraying. 

 If the powder is to be left in the duster it 

 must be kept in a thoroughly dry place — 

 and, incidentally, in a safe one where children 

 cannot find it. 



The type of duster or sprayer to be selected 

 will depend primarily upon the size of your 

 garden. For the very small garden, the little 

 hand spayers or dusters costing up to a dollar 

 and a half to two dollars apiece are satis- 

 factory. Don't waste your money on twenty- 

 five cent "contraptions" that you may be 

 told will "answer the purpose." 



For the small garden there are also the 

 efficient shoulder strap compressed air 

 sprayers, costing from six to ten dollars, which 

 hold several gallons of spray mixture and with 

 the automatic nozzle control are very con- 

 venient to use. Get a machine that is capable 

 of applying the liquid at considerable pressure. 

 This is important in order to get a fine mist 

 that will reach all parts of the plant. Corre- 

 sponding with this type of sprayer for liquid 

 materials are the several medium sized "dust 

 guns" which are capable of taking care of a 

 considerable area in a very short time. 



For the medium sized garden and the some- 

 what extensive grounds, it will pay to get 

 one of the portable pump sprayers mounted 

 on one or two wheels. These can be used 

 with either a one or a two man outfit and are 

 capable, of course, of getting over a much 

 larger area with one charge of material and 

 of applying at a considerably higher pressure 

 than the compressed air sprayers, and are 

 economical and satisfactory where the size 

 of the garden is sufficiently large to justify 

 the expense. The wheelbarrow type of dusting 

 machine is excellent for potatoes and some 

 other crops, but is not capable of nearly so 

 many uses as the 

 liquid sprayer. 



For the really large 

 place, the barrel 

 pump may be em- 

 ployed. This is usu- 

 ally used as a two 

 man outfit, onepump- 

 ing and one or two 

 men handling the 

 nozzles or nozzle. 

 While of greater ca- 

 pacity than the 

 sprayer described 

 above, it is not as 

 convenient for get- 

 ting around in the 

 garden' and around 

 small shrubs. There 

 is an advantage, as 

 far as price is con- 

 cerned, as one need 

 buy merely the pump 



alone which can be fitted to any substantial 

 barrel of convenient size. 



Pests That Are Exceptions 



TX/'HILE the above classification in- 

 ™* eludes by far the greater part of the 

 garden insects and diseases, yet there are 

 others which cannot be fitted with any of 

 those tags. First among these are the several 

 maggots or grubs which attack the roots of 

 growing plants, and which, working below 

 the ground, cannot be reached by any of the 

 ordinary remedies. And, secondly, there are 

 the ordinary borers, which work inside the 

 stems, or fruits or roots, as the case may be 

 and are even more difficult to get at. There 

 are no general remedies for either of these 

 classes; each offender has to be handled by a 

 method that is adapted to his particular 

 requirements. What there are, in each case, 

 is described in the "Congress of Criminals," 

 and what to do with them, is told toward the 

 end of this article. 



Buy Your Spray Materials Early 



'TpHE materials — arsenate of lead, nicotine 

 ■*• extract preparations, and bordeaux mix- 

 ture — may be bought in ready prepared forms, 

 to be used according to directions. They will 

 keep indefinitely and there is no advantage in 

 waiting until later on to buy. In fact, with 

 the present conditions of transportation, there 

 is every reason for ordering at once, so as to 

 be sure of having them on hand when needed. 

 In addition to these three it will be well to 

 secure the following, which, for some purposes, 

 are better than the three standard materials 

 mentioned above: — paris green, hellebore, 

 copper carbonate solution, tobacco dust and 

 flowers of sulphur. 



Convict Congress of Garden Huns 



TN THE following list there are described 

 briefly the common garden insects and 

 plant diseases and the treatments for the same 

 which have been found most successful. Re- 

 member that in all cases, however, success 

 depends first upon immediate action, and 

 second, upon thoroughness. Spraying that 

 is delayed or that is done in a careless, hap- 

 hazard way will not give the desired results. 

 General garden sanitation, also, should always 

 be practised. Diseased or badly infested 

 plants should be taken up, carefully removed 

 from the garden, saturated with kerosene and 

 burned. Avoid overcrowding and give 

 thorough cultivation, and do everything else 



For a vegetable or fruit garden of any pretension, some sort of mounted barrel sprayer is 

 most useful and economical of labor 



