July. 1917 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



32.5 



enough to keep new growth covered, are help- 

 ful in preventing and controlling all of these 

 things. Fortunately they can be used in con- 

 nection with arsenate of lead, making a " com- 

 bination" spray which, if used systematically 

 on plants likely to be attacked, will ward off 

 both injury by eating insects and by blight or 

 rust. Spraying should be begun early in the 

 plant's development, and repeated as often as 

 required to keep up with the growth. 



SIMPLE AND COMPLETE PROTECTION . 



For real garden protection — as a complete 

 insurance against insect and disease injury 

 as can be had — the following simple plan 

 which is not expensive considering the pro- 

 tection afforded, is probably the best that can 

 be followed. 



On all plants likely to be attacked by either 

 eating insects or disease, use a combination 

 arsenate of lead and bordeaux preparations 

 at intervals of ten to fifteen days, 

 whether any trouble is in sight or not. This 

 list would include: beans, cucumbers, melons, 

 potatoes, squishes, and tomatoes. In addi- 

 tion to this, a forty per cent, nicotine extract 

 should be kept on hand to add to this spray 

 on the first sign of plant lice, or other sucking 

 insects. 



Or, if more convenient, the bordeaux-lead 

 spray may be applied in powder form, with a 

 dust gun; and the nicotine kept on hand for 

 instant use when required, as at the first ap- 

 pearance of lice'on peas, melons, or cabbage. 



These precautions, with a good sprayer or 

 dust gun, kept in perfect condition, and 

 cleaned and oiled like a repeating rifle, will 

 enable the gardener to "do his bit" creditably 

 in fighting the insect and disease enemies in 

 his garden, which are, this year at least, 

 enemies of his country. 



Do Sprays Cause Any Injury? 



BY ALDEN FEARING, MASS. 



TN THE course of my experience as an 

 ■*• amateur orchardist, I have run up against 

 some perplexing questions regarding the spray- 

 ing of apple trees. In seeking answers to 

 these questions I consulted several fruit 



For gardens of any size the portable barrel sprayer will be 

 found serviceable as it holds a quantity of material 



growers of experience, several state experi- 

 ment stations, and the U. S. Department 

 of Agriculture. The resulting correspondence 

 has proved of considerable value to me, and 

 may perhaps be useful to somebody else. 

 I shall have room to give only brief excerpts 

 but the net result of these opinions is, I think, 

 conclusive. 



A timely question is as follows: 



Does the use of bordeaux mixture as .a 

 fungicide, with or without lead arsenate, tend 

 to russet the fruit ? < 



This has bothered me a great deal, for I 

 have had considerable trouble with the rus- 

 seting of fruit, particularly Rhode Island 

 Greenings and young trees just coming into 

 bearing. To secure a combined insecticidal 

 and fungicidal effect, I used a compound of 

 bordeaux mixture and lead arsenate. The 

 advice of other fruit growers led me to suspect 

 the bordeaux as the cause of my trouble, and 

 I sought expert advice. 



In the first place, the manufacturer in- 

 sisted that the bordeaux was not responsible. 

 He said: 



"I have seen fruit rusted just as badly where lime and sulphur 

 have been used as where bordo-Iead have been applied. I 

 have also seen apples rusted where the trees have not been 

 sprayed at all, which was due to the hot sun after a rainy spell. 

 It is the climatic conditions with the insecticides tnat causes the 

 trouble in almost every case." 



Mr. H. L. Frost, who has conducted exten- 

 sive experiments in his orchards at Littleton, 

 Mass., writes: 



"My experience, based on observations carried on for the 

 last five years, has been that when we have an excessive amount 

 of moisture during the early summer, rusting of the fruit invari- 

 ably occurs on certain varieties of apples. This rusting is quite 

 materially aggravated by spraying, both with bordeaux mix- 

 ture and lime and sulphur, possibly to a slightly greater ex- 

 tent where bordeaux is used. During these five years there 

 have been two years when the weather conditions were such 

 that the rusting was very bad, especially 1916. In 1912 I 

 found a large number of apples badiy rusted which had never 

 been sprayed. I also found the rusting much worse in the 

 valleys than on the hilltops, which led me to believe that the 

 presence of fog was materially affecting the condition of the 

 fruit. If the spraying is done immediately after the dropping 

 of the blossoms, I do not believe the fruit will be much affected; 

 but if it is delayed, or if an application is made after the fruit 

 is pretty well formed, I believe, when there is an excessive amount 

 of moisture, the rusting will be increased. My conclusion is 

 that this injury to the apple is caused primarily by climatic con- 

 ditions, and is aggravated by spraying with any material, 

 possibly a little worse by copper fungicides. I would recom- 

 mend less spraying of certain varieties of apples with fungicides 

 during an extremely wet season, especially the Baldwin." 



From Mr. M. F. Barrus, of the U. S. De- 

 partment of Agriculture: 



"Bordeaux mixture has been held responsible for the condi- 

 tion known as russeting which sometimes occurs on apples, es- 

 pecially of the light-skinned varieties. It does not always occur 

 when bordeaux is used, but it occurs so commonly that growers 

 were not at all reluctant to give up bordeaux for the lime-sulphur 

 solution, which does not seem to bring about so great an in- 

 jury." 



Prof. M. B. Waite of the same department 

 writes at considerable length, saying that 

 bordeaux may be safely used as a fungicide late 

 in the season, but not in May and June. 



"It has been abundantly demonstrated that bordeaux 

 mixture, either with or without arsenate of lead, applied to 

 the young fruit and tender foliage of the apple, causes russet- 

 ing of the skin of the fruit and more or less copper poison- 

 ing, spotting, and reddening, and finally defoliation of the 

 leaves. We have had so much trouble with this that we have 

 finally abandoned bordeaux mixture entirely in our recommen- 

 dations for the early treatment of the apple." 



Mr. F. C. Stewart of the New York station 

 writes: 



"It is undoubtedly true that the russeting of apples is fre- 

 quently caused by the use of bordeaux mixture as a spray, 

 though weather conditions have much to do with it." 



From Professor Sears, Amherst, Mass.: 



"I think there is no question whatever that bordeaux mix- 

 ture is likely to russet fruit. We have given it up as a summer 

 spray on apples." 



From E. H. Jenkins, director of the Con- 

 necticut station: 



For dusting on sulphur, dry bordeaux, arsenates, etc., 

 there are many bellows. Middle one used for liquids 



"I am quite sure that bordeaux mixture, used with arsenate 

 of lead or by itself, is likely to cause a russeting of the skin of 

 the apple." 



From Mr. Clinton, New York: 



"We are now recommending the bordeaux mixture 4-4-50 

 only for the first spraying on the unfolding leaves before the 

 blossoms open, in order to avoid rusting of the fruit which 

 would occur with later sprayings." 



For the later sprayings he recommends lime- 

 sulphur and lead arsenate. 



Mr. Gourley writes quite fully on this point, 

 to the effect that he has seen the bordeaux 

 burn fruit so badly that the crop would have 

 been better off if not sprayed at all, though 

 this is not always the case. He also testifies 

 to the contributory effects of moisture, and 

 adds, 



"Varieties vary a great deal in their susceptibility to this 

 injury. There is probably none that is worse than the Ben 

 Davis. The Twenty Ounce, Greening, Baldwin, and many 

 others are bad, while Mcintosh, Rome Beauty, and some others 

 are very often not affected." 



He states that lime-sulphur has largely 

 superseded bordeaux in New Hampshire. 



Mr. Woods also testifies to the varying 

 susceptibility of different varieties, stating 

 that on the Ben Davis bordeaux and lead 

 arsenate have invariably produced russeting, 

 leaf spotting, and partial defoliation. 



This whole question is summed up most 

 thoroughly in Bulletin No. 287 of the New 

 York Agricultural Experiment Station at 



Here is a serviceable type of outfit— power pump with strong 

 container and a length of hose to reach well up the trees 



