TWENTY-FOURTH ANNUAL FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION. 113 



capping a 12-foot trunk; the branches therefore sway less and don't 

 throw their fruit so easily. Pruning, thinning, and picking are each 

 more readily accomplished when the head is near the ground than 

 when a 14-foot stepladder has to be climbed to get to it. The trunk is 

 effectually protected from sun-scald, and fruit on the lower limbs in 

 the interior of the tree get the benefit of heat and light reflected from 

 the ground around. Spraying is also easier. Prune for several years 

 to make wood, rather than crowd your young trees into fruit-bearing; 

 it will pay you in the long run. 



Pests. — You will notice I have printed " Pests" very black on my 

 chart. If you'll believe me, they are even blacker than I have painted 

 them. They are truly the orchardists' bete noire (black beast). Sum- 

 mer and winter alike they demand eternal vigilance. Probably the 

 worst or most insidious is the woolly aphis (called in Australia 

 "American blight"). To kill the aphis as it appears above ground the 

 only method I know is to dab the clusters with a brush charged with 

 gasoline. The process is tedious and expensive, but it pays. It saves 

 your fruit from becoming sticky and black, and your twigs from 

 being disfigured and devitalized by a mass of unsightly excrescences. 

 To get at the creatures below ground tobacco dust or ashes liberally 

 applied at the root crown are both recommended. Don't use coal oil, 

 either above or below ground; it will injure your trees. 



Resistant roots, such as Northern Spy (pieces of which with auxiliary 

 roots were sent out by Secretary Lelong last spring), should, if possible, 

 be tried in any new plantation. 



Codling moth is now present in nearly all apple sections. Bands of 

 sacking, to which the worm resorts for pupation, are valuable, if prop- 

 erly examined and the worms destroyed about every two weeks. Or 

 Thissell's trap, a globe of wire screening tacked tightly around the tree 

 and inclosing the band in a moth-proof cage, may be used to obviate 

 the need of searching the bands. In either case, all loose bark must be 

 scraped off. Paris green, sprayed according to Bulletin No. 126, issued 

 by the University of California, is still the remedy in best repute for 

 efficiency. Lime, sulphur, and salt wash for scale, applied in winter, 

 and Bordeaux mixture for scab when needed, are both advisable. Leaf- 

 roller, cankerworm, and pear slug are all killed by the Paris green. 



For leaf mildew, dry sulphur sprinkled through an old barley sack 

 when leaves are damp with dew is a good preventive. Those who 

 want to know more of insect pests should attend the forthcoming 

 lectures at Stanford University, beginning February 5th. Professors 

 Comstock and Kellogg are both expected to be there to instruct the 

 visiting fruit-growers. 

 8— BH 



