1905.] 



Spraying Fruit Trees and Bushes. 



649 



green, to be carried out if necessary to check a bad attack of 

 scab. 



As to the gooseberry bushes, considered by themselves, it 

 unfortunately happens that their worst pest, the sawfly cater- 

 pillar, is most commonly prevalent when the fruit is almost 

 fully grown. Possibly this would not be the case if the bushes 

 were sprayed with Bordeaux mixture or Paris green when the 

 fruit was not more than half-grown. At any rate they should 

 then be treated with poison for the last time, after which, if any 

 caterpillars are present, a wash of hellebore may be applied. 



One of the worst attacks on the gooseberry is that of the 

 mite known as the red spider [Bryobia prcetiosa or Bryobia ribis), 

 an extremely difficult pest to get rid of, because the eggs are 

 not destroyed by applications fatal to the spider. Paraffin 

 emulsion is said to kill the pest ; but it is not likely to destroy 

 the vitality of the eggs. There seems to be a better chance of 

 clearing the bushes of the mite by poisoning its food, so that 

 spiders hatched after the spraying would be killed as well as 

 those alive at the time. As this is not certain, no claim is 

 made for the wash recommended above in this respect. 



The formula for paraffin emulsion recommended in the 

 Board's leaflet (No. 16) is 6 lb. of soft soap, 4 gallons of 

 paraffin, and 100 gallons of water. The soap should be boiled 

 in a small quantity of water, and the paraffin put into it while 

 boiling hot, but off the fire, and then stirred together rapidly, 

 or passed through a syringe or force-pump in order to 

 incorporate them thoroughly. This mixture may be diluted 

 afterwards in the proper proportion. 



This wash is effective for aphides, and even for young cater- 

 pillars, and it has been recommended by Mr. F. V. Theobald 

 for use in the autumn, after fruit has been gathered, to kill 

 aphis and apple suckers before they lay eggs. 



One of the most destructive pests of apples, and occa- 

 sionally of pears, is the pith moth (Laverna atrd), the larvse of 

 which tunnel into the shoots, chiefly at the ends, but also 

 under buds lower down. This pest would not be destroyed 

 by the series of sprayings recommended above, and therefore, 

 where it is prevalent, an extra spraying of Paris green may be 

 tried. No experience appears to have been obtained in this 



