CONFERENCE ON SPRAYING OF FRUIT TREES 



347 



double strength, according to the directions ; but it had exactly the same 

 result — it hadn't killed one of them. So I did not give myself the 

 trouble to spray with it in order to kill the caterpillars. It was proved 

 to be quite useless. But I am certainly in favour of the caustic washing. 



Mr. Baker : There is one essential fact which this Conference has, 

 I think, emphasized, and that is that fungicides are on the whole pre- 

 ventive ; whereas insecticides are, on the whole, remedial. Therein lies 

 the essential difference between Mr. Massee's recommendations this 

 morning, in which he says spray and spray frequently, and Professor 

 Theobald's recommendations this afternoon, when he says spray only 

 when the pest is there. Most of us know that a fungicide will go far 

 to prevent mildew where it is used ; but it is of little use trying to 

 prevent insect attacks by spraying. 



The one thing which I would like to emphasize is this, that, as 

 a result of several years of experiments and close observation, every year 

 adds to my conviction that what we ought to aim at doing is, not so much 

 finding a remedy as to get a class of plants which have a good con- 

 stitution, or, at any rate, to cultivate them in such a way, and to such 

 extent, that they are resistant to the attacks of pests. I could take you 

 to a place close to my own home where there are a number of shrubs, 

 and some of those shrubs have been mildewed badly, others not at all. 

 I interlaced adjacent branches of different shrubs of the same species, 

 and some are only slightly diseased. The same thing applies to other 

 trees. You may go into an orchard and see one tree badly affected, 

 especially in the case of fungi, while the next is not anything like so 

 much affected. There must be some reason for this. Is it a con- 

 stitutional weakness on the part of the one which has so easily fallen a 

 victim ; and, if it is, does it not behove the cultivator to endeavour to 

 raise a class of plants which will have constitutional vigour to enable 

 them to resist the disease ? If it is, as I believe it is, a question, to a very 

 large extent, of deficiency in some ingredients of plant food, or of some- 

 thing there which is harmful, surely we ought to aim at getting something 

 which will make the plant as much as possible immune against disease. 

 I think that what one ought to aim at doing, as far as possible, is to 

 cultivate plants to make them as far as possible resistant ; and, secondly, 

 more especially to endeavour to make our plants healthy by means of 

 culture, right manuring, and so on. 



The Secretary : Before anyone else gives us his views I wish to 

 say that Colonel Long, who has been so very kind, and to whom we are 

 deeply grateful, is obliged to go to perform his duties in another place. 

 Therefore I am sure you will wish to accord him a hearty vote of thanks 

 for coming here this afternoon and presiding for us. (Applause.) 



The Chairman : Ladies and Gentlemen — Thank you very much for the 

 kind and hearty vote. I assure you that it has been a great pleasure to 

 me to come here ; and I must say that both this morning, although I was 

 late, and this afternoon I have listened with most intense interest to 

 matters which are very much open to debate, and which most of you have 

 evidently in your hearts, because it strikes at your pocket. 



Mr. Fryer (West Hampstead) : Professor Theobald has said that in 

 using soft-soap emulsions the paraffin is liable to separate, and he 



