Fruit Trees, Small Fruits and Ornamentals. 
57 
Insects and Fungous Enemies of Fruit, 
Trees and Plants. 
Only a few years ago little or nothino; was known about finigo.us diseases, and almost 
nolliinn about the insects that trouble the fruit-grower. But we know now the life history of 
all the comnion insects, as well as fungous diseases, and know how to combat them at each 
stage of their life. It is only necessary to follow directions, and be prompt and thorough, 
to insure success. A man will spend weeks cultivating his corn Held, that will barely yield a 
crop to cover the labor, and begrudge a week's time to liis fruit, that will \ield him returns 
running into hundreds of dollars' profit per acre. We give below some general directions for 
for spraying and caring for fruit, that, if followed, will insure success. 
INSECTS. 
There are .some insects that escape our attention entirely unless we look closely. Among 
these are the gnats, mites, scale lice and the ordinary plant-lice. These are all insects that 
live by sucking the sap of the plant for food, and have to be combated with some mi.xture 
that dries on them, stopping up their breathing pores, which are arranged along their sides, 
or else by their caustic action eats away their tissues and destroys them. Thev have a great 
many natural enemies. Among Ihem are the Ichneumon Flies — a fly looking much like a 
tiny wasp, and the Lady Bug. The insects that eat the leaves for food, such as the I'otato 
Bug, the Apple Tree Tent-Caterpillar, etc., are killed bv poisoning their food, and some 
form of arsenic has been found best for this purpose. 
FUNGUS. 
Fungus is a plant — a parasitic plant — living by throwing its roots in the tissues of the 
plant on which it lives, and appropriating its sap. It grows very rapidlv when once started, 
and, as it is beneath the skin of the leaf or bark during the greater p;irt of its life, if once 
started it is hard to stop, so that to be successfully combated work must be begun before 
any signs of the fungus appear. Usually fungus shows itself conspicuouslv only w'-hen it has 
gone to seed. Its seeds are called spores, and are transmitted from plant to'plant by the 
wind. To the naked eye they appear like grains of very fine dust. 
FORMULAS. 
Note. — Wherever lime is called for in the following mi.xtures, it is to be weighed before 
slaking, then slaked and the creamy white wash, after straining to remove lumps, added to 
the solution. 
Formula 1, Paris Green. I'aris Creen, 307.S.; lime, i lb.; water, i barrel. Keep well 
stirred. 
Formula 2, White Arsenic Solution. This is to take the place of Paris Green, and is 
very much cheaper, costing about 4 cents per barrel. Boil 2 pounds of white arsenic, with S 
pounds of sal soda (common washing soda) for i.s minutes, or till dissolved, leaving' only a 
small nuiddy sediment at the hottom. Put this solution in a 2-gallon jug and label " Poison, 
stock matei'ial for spra\'ing mi.xture. ' 
Ii.se one pint of this to a barrel of water. But this will burn the leaves and greatly injure 
the tree if lime is not added, so to each barrel of mi.xture add 2 pounds of lime. 
Formula 3, Bordeaux Mixture. Copper sulphale, 4 pounds; lime, 3 pounds ; water, one 
barrel. Dissolve the copper in a part of the water, slake the lime in another part, and mix, 
filling the barrel with water. Another way, and a better wav where several barrels are to 
be made, is as follows : Make several bags of burlap or old' sacking. Weigh 4 |)ounds of 
copper sulphate in each. Slake a bushel of lime in a barrel of water. Co to your druggist 
and get a cent's worth of ferro cy.inide of potassiinn, and get an e.xtra label to paste on yotir 
bottle. Put this fei ro-cyanide inai onnce bottle, and fill with water. It will all dissolve, 
or nearly all. Paste on your poison label, for it is verv poisonous. To prepare the mi.xture'; 
Fill a barrel jiart f\dl of water, aiul liana a hag of copper in it, so that it does not rest on the 
bottom. If it ri-sis on the bottom it will take a dav or so to dissolve, while if you suspend it 
it will dissolve in an hour. When cop|)er is dissolved, stir up the hairel of Mine ami dip out 
enough, adding it to the copper, till a drop of the ferro cyanide soluiion does not turn brown 
when added to it. It is then neutral, and ready for use 
Bordeaux Mixture is for fungous diseases, and by adding Paris Creen to it, or white arsenic 
solution, it can be made a remedy for both fungus and insects. Three ounces of Paris green 
to the barrel is enough, or 1 pint of the stock solution of white arsenic. If the latter is used 2 
l)ounds more of lime must be added. ^ ' 
Formula 4, Kerosene Emulsion, Kerosene emulsion is made by adding 2 parts of kero- 
sene to 1 part of a soluiion iii.ide by dissolving half a pound of hard .soap in i gallon of boiling 
rain-water, and chuniing the mixture lliroiiijli a force iMimp with a rather small nozzle until 
the whoU- forms a ( reaiiiy mass, thai will thicken into a jelly-like substance on cooling. The 
soap solution should be hot when the kerosene is added, but of cour.se must not be near a fire. 
The emulsion thus made is diluted before using with 0 ])arts of cold water. 
