4 BULLETIN 368, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
A comparison of the time of the development of the apothecia with 
the dates of infection on the prunes furnishes strong evidence that 
the apothecia were the source of infection. Further evidence of this 
may be found in the fact that Monilia could not be found in fruiting 
condition on cankered limbs, although a very careful search was 
made. The fact that the disease was much worse on the lower limbs 
than in the tops of the trees might be taken as further evidence that 
the infection was from below, but moisture conditions may have been 
of importance in producing this difference. It was also found that in 
orchards where early spring plowing and cultivation were practiced 
there was little or no calyx infection of brown-rot. While soil varia- 
tions and the effects of culture upon the general vigor of the tree must 
not be lost sight of, there is little doubt that the deterrent effect of the 
cultivation upon the development of the apothecia was of direct value 
in the prevention of the disease. 
The wind is probably the important agent in spreading the spores 
of the fungus. Insects may be concerned to some extent in this dis- 
tribution, but are of greater importance on account of the punctures 
a a 
they produce on the fruit, these injuries furnishing an entrance point 
for the fungus. Among the insects, the fruit-tree leaf syneta (Syneta 
albida Leconte) is probably of importance, as it was present in great 
numbers during the early part of the season, feeding on both fruit 
and foliage and causing much damage. 
SPRAYING EXPERIMENTS. 
Further evidence of the importance of the blossom infection was 
obtained from the spraying experiments of the season of 1915. The 
work was carried on in the orchards of A. W. Moody, at Felida, 
Wash. The first spraying was made on March 17, when the buds 
were beginning to swell, a second on March 24, when the cluster buds 
were open and the blossoms showing white, and a third on April 8, 
when the petals were practically all off. The first application was 
made with 4-4-50 Bordeaux mixture; the later ones with 8—8—50 
self-boiled lime-sulphur. No spreader or sticker was added in 
any of these applications. At the time of the third spraying but 
little evidence of the second could be found on the trees. The two 
weeks of almost constant rain had apparently washed most of it off. 
It was evident that something should have been added to the fungi- 
cides to increase their adhesive qualities. It was also evident from 
the time the infections appeared that better results would have been 
secured if the second and third applications had been nearer together. 
The heavy infection described, which had taken place previous to 
the third spraying, made it plain that it was then too late to secure 
the best results. Notes taken May 10 to 15, however, showed that 
the spraying had saved a considerable percentage of the crop. At that 
