712 
PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION G. 
thoroughly done. The time to spray varies with the disease ; but in 
the case of the fungus diseases of deciduous fruit trees the best 
results are obtained by spraying ( first) when the buds are swelling in 
spring, and (second) when the fruit is setting, the subsequent spray- 
ings, though of value, being not nearly of so much importance as the 
two mentioned. Fungus diseases attacking ripe or ripening fruit are 
best prevented by spraying the trees liable to attack as soon as the 
first signs of ripening take place, as the spores that would cause the 
disease are thereby destroyed. In the treatment of insect pests the 
remedies will depend on the habits of the insects to be destroyed. 
Thus all insects that live by eating their food are very easily destroyed 
by poisoning the food on which they are feeding with a preparation of 
arsenic, such ns Paris green or London purple, whereas insects living 
by suction, such as aphides and scales, can only be destroyed by 
spraying them with a material that kills them on touching them. 
Spraying is now an absolute necessity in all orchards, and no pro- 
gressive orchardist can afford to neglect it, as a small expenditure of 
labour and spraying materials will often be the means of saving a crop 
which would be otherwise lost. 
There is one other question of great importance in the manage- 
ment of an orchard to which I will briefly refer, and that is the 
question of manuring. Here, again, science comes to the assistance 
of the fruit-grower by showing him in the first place the amount of 
available plant food contained in the soil of his orchard ; and also, if 
deficient in any plant food, how the deficiency may be most advan- 
tageously and economically supplied in the form of manure. Science 
also shows us the amount of plant food removed from the soil by the 
different varieties of fruit trees, and the best manures to apply to the 
soil to make good the loss. It also shows us when the manures should 
be applied so as to produce the best results, and the best methods of 
applying them. In order to obtain the best results from manuring, it 
is necessary to make a thorough study of the plant or tree’s require- 
ments, taking the nature of the soil, climate, and rainfall into con- 
sideration. Plants, like animals, require their food regularly, not a 
surfeit to-day and no more for a year or longer ; a regular and constant 
supply of the essential elements of plant food will always produce the 
best results. Manures may be roughly divided into two classes — those 
readily soluble and at once available for . plant food, and those only 
slowly available after they have been for some time in the soil. 
Soluble manures should only be given during or slightly prior to a 
period of active plant growth, as, if not used by the tree, they are 
often, especially in the case of sandy soils, leached away, and so lost 
to the plant ; but slowly soluble manures are best applied whilst the 
trees are dormant, so that they can be available when the period of 
active growth takes place. Extremely soluble manures should never 
be used during a dry time, unless irrigation is available, as they are 
more likely to do harm than good, as, if they come into direct contact 
with the roots, they have a burning effect in dry weather. Therefore, 
those manures are ‘usually of less value in a dry climate or compara- 
tively dry climate than where a regular rainfall can be depended upon. 
In using soluble manures it is not advisable to give too large dress- 
ings ; smaller amounts more frequently applied will be found to give 
much better results. 
