CRUDE PETROLEUM FOR SAN JOSE SCALE. 
RESULTS IN THIS HUDSON VALLEY. 
The New School of Practical Horticulture 
RESULTS OF PAST WORK.—Since the publication 
in New Jersey last year of the results from the appli¬ 
cation of crude petroleum on trees infested with the 
San Jos6 scale, many afflicted orchardists have used 
it. Many barrels of the oil were used in the Hudson 
River Valley during the Winter of 1899-1900, and 1 
have just examined many of the trees thus treated. 
The results offer some valuable suggestions for future 
work with this insecticide. At Kinderhook, N. Y., I 
saw several hundred apple and pear trees just coming 
into bearing, which had been treated with the crude 
oil through one of the largest or double-barreled 
Gould kerowater pumps; it had been ap¬ 
plied undiluted to the trunks and larger 
limbs of some trees with a paint brush. 
Some trees were treated in December, 
others in February, March and April. 
Unfortunately the pump did not work at 
all satisfactorily, although three of the 
pumps were tried; sometimes the spray 
would be undiluted crude oil, sometimes 
only a variable percentage of the oil, 
and again only water. Hence the results 
are somewhat uncertain and much less 
valuable than if the pumps had worked 
properly. But it was demonstrated that 
the crude oil kills the scale, and the in¬ 
dications were that more injury resulted 
to the trees when the application was 
made earlier in the Winter or before 
March or April. In fact, all whom I saw 
who had used the crude oil agreed that 
the safest time to use it was just as late 
in the Winter as possible, and before the 
tree had awakened from its dormant 
condition. Many apple trees had been 
killed by applying the undiluted crude 
oil in the early part of the Winter, and 
the bark on most of the apple trees 
where the oil had been applied with a 
brush was in a rather alarming condi¬ 
tion. The outer layer of the bark was 
dead and peeling off, and the live bark 
underneath was quite spongy. 
The owner feared that unless this 
spongy bark hardened up tnis Fall, a se¬ 
vere Winter might seriously injure the 
trees. Trees treated with this undiluted 
oil last Winter still presented a marked 
oily appearance, and nowhere did I see 
young scales “setting” on this oily bark. 
At Kinderhook the crude petroleum 
treatment was very effective in cleaning 
the trees of this San Jos6 scale, but the 
indications were that it cannot be safely 
used undiluted, and should not be ap¬ 
plied until March or April. 
APRIL-SPRAYED APPLE TREES—At Pough¬ 
keepsie I saw 1,000 fine large bearing apple trees on 
which about 500 gallons of crude petroleum had been 
sprayed in April, using a Gould one-barrel kerowater 
pump, set to throw about 25 per cent of the oil in the 
water. This pump worked perfectly, but another or- 
chardist told me that his pump of the same kind 
worked very unsatisfactorily with kerosene. Some 
who use these kerowater pumps find them entirely 
satisfactory, while with others the percentages of oil 
are very uncertain. Why is this? Can it be that in¬ 
dividual pumps vary, or is it in the man who runs 
them? The 1,000 large apple trees in the Poughkeepsie 
orchard were treated once at an expense of about $100. 
The owner held the nozzle, and although he said it 
was the most disagreeable spraying he ever did (and 
he has used the kerosene and whale-oil soap spray), 
he was so well satisfied with the results that he would 
not have missed it for $5,000. Last year much of his 
fruit was badly infested with the scales, and the bark 
on many limbs of his trees was encrusted with the 
pest. Now his trees have a very thrifty, green ap¬ 
pearance, and nowhere were the scales present in 
alarming numbers, the fruit being comparatively 
clean. I never saw so effectual a job done against 
any insect pest on so large a scale. No wonder that 
the owner is so enthusiastic over crude petroleum as 
a remedy for this pest. He has used the kerosene- 
water and the whale-oil soap sprays, and the crude 
oil did far better and more effective work, and none 
of his trees showed the slightest injury from its use 
in April with a spray of 25 per cent crude oil in water. 
TO JAIL WITH THE ADULTERATED FOOD FRAUDS! Fig. 278 
Uncle Sam: “The crops and the critters all seem to be thriving. What ails you? ” 
The Fraud-Food Bot: “Yes, all of ’em have their food inspected bat me. 
prefer a fat wallet in the food adulterator’s pocket to fat on human ribs ! ” 
The undiluted crude oil could not have been more ef¬ 
fective, and would have cost four times as much. As 
the owner is a thoroughgoing man, the fact that he 
held the nozzle had considerable to do with the re¬ 
sults. He said that it was astonishing how the di¬ 
luted spray would creep clear around a branch where 
the spray had only hit one side of it. He was sure 
that me could penetrate the crevices of the bark bet¬ 
ter with a forceful spray than with a brush. On the 
whole, the results at Poughkeepsie were very encour¬ 
aging for the crude oil treatment, and indicate that it 
can be applied in April with entire safety to the tree 
when diluted to 25 per cent of oil, and at this strength 
one application kills a very large percentage of the 
scales. A liberal use of the 25-per-cent mixture 
seemed to be equally as effectual in killing the scale 
as the undiluted oil, and I think if the oil is not used 
stronger than 25 per cent, that the quality of the 
crude product need not be so carefully considered. 
VARIABILITY OF PETROLEUM.—All who are at 
all familiar with the crude petroleum as it comes from 
the wells understand that it varies much in quality. 
An oil man has recently sent me four or five different 
samples of crude petroleum obtained in the Pennsyl¬ 
vania and Ohio oil fields. He states that the crude oil 
from wells only 10 miles apart may differ very much. 
Thus one may not be able always to obtain the same 
grade of the crude product, and it will be safer to use 
the 25 per cent dilution in one of the kerosene-water 
pumps. Possibly a less amount of the crude oil could 
be applied as a Summer or Fall spray on the foliage, 
on some fruit trees, but until we have more definite 
data on this point, I would not apply 
the crude petroleum until the tree is dor¬ 
mant, and then late in the Winter. 
THE BRIARCLIFF SCHOOL—A cou¬ 
ple of hours were spent in taking a hasty 
glance at the new School of Practical 
Agriculture and Horticulture just start¬ 
ed at Briarcliff Manor, N. Y. “The ob¬ 
ject of the school is the practical train¬ 
ing of men and women in the methods 
of horticulture, floriculture, gardening, 
poultry keeping and allied branches.” I 
found the school located on about 60 
acres of very much run-down land, but 
which is normally very strong soil. The 
dormitory and greenhouses were just be¬ 
ing erected. Nineteen students, mostly 
from the city, and including two women, 
were in attendance. These listened to 
two or tnree lectures in the forenoon, 
and the rest of the day was spent in the 
field, often actually doing the work of 
fitting the soil or sowing and reaping 
the crop. The day before I came the 
students had spent the afternoon in a 
cabbage field which had been riddled by 
Cabbage worms. They were to husk a 
magnificent crop of corn raised on this 
run-down soil by means of fertilizers 
and cultivation. I was shown some 
fields of rye which had been fitted and 
sown by the students. The practical 
side of the work of the students was 
evidently kept uppermost, and with the 
number of students somewhat limited 
this can be done successfully. The di¬ 
rector and promoters of this new school 
are very enthusiastic and sanguine of 
its ultimate success, and confident that 
it will occupy an unworked field. It is 
to be hoped that these city men and wo¬ 
men will get enough out of it in a two 
years’ course, besides the fun of growing 
things and mingling with Nature, to en¬ 
able them to put in actual practice sim¬ 
ilar operations of their own. Some of them will, no 
doubt. It will require several years to demonstrate 
the need and usefulness of such a school, ana its pro¬ 
moters seem to be of the caliber that will not weary 
in their financial support of the venture. 
M. V. 8LINGEBLAND. 
The lawmakers 
LATE SOWING OF GRASS SEEDS.—During such 
a Fall as this has been, our experience is that Tim¬ 
othy can be sown as late as the middle of October. 
If it sprouts and gets even a very little top it will 
usually go through the Winter safely. We have had 
no experience in sowing so late that the seeds do not 
germinate in the Fall. My judgment would be that 
their germinating power would be destroyed before 
Spring if uncovered during Winter, i. p. Roberts. 
