1901 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
287 
THE COST OF SPRAY!NO TREES. 
Better Hire by the Hour. 
Have you any knowledge of the probable cost of spray¬ 
ing apple trees, say of medium size? We are thinking 
of buying a spraying outfit for general work, and several 
persons wish us to do work for them, and ask what 
we are going to charge. As the matter is new to us we 
shall have to depend on the experience of some who 
have done spraying. h. b. b. 
Rockville, Ind. 
I think two cents per tree for 100 or more is the 
price, not including chemicals, but from what I heard 
last year, I would prefer to furnish pump and hire 
help. The tramp sprayers do not do thorough work 
unless watched, as they want to cover as many jobs 
as they can. J- gailey. 
Cayuga Co., N. Y. 
As trees vary so much in size and the facilities to 
get water conveniently are so different I think spray¬ 
ing could be done more fairly to both parties by the 
day or hour. I should judge that as spraying rigs are 
now so cheap (that is, a small pump on a barrel) each 
would prefer to own his rig. Again, the time is so 
limited for the most important spraying (that is be¬ 
tween falling of blossoms and closing of calyx end) 
that one machine could not cover many orchards. 
Wayne Co., N. Y. b. J. case. 
Accurate Figures From Pennsylvania. 
I have never done any spraying for others, and 
there is no one in this neighborhood who makes a 
business of it, so I can hardly say what would be con¬ 
sidered a fair price for such work; but I have kept a 
very careful record of time and expense on my own 
trees, so can tell exactly what it cost me. I 
will take my oldest apple orchard for an ex¬ 
ample. This orchard contains 440 trees 25 
years old; they are large and thrifty. It re¬ 
quired two days for three men, a two-horse 
wagon and barrel pump throwing two 
streams to go over it once. Allowing $1 per 
day for each man and 75 cents for each horse 
the cost of applying the liquid was $9. It 
required 22 barrels of liquid, or one barrel 
for 20 trees; one barrel of sulphate of cop¬ 
per solution cost 20 cents; one barrel of 
Paris-green and lime (one-fourth pound 
Paris-green, three pounds lime) eight cents; 
one barrel Bordeaux Mixture cost 36 cents; 
one barrel ammoniacal solution carbonate of 
copper, 24 cents; so that it cost me to spray 
this orchard of 440 trees with sulphate of 
copper solution, $13.40; with Paris-green and 
lime, $10.76; with Bordeaux Mixture, $16.92; 
with ammoniacal solution, $14.28. This is 
the actual cost of spraying an orchard of 
large trees on level ground, with water and 
everything convenient, and the mixture 
properly made and carefully strained—so 
that there was no delay from clogged noz¬ 
zles, etc. The cost per tree would vary, ac¬ 
cording to the size of the orchard, the size 
of the tree, the character of the ground, the 
ease with which water could be procured and 
the time required to get to and from the or¬ 
chard, so that it would be very difiQcult to 
fix a definite price per tree. It seems to me the only 
fair way would be to charge for the material by the 
barrel, and for the labor required to apply it by the 
day or hour. Gabriel hiester. 
Pennsylvania. 
Exact Item of Expense. 
We consider the value of the labor of spraying 25- 
year-old apple trees three times to be 10 cents per 
tree. If the sprayer furnish the material, using the 
Bordeaux formula with three-fourths of a pound of 
Paris-green added to the mixture, the charge will be 
seven cents extra, making the total cost for three 
sprayings of each tree 17 cents. When spraying has 
been done at so much per tree, it has proved a very 
unsatisfactory method in this locality. The proper 
way to hire spraying done is to pay a fixed price for 
a day’s labor; two men, $1.50 each, $3; one team, $1.50; 
one day’s labor, $4.50. This includes the use of the 
spraying machine, but not the cost of the mixture. 
The mixture we prefer is made as follows: Four 
pounds blue vitriol; four pounds fresh lime; one 
pound Paris-green to 50 gallons of water. The more 
lime the better if it does not clog the machine. Keep 
well mixed. Spray thoroughly, so that the trees will 
drip with the mixture. This should be done when 
five-sixths of the blossoms are oft. The differences 
in the opinions regarding spraying are due to the slip¬ 
shod methods used by some. Last Spring I sprayed 
a block of 200 apple trees, using 20 pounds of Paris- 
green, 60 pounds of blue vitriol and 100 pounds of 
lime. I sprayed these trees but once, and not a 
wormy apple was to be found at picking time. The 
cost of spraying this orchard was $30. I sold from it 
900 barrels. The trees were 25 years old. A neighbor 
having an orchard of 150 trees (also 25 years old) 
which had been bought at the same nursery and set 
out at the same time, sprayed once, but instead of 
using the Bordeaux formula he used a solution of one- 
fourth pound Paris-green to 50 gallons of water. The 
work having been poorly done, the result was that 
he had only 130 barrels of second-grade apples to sell. 
Another neighbor hired a man to spray his orchard 
of 300 trees, paying him $10 for labor and material. 
The man doing the spraying drove through the rows 
as fast as his horses could walk. The result was un¬ 
satisfactory and unprofitable. That man says it does 
not pay to spray. Spray the trees as you would a 
small bush. Cover them completely with the fiuid. 
One spraying well done is better than three half done. 
The spraying not only kills the egg, but keeps the 
fiy from the orchard. I have seen the files on un¬ 
sprayed trees at twilight, busy doing their work, 
while at the same time, on trees sprayed, not one was 
to be found. m. r. f. 
Rushville, N. Y. 
Cost of Spraying in Illinois. 
The cost of spraying apple trees depends entirely 
upon the skill of the workman, the efficiency of the 
apparatus, and the cost of material, including, also, 
proximity to water supply. We find that some people 
never learn how to spray economically. Others get 
at it easily, and soon develop a skill which enables 
them to do the work cheaply. Our best orchardists 
in this State are spraying their trees at a cost of 
about 71-6 cents per tree for 10-year-old trees, three 
sprayings, using Bordeaux-Paris-green solution. I 
find, however, many people in this State who do not 
succeed in making the three applications for less than 
11^4 cents, some even getting as high as 20 cents per 
tree. This is, of course, the actual cost, and if one 
were doing it as a business he should have something 
additional for his trouble. That additional cost would 
be governed entirely by circumstances, and would 
vary in different localities. I know of no persons in 
this State, who are doing the spraying for the entire 
neighborhood. We, at the University, do not believe 
in this plan, as it means that some people would 
have their spraying done at the right time, while oth¬ 
ers would have to wait for their turn. We are, there¬ 
fore, doing everything in our power to encourage each 
grower of fruit to have his own outfit and do his own 
spraying. We also believe that he is a better man if 
he has learned to spray. j. c. blair. 
Illinois Experiment Station. 
A Charge by the Hour. 
A little experience ought soon to teach a man what 
he can do it for, and upon what basis to make the 
charge. If done by the tree everything depends on 
conditions; whether trees are in full leaf, half leaf, 
or buds just swelling; large or small; how often he 
would have to fill up, and how handy the water, etc. 
Our own experience would lead us to say that it 
should be done by the day or hour somewhat on this 
basis: Jor team, outfit and man (who superintends 
mixing and directs nozzle), 40 cents per hour. Owner 
of trees to furnish ingredients and man to pump, or 
he could furnish team and wagon and proper deduc¬ 
tions made for these. If the man who uwns the pump 
furnishes the ingredients, he can charge for what they 
cost him, including mixing. A self-measuring gradu¬ 
ated barrel will be found useful in this case. Spray¬ 
ing has been done in this vicinity at the rate of $1.50 
per day for pump and man who directs nozzle. But 
this seems too low. Brawn will run the pump, but it 
takes brains to do the mixing and direct the nozzle. 
The man who does the latter Is, in one sense, a pro¬ 
fessional in his line, and he has a right to charge for 
his services accordingly; 20 cents per hour for man 
alone is none too much. At this price he has no 
sinecure, as those who have followed the wearisome, 
monotonous job hour after hour can well attest. 
Seneca Co., N. Y. w. a. bassett. 
Own Your Own Pump. 
There has been some little spraying done for neigh¬ 
bors who have no sprayer of their own, but so far 
as I know it has not been very satisfactory. I think 
in a few cases orchards have been sprayed as low as 
five cents per tree, and money made for the sprayer 
at’that, but the work was poorly done. I hardly 
know what would be a fair price for thorough work. 
I think the most satisfactory way is to own a pump 
of some size, or at least a half interest in one. I tried 
owning one with a neighbor for a couple of years, but 
did not like it. I find it important to be ready at the 
proper time, and then do thorough work. Unless you 
have a pump of your own you must wait your turn, 
and if the weather is not right you are likely to get 
left. There are times when there will only be one or 
two days in a week suitable for spraying, owing to 
wind or rain. I would advise anyone having one 
acre of orchard to own a good barrel pump and then 
be ready to spray at the proper time, or as near as 
possible. F. E. VAN EPS. 
Ontario Co.. N. Y. 
AN EXPERIENCE WITH THE PEA LOUSE. 
Two years ago we grew peas only for our own use 
and a few for the neighbors, and the louse just clean¬ 
ed us out of main crop—Heroine—^before we 
knew it, not giving us a pea. Last year we 
grew for market in a modest way an acre or 
less. We were on the watch for the louse, 
and found it first in the oats and peas, and 
plenty of them. When oats were cut there 
wasn’t a peavine there. Alongside that field 
were our market peas, Nott’s Excelsior, Ad¬ 
vancer and Heroine. Excelsior was practic¬ 
ally safe when the louse first appeared. The 
insects were first seen, of course, next the 
oat field, a 16-foot grass strip (old hedge) 
between. I got a “concentrated” whale-oil 
soap, costing 25 cents per pound, and made 
a solution of three-fourths pound to five gal¬ 
lons of water, and tried it on the ends of 
two rows next to oats. It destroyed the 
louse, but proved too strong for the vines, 
spotting them somewhat, though not seem¬ 
ing seriously to injure growth. I used a 
good sprayer and fine spray, spreading the 
solution freely and saturating the vines. Two 
days later I added 25 per cent more water 
and went over the whole piece. Lice were 
more or less all over it, and ready for busi¬ 
ness. This application did not seem to in¬ 
jure the vines—spotting them but slightly— 
but did worry the louse. A few days late I 
repeated the dose, this time “bushing” the 
vines with a cedar bush first, and following 
the bush with the sprayer immediately. 
Fully 50 per cent of the lice were thrown to 
to the ground, and as the thing was done in 
hot part of the day, between the hot ground 
and oil they staid where they lit. Experiment 
seemed to show that the hot, hard ground would 
finish them anyway, but we want in so dry a 
time to keep the ground soft and consequently it will 
be a little cooler, so that my dependence was really 
upon the whale oil. We had peas after all others 
were through, and our vines were green and reason¬ 
ably thrifty, notwithstanding the continuous absence 
of any rain. Those peas were remarked by passing 
people. The thriftiness (in a dry time) I in part 
charge up to the use of Clark’s Torrent plow in pre¬ 
paring the ground, as well as to holding the louse in 
check. But my pea ground for this season is that oat 
lot. I shall plant out that lot and have a supply of 
whale-oil soap ready, and a cedar bush or two. The 
raising of peas and oats came up in our Grange re¬ 
cently and I strongly discouraged growing them to¬ 
gether, as it makes an ideal breeding place for the 
louse. One or two made a trial last season, but 
thought they did not use seed enough. I suspect 
the louse had something to do with the supposed lack 
of seed. I make two plantings of Heroine—the second 
for a late crop—as I like it better than the taller 
varieties, and I can handle the louse better, s. e. f. 
Connecticut. 
Grass and Maple Trees.— A reader has a contract to 
keep a fine grass sod on a lawn where there are several 
large maple trees. This Is one of the most difficult things 
to do. The maple trees starve out the grass. Our friend 
thinks of trying the following grasses: For one plot, one- 
third each Kentucky Blue grass, one-third Perennial rye 
grass, one-third R. I. Bent. Another plot, one-half Ken¬ 
tucky Blue grass, one-half R. I. Bent. A third plot. Peren¬ 
nial rye alone, and another plot, two varieties of the 
dwarf wood grasses. Can anyone tell what grg.ss will 
beat a maple tree? 
GERANIUM HALL CAINE, CONSERVATORY TYPE. Fig. 119. 
See Ruralisms, Page 292. 
