Vol. LXIV. No. 2882. 
NEW YORK, APRIL 22, 1905. 
WEEKLY, *1.00 PER YEAR. 
HAS SPRAYING BECOME GENERAL? 
What Proportion of Fruit Growers Spray? 
What proportion of the fruit growers in your locality 
spray their fruit trees with any degree of thoroughness? 
Is there any apparent advantage in favor of those who do 
spray? We want to learn how general spraying has become. 
The number of fruit growers in this vicinity (north¬ 
western Columbia and southern Rensselaer Counties) 
who spray is gradually increasing. I think it safe to 
say that practically all the good up-to-date farmers are 
now spraying. That they are doing it thoroughly, in 
most instances, is very doubtful. This will not seem 
so strange, for “up-to-date” farmers, when I say that 
after an investigation by an experiment station man 
made last season in Orleans County he made this 
statement: “I have never seen so much or so good 
spraying as is done in Orleans County, yet of 600 
sprayed orchards that I visited only 20 were thoroughly 
done.” Spraying is comparatively a new thing. It is 
a disagreeable job, comes in the most busy time of 
the year. One is working by faith, not by sight, al¬ 
ways a harder task. Most o: the pumps and appli¬ 
ances for spraying are too weak and imperfect. \\ hen 
a man talks about doing thorough work in a tree 30 
or 40 feet high with such means as are 
usually at hand he does not know what he 
is talking about. Then, too, in spite of 
experiment station bulletins, farm papers 
and institute lectures, the nature of fun¬ 
gus troubles and insect life is not very 
well understood, and it is not rare to 
meet a man who thinks Bordeaux Mix¬ 
ture will kill insects and Paris-green 
destroy plant lice. Nevertheless, better 
and more intelligent work is being done 
each year. That the advantage is real 
and apparent is evidenced by the fact 
just cited that spraying is increasing. 
If this is true with the work none too 
well done, how much more effect will 
show as people come to understand and 
do it better. Another very significant 
fact: The best buyers will hardly go to 
look at an orchard that has not been 
sprayed. The spread of the San Jose 
scale is compelling many to spray who 
never did so before, and the very thor¬ 
ough work that must be done to have 
any effect on this pest means better 
spraying all along the line. I am satis¬ 
fied that it is of no use in the future 
for the farmer to attempt to grow fruit unless he 
annually, thoroughly and intelligently sprays. 
Columbia Co., N. Y. e. van alstyne. 
I regret to say that there is as yet only a moderate 
amount of spraying done, and that by our larger or- 
chardists and more progressive members of the Pomo- 
logical Society. Others neglect their trees, and in the 
case of the plum and peach, thousands of trees all over 
the State have been killed out by the scale. Many 
apple trees are more or less affected, but have not 
been killed yet, but probably will succumb within a 
few years. J. H. hale. 
Connecticut. 
In this vicinity spraying is generally accepted as a 
necessary operation in fruit growing. But very few, if 
any, of our farmers do not spray, though very many 
do not spray as carefully and thoroughly as they should. 
As in all other operations of th • farm, there are all 
gradations from the most careful and thorough treat¬ 
ment to the most indifferent. As the one degree marks 
the successful and prosperous farmer so the other in¬ 
dicates the shiftless farmer whose “farming does not 
pay.” There is, however, considerable irregularity in 
regard to the amount and thoroughness of spraying, 
from year to year, reflecting, no doubt, some degree of 
uncertainty and skepticism in regard to the necessity 
and importance of spraying. But our most successful 
fruit growers, without exception, are regular and thor¬ 
ough in the practice of spraying, and they consider it 
one of the most important and necessary operations of 
the orchard. It is certain that they are not the ones 
who are flooding our markets with trash, ruining the 
reputation of New York State fruit and depressing 
the prices of our products. When we are able to bar 
from our markets the diseased and wormy fruits that 
are the product of the unsprayed and carelessly sprayed 
orchards, we need have no fears of the competition of 
other sections of the country, or of the future pros¬ 
perity of the fruit interests of our State, w. t. mann. 
Niagara Co., N. Y. 
A large number of fruit growers in this vicinity spray 
their orchards, hut many are not thorough, going over 
the trees hastily once before blossoming and sometimes 
once after. Yet others are very thorough, going over 
the trees three to five times with good results. The 
past two seasons have been cool and wet, being favor¬ 
able for developing fungus. As a result many un¬ 
sprayed orchards bore very poor fruit, and were sold 
for a small price. Others situated so the sun and air 
had a good chance to circulate had good apples with- 
fight the pest in old apple orchards of large trees if 
scale gets a good start all through the orchard. 
Lewiston, N. Y. f. s. h. 
I do not think that more than one-quarter of the 
fruit growers spray, and not more than one-half to 
one-quarter of them do it thoroughly. The results from 
spraying are easily seen, especially upon some varie¬ 
ties like Newtown Pippin, Fall Pippin and Snow. But 
the advantages derived from spraying are not as great 
in the upper Hudson Valley as in western New York, 
especially in fighting the Apple scab, as it is much more 
prevalent- in western New York than in the Hudson 
Valley. The orchards in the lake counties of western 
New York are as a rule more level than in the east, 
and a tower can be used there to good advantage. They 
should be used wherever possible in the east, as it is 
practically impossible to spray old apple trees and do a 
good job without a tower. j. p. van buren & son. 
Columbia Co., N. Y. 
A GOOD CHANCF FOR THE HOG AND THE ORCHARD. Fig. 135 
out spraying. But those that are thorough not only in 
spraying, but in cultivating, fertilizing and trimming, 
have more and better fruit, smooth and of good color, 
selling for good prices, giving good returns for labor 
and expense. Many do not spray because help is so 
high and scarce. Farmers are not doing as much on 
their farms as other years on that account, so orchards 
are being neglected, as well as other things. The 
Spring has opened very favorably. Fruit buds are 
plentiful. Wheat has wintered well and looks fine. 
What we need now is a warm rain. B. w. B. 
Hilton, N. Y. 
There are very few large fruit growers in this lo¬ 
cality who do not spray their fruit trees. It has come 
to be considered a necessary part of the business. 
Among those having less fruit, perhaps one-half of 
them spray, some very effectively, others with poor re¬ 
sults, just according to the skill, thoroughness and 
persistence with which the work is done. There is no 
question in the mind of anyone disposed to be fair 
of the advantage in favor of those who do careful, 
thorough spraying, as far as quality of the fruit is con¬ 
cerned. As to dollars and cents, there is chance for a 
difference of opinion. Our worst enemy in the orchard 
is the San Jose scale, and it has come to be a serious 
question in the minds of many whether .it will pay to 
NOTES ON FORCING LETTUCE. 
To grow good lettuce under glass, and grow it profit¬ 
ably, is rather a difficult undertaking. Unless we have 
proper facilities and houses especially 
built for the same, we can hardly hope 
to make a success in a commercial way, 
but when well grown lettuce is perhaps 
the most profitable crop we can grow in 
glass houses or in frames. During my 
experience of many years in greenhouse 
work I have grown a great many kinds 
of lettuce with different methods of cul¬ 
tivation, and in each succeeding year I 
find I can profit by my past mistakes. 
Some gardeners will tell us we must 
have certain kinds of soil, some consider 
the seed the most important, while 
others say the man behind the hose is 
responsible for the crop, but I have ob¬ 
served that good gardeners usually over¬ 
come most of these difficulties. I have 
always had fine success with lettuce by 
using the trenching or subsoiling 
method; in fact, it has never failed to 
bring forth a fine crop of head lettuce 
for us. In beginning I would advise 
starting with seed that is grown from 
strictly forcing lettuce. I would not use 
the large kinds like Big Boston, or va¬ 
rieties that are inclined to grow even 
larger than that well-known kind; it is most certain to 
be a disappointment. This is conceded by all who are 
versed in lettuce forcing, and the writer has been taught 
this lesson to the tune of a good many hundred dozen. 
When the plants are ready to set, which should be from 
four to six weeks from time of planting the seed, pre¬ 
pare the ground carefully by removing about five inches 
of soil from the top; then spade or subsoil the bottom 
to the full depth of the spade. Spread on this about 
three inches of good horse manure, turn on the water 
and soak it thoroughly. When this is liberally done it 
is usually sufficient to mature the crop, and avoids sur¬ 
face wetting, which frequently damages and sometimes 
ruins the whole crop. The next square should be pre¬ 
pared as before described, and so on till the house is 
completed. Rake it level, and set the plants eight 
inches apart each way. Nothing more will be required 
except to stir the soil often. Give a night temperature 
or 45 or 50 degrees, with 15 or 20 degrees higher during 
the day. Grow lettuce quite cool the first 12 or 15 days 
after planting; increase the temperature as the crop 
matures. t. m. white. 
Monmouth Co., N. J. 
R. N.-Y.—Good seed is a most important point. 
Without this it is impossible to secure the uniformity of 
size and type essential to best results with such products. 
