1907. 
699 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
SHALL WE PLANT NEW ORCHARDS? 
Not Unless You Can Fight Scale. 
In answer to the inquiry as to the future planting 
of orchards in the Hudson Valley, I would say to the 
fanner whose policy is the growing of general farm 
crops and keeping of stock, that outside of what he 
requires for his home use, it is a useless expenditure 
of money and time to plant orchards. The San Jose 
scale is here to stay, and while the farm crops and 
stock are being looked after the scale and other orchard 
pests are keeping busy, and they will keep ahead. The 
trees of your correspondent from Greene County were 
without doubt infested with the scale when 
he received them from the nursery. We 
have met many trees planted in the Spring 
that in the Autumn were so covered with 
the scale that the bark was not visible. 
These were infested when planted. The 
system of inspection is entirely inadequate 
and the certificate of the Department of 
Agriculture has very little value in it so 
far as protection is concerned. Farmers 
and fruit growers must do their own in¬ 
specting, and treat the trees before plant¬ 
ing. They are, however, getting little prac¬ 
tical help or instruction along these most 
important lines from the educational work 
provided by the State. There arc farmers’ 
institute speakers who are advising farmers 
to use the lime and sulphur mixture who 
themselves have never made or applied a 
barrel of it, and farmers will not do it, 
for they have not the appliances with 
which to prepare the mixture, which 
is most disagreeable to use, and but 
few would make it properly. I was in an 
orchard last week on the Hudson, where 
a farmer was picking and selling apples at 
$6 a barrel. He said he used Scalecide en¬ 
tirely on his trees, and kept the scale in 
entire control; and it costs him less than 
the lime and sulphur to do it. Yet I can 
find nothing in the institute work to help in 
this direction, or to make known facts like these. 
I his man does not go to institutes because he cannot 
afford to spend his time listening to men who are not 
up to his own work. 1 he institutes are thrashing 
too much old straw. In the last report there is not 
a line of instruction to farmers in the use of anything 
but lime and sulphur, while many of our most progres¬ 
sive fruit growers are using Scalecide and a few differ¬ 
ent materials with entire success, and which farmers could 
easily use, where now they make no effort to control the 
scale. One of the great present needs of the farmers of 
our State is more real efficient instruction in prac¬ 
tical methods and demonstration. The 
eastern fruit grower has been put in the 
background in his own markets by the 
live progressive men of the West and he 
will be kept there so long as the great 
Empire State 'is without strong, progres¬ 
sive, interested leadership in its agriculture 
that would help farmers to realize greater 
benefit from the superior advantages which 
they possess in their land, location and 
markets. No, it is useless to plant more 
orchards, unless more intelligent methods 
of management are to be inaugurated, and 
their products made not only to equal but 
to lead in quality those produced in any 
other State. george t. eowell. 
Friend of Lime and Sulphur. 
On page 650 of The R. N.-Y., J. S. B. 
states that he has found a few infested 
apple trees in his orchard in Greene Co., 
and with the editor asks Hudson Valley 
growers what to do, and when to do it; 
also if it will be wise to continue plant¬ 
ing. I have more than once in these 
columns, as well as elsewhere, expressed my 
confidence in the ability of the careful man 
to control the scale, and that because of it 
am planting more trees, believing that it 
will destroy—as it already has—thousands 
of trees whose owners either do nothing to com¬ 
bat it, or what they do is done in such a half-way 
manner as to be time and money wasted. I have 
heretofore expressed some doubt as to the practicability 
of saving the fruit on large apple trees. Now I be¬ 
lieve this is also possible. 
In this locality we have the scale generally very 
widespread, and many orchards are ruined, yet those 
of us who have done thorough spraying with lime and 
sulphur are in better shape than at any time since its 
advent. • In one apple orchard, 40 years old, sprayed 
for two years, I have not, up to this date (August 31), 
found a single marked apple. In another, 14 years 
old, where the scale was numerous, and where on a 
few rows, where we sprayed against the wind in 1906, 
the fruit was badly marked, we only found three 
affected apples in more than 20 barrels already picked. 
My next neighbor in a large orchard of 40-ycar-old 
trees, heretofore only partly sprayed, this year well 
covered with lime and sulphur, has equally good re¬ 
sults. Mr. Morrell at Kinderhook, in whose orchards 
of over 7,000 trees, the scale has been longest in the 
Hudson Valley, has sold his fruit to a most discriminat¬ 
ing buyer, who agrees to take everything, \ > 
Yesterday I was in the Maxwell orchard at Geneva, 
Ontario Co., of 2,000 large apple trees, where a year 
application so made will do the job for that year. If 
the oils are used apply in the Spring. I know of good 
results so obtained, and do not know of injury. Fur¬ 
ther, don’t sacrifice any more trees when scale is found 
on them. It is in the orchard, and will continue to 
show. It must be fought, and digging out affected 
trees will not prevent it. I shall always be grateful 
to Prof. Slingerland, who advised against my taking 
out a lot of Japan plums, showing scale. I have had 
five crops of plums on those trees since, and they 
are strong and healthy. edward van alstyne. 
R. N.-Y.—We sprayed nearly 2,000 trees last Fall 
with Scalecide—one part oil to 16 parts water—and 
most of them again this Spring. There is 
no evidence of any injury whatever, and 
few if any live scales have been found. 
The orchard in Greene Co., N. Y., is 
owned by a man who does not live near 
it, and no one nearby makes or uses lime 
and sulphur. 
“SCARLET GLOBE” RADISHES FROM' UNWARRANTED SEEDS. 
Fig. 344. See Ruralisms, Page 702. 
ago a large portion of the fruit was unmarketable be¬ 
cause marked by scale, and was not able to find a scale- 
marked specimen. True, he spent $2,000 for material 
and labor in spraying, but his crop is estimated at 
from $17,000 to $20,000. These trees have been “de¬ 
horned” and so well has the job been done that a 
more symmetrical lot of trees it will be hard to find 
anywhere. Lime and sulphur did it. The thing that 
is difficult to do is the thing that pays. I reiterate: 
The man who will set trees now, and take care of them, 
will receive more for his fruit in the next decade 
than if the scale had stayed in China. While it costs 
money, it is an expenditure that comes back with 
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME. Fig. 345. 
interest, giving prompt and most satisfying returns. 
In spite of my high regard for the editor and his 
advice, now as on a few other occasions I must differ 
from him when he advises “soaking the trees with 
Scalecide late in October.” I was in an orchard 
yesterday where trees had been “soaked” with it 
and other spraying mixtures, in January in strict 
accord with the directions of the makers with the 
result that over 400 trees were killed, many more seri¬ 
ously injured and the fruit buds all killed for this 
year, and very few showing for next. Use lime and 
sulphur in early Spring, made and applied according 
to directions from our experiment stations, and one 
EXPERIENCE WITH POISON IVY. 
A recent experience of mine may prove 
worth relating. A child of four years was 
brought to me having a rash on her face 
and hands, which I diagnosed as ivy poi¬ 
soning, and prescribed for accordingly, 
advising at the same time that a search be 
made for the ivy that had caused it with 
a view to its removal. A few weeks there¬ 
after the mother brought her back and told 
me that the treatment had proved effectual 
in ridding the child of the trouble, but it 
had returned again, as I could see for my¬ 
self. Search had been made for the ivy, 
but none had been discovered. I directed 
a repetition of the treatment and a further 
and more thorough search for the cause of 
offense. The next report was more satis¬ 
factory. Ivy was found growing close by 
the front door, but in a measure concealed 
,by another creeper that was growing with it. 
A few twigs of the ivy were brought to show me, and 
this time the child’s father, a farmer, told me that 
they had been on the place five years; and that during 
each of the four preceding Summers his wife had 
suffered severely from an attack that was called 
erysipelas of the face. 1*rom the account given me of 
tliese attacks I felt justified in giving the father an 
assurance that they were caused by ivy poisoning. The 
appearance of the parts affected in the two cases is 
a good deal alike. Erysipelas can, however, be readily 
and positively distinguished from ivy poisoning, by 
the violent headache and high fever that attend it, as 
well as by the much greater disturbance of the general 
system that it causes. Erysipelas of the 
face as a rule commences at a point on 
one cheek, spreads over that side of the 
face, around the back of the head, and 
so to the other half of the face, occupying 
about eight days in its transit, and then 
promptly subsiding; its course being but 
little affected by treatment. Ivy poisoning 
is much more irregular in its course, and 
may continue much longer unless arrested 
by treatment, to which it is much more 
amenable. w o. E. 
SOME BRIEF OREGON NOTES. 
In respect to the use of tares and grow¬ 
ing them, I think that if I. C. R., page 641, 
had given his vetch a good dressing of 
land plaster he would be surprised 
at the results. I have never seen 
anything that responds to it so quickly and 
makes such a marked increase in the 
growth. Also, if he has never tried it, let 
him take the divider off his mower and cut 
the vetch in lands, the same as he plows; 
then with a good sharp rolling cutter he 
will find it turns under with no great trou- . 
ble. In mowing tares let the outside horse 
walk in the inside mower wheel track. 
My mower has a foot lever for tilting the 
guards up or down, which I find a great 
help in cutting down clover and grass, 
good woman” of the house discovered this year 
The 
uua j'vai 
that the cobs from the corn she was canning were an 
improvement over straw or boards in the' boiler to 
keep jars from touching. No disagreeable odor, which 
Las been the bane of canning corn in other years.- 
I had hoped that other pens more able than mine 
would defend the Oregon law, which some think too 
severe, in respect to selling fruit affected with San 
Jose scale. My observation is that the scale is cer¬ 
tainly carried on infected fruit, and in this town 
I think three-fourths of the cases started from orange 
and other fruit skins thrown out in the back yard 
Even if it is not, the only thing that will reach a 
large portion of careless growers is when they find 
they cannot sell or give away their infested fruit 
O re g° n - s. t. walker. 
