372 
7he RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 1, 1019 
DOW 
Powdered Magnesium Arsenate 
(Highly Fluffy ) 
The Modern Agricultural Poison 
Mixes easier, is applied in the same 
way, for the same purposes, in the 
same proportions—pound for pound— 
and with the same degree of safety 
from injury to foliage, as is good 
Arsenate of Lead. It spreads better, 
adheres longer, and COSTS LESS. 
The above results were obtained in 
most exhaustive spraying tests ex¬ 
tending over a period of several years 
in the Dow Experimental Orchards, 
Fields and Laboratory. We make 
these statements despite the fact that 
we are probably the largest producers 
of Arsenate of Lead in the world. The 
wonderful possibilities and the very 
low price of DOW MAGNESIUM 
ARSENATE we believe warrants your 
early request for delivered prices and 
full information. 
The Dow Chemical Company 
Midland, Michigan • 
Higher Yields 
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Corn and Its Culture 
a 62 page book by Dr. H. J. Wheeler, formerly Director 
of the Rhode Island Experiment Station. It contains infor¬ 
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methods of planting and cultivating, fertilization, crop rota¬ 
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features. Every farmer who grows corn should have this 
book. It can be secured by addressing any of the offices 
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ATLANTA 
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Agents Wanted In Unoccupied Territory 
Spraying Notes 
More Opinions of the Spray-gun 
The spray-gun is all right properly 
used. We did our work last year with a 
gun for the first time, and our McIntosh 
and Wealthy apples were entirely free 
from red bug injury and almost 100 per 
cent free from codling worm and fungus. 
June 16 we had a severe hailstorm over 
our hearing orchard, and I gave the fruit 
up for lost but at picking time the McIn¬ 
tosh and Wealthy had almost entirely out¬ 
grown the hail marks, while in the same 
orchard and under the same treatment, 
Ha Id wins were nearly ruined. On the 
latter there, was practically no worm in¬ 
jury at blossom end, but nearly every 
apple had a side worm, and it. was very 
evident that the worm went in at a hail 
mark. This is satisfactory proof to my 
mind that the skin of the Baldwin apple 
in this ease was less able to protect the 
pulp under the skin than the other vari¬ 
eties. and also it plainly showed me that 
the worm will get inside the apple if a 
vulnerable place can be found, and the 
hail bruises made the place for the worm 
to enter. 
In using the spray-gun it is essential 
that a uniform pressure of pot less than 
ISO to 1200 lbs. be maintained and just as 
much care should he taken that every 
small apple and twig be sprayed as iii 
the use of the nozzle spray. With largo 
trees and dense foliage better work can 
be done with a gun than with a nozzle, as 
there is plenty of force to drive the 
spra.v through the tree, and then do more 
effective work, but no one can stand on 
the tower of his wagon and hit all of the 
tree. It is jest as necessary for effective 
work that the inside of the tree be 
drenched as it is with the nozzle. I did 
not see that it used much more material 
with the gun and it certainly saved a lot 
of time. 
Dutchess Co., N. Y. t. e. cross. 
T have not used arsenite of zinc, and 
Irom past experience 1 am not inclined 
to experiment with spraying chemicals 
that arc new to me until their value is 
entirely established by the careful use 
and study and observation of scientific 
men who are grinding no axes. I am 
accomplishing all that I need at present 
with lime-sulphur, arsenate of lead and 
Black Leaf 40. They are tried and true. 
I’rof. Parrott in bis address at Rochester 
sounded the warning that growers be not 
too unqualifiedly ready to accept the new 
chemicals put out, year after year, but 
go slow and use carefully. It is good 
advice. As to dusting, I cannot give ex¬ 
perience. I am not wishing to under¬ 
value it in the face of much evidence as 
to its good services. A little observation 
here last season convinced me that spray¬ 
ing is also necessary, cannot be dispensed 
with, and the man who relies entirely 
on dusting does so at bis peril. 
I do not like to think that I am slow 
or behind the times when so many orchard 
men approve of the spray-gun. and are 
enthusiastic about it. Perhaps I am 
wrong, but. I believe that its distribution 
of liquid is too unequal, too much in one 
place, too little in another, too much 
chance for the user to get himself cov¬ 
ered with spray. However, I shall keep 
on trying. It must be used with all the 
intelligence a man lias, and is not like 
dusting, which can be done by a man 
with “absolutely no intelligence,” as was 
remarked by a lecturer in its advocacy 
at Rochester a couple of years ago. 
I know that safe and sane spraying 
which accomplishes the results sought for 
can still be done with the long bamboo 
rod attached to a long hose, and using 
angle nozzles. I have recent support in 
my views on this matter from two apple 
growers of Germantown, Columbia Co., 
my neighbors, who are men that study 
their business and grow fine fruit. They 
tell me they will not again use the gun 
for their blossom spraying, but will go 
back to rods and combination of nozzles, 
because they are not getting their insect 
enemies with the guns, besides the danger 
of scalding tender fruits where too much 
spray reaches them. w. s. teator. j 
Dutchess Co., N. Y. 
I have not used arsenite of zinc, in 
fact have bad no disposition to experi¬ 
ment with new materials in spraying. I 
have used arsenate of lead for several 
years with complete satisfaction, and will 
continue to do so until some other prepa¬ 
ration is proved to be superior. The 
spray gun in my judgment is a great ad¬ 
vance in the spray equipment. I do not 
see how anyone who has much spraying 
to do can afford to do without it. The 
rapidity with which the work is done and 
its effectiveness certainly appeals to me. 
Possibly there have been some unfavor¬ 
able results, owing to an excess of mate¬ 
rial being applied, the high pressure and 
rapid discharge, especially of the larger 
disks, requires an active operator and one 
possessed of good judgment. I have used 
the spray-gun for two seasons with the 
best, results. J. R. CORNELL. 
Orange Co., N. Y. 
Our practice now is to let the experi¬ 
ment. station try out the new fads, and 
only adopt new methods or materials after 
they are well tried out. Arsenate of lead 
and lime-sulphur solution when properly 
applied control fungus troubles and leaf¬ 
eating insects with us. I have tried out 
the spray-gun, and with a 3% horse¬ 
power engine in my judgment the liquid 
could not be properly applied, so have 
discontinued its use. An even applica¬ 
tion to all parts of the tree is my ideal, 
and this is accomplished with 250 pounds 
pressure, a fine disk, an angle nozzle, a 
10-foot, pole and an interested man at 
the other end of the pole. 
New York. grant g.. hitcuings. 
The Apple Maggot or Railroad Worm 
On page 127 is an inquiry regarding 
this pest and means of control. This is 
the progeny of a small fly which makes its 
appearance from early in July until late 
in August, the date depending somewhat 
upon the latitude, and seemingly, also, 
upon the variety of apples which it in¬ 
fested the previous year. The fly is of a 
grayish color, with darker stripes across 
its wings, and rather more than half as 
large as a common house-fly. The fly is a 
native of the United States, and formerly 
fed upon the fruit of the wild thorn apple, 
the haw, and some varieties of the wild 
rose, and. possibly included some other 
fruits in its diet With the advent of the 
apple the pest abandoned these fruits for 
the more savory ones developed by culti¬ 
vation, for which it. cannot be blamed. 
The adult insect punctures the skin of 
the fruit and deposits her eggs, one in a 
place, just beneath the skin, and, once in 
this location, there is no known method 
of attacking it. The eggs hatch in a few 
days, and the minute worms, scarcely as 
large as the point of a needle, travel in 
all directions through the flesh of the 
apple, and decay follows its channels. It, 
attacks all kinds, but seemingly prefers 
the sweet varieties, and more especially 
the Tolman Sweet. Whether the insect 
really has any preference, or whether the 
apparently greater injury is owing to the 
nature of the flesh of the apple, thus mak¬ 
ing the injury more apparent, is not quite 
clear. 
On reaching maturity the worms 
emerge from the apple and enter the 
ground, where they complete their trans¬ 
formation and reappear as perfect insects. 
It is said that there are two or more 
broods during the season, but this seems 
extremely doubtful, especially in the 
North. The fly does not appear to make 
independent, flights to any great extent, 
but. aided by the wind, it sometimes trav¬ 
els long distances, and I have known of 
several instances where it. had apparently 
been blown from one orchard into an¬ 
other. It is pretty generally distributed 
over the greater part of the United States. 
It is, at, the present time, the most serious 
pest with which the orchardist has to 
contend, and it promises faithfully to 
drive the apple industry from the face of 
the earth. Whether it will keep its prom¬ 
ise or lint, depends upon the degree of effi¬ 
ciency with which it can be controlled. 
It is claimed that, by pasturing the or¬ 
chard. or by picking and destroying the 
apples as fast as they fall, the worms may 
be destroyed, thus insuring the succeeding 
crop. This is true only to a very slight 
extent for by far the greater percentage 
of worms leave the fruit before the apples 
fall to the ground, so that the gain by 
this practice must be infinitesimal. It is 
said that poultry, if given free range in 
the orchard, will destroy tin* worms. Yet 
some of the worst infested trees that I 
ever saw were growing in a henyard. It 
is also said that cultivation before the 
flies have emerged from the ground will 
destroy them. Buff experiments have 
shown that the fly is able to find its way 
to the surface even when buried to a 
depth of 12 inches. A report comes from 
New Hampshire that the pest has been 
destroyed, when in this stage, by explod¬ 
ing charges of dynamite in the soil. 
Whether true or not, this method seems 
to be impracticable, and, so far as we now 
know, the pest can be controlled only by 
making war upon the adult insect. 
The fly feeds sparingly upon the foliage 
before depositing its eggs. It has also 
been found that it is exceedingly fond of 
sweets Hence the logical method of con¬ 
trol seems to bo along the line of poison¬ 
ous sprays. Experiments along this line 
have shown tl.at, when poisons were used 
alone, very light results followed, but, 
when a considerable quantity of syrup of 
a cheap grade was added, sheets spread 
beneath the trees caught large numbers of 
the dead bodies of the flies, and a com¬ 
parative immunity from the attacks of the 
worms resulted. Experiments have not 
yet demonstrated just how efficient this 
method may be. or the number of spray¬ 
ings that must be given, or the most fav¬ 
orable dates for applying such sprays, or 
even tin* minimum amount of syrup to be 
used with an arsenical of standard 
strength in order to obtain the maximum 
results. But it is evidently along this line 
that the battle must be waged, and. for 
the present, every orchardist must be. a 
law unto himself. 
C. O. OKMSBEE. 
Boss: “You’re late again, young man. 
What excuse have you got to offer this 
time?” “Willie Wisehcad: “The slip¬ 
pery pavements, .sir. Every time I took a 
step I slipped back two.” Boss: “You 
did, eh? Then bow did you ever get 
here?” Willie Wisehead : I started back 
home, sir!”—Judge. 
