The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
457 
Buds and Aphids Ready for Delayed Dormant Spray 
Fig. .123 
Here in Ithaca medium grade apples are 00c to .$1.20 
a peck, .$4 a bushel. .$10 a barrel, and the members of 
our family feel hurt and out-of-joint if they don't 
have apple sauce at least 300 days in the year for 
breakfast. The other Co they are willing, but not 
eager, to put up with stewed rhubarb, and with cur¬ 
rants and red raspberries roaslied and mixed to¬ 
gether, and, I suppose, sweetened with 20-cent sugar 
next Summer. 
THE ART OF SPRAYING.—It perhaps is not too 
high-brow to say that spraying has almost become an 
art, and yet it is a fairly simple operation if one ob¬ 
tains beforehand a clear idea of the right time to 
spray, of the proper mixtures to use. and a general 
notion, at least, of the nature of the insects to be 
controlled. We shall try to make these points clear 
and simple, and we add a few pictures to illustrate 
the stages in the development of the apple tree 
when it should be sprayed. One should go by the 
growth and development of the buds and blossoms 
rather than by the almanac. Perhaps the ideal 
number of sprayings for an apple orchard under 
average conditions of weather and infestation by in¬ 
sects and fungi would be five. In years of abnormal 
outbreaks of plant lice, redbugs, apple scab and 
other troubles, some growers are forced to make 
more applications of spray mixtures to save their 
crop. Probably the majority of growers do not spray 
as many as live times during the season. 
IMPORTANT PESTS OF THE APPLE OR¬ 
CHARD.—Riling insects are codling-moth ‘'worm,” 
case-bearers, bud-motli caterpillars, green fruit- 
worms. tussock-moth caterpillars, plum curculio. 
Sucking insects include aphids, redbugs, San Jose 
scale, oyster-shell scale, blister mite, apple maggot. 
It is fundamental that the biting iusects are de¬ 
stroyed by placing poison in some form on the fruit 
and foliage where it will later be swallowed along 
with the food eaten by the pests. On the other hand 
the sucking insects are controlled by actually hitting 
them with some material that kills them by contact 
with the outside < f the body. Fortunately most of 
the insects in the foregoing lists can la* sprayed for 
at the same times by using the proper combination 
of materials. 
DELAYED DORMANT SPRAY.—The first general 
spray for the apple orchard is the so-called ‘'de¬ 
layed dormant" spray (Fig. 123). The tips of the 
leaves should be out from )-) to *4 in. At this time 
if aphids are present they are clustered on the out¬ 
side of the buds and can be hit and killed. If San 
Jose scale and blister mite are present on the trees 
they can also be checked by this spray. In addition, 
some bud-motlis and case-bearers can be caught at 
this time. To kill the aphids use nicotine sulphate 
Buds Beady for Ike Dink Spray. Fig. 12 + 
(Black-leaf 401. three-fourths of a pint. To check 
the bud-moth and case-bearers use 5 lbs. of paste or 
214 lbs. of powdered arsenate of lead. If the scale 
is serious, use lime-sulphur. 11 gals., and water S9 
gals. Tf scale is not abundant, reduce the amount of 
lime-sulphur to 7 gals, with 03 gals of water. In 
either case. 100 gals of spray mixture will be ob¬ 
tained ready to apply to the trees. If scale and Idis- 
tr mite are not present, have out the lime-sulphur 
entirely, but replace it with water and add .1 lbs. of 
soap to increase the killing power of the nicotine 
for the aphids. 
PINK SPRAY.—The second important spray is the 
so-called “pink spray” (Fig. 124). At this time the 
blossom buds are just showing pink, but have not 
yet opened. This is the time to hit the case-bearers, 
bud-moth, and scab. To poison the bud-moth and 
case-bearers use arsenate of lead, paste .1 lbs. or 
powdered 2)4 lbs. To check the scab, use 2)4 gals, 
of liquid lime-sulphur. Add these materials to 100 
gals, of water and apply in a tine mist to the trees. 
CALYX SPRAY.—The third spray, know as the 
“calyx spray,” is really the most important one. for 
several reasons. At this time at least three-fourths 
of the petals have fallen, the young apples are 
standing upright, and the green calyx is spread wide 
open (Fig. 125). This is the time to place the poison 
in the calyx cup ready for the codling moth or 
“worm" of the apple, which is the most important 
pest of this fruit. For the codling moth use the 
same amounts of arsenate of lead as recommended 
in the pink spray. 2)4 gals, of lime-sulphur for the 
scab and 1(K) gals, of water. Produce a misty spray 
and fill the calyx cups and cover the stems of the 
young apples and the leaves. 
FOURTH SPRAY.—Many careful growers prefer 
to make a fourth application of arsenate of lead. 5 
lbs., or 2 1 4 lbs., for the codling moth and other cater¬ 
pillars. and lime-sulphur 2*4 gals, for scab to 100 
gjtls. of water. 
FIFTH SPRAY.—During the first part of August, 
in New York, there is often a second brood of cod¬ 
ling-moth “worms” that are likely to gnaw into the 
sides of the apples and disfigure the fruit. The 
plant pathologists tell us also that if weather condi¬ 
tions are right there may be a late infection of scab 
about this time. To check these troubles some grow¬ 
ers make the same application of poison and lime- 
sulphur as given under the fourth spray. This ap¬ 
plication is made during the last week of July or 
fir>t week of August. Now let us sum up the three 
more important sprayings in a concise way in the 
form of a table: 
DELATED DORMANT 
Fig. 123 
Materials Pests 
Areseuate of lead paste, 5 ll>s. Case-bearers, bud-moth 
Nicotine sulphate, % pt. Aphids 
’“Lime-sulphur, 11 gals. Scale, blister-mite 
Water, SO gals. 
F1XK SPRAY 
Fig. 124 
Areseuate of lead paste, 5 lbs. Case-bearers, bud-moth 
Lime-sulphur. 2)4 gals. Apple scab 
Water, 100 gals." 
CALYX SPKAY 
Fig. 325 
Areseuate of lead paste, 5 lbs. Codling moth 
Lime-sulphur, 2}4 gals. Apple scab 
Water, 100 gals. 
* If the scale is not serious, use only 7 gals, of lime- 
sulphur and 93 gals, water. If scale and blister-mite 
are not present, leave out the lime-sulphur altogether 
and replace it with water. 
SOME SPECIAL SPRAYS.—In some localities 
there may be serious infestations.of San Jose and 
oyster shell scales. In these instances it may be 
desirable to give a dormant spray for these pests 
late in the Fall or early in the Spring. In such a 
case lime-sulphur should be used alone at the rate 
of one gallon to eight gallons of water. In some 
localities the redbugs may be present and may cause 
notable injury. In severe infestations it will prob¬ 
ably be found advantageous to add nicotine sulphate 
(Black-leaf 40), one pint to 100 gallons, to the pink 
and calyx sprays, certainly to the latter. In some 
instances the redbugs have apparently been satis¬ 
factorily checked by adding the nicotine to the calyx 
spray only. The nicotine combines well with arsen¬ 
ate of lead and lime-sulphur. The apple maggot is 
notably troublesome in many apple growing sections 
of the East. The tlies begin to appear the last part 
of June and within 10 days or two weeks begin to 
lay their eggs just beneath the skin of the apple. 
The tlies may be poisoned before they deposit their 
eggs if the applications are made at the right time. 
Orchards subject to injury from this insect should 
be sprayed with arsenate of lead paste, five pounds 
Young Apples Ready for the Calyx Spray. Fig. 125 
to 100 gallons of water, during the very first days 
of July and again two weeks later. 
DRY SUBSTITUTES FOR LIQUID LIME-SUL¬ 
PHUR.—The manufacture and sale of insecticides 
are assuming large proportions in this country, and 
the layman i- often puzzled to know what kinds of 
materials to use to obtain the best results. There 
are. it seems to me. three things that one must keep 
in mind regarding insecticides for spraying. 1. Is 
it an efficient material? 2. Is it a safe material to 
apply to trees? 3. Will it combine with other mate¬ 
rials and still retain its efficiency and safety? Much 
is being said nowadays about the dry sulphur com¬ 
pounds. of which there are several brands on the 
market, and growers are being urged to u>e them 
in place of the liquid lime-sulphur. In order to 
determine the general merits of these compounds 
they should be compared with the standard lime- 
sulphur solutions, the efficiency and safety of which 
are fairly well established. It has been shown that 
the value of the sulphur compounds for San Jose 
scale, blister-mite, et al., depends on the amount of 
efficient sulphur they contain. When a standard 
lime-sulphur solution testing 33 degrees Baume is 
diluted at the rate of one gallon to eight gallons of 
water, the proper* dilution for San Jose scale, the 
diluted solution will contain approximately 4.77* 
ounces of sulphur to each gallon. Up to the present 
time the dry compounds of sulphur on the market 
have varied greatly in the amount of sulphur they 
contain, and when diluted according to the directions 
of the manufacturer the resulting spray solution 
may not contain enough sulphur in each gallon to 
be efficient. Moreover, if one uses enough of the dry 
mixture to bring the sulphur up to 4.75 ounces in 
each gallon the cost is likely to be too high. There 
is one other point that needs emphasis. The sodium 
and potassium-sulphur compounds have a tendency, 
especially when combined with arsenate of lead, to 
become caustic and to burn the foliage. Thus these 
compounds have a tendency to become unsafe; 
especially when combined with other materials. 
There is. we believe, a place for the dry sulphur 
compounds, and they may very soon he brought to 
a basis of standard safety, economy and efficiency. 
Until they are. however, it is wisest to use those 
spray mixtures which have been shown to safe and 
efficient. gt.kxx w. herrtck. 
J 
.4 Potrer Sprayer in Action. Fig. 12G 
