New York AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 681 
From this it appears that, contrary to the expectations 
expressed in the report of the previous year, the difference in 
yield between the two groups of trees in 1894 was slight and the 
differences in per cent. both of first-class fruit and of culls were 
in favor of the trees not sprayed in 1893. 
It will be remembered that the sprayed trees in 1893 yielded 
at harvest nearly three times as much fruit as did the unsprayed 
trees, so that on further reflection it is not amazing that they did 
not greatly excel the latter in yield in 1894. That they were en- 
abled to excel them in the quantity and nearly equal them in the 
quality of the yield in 1894 after the heavy crop of 1893 is really 
strong evidence of the permanent beneficial effect of spraying. 
The permanent injurious effects of the scab fungus on the un- 
sprayed trees in 1893 was no greater, if as great, as the perma- 
nent injurious effects of excessive yield of the sprayed trees 
even though their foliage was kept in good condition by the 
spray. If this experiment shows anything, it shows that the 
beneficial’ effects of spraying can not be expected to take the 
place of thinning the fruit to prevent the too great exhaustion of 
the trees by overbearing. Neither can it take the place of fer- 
tilizing the soil where trees are producing heavy crops of fruit. 
Liven when trees are sprayed, large annual crops of fruit ought 
not to be expected unless they are well fed and not permitted to 
overbear. 
SUMMARY. 
1. The least number of treatments of Bordeaux mixture that 
may be relied on to prevent the scab among varieties susceptible 
to injury from the scab fungus in pear orchards is three. 
, 2. Three applications will be unsatisfactory unless made thor- 
oughly. 
3. Some varieties that are peculiarly susceptible to injury from 
the pear scab fungus may require a fourth treatment, following 
the third at an interval of about 10 days. 
4, One treatment should be made before blossoming and two 
after the blossoms fall. See p. 660. 
5. Spraying before blossoming may result in slight injury to 
the fruit of some varieties in unfavorable seasons. 
6. Injury from spraying with dilute Bordeaux mixture is not 
confined to trees sprayed late in the season, 7. ¢., the last of June 
, 86 
