July 1, 1904 
sible to start alfalfa if the soil is not in 
fertile condition. In the southern States 
2 crop of cow peas should be grown, and 
either fed down on the land or cut for hay. 
The land should then be ploughed for a 
good depth, put into excellent tilth by 
harrowing, and dressed liberally with the 
usual fertilisers before sowing the seed. 
‘The sowing should be done in late August 
or early September. If the soil is not in 
proper condition it might be well to plough 
under the crop of cow peas, but this should 
be done early and the land thoroughly roll- 
ed and harrowed, time being given for the 
organic matter turned under to decay be- 
fore the seed is sown. In the Atlantic 
States great care should be used to have 
the land in good heart before any attempt 
is made to sow alfalfa. This may be ac- 
complished by the liberal use of fertilisers 
and manures, providing they are free from 
weed seeds, by catch-crops, green, manures, 
or, if the land is well stocked with humus, 
by commercial fertilisers, combined with 
proper tillage. 
(To be continued.) 
GaTHERING AppiEs.—It depends very 
much upon the season as to the time for 
gathering. If any apple is gathered before 
being ripe the fruit shrivels. A good test 
of ripeness is to pick a fruit from the most 
shaded part of the tree, cut it open, and if 
the pips are brown all the crop may be 
safely gathered. 
AMERIOAN Bricnt-on Appie Trexs.—Get 
@ little paraffin and daub it in where the 
insects are. A little later wash them out 
with clean soapy water, then mix a little 
soap, clay, and paraffin into a paste, and 
well daub it into any of the cracks where 
the insects may be. If any appear Jater, 
treat them in the same way. 
TREATMENT OF FRUIT-TREES 
AND VINES AFFECTED BY IN- 
SECT PESTS OR FUNGUS 
DISEASES. 
When the plants are dormant, generally 
bare of leaves, the pests and diseases 
which attack them are usually dormant 
also. At this period it is possible to apply 
remedies of considerable strength, without 
any injurious effect upon the plants, but 
which will be quite effectual in destroying 
all spores of fungi or eggs or larye of in- 
sects with which they come into contact, 
The strong insecticides and fungicides 
which can be applied with perfect. safety ~ 
to the trees and vines in winter must be 
greatly diluted and weakened for applica- 
tion when the plants are actively growing. 
The first application of full-strength 
mixture of fungicides should be made as 
soon as possible after the plants have been 
pruned or when the limbs and branches 
are bare of leaves. AH prunings should 
be at once burnt. 
The second application should be made 
just before the buds begin to open. : 
The third application must be made 
with the greatly weakened solutions or 
mixtures when the leaves are upon the 
trees. Peach and nectarine trees at that 
time are very subject to injury from ‘too 
strong mixtures. 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
ff rain should fall soon after the appli- 
cation of remedies it will probably be 
necessary to repeat them at once. 
The winter treatment may be regarded 
as curative, and the spring and summer 
treatment as preventing the further 
spread of any disease germs that may have 
escaped winter remedies. 
As germs or spores of fungi and the 
grubs, caterpillars, chrysalids, and eggs of 
insects usually collect under old bark, in 
crevices, &c., on plants, and are there pro- 
tected during the cold season, it is desir- 
able that such bark should be scraped off 
and the lower stems and limbs of plants 
sprayed with strong kerosene emulsion or 
washed with lmewash. 
All rubbish should be removed from. be- 
neath and near to trees, vines, &c., because 
pests of every kind shelter in such places. 
It is a very bad practice to pile posts, 
stakes, &c., beneath trees. 
In early spring most of the insect: pests 
and fungus diseases begin to multiply in 
myriads, and as they are then very ten- 
der, they can be readily vanquished by 
the use of proper compounds in solutions. 
But, as before said, winter treatment is 
most effective. 
For fungus diseases the Bordeaux mix- 
ture is the cheapest and best in respect to 
shothole on apricot, peach, plum, almond, 
cherry, &c; for curl-leaf on peach, necta- 
rine, &c.; for scab on apple and pear, for 
powdery mildew on apple and pear, for 
bitter rot on apples, and for tomato scab. 
All insects which gnaw and eat the fruit 
or Jeaves of plants can be killed by the 
use of mixtures containing either Paris 
green, London purple, or arsenate of lead. 
London purple is rather uncertain as to 
the proportion of arsenic contained in it, 
and liable also to injure foliage. It is 
always desirable to mix quicklime and mo- 
lasses or treacle with arsenical compounds. 
All insects which live upon the sap of 
plants, extracted by means of a beak or 
tube—like those of the aphides, or of mos- 
quitoes, or bugs, or scale insects—can be 
destroyed by means of resin wash or of 
kerosene emulsion. 
Anthraenosis of Vines (Black Spot).— 
After the vines have been pruned, make 
a solution of 7 lb. sulphate of iron, 3 oz. 
sulphate of copper in 1 gallon of water, 
and thoroughly swab all new wood that 
is left on the vines. Remove and burn all 
cuttings. It is claimed that this solution 
used in winter is an effective remedy 
against Oidium. : 
Collar-rot of Orange-trees.—The diseas- 
ed bark at junction of trunk with the soil 
should be carefully removed, and the 
wound dressed with a 10 per cent. solution 
_ of carbolic acid, or with a solution of 1 Ib. 
sulphate of iron in 1 gallon of water. 
Aphides on Peach-trees, &c.—Generally 
these aphides live chiefly upon the roots, 
and about August, or earlier, they begin 
to swarm up the stem on to the branches. 
Remove soil from around the stem until 
about 9 in. length of the roots are exposed. 
Swab these roots with tobacco wash, and 
return the soil, after sprinkling it with 
about 1 gallon of tobaceo wash. Spray the 
13 
branches either with tobacco wash or 
resin wash. : 
Codlin Moth.—Spray during fine 
weather, after the fruit is formed, at 
intervals of about two weeks, with a,mix- 
ture made as follows: Place 1 oz. Paris 
green in a tin or bottle, with sufficient 
water to make a paste; cover tightly, and 
shake well until the powder is thoroughly 
wetted. Then add this and-1 lb. fresh 
slaked and sifted lime and 1 Ib. molasses te 
12 gallons of water, or when fungi are also 
present, use summer strength Bordeaux 
mixture, with the addition of 1 oz. Paris 
green to every 12 gallons. This will kik 
any leaf-eating insects without injuring 
the foliage. Scrape off all rough, dry bark, 
and clean out all crevices and knotholes, 
catching and burning the scraping. From 
about November onwards bandage trees 
with bagging, examine the bandages every 
ten days, and destroy any larve of the 
moth found in them. 3 
Harlequin Fruit-bug—Do not provide 
harbor for them by leaving weeds, piles of 
logs, &c., near the trees. Place old tins or 
boxes containing old suet or sreasy bones 
near the trees. The bugs, being extremely 
fond of grease, will collect in these traps, 
when they may be easily destroyed. Dense 
smoke will drive them away from the trees. 
They chiefly attack apples when nearly 
ripe. - 
Red Spider.—Apply flowers of sulphur, 
same as for vines. Resin wash or kerosene 
emulsion will also kill them, if well sprayed 
when the leaves begin to grow. 
Pear Mite-——Theso insects can be de- 
stroyed by a thorough spraying on the 
underside of the leaves with the resin 
wash, or strong tobacco wash, or soft soap. 
All fallen leaves should be raked up and 
burned, and in winter, when the trees are 
bare, the Bordeaux mixture might be 
effective. 
“Gumming” on Cherry, Apricot, Plum, 
&e-—Cub away and carefully collect and 
burn all diseased bark, cover the wound 
‘with common white lead naint applied 
with a brush, and sprinkle the paint with 
sand. Avoid bruising the bark in any 
way. 7 
How to Make Bordeaux Mixture— 
Procure 4 lb. new lime, 4 lb. molasses (or 
treacle), 4 lb. copper sulphate (bluestone). 
After slacking the lime pass it through 
a sieve into a wooden tub capable of hold- 
ing 18 gallons. Then pour on the molasses, 
and next pour on about two gallons of 
water and mix it all well together. Add 
10 gallons water, and let it remain a few 
hours, but stir well once during the time. 
Dissolve the bluestone in a wooden bucket 
containing 3 gallons of boiling water. 
Next pour the bluestone solution into the 
tank of the spray-pump or other recep- 
tacle, and then carefuly pour in the liquid 
solution of treacle and limewater, leaving 
the sediment at the bottom of the tub un- 
disturbed. We have now about 22 gal- 
lons of a bright greenish liquid. ready for 
winter spraying, but much too strong for 
use when the leaves are on the trees. For 
spring use, whilst the leaves are growing, 
use 40 gallons of water to these quantities 
of lime, molasses, and bluestone for apple, 
