The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1886-05-29


sented in the picture in form and size. The
main color is gray fleckei with darker dots
and bars, and with characteristic copper
colored spot at the end of its front wings.
This spot will always enable one to distin-
guish this moth. Every apple grower should
put wormy apples in small box and rear
the moths, that there may be no doubt
about the species. In May. about two weeks
after the blossoms appear. the female moth
commences to lay eggs in the calyx of the
blossoms, B. These soon hatch. when the
minute larva Shown full grown, F. eats into
the apple and feeds upon the pulp about the
core, filling the space with its feca filth.
These spring moths continue to come from
cellar or apple house till July. have taken
such moths July on the screen of my cellar
window The whitish larva attain their full
growth in about four weeks. This period
will be lengthenei by cold and shortened 10y
heat. When mature the larva leaves the
apple, which may have fallen to the ground,
and seeks a secluded place in which to spin
its cocoon Oh and pupate. The pupa or
chrysalis D Is much like those OF ether
moths, The pupR of the June AMI July
larvae are found in the cocoons soon after the
latter are formed, while those Of the autumn
larvae do not pupate till spring, hut pass the
winter as larvae in the cocoons The eggs of
the second brood are laid in July. August
and September. The larvae feed in autumn,
and often till mid-winter while As just stated
they do not pupate till spring.
Professor Cook prefers London purple to
Paris green because it is cheaper and easier
to mix in the water. The mixture is as fol-
lows ] mix the powder one pound to fifty
gallons of water. 1t is best to wet the pow
der thoroughly and make paste before put
ting it into the vessel of water, that it may
all mix, and not form humps. For few
trees we may use a pail and Whitemans
Fountain pump, always keeping the liquid
well stirred. One common pail of the liquid
will suffice for the largest tree. A teaspoon
full of the poison is enough for patful Of
water For large orchard common barrels
should be used, drawn in a wagon. prefer
to have the barrels stand on end with close
movable float with two holes through it, one
for the pipe or hose from the pump and thu
other for stirrer If very large orchards
be fastened to the barrel. In western
New York the handle of the pump
is attached to the wagon wheel so that
no hand power is required other than
to drive the team and manage the pipe
which carries the spray. The spray may be
caused 10y fine perforated nozzle or
cyclone nozzle The finer it is the less liquid
will be required The important thing is to
scatter the spray on all the fruit, and get
Just as little on as possible The larva is
killed by eating the poison, and we find that
the faintest trace sutfiCeS for the purpose.
Again, the poison should be applied early,
by the time the fruit is the size of small
pea | have found one such application to
work wonders. There is no doubt but that
the first application followed by one Or two
others at intervals of two or three weeks,
would be more thorough, yet | have found
one application, made early, so effective that
/ have wondered whether it is best or ueces-
sary to make more than one application. L
do think however, that it must be early.
In May and June the calyx of the apple is
UP, and so the poison is retained sufficiently
long to kill most all of the insects,
One more count in favor of this treatment
is the further good we receive by killing the
several phytophagous larvae that attack the
foliage of the apple at this early period when
defoliation is so harmful Thus the terrible
canker worm the several destructive leaf
rollers which even eat out the very buds. and
that old pest, the tent caterpillar, are all
made to bite the sod. Very likely, too, the
plum gouger, which SO deforms the apple in
Wisconsin, may also find in this remedy its
death warrant
The danger from this practice / have
proved to be nothing at all The microscope
and chemical analysis have both shown that
all the poison has been removed long before
we wish to eat the fruit. The wind no less
Ian the rain helps to effect this removal as
/ have shown by putting the poison on plants
sheltered from all rains. OF course we
should not turn stock into an orchard till a
heavy rain has washed the poison from all
heritage under the trees.
Where one farmer did not feel able to
afford the pump several might buy one in
partnership and use it turn about Spray
ing once a week for month, beginning just
as the apples 60 out of bloom, will cure the
worst orchard that grows, not only of the
codling moth. but also of the caterpillar and
other pests. It's use has such marked effect
that where one side of a tree ha. been
sprayed and the other side left. as an expert
ment the sprayed side bore sound app;es