The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-02-28
ApphEs IND cHEsrNUTs.
Effects of Spraying Large Fruit Orchard
Nut Culture.


days meeting of the Connecticut Po-
biological society at Hartford February
&c the discussions We're of great value
to the apple growers and to the pro-
spective growers of nuts.
Farmer Smiths" experience In
spraying apple orchards, an imaginary
sketch, founded on fact, designed to in
troduce the methods employed, was
read by w. c. Sturgis, Phi. d., mycolo-
gist of the Connecticut experiment sta
ton, New Haven.
Farmer Smiths" work had been bas-
ed largely on information obtained
from bulletins of the station. In the
winter he carefully went over the or
chard and cleaned up the ground,
burning up dead leaves and rotten APP
pies, trimming the trees of their dead
ends, and OF gnarled eXcrescences on
the trees. He then looked up the mat
ter of fungicides and concluded that
copper sulphate was best, and in March
began the application of it by spray
ing, making his solution with hot wa
ter.
He selected ten trees which he gave
no treatment whatever, and ten which
he sprayed, for comparison. The time
occupied in spraying was about three
minutes to a tree, and he sprayed alto
gether 100 trees at an expense of $780,
When snow was off the ground the
SPRAYED trees showed the finest trunks
and limbs in smoothness and color. The
Bordeaux mixture of lime and copper
sulphate was applied in May, before
the blossoms had opened, in order that
the pollen should not be killed and the
fruit set thus prevented. About two
gallons We're used for each tree. The
expense was $1,000. After the fruit had
set the spray was applied again, with
an addition of Paris green in the solu-
ton; total cost, $685. Owing to rain
washing the spray the operation had to
be repeated. The whole expense in
spraying was over $50.
In July the unsprayed trees showed
great falling of the fruit, and much
injury by insects, the apple curculio
being specially noticeable. The sprayed
trees, however, showed very little, if
any, injury. Caterpillars We're on the
unsprayed trees, but the sprayed trees
were almost free from the pest. The
general effect of the spraying showed
easily at a distance. The unsprayed
trees yielded twenty-five barrels of
fruit, or 1921 per tree. Ten of the
sprayed trees yielded forty-five barrels
or 1925 per tree. The balance of the
gain in favor of an orchard of 200 trees
of sprayed trees was $1,210. The fruit
was much larger and finer and showed
better keeping quality. The market
value at retail was greatly in excess of
ordinary fruit, $3.50 and SIS per barrel
having been easily obtained as fancy"
fruit
Professor H. E. Ven Deman, late of
the agricultural department, spoke on
Nut Culture for Connecticut" This
industry is as yet undeveloped, but it
is not to be laughed at because there
is a great deal in it. There is in Con-
necticut great deal of rocky hillsides
and waste hooks that are specially
adapted to nut culture. The wild chest
nut is Of fine flavor, but small, and I'M
til size shall be added to it, the profita-
BILE field for nut culture is of the foreign
varieties. Filberts, the Persian walnut
and other nuts could also be raised here
fas as possible from the foreign nut, in
order that the scions might form more
healthy and perfect union.
The Paragon is the finest chestnut,
having nuts from an inch to an inch
and a half in diameter The burrs open
almost simultaneously, making the crop
easy to harvest Scrubby, bushy land
that is growing up with chestnut
sprouts may be grated with the Para
gon, which does we'll on native sprouts.
The grating should be abundant, leay-
ing more sprouts than will be needed
for the orchards, as they bear early and
a crop may be secured during the years
in which the trimming out process is
going on. The grating should, where
possible, be below ground, as nut trees
do not graft easily in the atmosphere
The grating should not take place
until after the spring growth has begun
the scions having been kept back for
the purpose. The Japanese chestnuts
are'not as good in quality as the Euro
pean, but they are much larger, and
they graft on the native stock much
more easily than the European.
The hickory nut will pay to grow here
in Connecticut. 1t is sold very extern
sively, one firm of the speakers hav-
ing shipped twenty-three tons of pick
ed meats of the hickory nuts in one
season In selecting varieties those in
which the meats are more easily picked
out of the shell are the best for market
ing. The varieties could only be OBJ
tanned by grating seedlings undo,
ground The pecan nut is a hickory
nut but cannot be grown in Connec-
ticut successfully
The Persian, or English walnut, fruits
in Connecticut and if the trees are tax.
en- care of when they are young, it car
be successfully grown. The wild haze
or filbert, is well known, and the Euro
pean hazel will grow fairly well in the
eastern states. but the Puget Sound
region is the best for them Varieties
should be mixed as not all of them are
self fertile The culture of them was
recommended.