The Monitor-register., 1897-04-30
Communicated
General Spraying of the Apple and
Pear Against Insects and Fungi,

NsHS4uA oPtoyAAS VI tuC apple dnu
Pear Against Insects and Fungi.
The horticulturists of the present time
are being menaced by the ever increasing
number of insects and fungous enemies.
The question will naturally ask itself,
Why have our enemies so increased? In
times long gone by, before the forests
content therein; but eventually the wood
mans axe began to be beard in the
forests, and the insects were compelled
to fiud new fields in which to satisfy their
hunger. In the vicinity of the now
devastated forests orchards were being
planted, and the forest insect, on per-
ceiving such a feast spread before him'
Immediately left the leafy woods and
adjacent swamps and RECALLED himself
upon the Juicy apple and other fruits.
Several cases can be cited to prove the
above. An early naturalist travelling in
Colorado found a striped beetle feeding
i upon the wild plants of the forests. The
insect came to be in demand among col
~lectors. and it is said that handsome
prices were paid for specimens for
museums. In the course of time settlers
grew potatoes in Colorado, and the insect
took a fancy to them and spread rapidly;
it is now known to be our common
potato bug. The apple maggot, which
lived upon wild thorn apples, began to
attack cultivated apples in New E gland
some thirty years ago. A certain insect,
known to us as the carpet moth. formerly
fed in Europe upon the wild 6gwort.
Another important reason why the ill.,
scots multiply so rapidly is because most
farmers leave their orchards in sod, and
thereby make a sort of harbor for eggs
| and larva of certain insects. The modern
| fruit grove will cultivate his orchard
lands, and together with the benefit
given the trees by hiss SO doing. also
tends to keep the insects out of the soil.
l saw an apple orchard near Woods
town last summer in which the fruit
was worm eaten and OF an inferior quail
ity. On asking the farmers son as to the
condition of the apples he replied, that
had the tree been sprayed during the
spring the apples would have been
decidedly better in every respect. Scores
| of apple orchards near Woodstown were
in the same condition, and ! propose to
say to the farmers in that vicinity that if
they wish fine apples in the fall they
must spray the trees in the spring.
1 have no doubt but that most of the
farmers in Salem county are in possession
| of bulletins from the New Jersey Agri-
| cultural College. If they are not, they
most certainly should be. By studying
| these bulletins a farmer can gain valuable
information concerning farm practices,
| and as the New Jersey bulletins rank
| with the foremost in point of valuable
information, the chance to ecu them
should not be lost by any farmer.
The information given below concern
ing spraying is put in very brief form,
for over three hundred forms of insects
are known to attack the apple tree, and
thirty five the pear, to say nothing of the
great number of fungous enemies. The
information is given in a general way
concerning both the apple and pear, and,
as far as 1 am able to ascertain, covers
| the general ground for both.
1t ia not so much with the idea of stat
ing how trees should be sprayed that l
| write this article, but, instead, with the
| endeavor to awaken our farmers to the
fact that spraying should be done. Then
| again, spraying is only one of various
operations which a pomologist must
master if he intends to make the best of
bis orchard. He should also know how
to till, fertilize and pruue his trees,
together with a knowledge of windbreaks
and draining. All this, as l stated before,
can be learned by reading the sgricul-
tursl bulletins.
The best time to spray is, first, just
before the fruit buds open, and, second,
just as the flowers are falling from the
bud. If sprayed while the flowers are in
bloom, any honeybee that happens to sip
poison and, conseq uently, expire. A
third spray can be administered about
ten days after the second. and the tree
would benefit we're it done. The third
spraying should be given, but where the
operator honestly sprays at the first and
second application the third is not so
necessary.
By honest spraying, l mean that the
operator should not go through the
orchard in a hurry and give each tree
about a quart of preparation; but instead.
he should give each tree about four gall
Ions of preparation and not stop until
the tree is dripping wet, and every con
ceivable nook and Granny is completely
soaked with a fine and misty spray. A
fruit bud can easily be distinguished
from a leaf bud in that the shape of the
fruit bud is round and plump. while the
leaf bud is longer and narrower.
By placing an oil barrel upon a wagon,
and an ordinary force pump in the top OF
barrel, with a rubber hose attached to
the pump and q spraying nozzle at the
end of the bose, and the spraying attend.
ed to by one man, while another drives
the team and does the pumping. two men
could make quick work of an orchard.
By attaching a pole to the nozzle more
play can be given the stream of poison. /
The two MOBILES that have been found
to be the best in the market are the Yer
moral and the McGowen. The VermoraI |
is a circular spray and throws a short
distance, and is very convenient for dwarf
apples and pears, straw berries, black |
berries and field crops. The McGowen
throws a high spray and is especially |
adapted for high apple trees, and for |
Salem county orchards is the better of |
the two. The idea was taken from the
manner in which gardeners sometimes
water their plants with the hose.
By placing the fingers over the end of
the Eose a contracted stream will be the
result. and it will be elected in the form
of a spray. People sometimes water
their lawns in that manner. If the apple
and pear tree sprayer could hold tire end
of the hose together with the fingers
see no reason why be could not entirely
dispense with any form of nozzle. But
it must be remembered that the spray
must be fine in order to penetrate every
of the tree, and the finger method
would cause a great dea, of fluid to be