Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1897-05-20

| been no appearance Of any very dan
gerous bug or grub since 1894, when he
picked up three bushels OF cocoons of
the saw fly and thus prevented its ap-
pearance in 1895. The eIms trees have
been troubled to some extent, but not
many have been destroyed
Frank G. Baker, curator of the Acad-
envy Of Sciences in the park. saws.
There has never been much devasta-
ton in recent years by insects. There
are many butterflies, but they are harm
less. As 10 the machines for destroy
! ing insects, they are very good Tor
farmers, but there is not enough need
for one in the city. These contrivances
are like street sprinklers, and are OF
different sizes. They scatter fine
spray of poison on plants and kill the
| insects
The yearbook Of the department of
agriculture shows that in the past fiji
teen years there has oeen a steady adj
vance in fighting the minute enemies
/ Of vegetation. Last year DR.. Howard
| described fully the more important of
! the little pests that make inroads Oh
! the trees This year he will discuss
the use of machinery in spraying trees
for the destruction of the bugs and
worms, with special reference to the
kind of motor best adapted to force tht
fluid insecticide through the hose and
up into the branches. After going over
the whole ground he recommends a
machine operated by a gasoline motor
as probably the most satisfactory
Steam machines are described at length
and their advantages noted.
A very serious objection to the steam
machine is the noise it makes. In New
Haven it was found necessary to close
the street when a steam machine was
at work to prevent frightening passing
teams. Besides the rumbling ard puff
fng of the engines causes annoyance
and danger to the sick. But the noise
has been got rid of in the compact
| little apparatus especially constructed
for the department of public works il
New York under the supervision of the
city entomologist, DR.. Southwick. He
| had previously conducted extensive
spraying operations by means of a hand
pump. By careful study of the sub
ject he devised the apparatus recon-
mended by DR.. Howard. The essentials
of spraying outfit are much the same
in all devices. There must be a tank
holding the fluid to be used as an
insccticide and pump with a hose
| attachment
In Dr. SOuthWick's machine the pump
and motor weigh only about three hun
dred pounds. The fuel is gasoline and
! enough for a days work is carried in
I a gallon can. In the operations last
summer two sections of one-fourth inch
| hose with three nozzles each were used
| but four sections with twelve noZzles
may be attached to the machine if de-
sired. The pump is three-pist0n
machine with sixty pounds pressure.
| DR.. SOuUhWick thinks a larger pump
would be better, as That employed by
! him did not utilize more than half the
! power Of the motor. The tank used for
| the capacity within wide limits is a
matter Of convenience. The motor
costs $3.50 the pump $50. The cost of
! operating the apparatus, Independent of
! the wages Of the force Of men handling
! it, is only few cents day. The eX-
| penSe for labor would increase, OF
/ course. with the number of men en-
! plOyeC Three men were enough for
| the apparatus as run in New York.
| Two carried the lines of hose while the
third drove and occasionally stirred the
| fluid in the tank to keep it of a uni
form strength.
DR.. Howard estimates the expense
necessary to protect the trees of a city
the size of Brooklyn at So, 900 to $4,000
a year. This, he says, would insure
green trees the summer through This
amount, moreover, would probably not
be needed as an annual appropriation.
The first cost of the spraying apparatus
goes into the initial expense and after
two or three years, consecutively, of
thorough work, it is probable the num-
Der Of insects would be reduced so
as to make the cost much less. In
case any city has an old steam fire en-
CINE, DR.. Howard suggests that it could
readily be made available to supply the
necessary force for throwing the in
secticide
An important consideration is the
time at which the spraying is done
If not attended to promptly at the right
time, more or less damage will be done
by the insects and more money must be
spent in spraying. During the latter
part of May and the first of June in
the case of nearly all important leaf
eating insects one or two thorough
sp1 ayings must be made. A second
spraying begun Immediately after the
first will be enough in most seasons.
In addition to the spraying a force
of men should be employed for time
in July to destroy the elm leaf beetle
larvae as they are descending to the
ground and to burn the web of the
first generation of the fall web worm.
Toward the winter the field ought 70
be looked over again to destroy the
eggs Of the whiJe-marked tussOck moth.