Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1904-02-25
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Tho Unsprayed Trees.

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When I'm orchardist begins the work
OF spraying he should make thor
ough Job Of it. 1t is mistake to
spray only the trees that the owner
wants to get the fruit from or that
bear good fruit. We know Of one
Illinois orchardist that sprayed for
the coddling moth. He invested in the
requisite apparatus and poisons and
followed the formulas. But year after
year the coddling moths frustrated his
endeavors to get good smooth fruit.
Some of his neighbors not far away
sprayed and got good results, and the
difference was mystery. He reached
he conclusion that spraying was not
Iuccess with him, and he so reported
to the state horticultural society. His
brother orchardists became interested
n the matter and one of them visited
ais orchard to discover the cause OF
:hese repeated failures.
1t was ascertained that he had done
his work most carefully on all the
trees that were bearing marketable
fruit. But on the edge Of his orchard
and paralleling it was row Of trees
mostly crabs which bore fruit Of such
inferior size and quality that the own
er had never deemed 1t worth atten-
ton. The mystery was solved. This
neglected row had been breeding In.
Sects year after year. A coddling
moth does not care greatly whether
he takes poor or good quality Of
apples. He is perfectly able to de-
post an egg in almost anything Of
the apple family. When the said egg
matches and the grub from it changes
into moth, that moth has big sup
ply of eggs that she is anxious to
distribute to as many apples as pos
sible. A row of worthless crab trees
or Of cider apples trees, or of non
descript apple trees, can send out
few thousand moths each year that
can make very marked impression
on ten thousand or more apples hang
ing on trees, both famous and choice
The only way to prevent this Is I
spray every tree growing In the OF
chard. II the trees are not worth
spraying, cut them down at once. The
ground would be far better producing
grass or corn or something Of value.
II they are to be left, they will have
to receive the same treatment as the
other rows Of trees or they will prove
to be by far the most expensive trees
In the orchard.
Detached trees and apple trees by
the road side are apt to be neglected,
as 1t is lot Of additional work driv.
Ing the whole apparatus over to them,
But 1t is not safe to leave this work
undone. In the fall is a good time to
take out useless trees. Not only
should the detached trees be taken out
II not Of special value, but there are
here and there In the orchard, trees
that are difficult to spray and that
bear little 1rult that should also be
removed. We have seen old trees
with most Of the branches gone, but
with two or three top limbs reaching
up toward the sky, but bearing every
year a fairly good crop Of medium
or poor apples. AS these trees are
very difficult to spray 1t is very likely
that the work is done 80 imperfectly
most seasons that these high topped
their high branches produce enough
fruit to pay for the damage done by
these same moths that are bred In
them. AS rule 1t is better to cut
out such trees, leaving the orchard
to consist mostly of low.topped trees
easy to spray.