St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1906-04-21
SCALE IN AN ORCHARD.
New York State Entomologist Tells
Of Treatment and Suggests
Wash.

The proper treatment of San Jose
scale in a large orchard is somewhat
Of a problem, and the results obtained
must, in the nature of the case, depend
mainly on the thorough with which
the work is performed. We suggest,
first of all, says State Entomolgist Felt
of New York, in the case of an Or
chard, that it be thoroughly trimmed
and an effort made to keep the trees
as near the ground as possible be-
cause of the difficulty, and sometimes
impossibility, of spraying the upper.
most branches. We have in mind, for
example, one large commercial orch.
ard in New York state in which num-
Der of trees had their tops nearly de-
stroyed by the scale, though the own
er was able to prevent serious in.
jury to other parts of the trees The
tops were cut out of some of the trees
early in 1905, and last fall they were
in much better shape than others
which had not been severely pruned.
The San Jose scale had nearly killed
the tops of these latter, SO that the
ultimate result was about the same in
both cases, with a marked increase in
vigor where the top was removed in
the spring.
There appears to be no better wash
for the destruction of the San Jose
scale in New York state, at least, ana
probably to the south of us, than the
so-called lime-sulphur wash, provided
it is properly prepared. This means Ell
Their active boiling of the constituent
material with some water for at least
80 minutes, or effecting a combination
by means of some chemical such as sal
soda or caustic soda. The action in
these latter cases should be fastened
and improved by the employment of a
small quantity of hot water. We be-
lieve there is nothing better than a
thoroughly boiled lime-sulphur wash
containing 20 pounds Of lime and Is
pounds of flowers of sulphur.
] It may be prepared in the following
way: Bring several pals of water
nearly to boil in a large iron kettle,
adding the lime, following at once with
the sulphur, and stir thoroughly SO as
to mix the ingredients, and repeat the
operation from time to time so that
the material will not cake on the bot
tom of the vessel. There should be
deep red or even greenish shade in
the clear liquid at the end of 80 or IS
minutes, provided the operation has
been properly performed and the lime
is of fair quality. Steam boiling is
equally effective provided the steam
pipe extends nearly to the bottom of
the barrel. Straic and dilute this ma
terial with enough water to make SO
gallons, and apply at once.
The secret of success lies first in OBJ
tanning proper wash, and secondly,
to an equal extent, in making a thor
ough application. We advise a most
careful spraying of all parts of the
tree, treating each at times when the
wind is in the opposite direction and
making an effort thoroughly to coat
every limb and twig. We further sug-
gest, in the case of an old orchard bad
" infested with the scale, that this
treatment be given in early winter and
then repeated shortly before the buds
appear in the spring. The reason for
this Is that the rough bark of old
trees is very likely to protect some of
the scale insects, and at the outset it
is desirable to perform most thor
ough job in order to give the trees
an opportunity to regain their normal
vfgor.