The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-06-25

[ rHHMMENM Hm xIHm aM M amnm mGMl w tlice on the leaves of apples The plant louse or green aphis of the apple was | the subject of a number of experiments | by Prof. F. S. Earle at Auburn some years ago. No better answer can be given to this inquiry than to quote somewhat extensively from bulletin of the Alabama Experiment Station on
 this subject, which indicates that no been found:
 | "A considerable number of experi- ments were tried with solutions of | whale oil soap. A strength of one- | fourth pound to the gallon of water when applied with an ordinary bucket pump and a Bordeaux nozzle was found | to injure the young tender leaves slightly when the spray collected in large drops. It was much more ef- fective than either of the foregoing sprays. but. not over two-thirds or
 three-fourths of the aphids were killed,
 and the remainder re-stocked the twig so quickly that in a week or two the ! lice were as thick as ever. Repeated applications of this strength with the coarse spray from the Bordeaux noz- gle injured the oliage quite seriously without ridding the trees of the lice. Where the very fine spray from the
 Bovee and Carpenter attomizer was used a strength of one-half pound to the gallon of water when carefully ap- piled, did no harm to the foliage, and a strength of one pound to the gallon
 injured the foliage less than the one fourth pound solution applied as coarse spray. This very strong whale oil soap solution was quite effective, seeming to kill ali the lice with which it came in contact, even though ap- piled as an almost impalpable mist In previous seasons a 10 per cent mechanical mixture of kerosene and water applied with an ordinary nozzle
 and knapsack pump was found to in-
 jure the foliage severely without rid ding the trees of the lice The success
 of the atomizer sprayer in applying
 the strong solution of whale oil soap suggested trying 1t for applying a
 strong kerosene emulsion 25 per
 cent emulsion was made by dissolving one-fourth pound of whale oil soap in
 one quart of boiling water, and emul-
 sifying with two quarts Of kerosene, afterwards diluting to two gallons As
 applied by the atomfzer, this proved
 so satisfactory that it was adopted as
 the treatment for all the infested trees in the young orchard. A single appli- cation did no appreciabIe damage to
 the foliage except where enough was used so that 1t began to collect In lit- tie drops. Of course so strong an emulsion applied in the ordinary way would have badly burned the leaves. At this strength the slightest touch of the spray was deadly to the lice, but owing to the shelter furnished by the crumpled leaves it was often impossi-
 bIe to reach them all even by taking
 the greatest care in walking around the tree to direct the spray against the in-
 fested twigs from every quarter. In
 four or five days these protected aphids
 would be found to have left their shell
 ter and be collected on fresher feeding
 grounds near the young point of the
 advancing twig. A second spraying
 within a week of the first would thus
 kill most of these, and in many in
 stances the two sprayings entirely
 cleared the tree. In other cases, few
 lice kept re-appearing so that weekly
 sprayings were necessary for five or
 six weeks. Even then the lice were
 not entirely conquered till some heavy
 rains in August, when they suddenly
 disappeared. By September 1 the trees
 were almost entirely clear of them
 even in those parts of the orchard whepe no spraying had been done. The tree& that 1t was found necessary to treat so often were finally good deal injured by the frequent caustic apph- cations The leaves were thick and I scared. The bark of the young twigs, too, was effected in much the same way. being hard and thick. In these
 cases 1t was hard to decide which had
 done the more damage, the lice or the treatment While this use of 25 per cent kerosene emulsion applied as an
 impalpable mist was not fully satis- factory, it was much better than any thing else that was tried, and it must be recommended for the want of some- thing better. It must be applied with great care and only during the middle of bright, warm days when the kero-
 sene evaporates quickly, or great harm may be done. The Bovee and Carpen- | ter sprayer used in these experiments is hand implement used somewhat
 like the ordinary garden syringe. The spray being so fine it can only be
 thrown a short distance. It is orly | useful for young trees and could not l be used successfully where they were more than seven or eight feet high 1 F. s Earle in Alabama Experiment Station Bulletin No. 106.