Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1907-06-11
WAUSAU TRIAL ORCHARD
Articles Regard From the Pen Of Frederic Craneeld
Secretary Of the Wisconsin State horticultural Society,"
ARTICLE NO. 5

AS stated in the first paper OF this SER
les it is likely that the Wausau trial
orchard will be abandoned at an early
date for the reason that all of the ques-
tions originally asked have been al
swered.
The first and most important question
asked, viz: Can apples be successfully
grown in Marathon county has GER
tainly been answered in the affirmative.
The kinds which succeed best have also
been determined. In addition TO this,
several other things not in the original
contract have been demonstrated. One
of these was our successful fight with
the Apple Canker or Blight Canker.
During the spring and summer of 1904
it was noticed that on many of the larg-
est apple trees, especially adjoining
Wealthy, large limbs were dying. This
affection was not confined to the twigs
but extended To the main branch down
to its point of attachment To the trunk.
The leaves opened yellow and finally
dropped in midsummer During the
summer OF 1905 this trouble extended
rapidly, killing many of the trees out
right aud others rapidly failing A
close examination showed that these
two rows and nearly half of the remain
ing trees in the orchard were effected
with canker. This is nothing more or
less than our old enemy, Fire Blight in,
another form, the blight attacking the
bark usually in the crotches of the main
limbs, killing the bark at first in sunken
patches resembling cankers and later
encircling or girdling the entire branch.
When the bark and sap layers beneath
are killed the branch must die. In some
cases the trunks of the trees were affect
ed as well AS the branches and, most
serious of all, the trouble a0aS spreading
rapidly.
Experts were consulted, plan of
treatment outlined and put into execu-
ton in the spring of 1906 The treat
ARTIcL
In discussing the Wausau trial or /
chard, mention has been made of spray |
ing. Thousands of newspaper articles
and several very excellent books have
been written about spraying, and still
but little spraying is done by farmers. !
can see evidence, however, that it is |
making headway. The commercial
orchardists of New York, Illinois and |
other fruit states have at last fallen in
to line, and now recognize that spray |
ing is a necessity This only came I
about after persistent effort on the part |
of the experiment stations, and demon !,
strations of the value of the work
Sooner or later the farmers and small |
fruit growers will also be converted. I,
some sort of a crop of fruit without
spraying, bat it is rarely possible to
produce first class clean apples, plums
or cherries without spraying. Spray |
ing also improves the trees, insures
clean and healthy foliage and sound |
wood. This is brought about by pre-
vention and not by cure. Spraying then |
must be done before the insects or dis
eases appear.
There are two enemies of the apple,
both of which may be prevented by
spraying, viz the codling moth, which /
causes wormy apples, and fungus
disease of foliage and fruit, known as
scab.
Wormy apples will not keep for more
than few weeks. no matter how sound |
the fruit may appear on the outside. |
Wormy apples are not worth more
than to as much as sound fruit, and |
if buyers would fix such scale of |
prices, even if only portion of the
fruit is affected, it might help the spray
ing propaganda.
Scabby apples are lop-sided and gen.
orally deformed, rarely reach full size
and are liable to early decay by the en-
trance of other fungi about the scab
spots. As stated, both of these troubles
and many other affections of apples, |
plums and cherries may be controlled |
by spraying.
Bordeaux mixture is the great pan |