Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1907-02-01
FRUIT PEST LAW TO
BE FULLY ENFORCED
Trees Must Be Cleared of Scale
or Cut Down-Bie Profit In
Fruit Is Certain,

The terrific inroads that the pests of
which the Department of Agriculture
J has identified over 100 kinds in the
United States, are making in the or
chsrds of the East, and in California,
the Willamette Valley and other Pa
citic Coast sections make it certain
that the day of cheap fruits is past.
! There is certainty that hereafter
Rogue River Valley Spitzenberg and
} Newtown apples that are free from
scale and worms and full size and
color. will net the grower fully 50
a box and common kinds proportion
ally as profitable price. AS it costs
Josephine county orchardists and
average of but So cents box to oul-
tivate, prune, spray and thin, and
pick, pack and put apples on the car
it is plain that the orchard can be
made the best paying part of the farm.
But If the pests are not killed the
orchard will be a loss to the farmer
for hereafter no scsly, wormy or di-
seased fruit Of any kind can be sold.
Bills now up in the legislatures Of
California, Oregon and Washington
are certain to pass that will make the
present pest laws SO vigorous that
it will be impossible hereafter to sell
or even give away fruit that is d.
seased 10 any way whatever. 1t is
thus up to orchardists to spray their
trees or cut them down for l shall
fully enforce the law.
To enable the residents Of Grants
Pass 10 have the fruit trees and
shrubbery in their yards sprayed
and for the small orchardists about
the city, who have not trees enough
to warrant the purchase of a sprayer,
l have arranged for one or more ma
chimes to do this work, the parties
operating them agreeing to do
thorough work and use full strength
solution. shall see to it that they
do spraying just as successful or
cbardist would have il done. Their
prices will be reasonable, but this
spraying of few trees in place can
not be done as chesply as in large
orchsId for the work can only be done
when the trees are thoroughly dry,
for rain, fog and dew so fills the
interstices of the bark that the scale
and other pests are protected from
the effects Of the spray. All trees
should be pruned now and the brush
at once burned as the warm weather
will hatch the scale, ready to make
inroads on the tres so soon as the spray
has been washed off by the rains.
The trees should be thoroughly
scraped to remove dead bark and
wood. Trees badly infected with
scale should be sprayed not later than
February and then again just as the
buds are swelling so as to kill the
scale that may have escaped the first
spraying. Spraying for codlin moth
will not be done until just as the
blossoms are falling.
AS spray solution made by farmers
in an open vat and with the imper-
feet method of testing the strength OF
the lime and sulphur is little more
effective in killing pests than so much
rain water, have induced @. II.
Sampson and his sons Herbert and
Arthur to put in factory for making
solution under steam pressure and
that will be of uniform and high
strength. Sampson & Sons are now
manufacturing solution at price
cheaper than farmer can make il
and cheaper than it can be had from
the Portland factories. / shall test
the spray 10 stock at this factory and
. also as | find the solution in use from
other factories aud made by the
farmers and if 1t is below the effect.
i've strength, / shall so inform the
persons using it, II the far ners will
but use rightly prepared spray and
apply il under a strong pressure 80 as
to drive it into all the cracks of the
bark and thoroughly drench the twigs
there will be no difficulty in their
having fruit that will bring the TOP
price and their orchards will equal
q bank and beat a gold mine as a
money maker But IL they con inue
to use a poorly made solution put on
with a nd.power pump they will
have 30 much scaly, wormy fruit
that their orchard will be a losing
venture to them. The Grants Pass
Fruit Growers Union is determined
that the law shall be enforced and
the farmer will have to feed hi;
diseased fruit to the hogs.
have a full supply Of reports Of
the State horticultural Society ant
the bulletins from the Oregon Agri
cultural Society aud the Department
Of Agricultursle for distribution tC
fruit growers who desire to post uI
on the science Of handling an orchard
to make it profitable.
CHARLES MESERVE,
County Fruit Inspector