Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1907-12-12
Get 100 Per
Gent Clean Fruit.

"a dozen trees taken at random
in two Wcnatchee orchards were
stripped of their fruit and looked
over carefully for the ravages of
the codlisg moth AS result less
than one worm was found to each
thousand apples, making it practi-
Cally 100 per cent of clean fruit, the
best record that any one has ever
obtained. -
This was the statement made by
professor A. L. Melander of the
Washington State college, who
was in Spokane yesterday on his
way home from Wenatchee.
Professor Mclandcr, assisted by
one of his students, r. E. Trumblc,
took charge of spraying in two
Wenatchcc orchards this season.
One of the orchards belongs to Z.
A. Lanham and the other to D. B.
Holcomb. There were upwards
of 5000 trees in both orchards.
These apple trees were given their
first spraying about the middle of
May, the second about the middle
of June, the third the end of July
and the fourth the end of August.
The second spraying was omitted
on the Holcomb ranch.
The bulk of the spray used was
the arscnatc of lead, one pound to
40 gallons. Experiments were also
senate of lead and with different
strengths, the strength varying
from one pound to 80 gallons to
one pound to 10 gallons of water.
1t all accomplished the same re-
suit of 100 per cent clean fruit,
says Professor Mclander.
Power sprayers were used, the
relief valve being kept at 400
pounds. To this high power Prof
essor Melander attributes largely
the success of TIE experiment 1t is
almost a necessity he says to have
a strong power for the first spray
ing, while subsequent sprayings
may be done with less power. One
of the most important things to
remember in spraying for the cod
ling moth is to see that the spray
is rained into the blossoms from
above. To do this effectively, use
the Bordeau nozzle with bend at
the end of the extension rod. Keep
on spraying till the tree is
drenched and the ground is wet
underneath.
Professor Me- nder is also con-
WINGED that coinplet- success could
not have been attai led by any other
spray than the aes.natc of lead.
Last and not the least of i'm
portance is the man behind the
nozzle. - says Professor Melander.
The farmer who gives the noz-
zlc into the hands of his hired man
may expect to feed his apples to
the worms, is the way the profess
sor puts it.
More and more importance is
attached 10 the first spraying. At
WcDatchcc this was done so
thoroug hly that it killed off nearly
every worm of the first brood, thus
nearly Kidding the orchard of the
ravagcs of the second brood. The
first brood was so nearly wiped out
that this year only $50 worms were
found under the bands of 700 trees,
whereas last year the number was
between 800, 900 and 400, 90.
Orchards adjacent to the ones
sprayed under the direction CT the
state college ran as low as o per
ent and less of good fruit, although
they were also sprayed four times.
This shows the necessity of the
proper time as we'll as the method
of spraying.
Mr.. Lanham, the, proprietor of
one of these Wenatchee orchards,
lsts year lost 5000 boxes of apples
because of the worms. This year.
according to Professor Mclander,
you can get all the wormy ap-
pies in his orchard into five
boxes
Professor Mclandcr also took
charge of three infested orchards
in the Walla Wai1a valley this
year One of these had been aban-
doned for half a dozen years, the
roprietor not being able to rnarketp