The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1908-02-15


tree without leaves will die just as
sure as a man will die without food
Sometimes we graft stubs as much
as four inches in diameter. In such
cases we put in four CRAFTS and then
cut away all but one when the heal
ing has sufficiently advanced. Of
| course. if four scions are inserted the
stub must be split crosswise. Instead
of splitting the stubs in such large
| limbs, we sometimes use what is
called bark-grafting. This consists in
| shaving the scions to a thin, feathery
| shape and then pushing them down
between the bark and the firm wood.
They must be tied and thoroughly
waXed. The advantage in cutting off
limbs so large is in getting the new
top nearer the ground. Very tall trees
should always be avoided.
One thing must never be over
looked, and that is to keep off the
robbers - These are sprouts that
come out quite thick near the ends
of the stubs. These so-called "rob
bers" will take the nutriment that
ought to go to the new CRAFTS. Where
the limbs are all cut off and no leaves
are left to feed the tree, it is better
to leave some of these robbers" till
towards autumn. We have in some
cases had CRAFTS make a growth of
seven feet the first summer, and we
ought to expect not less than three
feet If these new CRAFTS tend to car
ry the top of the tree too high, they
should be headed back the next spring
after they are set.
During the month of March is the
best time to spray for the destruction
of the San Jose scale. Some recon-
mend spraying in the late fall or ear
ly winter and then again in the spring,
but our experience shows that two
sprayings each year are not neces-
sary l am somewhat surprised at
some things recommended by leading
fruit growers in the eastern part of
the United States. Many different
kinds of spray are recommended, and
the time of application varies. With
us in the West the experimental stage
is passive know to certainty what
to use and how and when to use it.
The one remedy in the West is the
lime-sulphur wash Calcium sulphide).
We have discarded the salt. 1t was
thought that it caused the material to
stick better, but that is now very
doubtful, and certain we are that the
salt is not. needed to make the rem
edy effective Prof. Piper, when at
Pullman, carried on experiments in
Lafollette's orchard on Snake River
and demonstrated that the lime-sul-
phur wash was completely effective
co1t To
proper proportion of the materials and
how to prepare the wash. OF course,
there are partial failures in the North
west, but these are traceable to i'm
proper preparation of the material, as
we'll as faulty application. | am per-
fectly satisfied from our own expert
ence and from the knowledge | have
of the work of others, that no one
has failed who has carefully followed
Piper's recommendations, which he
set forth in Bulletin Sc of the Expert
ment Station at Pullman. Piper rec
commended two formulas. One he
styled the LID formula and the other
the 1-1-3 formula. These formulas are
easily understood when | tell you that
1-1-4 stands for one pound of lime,
one pound of sulphur and four gallons
of water The other formula has less
water, while the lime and sulphur re-
main the same. Some use one pro-
portion and some the other We have
split the difference and use Is pounds
of lime. Is pounds of sulphur and so
gallons of water. In 1904 we had the
scale in our orchard to such an extent
that we lost something like 1000
boxes of apples out of crop of 25,-
900 boxes. The next spring we sprayed
thoroughly with the formula indicated
above, and in the fall of 1905 but two
apples on the whole ranch were found
affected with the scale. We did not
| r,,,.n.r In, tho cnrino of 1QQ6 hut had