The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1908-11-15

direct rays of the sun; Swinging with
ice-cold water is often a useful meth
cd of thawing them. Dormant seeds
contain but little water and are able
to withstand the lowest temperature
attainable without injury; recently
Dewar and Dyer found that the seeds
of mustard. wheat, barley, pea and
other plants terminated freely after
being soaked for six hours in liquid
hydrogen, the temperature of which
was 453 degrees F. below freezing
point"
These extracts from Percival's val
liable work may throw some light on
why the direct rays of the sun may
result unfavorably on anything that
is frozen. My own experience con-
firms some of these statements Once
in Iowa we had hard freeze about
the middle of October. Quite a good
many people had not yet picked their
apples, and they froze hard on the
trees. At that time there were about
six inches of snow on the ground.
Some people shook off their apples
and let them drop into the snow 9TH
ers said it would do no good and left
their apples on the trees. Within
frozen apples thus slowly thaWed out
we're not perceptibly injured, while
those left on the trees turned black
and were worthless. have frequently
had Gull apples here in Washington
frozen hard when covered with straw,
but they would thaw out with the
return of warm weather and not be
seriously injured. Once, when the
weather turned suddenly cold, we had
a rick of apples frozen hard. We
covered them with the hay the next
morning; the weather moderating
they were completely thawed out in
ten days and showed no damage what
ever. There is certainly some truth
in the theory that sudden thawing re-
suits in damage to frozen plants and
fruit.
The question of spraying in the fall
and winter is one that frequently
comes up. The best thing have seen
on this subject is the following from
Prof. A. L. Melander, Entomologist
in the State College, Pullman, Wash:
Fall Spraying.
In some localities the idea prevails
that spraying done in the fall of the
year is more effective than if done in
spring. For some of the diseases of
the orchard that prevail in Western
Washington that idea is correct In
Eastern Washington there is no spe-
cial advantage to give fall rather
than spring spraying.
Winter spraying in Washington is
usually done with the sulphur-lime
wash The objects of a winter appli-
calIon are to destroy the eggs of the
oyster shell scale, the red spider, the
green aphis, and the wintering indi-
viduals of the San Jose scale, blister
mite and peach twig borer. In the
case of all of these, except the last,
it makes little practical difference
whether spraying be done in the fall,
in mid-winter or in the spring.
Winter spraying, that is, the appli-
cation given when trees have lost
their leaves and are in the dormant
condition, is usually given to suit the
convenience of the orchardist. Some
growers even prefer to spray in Iull
in the winter, for then they have more
time at their disposal, and the spray
outfit can be drawn on sleds. Spray
ing for the peach moth and for it's
near relative, the bud moth of West
ern Washington, should be given in
the late spring.
In Western Washington the impor-
tant disease known as black spot can
ker requires fall treatment. Orchard.
lists claim that sulphur-lime wash is
as useful for this disease as the more
customary Bordeaux mixture If that
should prove to be the case, the ques-
ton of spraying in Western Washing
ton is much simplified. The applica-
ton of sulphur-lime which must be
given in the fall for black spot will
incidentally take care of the scale in