Evening journal., 1909-03-15
FARMERS TALK
OF PEACH CULTURE
State Board of Agriculture
Tells How to Fight the
Scale
Special to THE EVENING JOURNAL.

Special to THE EVENING JOURNAL.
DOVER, Del. March 15-Peaches are
now the subject of discussion among
farmers, both at their conventions and
grange meetings here and on the street
corners or wherever knots or groups of
these great producers gather
Apples come in for incidental con-
sideration, II not more and il is safe
to say that the apple acreage in this
section IS increasing more rapidly than
is that of the peach. The peach grow
ers are experiencing such vicissitudes--
danger of frosts. freezes, scale. brown
rot and little peach and then even
when picking the ripened fruit which
attracts buyers here from commission
houses almost in the four quarters Of
the globe--even while picking this fruit
there seems to be "A vengeance of fate
for the cultur.st and the picker for
armies Of mosquitoes are invading the
orchards and beseging the pickers. But
the Delaware peach must be grown.
no other fruit takes its place I'm the
market, and the consequence is that it
is W TO the farmers and horticulturists
to overcome all these obstacles and de-
/ liver the fruit in carriers and new bas-
kets TO the stations for shipment
/ Whether the commodity be peaches
or apples, spraying has come to be a
/ prime necessity and no grower is enter
/ ing into the month of April without
preparations for his spraying cam
paign. If the orchardist does not get
to his orchard and cover mis- trees with
the wash, the insect win get there
first and the insect gets there" with
out wings and gets there while the
farmer sleeps.
The expert horticulturists and special
lists which the State has been fortunate
to have at its station at Newark has
been great boon to growers of
this section. and It is doubtful if any
men or set Of men have done moro
to stem the tide of discouragement in
| fruit growing and set the rank and file
of the farmers to work with renewed
zeal than has station Director III. H.
Hayward and the members of the state
I Board of Agriculture. The marvel OF
il about the last-named is that these
men are all experienced growers who
have made fruitgrowing their life-worli
and who serve practically without pay
They get an attendance fee for a meet
ing or two each month. and some mile
age for that meeting, but get no salary
and serve many days for nothing.
Their Office here, in charge of Pro.
fessor Webb the corresponding sec.
retary. is a busy place. Gay and night
and mail communications and persona
calls are all @iven the most courteous
treatment. The state pays for the oper
office and work therein, but the court
esy cannot be bought
AprOpos of the agitation at this sea.
son Of the year among all the fruit
growers as TO how best to protect tbs
priceless orchards against frost and tn,
deadly insects and diseases, the fol
lowing bulletin was issued from tn,
state Boards Office here late Satur
day evening:
p 1.-The San Jose scale is here in force
2 and spraytime is here, too.
Immediate and thorough treatmen
Of all infected trees is the only wa.
Q to save the orchard.
"The best remedy for the scale is til
( lime-sulphur wash. The formula
e seventeen pounds of sulphur. twenty
five pounds Of lime, and enough waite
S to make fifty gallons of spray. Plac
s five gallons of water in a big iron ket
[ tie over a hot fire. Moisten tn
, sulphur to a paste and pour It into tn
/ kettle then add the lime. using tn
best freshly burned stone lime. Bo
forty-hve minutes, then add the waite
to make the fifty gallons. Bring tn
, mixture to "a boil again. strain int
the spray pump and spray the tree
, until they are white from the groun
4 up"