The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1912-05-24
SPRAYING.
Ideas of Valuable Importance to the
Farmer Set Forth in An Article
by w. III. Bullock, District
Agricultural Inspector.

Spraying used to be looked upon
as an expense but it is now consider
ed by all up-to-date fruit growers
and farmers rather as an investment
because it is recognized as a neces-
sary part of the work of profitably
growing fruits, vegetables and other
products of the ground.
The man who expects to get the
most out of his efforts in tilling the
soil must work scientifically and
control the many insects and fungus
diseases by the intelligent use of
spraying materials.
There is no section in the country
which is exempt from the necessity
OF spraying as insects and fungus
diseases are prevalent everywhere
or course where fruit has been
grown for man. years the infection
and danger from insects is greater
and therefore spraying in these sec
tions should be more carefully con-
sidered by growers than in sections
where fruit ~grQRApg IS a fairly ner
industry.
If spraying is properly done it
brings in a profit. For the benefit
of those who are interested in secur-
ing the best results from their fruit
we are telling not only what spray
to use and when to use it but to give
the more important insects and fun
gus diseases.
1t was only a short time ago that
the fruit grower had to depend on
good luck to make his spraying eff
fective. He was in a large degree
working in the dark, but by the help
of our State Zoologist, H. A. Surface,
and the various experiment stations
it is now possible for the farmer to
grow perfect fruit.
BY the use of proper insecticide or
fungicide at the right time practi-
cally all of the insects and fungus
diseases which affect fruit and vege-
tables can be controlled.
The best fruit growers and ex-
perienced truck gardeners are un-
animously in favor of a spraying,
but care should be used. There is
no question but that spraying should
now be considered just as important
a part of the growers work as the
tilling of the soil. The tremendous
increase in the various kinds of in
sects and fungus diseases injurious
to vegetation and the prolific faculty
of most of these insects demands
careful, thorough spraying. Each
grower or farmer, however, before
spraying should thoroughly investi-
gate the trouble for which he wishes
to spray.
The various insects which infest
fruit trees and garden and field vege-
tables are divided into two distinct
classes according to the manner in
which they take their food One of
these is the leaf-eating insect which
has a pair of jaws very similar to
the higher order of animals so that
they are able to chew the leaves of
the plant which they attack Among
the best known and most harmful of
this class of insects are the vari-
GUS caterpillars of all kinds which
are usually voracious feeders and to
destroy them we would recommend
the use OF arsenate of lead (paste)
pounds TO so gallons of water or
even 3 pounds If necessary, would
do no harm to the foliage. To de-
stroy the Colorado beetle use / o.
OF aresnate of lead to one gallon of
water. | find this much better than
Paris green. The other class of in
sects injurious to vegetation is the
sucking insects. These insects are
supplied with sort of beak which
they imbed in the lead, branch or
trunk of a tree and in this way suck
the sap from the leaf or tree so that
its vitality becomes exhausted and
the tree may die. This class of in
sects is generally known as aphis,
mite or scale insects, the latter be-
ing represented in its highest form
by the San Jose Scale which is the
most injurious of this class. Owing
to the fact that these scales are so
very small they are not always no.
ticed until the injury to the tree be-
comes apparent through the dying
OF the branches.
Scale or sucking insects should be
handled by contact sprays, that is,
the insecticide which you use should
be one that will close the pores or
burn through the exterior surface
and kill them by means of penetra-
tion. Fungus diseases, the majority