Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-12-03
Apples
Menace to Health.

In July there were published in this
paper suggestions for August sprays
for caterpillars by the Maine Agricul-
tural Experiment Station in which it
was stated: 1.-THE present general
alarm concerning the brown-tail moth
is certainly warranted and not only
was the seasons flight very heavy in
regions previously infested but great
numbers have made their way into
parts of Maine where they have not
occurred before, at least to any extent.
The seriousness can hardly be exagger-
ated of a pest that not only brings de-
vastation to fruit, hard wood forests,
shade trees and ornamental shrubs,
but scatters its dangerous rash produc-
ing hairs along the course of It's infes-
tation. The brown-tail moth, however,
need not get the upper hand in any
we'll cared for orchard. In spite of all
the damage to vegetation and affection
to man it is capable of there is scarcely
an insect which is easier to control on
orchard trees. During the July flight
which is the egg laying period the con-
spicuous brown egg masses can be
removed by picking the infested leaves
and burning them. No other treatment
for very small trees will be necessary.
On large trees a single thorough spray
ing of arsenate of lead in August would
control the pest so that nothing more
need to be feared from it until the next
August, when the treatment could be
repeated. In August when the newly
hatched caterpillars are young they can
be readily killed as they are at this
time especially susceptible to the pois-
on. For the past two years the brown
tail caterpillars have fed late into the
fall, many becoming half grown and
working about the fruit as well as the
leaves. This experience leads us to
emphasize the need of an August spray
for this pest, for while the species nor
mally forms its winter nest while tiny
and before it had fed more than a
few weeks this habit has many excep-
tions, and the late feeding on trees in
fruit is g serious menace on account of
the poisonous hairs shed by the cater
pillars"
In accordance with this advice the
Maine Agricultural Experiment Sta
ton sprayed it's orchards at Highmoor
Farm thoroughly in August using dry
arsenate of lead at the rate of three
pounds to 100 gallons of water. Arsen-
ate of lead clings we'll to foliage and to
fruit, and there is some fear that the
amount of poison which would thus
cling to the fruit might prove danger
Gus to persons careiessly eating spray
ed apples. - ~
The spraying with arsenate OF lead
alone was made very heavy because of
the large number of moths flying and
the desire to keep the trees entirely free
from the pests. The spraying from this
standpoint was successful, as at the
present writing with the exception OF
trees which were purposely left I'M
sprayed there are no broWn-tan moth
nests to be found in the Highmoor
Farm orchard.
In order to determine what effect
this heavy spraying in August would
have upon the quantity of arsenic
which the apples would carry at har-
vest ten different lots were examined
from the Highmoor Farm orchard
Care was taken in the picking and the
handling of these apples to handle
them as little as possible SO as to re-
move the least possible arsenic. The
apples were taken into the laboratory,
divided into lots of As each. These va
ried n weight from II to 16 pounds.
The apples were thoroughly washed In
dividually so as to remove arsenate OF
lead that might be upon them. In order
to see whether the arsenate OF lead
was thoroughly removed or not, care
full delicate chemical tests were applied
to the wash parings and they were
found to be entirely free from arsenic.
The amount of arsenic in the washtngs
from As apples, calculated in the form
of white arsenic, varied from a MILL
gram and q half to four milligrams and
a third. An ordinary tonic mot toXic)
dose of arsenious oxide in medicine is
two milligrams. The maximum dose is
five milligrams--or at the rate of ten
milligrams per day. In order TO
get the ordinary medicinal dose of ar
senious oxide there would have to be
from peck to a bushel Of the apples
eaten, parings and all. 1t would take
several barrels to give toxic dose
The arsenate used in these expert
ments was lead arsenate and would
have about double as much lead as ar
senic. Lead, under some circumstances,
is a dangerous poison. 1t is one of the
so-called accumulative poisons. This
simply means that if one is constantly
exposed to lead as a poison, as q paint
er or q manufacturer of arsenate or
lead might be- the lead might be ao-
sorbed by the system faster than it was
eliminated and this would result in a
case Of so-called lead poisoning. Lead,
however, is not an accumulative pols-
on in the sense that it is not eliminat-
ed from the body but it is more slowly
eliminated than many other poisonous
materials. The amount of lead carried
upon these apples would be insignifi-
cant and no harm could come from
the continued use of apples carrying
this lead arsenate il no precautions
were taken whatever in removing it
and parings were all eaten.
PAIRING the apples removes all of the
arsenate of lead from them. Wiping
the apples before they are used for
table purposes removes practically all
of the lead arsenate.
The danger of any poisoning from the
summer spraying of apple trees with