Norwich bulletin., 1922-04-14
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Preventing Wormy Apples

MT. Editor: This is my third letter about spraying.
 Few of us like worrny arip1es. One nev- CT knows when he is eating a worrny ap- pie what he will strike next bite. small moth is responsible for wormy ap- pies. The mother moth does not go to school but she knows just where to lay her eggs. She alights upon a blossom or the small apple just showing after the blossom falls and thrusting her ovipositor in between the withered remnants of the stamens she lays an egg A few days later tiny worm or caterpillar crawls from this egg and soon begins to eat towards the core of the aI2ple.
 If this worm reaches the core alive it lives there until nearly grown. eating the seeds and other parts of the core The ap- pIe drops in June and the little caterpillar becomes a moth like it's mother Cor like it's father.l If like its mother it will be ready in a few days to lay eggs. These eggs are not always placed in the blos- som end. Some are placed between two aipples, some between leaf and an apple, anywhere in fact where it will have some protection This second generation little worm soon eats into the apple aiming for the core where it grows big and juicy for you to- strike your teeth into next winter If the worm escapes violent destruction 1t may become another moth to be on hand next spring.
 It Wffl be noted that in both generations the little worm must eat it's way into the apple If now it's first few bites include l some arsenate of lead, the apple will not become worTny.
 The little worm in the blossom end of the apple in late May is we'll protected. It is difficult for the orchardist to get poison into the proper position so that the worm will cor1sune some. Nature helps us here, however.
 As soon as the petals fall every little ap- ples on points skyward with ouspread se- pals. A few days later She sepals swing inward and form a little tent which effect ually covers the remnants of the blossom. ] The orchardist> must work promptly and rapidly. It is because of this need of speed that so frequently one is tempted tn begin spraying too early not waiting till the blossoms fan. Such haste is waste. l and we must all make the best of hard proposition:
 1 While the petals are out of the way and while the sepals are still wide spread is | the time of our opportunity. We must use l good si9rayer which sends a fog of pois= l on. a fog so fine that many droplets Will 1 lodge in every blossom end.
 1 It is possible to combine the BordeauX mixture with the arsenate of lead for | this spraying and go still further in checking the numerous fungi. 1 It is loossibla to combine Bordeaux mix ture with the arsenate of lead for this
 spraying and go still further in checking i the numerous fungi.
 1 am now going to offer some comfort 1 If weather conditions and shortness Of
 time prevent the spraying during the few days when the. little snples are upright and open. do not be discouraged.
 When plenty of bees reach your trees lfoo many apples set. One year this hao- l rened with me and I had to hire boys Tn June to pick bushels of tiny green apples and even then my crop of apples in the 1 fall was mostly made up of small aI7ple7
 because inc trees were so loaded It would 1 almost seem as if the coddling moth weTf 1 designed to help us here. If the first spraying for this coddling moth fails then there will he a heavy June dro'2- For 1 let this be understood, one never eats the worny arDles from the first generation ot | fi1e coddlfng moth. That is hardly trdf l for boys will eat any sort of green apple l These first wor1ny apples fall to the 1 ground and there rot. It is' the sec0n 1 generation that does the real harm. The I only value of this first snraying is to clIt down the number of coddling moths sf 1 fTat there will be few to lay their eggs 1r | late June or early July.
 Hence if a large setting Of fruit comes and you have not sprayed, you must plan
 to spray for the second generation o1 brood Of the coddling moth. Find out just y-bau this brood is to api3ear and spraH
 with all the thoroughness you possess, See l that every arple on the tree in forged
 with poison spray. Kill every child oi 1 t+3is second brood. Ton win still have
 vonr crop of ar!9les and few wor1ny ones Weather always permits the second l spraying and if this is done thorou"hly one can be sure of s4plendid results Many o' ,-s feel disturbed because we miss thf 1 first snraving but we can take confor in the know1edge that we can do the Sec
 ond spraying up brown and then be pleas ed in the fall because our annles are su perior in size if smaller in numbers. Yours very truly,
 ALLEN LATHAM Norwich April 1S 1922