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Accession No. \ "^ b 4: o
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Bulletin 131 April, 1907
NEW HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE
AGKICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
Spraying the Apple Orchard
The Time to Spray for the Codling Moth
By E. Dwight Sanderson, T. J. Headlee
and Charles Brooks
NEW HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE
OF
AGRICULTURE AND THE MECHANIC ARTS
DURHAM
CONTENTS.
Page.
The apple industry iu New Hampslure 11
Why spray? 14
Spraying controls both insects and diseases 16
The codling moth 16
How the winter is passed 18
The transformation 19
The moth 20
The egg 21
The larva or apple worm 22
Tlie second brood 25
Spraying experiments in 1906 26
At Walpole, N. H 28
At Hancock, N. H 28
At Greenland, N. H 30
Tlie results 32
Other means of combating tlie codling moth 33
!^flfect of sprajang on apple diseases 38
Tlie apple scab 39
Experiments at Walpole, N. H., against scab 41
Tlie brown spot of the Baldwin 41
Controlled by spraying in experiments at Durham 42
How to spray 42
Apparatus :
The imiiii) 42, the nozzle 44, extension "rod -14, hose,
strainers, wagon and tower '45.
Spray materials 47
Bordeaux mixture . 47
Insecticides 51
When to spray 52
How to apply the spray 54
Is the spray dangerous? 55
Cost of spraying 65
Can I afford not to spray? 56
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
BY E. DWIGHT SANDERSON, T. J. HEADLEE, AND CHARLES
BROOKS.^
THE APPLE INDUSTRY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.
The southern half of New Hampshire is naturally adap-
ted to apple growing. The roadways are lined with seed-
lings and the pastures
are dotted with old trees,
many of them over half
a century old, neglected,
and broken down, but
still bearing fairly good
crops, which are allowed
to rot lieneath them. In-
deed, much of the pres-
ent apple industry of
the state is due to the fig. l.— "The pastures are dotted with old
persistence with which trees."
Nature seeks to show the natural adaptation of the soil to
the seedling tree.
But New Hampshire is not known for its fruit, only
1.4% of its farms deriving their principle income from
fruit. Dairying and live stock are the chief agricultural
interests, to which is devoted 61% of the improved acreage.
In view of the comparatively small interest shown in
fruit-growing in contrast to the great natural opportunities,
it is well to inquire into the present conditions of apple cul-
ture in New Hampshire; for from a knowledge of present
conditions we may be able to di.scern the possibilities of the
future and the means of their realization.
'This bulletin is written by the senior author and is based on
work plnnned and directed by him. Doctor Headlee had immedi-
ate charge of all the work upon the life history and habits of
the codling moth and the records of orchard experiments, and Mr.
Brooks prepared the portion concerning apple diseases.
12 SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
The total apple crop of New Hampshire in 1899^ was
2,034,398 bushels, producing most of the total value of
its orchard fruits, $707,729, as 94.8% of all orchard trees
were apples. In 1870 the fruits of the state were worth
$743,552. so that the value of the fruit industry has re-
mained stationary for thirty years. In 1889 there were
1,744,799 apple trees and in 1899, 2,034,398, or an increase
of 16.6% in their number, but the gross amount of fruit
decreased 13.3%, and the amount of fruit per tree de-
creased from 1.25 bushels in 1889 to 0.97 bushels in 1899, or
22%. According to all statistics, the crop of 1899 was bet-
ter than that of any year since 1900. Accurate statistics
since that time are not available, except the amount shipped
over the Boston & Maine Railroad in 1902, kindly fur-
nished by its freight traffic manager, which was 523,280
barrels. If 20% of the crop was consumed on the farms,
then the total crop of 1902 was probably about 654,000
barrels, or about the same as 1899, 659,599 barrels. The
only available estimates of the New Hampshire crop since
then, made by the New England Homestead, indicate that
the crop has steadily decreased since 1900. It would seem,
therefore, that the average full crop is about one bushel per
tree. The average crop per tree for Pennsylvania is two
bushels, of Ohio and New York, 1.6 bushels, and the leading
counties of New York produce two liushels per tree, these
being the three leading apple states. The average for the
United States is 0.87 bushels per tree, so that New Hamp-
shire is just a little better than the average of the country.
But what sort of a crop is one third of a barrel per tree in
a good apple year? How does it happen that such is the
average of the state? Observe the proportion of the total
number of apple trees which are falling down over our
stone walls and encumbering our pastures with what might
be good fire wood, and you have the answer.
'The statistics are all taken from the Twelfth U. S. Census un-
less otherwise noted. See Bulletin 113, 12th Census, Agriculture,
N. H.
, SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD. 13
Again in 1899 there were seventy apple trees per farm
in New Hampshire, more than in any state except Maine,
and yet less fruit per farm was produced than in any of
the North Atlantic states except Maine and Vermont, this
being a direct result of many trees poorly cared for. With
about 5% of the improved acreage of our farms in fruit,
about 41/2% of the net income of the average farm came
from that source and amounted to an average of $27.15.
But this 5% of the improved acreage, which would be 1.85
acres per farm, is not the actual condition, for an orchard
of sixty trees is not seen on the average farm, but is merely
computed upon the basis of the usual number per acre from
the number of trees for each farm which are scattered along
fences and roads. Were these trees all in orchards, the
income yielded would be at least doubled, for they would
then be cared for. The income from fruit is but $13.58
an acre, only hay at $10.30 per acre yielding less, and cere-
als— to whose growth New Hampshire is admittedly not
best adapted — bring a return of $18.29 per acre. A good
fruit grower hardly considers a tree worth the ground it
stands on which does not yield at least a barrel a year, or
$30 per acre. Why, then, with the present trees and prices
should not the average New Hampshire farmer receive $70
for his fruit crop instead of $27.15?
Many of our apple trees were planted fifty years or more
ago, when the chief market was the cider mill. Then,
quantity was of more importance than quality. Today the
reverse is true. The best profit today is only secured from
first-class fruit. The great American public is hungn^ for
apples, and it will pay well for the best. It is well known
that for the past few seasons Western apples have been sell-
ing in the Boston and foreign markets far above those of
the average New England grower. Indeed, a well-known
Liverpool firm has recently been quoted^ as stating that
for the past five seasons, "Boston" apples, those
We«7 England Homestead, November 18, 1906, quoting Woodall
& Co.
14 SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
coming from New England except iNIaine, have averaged 50
to 75 cents a barrel less on the Liverpool market than the
same varieties from Maine, New York and Canada, this
being attributed to the better quality, freedom from insects
and diseases, and better packing of the fruit from the latter
states. There is always a good market for the best; the
market for the ordinary fruit is always precarious.
While apple growing in New Hampshire has evidently
been standing still or declining, large regions in the East
and West have planted millions of trees, whose crops are
being shipped to eastern and foreign markets at a profit.
New England land is cheaper, the markets are at its door,
and no portion of the United States is better naturally
adapted to apple culture. Indeed the most prominent and
extensive fruit growers are now planting largely in
New England and are outspoken in their praise of south-
em New Hampshire as an apple section not to be excelled,
being, as J. H. Hale puts it, "the natural home of the good
—not the 'big'— red apple." How, then, shall these nat-
ural resources of the Granite State for apple growing be de-
veloped ?
WHY SPRAY?
In our attempt to produce a larger and better apple crop,
two methods are available. We may use more fertilizer or
manure, cultivate more frequently, and prune more intelli-
gently, and thus grow more fruit and of better quality ; or,
second, we may prevent the destruction by insects and
diseases of the fruit grown. A very appreciable benefit will
be derived from either of these methods used alone, but only
by employing both of them will complete success be achieved.
Far more fertilizing, more culture, and more pruning arc
needed in New Hampshire orchards, and without them the
sprayed apple will be too small and the total crop will be
too meager to be most profitable, even though sprayed and
free from insects and diseases. But whereas most growers
are familiar with the methods which should be employed to
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD. 15
grow a crop, even if they do not always use them, but few
understand the value of protecting the fruit from its
enemies, how much fruit is destroyed by them, and how
this loss may be prevented. Thorough spraying rightly
managed will prevent these losses and is, therefore, a neces-
sary operation in all successful fruit culture.
"But," you say, "my fruit last year was practically as
good as my neighbor's, who sprayed." Possibly so if you
refer merely to the quality of that picked, and if your trees
bore a good crop. But did you notice that the sprayed
trees probably bore a barrel more fruit than yours, though
all were equally well set in the spring, and did you observe
the larger number of wormy and diseased windfalls under
your trees than under those sprayed? These are factors
not ordinarily considered. And again, when you have but
a light crop, do you then have as good fruit as your neigh-
bor who sprays, for in the off year the worminess of the
fruit is much more apparent and as the price of the fruit
is better, it is better appreciated? Indeed, if you will con-
sider the matter, doubtless you will agree that one can
never predict whether the fruit will be unusually wormy
or diseased or entirely free from such defects, in any indi-
vidual season. The necessity for spraying regularly is
therefore apparent. Injury from insects and diseases
must be prevented, rarely can it be stopped after it has
become noticeable.
The necessity and profit of spraying have come to be
realized by all successful fruit growers in the great fruit
belts of the country. Many of them would not undertake
to raise fruit without a spray pump, for the profit in apple
culture is in producing a quality of fruit which will sell a
little better than the average price, and such fruit must
be sprayed. But in New Hampshire there are probably
not a score of men who spray regularly and intelligently.
Those who have sprayed but one or two seasons do not need
urging to continue spraying, for they have found that the
silvery spray is transformed into silver dollars by fall.
16 SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
Yet there are many doubters who must be shown. To
demonstrate to the latter class that spraying is neces-
sary and profitable in New Hampshire as well as else-
where, and also to determine various points as to the best
materials and methods of spraying, we have conducted
spraying experiments in five different orchards at Durham,
■Oreenland, Hancock and Walpole. About 150 trees, in all,
were sprayed. All of the fruit, both windfall and picked,
for the whole season was counted from each tree and the
condition of the fruit carefully noted, over half a million
apples being handled. The results, which are given below
(page 28) should certainly convince the most skeptical of
the loss we annually incur by not spraying.
Spraying Controls both Insects and Diseases. — Spray-
ing is directed against both insect pests and plant diseases.
The kind of spray and the time of its application depend
upon the enemy to be combated. The arsenical poisons will
control the biting insects and the fungicides, such as Bor-
deaux mixture, prevent the growth of fungous diseases;
used together they control both classes of enemies when
rightly applied. Mere spraying is of no more value than
feeding a healthy man on medicine and profitable results
are secured only by spraying against some particular pest
and applying at the necessary time the spray that will con-
trol it. The insect pests and fungous diseases of the ap-
ple must, therefore, be kept distinctly in mind and we must
have a knowledge of each, if we are to combat them suc-
cessfully.
THE CODLING MOTH.
"What small boy does not know the wormy apple ahnost
by intuition ? And, if he fail to announce to his companion
that ' ' there ain 't goin ' to be no core " it is probably because
the codling moth has already devoured that toothsome
morsel. Of all the insects affecting the apple, this is the
one against which our spraying is chiefly directed. Scores
of insects attack the foliage and occasionally require
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
special treatment, but
if the trees are regu-
larly sprayed for the
codling moth, these
leaf -eating pests arc
usually kept under
control. Only two oth-
ers commonly attack
the fruit, and these are
easily distinguished.
The plum curculio, of-
ten called the "Little
Turk" from the cres-
I
■'■"'^'
^ v>^^
Fig. 2, 6.
work may be recognized
l)y its grub feeding- in
the flesh of the fruit
around tiie core, while
the codling moth larva
bores directly to the core
where it relishes the
seeds. Another pest of
summer and early fall,
and sometimes even win-
ter apples, is the apple
maggot, or "railroad
worm." A p p 1 e s a t
Fig. 2, a.— The work of the ai)ple worm in a
small apple which may be confused with
b, the Work of the plum curculio. The
apple worm eats the core; the curculio
does not.
cent-s h ap e d
mark it leaves
()\i the fruit,
attacks the
young fruit
and its footless
fleshy grubs
may be found
in a very large
part of the
windfalls dur-
ing Julv. Its
Fig. 3.— .An apple " railroaded.
18
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
Fig. 4. — Typical work of the
apple maggot.
tacked by it often do not betray its presence until they are
opened, when it is found that the flesh is honej'combed with
the brownish tunnels of the small
white maggots, or "railroaded,"
as commonly termed. In many
orchards the apple maggot has l)e-
come so serious that it is almost
impossible to secure a crop of
summer or early fall apples. ])ut
rarely does it do serious injury to
Avinter sorts. The codling moth,
whose larva or caterpillar is our
common, old "apple worm," is therefore the chief enemy
of the apple crop. Just how much damage it does is not
generally appreciated, we fear, but the records below will
make this more apparent.
But if this old pest is worth fighting had we not better
secure a more intimate acquaintance with it, so that we may
better combat it, and, perhaps incidentally, we may find
that it has a most interesting career.
How the Winter is Passed. — Did you ever find out just
what that little downy woodpecker is doing in your or-
chard, tapping
away all win-
ter? If not, it
is high time you
did, for he is
the arch enemy
of the codling
moth and were
it not for his
good offices in
destroying the
larva.' in the
winter your ap-
ple crop might
frequently be a failure. Pick olT Ihc piece of bark at which
he has been picking and you will doubtless find that a clean
Fig. 6.— "A clean hole drilled through the bark into
the empty cocoon."
SPRAYING THE iVPPLE ORCHARD.
ir»
Fig. 6.— The apple worm in Us winter
home, the cocoon under a bit of
bark.
hole has beeu drilled through it and directly into a small,
white cocoon, now empty. Further search, if it he made in
winter or si)ring, will show that probably three fourths of
these cocoons have been entered by a woodpecker. But
after some search a few will
be found containing- the
pinkish apple worms, the
larviu of the codling motli.
snugly curled up in their
silken chambers. Here they
remain until spring, provid-
ing our friend the wood-
pecker does not find them
before. Such is the usual winter home of the apple worm,
but often it may form its cocoon under an old fence rail, in
an apple barrel or bin, or wherever it happened to emerge
from the apple in the fall and found a ctmveneint, sheltered
spot. These wintering larvae are of various sizes, a few
being hardly one fourth the size of the largest, l)ut only
the large, full-grown ones survive and transform the next
spring.
The Transformation. — Late in April or sometime in
May, the caterpillar opens the end of the cocoon and spins
a silken tube from it to the surface. Then retiring to the
cocoon with its head towards the door-
way, it sheds its winter clothes, trans-
forming into a pupa or chrysalis. The
pupa is a semi-dormant stage in which
the insect has almost no power of mo-
tion, and shows but little sign of life,
but during which wonderful changes in
its structure are going on, so that from
the old tissues of the worm-like larva
are formed the organs of the active,
winged moth. In 1906 pupation commenced INIay 7, and
the last larvae did not pupate until early in June. Al)out
'Figures 7, 8, 9, 14, 16. from Slingerland, Cornell University Experiment Sta-
tion, Bulletin 112.
Fig.
7.— The pui)a or
chrysali.s.i
20
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
twenty (20) days later the
pupa wriggles itself out of
the cocoon through the
silken tube made by the
larva, its skin splits doAvn
the middle of the back and
from out the pupal shell
crawls the adult moth, some-
what bedraggled, but soon
ready for flight. Last year
the first moths emerged
about June 10, most emerg-
ing about ten days later,
and the last not until July 1.
The Moth. — Though one
of our common insects, the
codling moth is rarely seen;
i'or it flies at night and dur-
■IliirilTiinT' ^ ^Yie day it remains mo-
FiG. 8.— Numerous cocoons containing = ''
pupffi under bark. tionlcss on or undcr the
bark, which it so closely resembles as to be invisible
have photographed one with > /
its wings folded on its back '
in the usual position, resting
We
«
.jjkii^' **'.
'■'. Mm»
Fig. 9.— The codling moth.
on a piece of apple bark. Can you
see the moth? The moth "is a beau-
tiful little creature," says Professor
Slingerland, "whose front wings,
when seen at a little distance, have
somewhat the appearance of brown
watered silk; when closely examined
^'a'v:^itoA,aTk'w*f.i'"h?tso they will be seen to be crossed by
bL"aimosUnv?sibie.''" '" numcrous Hncs of gray and brown
SPRAYING THE .VPPLE ORCHARD.
21
scales, scalloped something like the plumage of a bird. Near
the hind angle of each front wing there is a large dark
brown spot marked with streaks of bronze or gold. The hind
wings are of lighter grayish-brown color, darker toward the
outer margin." The moths fly mostly during the early
evening and if the evenings bo \v;irni when llicy emerge,
the females commence to ____
lay their eggs at once; -■ ?*-^..'
but if cool, they may
wait for ten days or so
without laying.
The Egg. — In con-
finement the eggs are all
laid in a few days or a
week, but out of doors
the females continue
laying for nearly a
month, depositing in all
from twenty to seventy
eggs, the average number
. r>t> Fig. 11.— Ont" ul tlu- largo cage.s used in
being about fifty. The the study of the apple worm.
egg-laying habits of the moths were
studied with great care the past season,
and will be observed again next summer.
Among other methods used for securing
an exact knowledge concerning them,
was that of erecting a large cage cov-
ered with cheese cloth over a ten-year-
old apple tree and introducing in it a
single pair of the codling moths. Be-
fore doing so every leaf on the tree was
carefully examined to bo sure that no
eggs had already been laid. The leaves
FiG.i2.-"The individ- ^^(^ fj-^it qq ^hc tree were then exam-
oal egg upon the fruit
small ^S^bi'hftlr." '^^^ ^^ frcqucut intervals, every fruit
Natural .size. r^-^^ jg^^f being examined and each ^^,^
marked with a tag as laid. This enabled us to determine ex-
actly when and where the eggs were laid, how far they
22
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
Fig. 13.— The egK 'JU ;> leaf— greatly
were from the nearest apples, and other points, all of which
have a practical bearing upon combating the pest, as will
be seen below. Three of these large cages and numerous
smaller ones covering indi-
vidual limbs or twigs were
used last season. It was
found that practically all
of the eggs were laid upon
the leaves, upon the upper
or under surface indis-
criminately and a few, less
than one twentieth, on the
apples and bark. In 1906
the first eggs were laid
June 10 and the last about
enlarged. July 1.
The individual egg upon the leaf or fruit looks much like
a small white blister, about the size of a
pinhead. It is at first quite transparent,
but later a blackish streak is seen, showing
the caterpillar forming within. The eggs
are seen with difficulty and are found only
by the most careful search. They hatch in
from five to ten days, depending upon the
temperature, those laid in the middle of
June hatching ten days later, and those
laid June 29 in five days.
The Larva, or Apple Worm. — The
young apple worm is at first only about
one sixteenth of an inch long, of a whitish
color, with a shining black head, and with
distinct, blackish tubercles on the back,
which become quite obscure in later life.
As soon as the young worm crawls from the
egg it usually makes a frugal breakfast
upon the tender part of a leaf, preferably
at the juncture of the veins on the under
surface. Indeed, occasionallv a worm may
Fig. 14. -The young
a p p 1 e w () r m —
greatly enlarged.
SPRAYING THE APPLE OKCJIAKl).
23
ieed entirely upon the foliage and transform withoiil enter-
ing an apple, as we have reared them upon tender water-
sprouts. lUit this probably rarely occurs in the orchard,
except, perhaps, w hen l)n1 little fruit is available. Very soon
his appetite for green ai^ples commences to assert itself, like
that of the smnll boy. ntid h(^ comnieiieos to sonr<'h for young
Fig. 15.— The young apple worm feeding in the calyx cavity of the apple.
fruit. It was formerly supposed that most of the eggs
were laid upon the apples so that the young apple worm
merely had to eat its way in ; but our observations show that
many of the eggs are laid three, four or five feet from the
nearest apple. Indeed, a considerable proportion, some-
24
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
times a fifth to a third of the eggs, are laid upon limbs
which bear no apples whatever. Of course those so far
from apples fail to reach the
craved food and doubtless most
of them perish in the attempt,
for we found there was an egg
within about ten inches of
nearly every wormy apple,
whereas most of the worms
which enter the apples prob-
ably come from eggs on the
leaves clustering around the
apple and the young worms do
not have to crawl over four or
five inches. Upon reaching the
nearest apples about two thirds or three fourths of the worms
enter them through the blossom end, feeding a little in
the calyx cavity to appease their hunger after the long jour-
ney, and then boring directly for the core. This feeding in
Fig. 16.— The "worminess " of the
apple shown at the calyx.
Fig. 17.— Showing the work of an apple worm which entered at the calyx and
left through the side.
the blossom end is of the utmost importance in enal)liiig us
to destroy the young worm by spraying, as will be indicated
later. The rest of the worms enter the fruit through the
side, often where a leaf or another apple comes in contact.
The seeds of the apple seem to be most relished by the ap-
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD. 25
pie worm, for it soon hollows out each of them as well as
the surrounding core, its work being indicated by the well-
known excreta thrown out at the calyx, showing the "worm-
iness" of the apple. In about a month, having attained
full growth, it eats its way out through the side of the ap-
ple, through which a round exit hole is left, and seeks a
place in which to form the cocoon. The full-grown apple
worm is about three fourths of an inch long, of a whitish
or often pinkish color, and so well known as hardly to
require further description. Last year the first larva
left the apple July 25 and the first cocoons were found
about August 1st. From that time until late in September,
just before the apples were picked they continued to
emerge and form cocoons, the larger number being formed
late in September. The cocoon is formed under the bark,
or in other sheltered situations, and there the larva passes
the winter, as already described.
The Second Brood. — Out of several hundred larva' in
cocoons collected during August and September, none
transformed and all are now passing the winter. But the
last week in August young worms, evidently just hatched,
were found eating on the surface of the fruit. For some
reason no eggs from which this .second brood hatched could
be found, but there can be no question that some of the
larvffi which first matured in July transformed to pupae
and moths, the same as they do in the spring, and that these
moths laid eggs for a second brood. How many larv8e
so transform, and where and when the moths lay their
eggs, remain to be observed next season. Evidently
the eggs are laid upon or very near the apples, for
larvae which had just hatched were found upon them.
The feeding habits of these little worms of the second
brood are quite different from the main summer brood,
as they merely feed upon or just under the surface,
often around or in the calyx, or where a leaf or an-
other apple comes in contact with the skin, and rarely
bore into the apple, as does the first brood. Rarely do
26 SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
these worms of the second brood become full grown in this
latitude, but late in September, when half grown, they form
their winter cocoons. It is for this reason that in examin-
ing the cocoons in winter some larvae are found hardly half
the size of the majority of those full grown of the first
brood. The difference in the food habits of this second
brood has been observed by many growers and has led
some to the belief that the work is that of a different insect.
Although but less than five per cent., and probably only one
or two per cent, of the larvfe transform to the second brood
Fig. 18.—" The little worms of the .second brood feed upon or just under
the surface."
of moths, yet we find that fully two thirds of the picked
fruit which shows the work of the codling moth has been
affected by the second brood, which have marred the sur-
face or eaten around the calyx, and only about one third of
those wormy show the characteristic work of the first
brood. Indeed, the bulk of the apples attacked by the first
brood fall to the ground as windfalls, and thus the damage
done by it usually escapes notice.
SPRAYING EXPERIMENTS IN 1906.
Our field work in 1906 was planned both as experiments
to show the best time to spray and the best materials to use,
and also demo7istralions to show the value of spraying in
different localities in southern New Hampshire. The re-
sults of such experiments secured from a single season's
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD. 27
Mork are usually not to be relied upon until they have
been repeated for two or three years so that there can be
no doubt as to the uniformity of the results. The experi-
ments will therefore be repeated one or two years more,
when a complete and detailed report of the whole work and
definite recommendations based upon it will be published.
But as a demonstration of the general profit of sprayings
with the methods usually employed, the work was a com-
plete success and merely confiraned the results secured by
hundreds of experimenters and practical fruit growers
throughout the country, and demonstrates that spraying^
pays in New^ Hampshire as well as elsewhere.
In all these experiments the trees were sprayed in prac-
tically the same way as described below (pages 47-52), each
being given two sprayings with arsenate of lead or Paris
green and Bordeaux mixture, just after the blossoms
dropped and again a week later. All of the windfall fruit
was picked up from under each tree and a record made as
to whether it was wormy or not and a similar record was
kept of the picked fruit. Thus it was possible to know the
exact number of fruits w'hich each tree bore during the sea-
son, what proportion dropped and how many of both
dropped and picked fruit were injured by the codling
moth. Altogether over half a million apples were thus
examined and recorded.
To render the results of this work more readily under-
stood, we have had prepared the accompanying figures,
which show the amount of fruit on both sprayed and un-
sprayed trees in each locality, with the proportion on the
trees when picked, the amount which had dropped and the
part of each which was wormy. The estimates of the value of
the spraying are secured from the value of the picked
fruit which was not wormy. The amount of picked fruit
not wormy was secured by multiplying the total average
number of fruits per tree by the percentage of the total
crop which was not wormy and picked. Six hundred ap-
ples were considered a barrel, as this was the average for
28 SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
the picked fruit. One dollar per barrel is taken as the net
value of picked apples that were not wormy — most of which
would be No. 1 fruit. This is probably slightly below its
actual value in 1906, for the market price ranged from
$1.75 to $2.00, while barrels, picking and packing, would
hardly cost more than sixty-five or seventy cents. Inci-
dentally it might be noted that this is the average price
for winter apples on the Boston market for the past fifteen
years. October 15.
Spraying at Walpole, N. H. — Three Baldwin and six
Bhode Island Greening trees were sprayed in the orchard
of H. H. Thompson, the record of fruit on five unsprayed
trees being kept for comparison. The trees bore and aver-
age of about 2,600 apples each for the whole season. Of
these one half dropped from the unsprayed trees, while
only one fourth, or half as many, dropped from the
sprayed trees, about one third of the dropped fruit being
wormy in each case. Of the 50% of the total crop which
was picked from the unsprayed trees, 19% was wormy,
leaving 31% of the total crop of the tree as picked fruit
free from worms, which would be about one and one-third
barrels (1 1-3) worth $1.33 net. On the sprayed trees but
11% was wormy, and as three fourths of the fruit remained
on the trees, there was picked 65% of the total crop of the
season, free from worms, or about 2 4-5 barrels, worth $2.80
net. Thus considering merely the value of the un wormy
picked fruit, which is mostly No. 1, there was a gross profit
of $1.47 per tree, and as the spraying cost about twelve
cents a tree, a net profit of $1.35 per tree.
Spraying at Hancock, N. H. — Twenty-five Baldwin
trees were sprayed in the orchard of C. E. L. Hayward, and
a record was kept of five unsprayed trees. The trees bore
an average of about 3,600 fruits per tree for the whole
season. About one fourth (26%) dropped as windfalls
from the unsprayed trees and an almost e
30 SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
trees, while only 5%, less than one fifth as much, was
wormy on those sprayed. Thus on the trees not sprayed
53% of the total crop was picked free from worms, making
3 1-5 barrels, worth $3.20 net, while on those sprayed 72%,
or nearly half as much more, was picked free from worms,
making 4 1-3 barrels per tree, worth $-4.33 net. Deduct-
ing the cost of spraying, there was, therefore, a net profit
of just $1.00 per tree.
Spraying at Greenland, N. H. — Twenty-eight Baldwin
trees were sprayed in the orchard of William H. Weeks,
the records of five unsprayed trees being made. Unfortu-
nately the records of the number of picked fruit were acci-
dentally destroyed of all except four sprayed and three
unsprayed trees. These trees, however, were scattered
among those sprayed, and show a very fair average of the
condition of all ; indeed, they show rather less benefit than
many. This orchard was much worse infested with the
codling moth than those at Walpole or Hancock, though
the orchard was fully as well kept. From the unsprayed
trees three fourths of the fruit dropped as windfalls, while
on those sprayed but 15%, or one fifth as many, dropped.
Of the fruit left to be picked on the unsprayed trees, two-
thirds was wormy, leaving but 8% of the season's crop to
be picked free from worms, making about one-half barrel,
worth fifty cents net. On the sprayed trees only 1-11 of
the picked fruit was wormy, leaving 70% of the total crop
to be picked free from worms, making 4 1-5 barrels, worth
$4.20 net. These trees bore about 3,600 apples per tree for
the season. On eight other trees from which the record of the
picked fruit was secured, but two to four per cent, were
wormy. Thus these trees would show $3.70 worth more
fruit on the sprayed trees, which means a net profit of at
least $3.55 after deducting the cost of spraying, from the
control of the codling moth. Such would be the value of the
spraying were all the unwormy picked fruit of good size
and not otherwise injured, but in this orchard much of the
picked fruit free from worms was too small for No. 1 size
o
o
*d
•a
I
so
o
B
a "■
c X
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32 SPRAYIXG THE APPLE ORCHARD.
and much was otherwise blemished. A record of the
number of barrels of Xo. 1 and No. 2 fruit from both
sprayed and unsprayed trees was kept, and showed that
3 1-5 barrels were secured from each sprayed tree, against
1 4-5 barrels on each of the unsprayed trees, or a net gain
of 1 2-5 barrels, worth $1.40 net. Deducting from this
the cost of spraying, Ave have a net profit of around
$1.25 per tree as the actual profit. Had the orchard been
well fertilized and cultivated so that the trees could have
matured the large crop they bore, as full size apples, a
profit of over three dollars per tree would have been act-
ually realized. This shows that spraying is but a part
of successful apple culture, and that to secure the greatest
profit from it, the orchard must be well cared for otherwise.
Even larger profits may be expected where fruit of the
best size and quality is grown, for in our experiments in
Delaware orchards in 1901 and 1902^ we showed that two
to three barrels more non-wormy fruit might be picked
from sprayed than from unsprayed Winesap trees, prac-
tically all of which fruit was No. 1, and that year brought
about $3.00 per barrel net, thus giving a clear profit of $6
to $10 per tree from the spraying, equivalent to $2.50 to
$3.75 for the same amount of fruit at the price usually
received for New Hampshire Baldwins.
Comparing the results secured in the different orchards,
which are a fair average of those throughout southern
New Hampshire, we see that at the average price of winter
apples a net profit of from $1 to $1.35 per tree may be
secured from two sprayings solely from the effect upon the
codling moth, for in all the above estimates no considera-
tion has been given to the effect upon scab, brown spot,
rots, etc., Avhich will he mentioned below. Indeed, with
proper care of the orchard, this profit from spraying alone
should be at least trebled. Why, then, do you not spray?
Possibly one of a thousand would-be excuses which seem
'See Bulletin 59, Delaware Agricultural Experiment Station,
"The Codling Moth."
I
t
9J
3
1
ffl
B
»
B
34 SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
to warrant the neglect of spraying in the minds of most
of our apple growers will soothe your conscience into neg-
lecting it next year. Is not the question of spraying, after
all, like that of all "better farming," whether you are a
real farmer or fruit-grower, a producer, or whether you
are essentially a consumer, having planted an orchard, or
possibly reaping the benefit of one planted by your father
or grandfather, which gives you a biennial crop with prac-
tically no care on your part. Are you really producing a
crop? Are you not to a large extent dependent upon the
bounty of a too generous Nature? If we are to be fruit
growers and not mere consumers, we must fertilize, prune,
and spray; it is a debt owed the tree. Shall we make money
out of fruit-growing, for which there is no better opportu-
nity in the United States than here in New Hampshire, or
shall we take what the trees will bear, without always even
being thankful ? These principles are not particularly appli-
cable to spraying only, but are indeed those upon which all
betterment of the farming of New Hampshire must rest.
The great question in the improvement of New Hampshire
agriculture is not whether it can be made sufficiently profit-
able to be worthy of the best efforts of a man of ability, for
that is being constantly answered affirmatively ; it is not a
question of crops or methods whereby the profits of agricul-
ture can be increased and its life made more congenial, for
those questions are being, and will be solved ; but it is a
personal question for each individual agriculturist whether
he has sufficient interest in his work as a business to devote
the same intelligence and energy toward making it the larg-
est possible success, that is required of the man successful in
business, in a profession, or in manufacturing. These old
farms of the granite hills of New Hampshire are waiting,
ready to give a worthy return to men who, seeing the possi-
bilities in them, delight not in "wringing a living from the
rugged soil," but in so applying the laws of the science of ag-
riculture, that the soil will be enabled to bear the largest
and best of those crops to which it is best suited. For such
there is a life on New Hampshire's hills well worth while.
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
35
OTHER MEANS OF COMBATING THE CpDLING
MOTH.
As has been noted, the woodpeckers and nuthatches an-
nually save us barrels of apples by destroying the apple
worms under the bark in the winter. They should there-
fore be encouraged and lured to the orchard whenever pos-
sible. Bits of suet and
meat suspended from the
trees will often attract
them and sometimes help
them through a hard win-
ter.
Thoroughly scraping
the bark with a sharp hoe
or tree-scraper, so as to
remove the hiding places
of the wintering larva\
will also materially aid in
their control.
Usually nearly half of
the windfall fruit is
wormy, and the fruit
drops before the worms
are full grown. If it be
left on the ground the
worms emerge and form
their cocoons on the near-
est tree. If the dropped fruit be gathered frequently, or
if enough hogs run in the orchard to keep it destroyed, a
large proportion of the larva? will be killed, and especially
those which mature early and form the small second brood.
To illustrate the value of scraping the trees and keeping
the drops picked up, a comparison of two orchards about
a mile apart may be of interest. One had been fairly well
cared for in this way, while the other had been neglected.
The conditions in the latter orchard may be appreciated
from the photographs. In the other the trees had been
Fig. 22.—" The neglected orchard.
36
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
scraped, hogs kept most of the droppings destroyed and
the rest were collected and removed. Otherwise, the trees
compared were not very dissimilar, neither being sprayed.
The diagram shows the records, kept the same as those of
the sprayed trees, from five trees in each orchard. In
the neglected orchard one half of the fruit dropped, three
fourths of the windfalls being wormy, while in the other
only slightly over one fourth (27%) dropped, and but half
■^'"^j^^ If-.- '■ -~
Fig. 23.— The ground covered with the droppings of the whole summer in
the neglected orchard.
of it was wormy. Of the picked fruit one sixth was wormy
on the neglected orchard, while only one ninth was wormy
on the other, but the wormy picked fruit formed 8% of
the total crop of the tree in both cases. In the neglected
orchard 42% of the total crop of the tree was picked free
from worms, making two barrels, worth $2 net, while in
the orchard cared for, 65% of the fruit was picked not
worm3% making 314 barrels, worth $3.25 net, and showing
a benefit of $1.25 per tree at hiil slight cost for scraping
the trees and picking up the drops, which pay for them-
selves in cider. Altogether the records showed that there
were but about one half as many wormy apples during the
-, H
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(yi 1-
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[^
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04 O Ol
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09
38 SPRAYIXO THE APPLE ORCHARD.
whole season in the orchard eared for as in the one neg-
lected.
Not only the neglected orchard bnt the neglected road-
side and pasture trees, very many of them worthless seed-
lings, harbor all the pests of the apple, where they breed
unmolested and constantly migrate to the orchard. Road
surveyors should be required to cut eveiy seedling or un-
cared for apple and wild cherry tree, and every property
owner should replenish his woodpile with them.
HOW SPRAYING AFFECTS THE APPLE
DISEASES.
Every year a large part of the apple crop of New Hamp-
shire is of inferior quality on account of the attacks of fun-
gous diseases. The extent and seriousness of the injury
depend largel}^ upon the weather conditions. Fungous
diseases are always favored by dampness and hence are
more serious in certain parts of the state and individual lo-
cations, but while the climatic conditions are so important
a factor in their growth, the fungi themselves are the real
cause of the trouble.
Fungi are plants which have no green coloring matter
and which, being unable to obtain their starch food mate-
rial from the air, as do green plants, obtain it ready made
from other plants, living or dead. Those which grow upon
dead plants are known as saprophytes, and those living
upon live host plants are termed parasites. None of the
fungi have seeds, but all of them produce spores, which
serve the same purpose. These microscopic spores are ex-
ceedingly small and light, are readily carried by insects or
the wind, and when they light upon a suitable host plant
they may infect it with the disease. Some of these fungi,
for instance the apple canker, are unable to gain entrance
into healthy trees and fruit and are therefore dependent
upon insect or other injuries for their start. On the sur-
face of the leaves, fruit, and younger twigs of the apple are
breathing pores, minute openings through the protecting
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
39
surface, which afford the usual place of entrance for the
fungi. When the fungus has once gained entrance to the
host plant there is but little that can be done to stop its
further growth at that place, but it usually may be pre-
vented from starting at other points. This may be done by
killing the germinating spores before they have opportu-
nity to grow into the tissues of the host plant. The best
way to do this is to spray with Bordeaux mixture, or some
similar fungicide, which is therefore a preventive rather
than a cure. Numerous fungous diseases injure the apple,
but most of them are controlled by the sprayings advocated
below, and upon only two of them have observations as to
the effect of spraying been made in the past year.
Apple Scab. — The scab is one of the worst of the fun-
FiG. 25.— Apples affected with scab.
gous diseases of the apple, attacking both the leaves and
the fruit. It appears in the spring on the young leaves as
velvety, olive spots. In severe cases the leaves become
shrivelled and distorted, and finally drop off. On the
fruit it produces olive-black spots, which in their later
stages have a narrow margin of light gray. Scabby apples
4U
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
are often dwarfed and cracked and in any case are ren-
dered unsightly and their market value is greatly reduced.
Aside from the direct injury produced by the scab, it
breaks the skin of the fruit and thus opens the way for the
Fig. 26.— Result of spraying Mackintosh Red apples with Bordeaux mixture for the
scab at Walpole, N. H., in 1906.
Sl•l^\^ IN'.i TllK Al'l'I.K OIUIIAUI).
41
rot fungi, which soon destroy it. The spots on the leaves
and fruit are the source of an abundant crop of spores
which are able to start the disease in new places. The
fungus lives through the winter in the fallen leaves, pro-
ducing another form of spore in the spring. These spores
are carried by the wind to the young leaves and the disease
starts anew. Some varieties of apples are affected more
often than others, the Fameuse and Mackintosh Red being
especially susceptible and ahnost always scabby unless
sprayed.
In comparisons made in the orchard of Prof. F. W.
Hooper at Walpole, N. H., in 1906, we found that on the
Mackintosh trees not sprayed 43% of the picked fruit was
scabby, while on those sprayed twice with Bordeaux mix-
ture, but 6.3% were scabby. The photo of the amount of
scabby and clean fruit on two of the sprayed and un-
sprayed trees shows the profit from the spraying.
Fruit Spot. — Several varieties of New Hampshire ap-
ples, especially the Bald-
win, are seriously affected
by a fungous disease
known as the "fruit
si)ot" or "brown spot."
When the apples are near-
ly mature small depressed
spots begin to form on the
surface. On the greoii
parts of the apple the
spots are deeper green ;
on the red portions, a
Fig. 27.—" Fruit spot " on Baldwin.
deeper red. The tissue immediately beneath these spots is
brown and corky. In storage the spots often become larger
and more sunken, but are never over one fourth an inch in
diameter. Spraying with Bordeaux mixture greatly re-
duces this disease, the late applications seeming to be most
effective. The following data show the results obtained in
the station experiments made in the orchard of Mr. Albert
4*2 SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
DeMeritt at Durham, N. H., the past year, confirming those
of Dr. H. H. Lamson, given in former publications of this
station. The plots consisted of five trees each and the num-
ber of spotted and unspotted apples on the trees at the tim'e
of gathering was determined by actual count. The Bor-
deaux mixture was made with five pounds each of lime and
copper sulfate to fifty gallons. The ''KLBP" was sim-
ilar Bordeaux mixture with kerosene-limoid, as recom-
mended by the Delaware Agricultural Experiment Station,
containing 15% of kerosene.
Per cent, of picked
Fungicide.
Time of spraying.
apples not spotted.
None.
0.3
Bordeaux
May 30
17.
tt
May 30 and .Tune 8
31.
K. L. B. P.
May 30 and June 21
61.
t<
May 30 and June 8
14.
Bordeaux
June 2 and June 8
28.
a
June 2 and June 21
58.
li
June 21
44.
From the above it is evident that spraying just after tlie
petals fall and again three weeks later will prevent the spot
on 60% of the fruit. Probably another spraying ten days
later, or about July 1, with that of June 8 and 21 would
have been the best for its control, and spraying at those
times will be tested next season. In any event the benefit
from spraying merely in reducing this disease is sufficient
to warrant its cost, without considering the profit derived
from controlling the codling moth.
HOW TO SPRAY.
Apparatus.^ — TJie Funip. For the average New Hamp-
shire orchard and farm a good barrel pump is the best
type. The small compressed air, knapsack, and bucket
sprayers are good for garden work, but do not furnish suf-
ficient pressure for large trees. Numerous requests come
SPfiAYING THE APPLE ORCHAKD. 43
to US to recommend some particular pump. In reply we
are accustomed to refer to the best pump companies and
advise the inquirer to study their catalogs and then use his
best judgment, after a careful consideration of the follow-
ing points:
1. The pump should be guaranteed to furnish six nozzles
at 75 pounds pressure with ordinary pumping.
2. It should have a good air chamber within the barrel,
and not projecting above it as in some styles.
3. As little of the working parts of the pump as
possible should be above the head of the barrel, as exposed
parts are easily broken.
4. Pumps whose handles, etc., are made of galvanized or
malleable iron are preferable to castings, which break
easily.
5. The cylinder, plunger, valves and working parts
should be of brass.
6. There should be a good mechanical agitator of the
paddle type, preferably arranged so that it can be worked
with the pump handle without operating the pump. An
agitator is essential to keeping the mixture in suspension.
7. The pump should be attached to the barrel so that it
may be quickly removed for repairs.
8. The valves, with their seats or cages should be readily
detachable for cleaning, and should be so constructed that
they will grind themselves evenly.
9. The plunger or piston should carry the packing neces-
sary to secure a tight cylinder, rather than having the pack-
ing in the old style "stuffing box," which is more difficult
to pack and causes more friction and waste of energy.
Possibly all of these points will not be found in any one
pump, but the better pump companies, in their newer mod-
els, are adopting most of the above features. Such a pump
with hose, nozzles and rod should cost $15 to $30. The fol-
lowing companies are making pumps of the type described,
and they can usually be bought through agricultural ware-
houses, seedsmen, etc. No mention is made in the follow-
44
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
ing list of several companies making excellent pumps of
other types :
Morrill & INIorley, Benton Harbor, Mich.
Hardie Pump Co., Hudson, Mich.
Spramotor Co., Buffalo, N. Y.
Goulds Mfg. Co., Seneca Falls, N. Y.
Deming Co., Salem, Ohio.
Myers & Bro., Ashland, Ohio.
Field Force Pump Co., Elmira, N. Y.
The Nozzle. — A good nozzle is as essential as a good
pump for proper spraying. Fair
spraying may be done with a poor
pump if one has a good nozzle,
but it is impossible to spray with
the best pump and a cheap nozzle.
Many a man fails in spraying
through buying some cheap nozzle
which sprinkles rather than
sprays. The Vermorel and Bor-
deaux nozzles are the types most
^videly used, and each have their
advocates. Each are sold under
various trade names, such as the
jp 1^ Demorel and Mistry, similar to
^niitggm i\^Q Vermorel, and the Seneca
Fig. 28.-The vermorel nozzle. ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^j^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ g^^.,
deaux. Usually for or-
chard work two or three
nozzles are attached in a
cluster, either by a "y,"
tee, or ring. The lighter
the nozzles and connec-
tions, the better, so that
some firms are now making
them of aluminum, for at
the end of a ten-foot rod
they soon become heavy.
Extension Rod. — In or-
- , . , Fig. 29 -The Bordeaux nozzle.
chard spraying an exten-
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD. 45
sion rod is a necessity, especially with the tall trees usual in
New Hampshire orchards. The best of these consist of a
bamboo rod enclosing a light brass tube (or better, an
aluminum tube which has a larger diameter) and fitted with
thread for the nozzle at the tip, and with a shut-off or stop
cock at the lower end, so that the stream may be cut off
when moving from tree to tree and the pressure maintained.
Iron and brass extension pipes are too heavy and are dis-
agreeable to handle. Ten feet is a desirable length.
Hose. — It is economy to get the best half-inch hose
(inside measure) and to have plenty on hand. Make the
joints as firm as possible, and see that the shanks to the
nozzles and fittings are long enough so that the hose clamps
will grip them firmly. A few firms are offering improved
hose couplings, but there is much room for their improve-
ment. Nothing is more disagreeable than the constant
breaking of couplings, with the incidental enforced bath
in the spray mixture, and many have given up spraying in
despair on account of being unable to make the cheap coup-
lings hold the hose under pressure.
Strainers. — One of the most frequent causes of delay is
the clogging of the nozzles from sediment, dirt, etc. To
obviate this, when filling the sprayer strain all mixtures
through a fine copper strainer, which may be purchased of
any pump company. Have the barrel of the sprayer
tight, and see that it is clean before starting. So-called
"nozzle protectors" are now being sold by several com-
panies, consisting of a pipe containing a fine strainer,
which is attached between the outlet of the pump and the
hose. When this strainer becomes clogged, by turning a
two-way cock it is reversed and the stream forces the sedi-
ment out of the pipe through an aperture. It is readily
disgorged and the nozzles are thus protected from any sedi-
ment which may have passed the strainer at the bottom of
the pump.
The Wagon and Tower. — Ordinarily the sprayer is sim-
46
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
ply placed in a wagon box in which the one spraying
stands. But as will be shown below it is essential that the
spray hit the tree from above, and it is therefore necessary
that the one spraying be elevated to as near the center of
the tree as possible. For an orchard of less than 500 trees,
an outfit such as we have used for the past two years is
entirely satisfactory. This consists of a stout one-horse
mm^'
^■^f^'^
W^^:r^^'V
^'^
FiQ. 30. — Wagon and tower used in the experiments; a good type for the
small orchard.
wagon, on cultivated ground two horses Avould be neces-
sary, with a rough tower erected at the back of the wagon
which places the one spraying on a platform about four
feet al)ove the wagon box. The platform sliould be as high
as possible without being top-heavy, depending upon the
roughness of the land, etc. Around the top of the tower is
a rail to ensure the safety of the sprayer. The whole
tower is readily made by anyone in a few hours, from ordi-
nary studding and rough boards, and should be firmly
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
47
bolted to the wagon, so that it may be readily reim>vable.
An oiled canvas cover should be provided for the horse, ex-
tending over the head and tail and down below the shafts,
as the Bordeaux mixture will injure the coat of the horse if
much falls on it.
Where larger orchards are to be sprayed a truck and
tower such as have come into common use in Delaware
Fig. 31.— Truck and tower used by S. H. Derby, Woodside, Del.
orchards, will be found more satisfactory. The tower car-
ries two men, and the truck a 150-gallon cask, set near the
ground. Two horses are necessary, and a pump of the
horizontal type, like the Sentinel, Bonanza, Planet, Friend,
etc., is preferable as few barrel pumps furnish sufficient
power without overworking the one pumping.
The Spray Matena\s.^-BorcleaH.r Mixixire. This is the
48 SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCllAKD.
most expensive part of the spraying material, and therefore
should be carefully made. Take fifty pounds of bluestone
or copper sulfate and hang in a coarse bag in a 50-gallon
barrel of water, so that when dissolved the solution will
contain one pound to the gallon, or with a smaller barrel
make up in the same proportion. This is the "stock" blue-
stone solution. Take fifty pounds of best stone or quick-
lime— be sure that it is fresh and has not been air slaked,
and slake it carefully as for making mortar, gradually ap-
plying just enough water to slake without burning, and not
enough water to flood it. When thoroughly slaked, place it
in a 50-gallon barrel and fill it with water, or in similar
proportions, so that the "stock" solution of lime will con-
tain one pound to the gallon. These "stock" solutions may
be kept during the spraying season, if covered. Take an-
other barrel and cut it in two or use two tubs of any kind
which will hold a half barrel each. Into one place three
gallons of the "stock" bluestone solution and fill it with
water, so that the half barrel of water contains three pounds
of bluestone. Into the other half barrel place four gallons
of the lime "stock" solution, and fill it with water so that it
contains four pounds of lime. Then dip out from the two
half barrels alternately into the pump barrel, stirring as
they are poured into the pump barrel. Do not pour one
dilute solution into the other, but pour them together into
the spray barrel. Many are in the habit of placing the
three gallons of stock solution of bluestone in the spray
barrel and nearly filling it with water, and then adding the
lime stock solution, or vice versa. The resulting mixture is
not as good as when made as above directed, as it tends to
curdle and settles to the bottom. This tendency is even
more marked if the two stock solutions are mixed without
dilution and then the barrel is filled with water. Always
dilute the lime and bluestone mixtures as directed before
mixing them together, and then stir while mixing. This
ensures success. In our own operations we have employed
an outfit which saves much time and labor. A rough plat-
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
49
form was built on a side hill along the roadway and near
the water supply. On either side is the barrel of stock
solution of lime and bluestone. In the middle is a large
box lined with zinc and holding slightly over a barrel, which
is raised above the platform and from, the lower end of
which leads a hose. On top of this tank, are two half bar-
FiG. 3Z:— The platform and tanks for making Bordeaux mixture.
rels, each of which has a hole in the bottom plugged l)y a
stick, which reaches up above the top of the half barrel. The
stock solutions are put into either of these half barrels and
they are then filled with water from the hose. The plugs are
then withdrawn and the dilute solutions flow into the tank
beneath, where they are stirred while mixing. When the
sprayer arrives from the orchard this tank of Bordeaux
50 SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
mixture is ready to be drawn off through the hose. While
it is running out the two half barrels are again filled, and
when the sprayer has been filled they are allowed to run
into the mixing tank while the sprayer is on the way to the
orchard. Thus the labor of dipping the mixtures from one
barrel to the other is obviated and half the time of mixing
is saved, and it is time that costs in spraying. A large hose
should lead from the tank to the sprayer and the outlet of
the tank should be guarded with fine brass or copper gauze
or screening to prevent particles of lime and dirt escaping.
The mixture should also be run through a strainer as it
enters the spray barrel.
With good lime there is no reason why by following the
above directions a good mixture should not be made, but it
is always safest to test the mixture to see that it contains
no free copper which will burn the foliage. The best test
is that with ferro-cyanide of potassium or yellow-prussiate
of potash. Secure five cents worth of the crystals from the
druggist and dissolve in ten times their bullc in water. Add
a few drops to the Bordeaux mixture. If they remain the
same color, it is well made. If they turn bro^vn, there is
free copper in the mixture and more lime solution should
be added until this reaction does not take place.
The above formula for Bordeaux mixture is weaker than
that usually advised and than we should recommend for
potatoes, but for the past few seasons, largely due to the
unusual cold, wet weather in May and early June, there
has been considerable trouble throughout the country with
Bordeaux mixture burning the foliage and russetting the
fruit when made by the standard formulas. Less injury
has resulted from the more dilute solutions. Extensive ex-
periments are now being made to determine the cause of
this injury, and how it may be obviated, but until they have
been completed it will be safer to use the dilute solution as
described above. Probably in normal seasons no injury
would result. On account of this injury in wet Aveather it
will be well to avoid spraying while the foliage is wet or
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
.'.1
during wet weather, except that the spraying immediately
after the blossoms drop must be made while the calyxes are
open, as explained below.
Insecticides. — The Bordeaux mixture is to prevent dis-
eases of foliage and fruit ; it has no value against the cod-
ling moth. For it and leaf-eating insect pests use arsenate
of lead, Paris
green or green
arsenoid. Arse-
nate of lead
seems to adhere
to the foliage
better, but costs
a little more, as
it should be
used at the rate
of two pounds
to the barrel,
while one-half
pound of Paris
green per bar-
rel is about
equally efficient,
and the two in-
secticides cost
about the same Fig.3S.— "Ansenate of lead adheres to the foUage."
•, Leaves sprayed Juue 1 with spray still adhering
{) e r p 0 U n Q. - when photographed in September
Home-made in-
secticides such as home-made arsenate of lead, arsenite of
lime or soda, are not advised, for although somewhat
cheaper there is some danger in making them, and the
purity of the chemicals cannot be known by the buj'er,
and in many cases poorer results ensue. For the amount
of insecticide which will be used in the average orchard
it is better to buy it ready made, but be sure that the
name of the maker is upon the package and that its purity
is guaranteed. Add the insecticide to the Bordeaux mix-
52 SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
ture just before or after it is placed in the spray barrel.
In adding Paris green, first mix it with a little water in a
cup to form a paste and then dilute and add to the mixture.
If added direct it will not mix well. Mix the arsenate of
lead in the same way, and see that it is thoroughly dis-
solved before adding to the mixture. If Paris green be
sprayed without Bordeaux mixture, always add twice its
weight of freshly slaked lime to prevent burning of foliage
by any soluble arsenic.
Several prepared Bordeaux mixtures, sometimes with
insecticide added, are now on the market. Some of them
are excellent ; others are made to yield a profit to the mak-
ers, and though efficient, if enough is used, cost too much
for the average grower. These prepared mixtures are be-
ing tested by us and the results will be published next year.
They are desirable for the man with but half a dozen trees,
but the Bordeaux mixture can be made much more cheaply
by the man who is to spray an orchard.
When to Spray.— The first spraying should be made be-
fore the buds open and copper sulfate solution, one pound
of copper sulfate or bluestone to twenty-five gallons of
water, should be used. This can be used only when the tree
is not in foliage.
The second spraying should be with Bordeaux mixture
and insecticide, to catch the early leaf-feeding insects, ap-
plied after the leaf buds have opened, but before the trees
have bloomed. Never spray while a tree is in blossom.
The next spraying is the most important of all and should
be given just after the petals fall, or as soon as two-thirds
of the blossoms have been pollinated and have set. This
spraying must be made within a few days after the blossoms
fall, never more than five days later, while the calyxes or
blossom ends of the apples are still open. It is this spray-
ing which places a thin film of poison in the calyx cavity
of the apple, which soon closes over it. We have seen that
the young apple worms do not hatch until three or four
weeks later, and that nearly three-fourths of them enter
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCIIAKI). 53
the apple through the calyx and feed in the cavity before
boring into the apple. It is therefore of the utmost im-
portance that the calyx cavity be well filled with the poison,
so that the first meal of the young worm may be his last.
If the spraying be delayed until the calyx has closed, but
few of the apple worms will be killed. In an experiment
made in the orchard of Prof. F. W. Hooper at Walpole,
N. H., the past season, the spraying was unavoidably de-
layed until after the calyxes had closed. As a result the
sprayed trees were
practically as wormy
as those not sprayed,
though the spraying
effectually checked the
scab (see page 39).
If there be much of
the "brown spot" (see
page 41), so common
on the Baldwin, or
other diseases, it will
be Avell to spray again
67fhe'Jod!mg moth!^ *° "^'^'' about ten days or two
weeks after the last
spraying, in the same manner, and this spraying will usu-
ally be found profitable where it can conveniently be made.
Spray next (whether the last, or fourth, spraying is
given or not) about three weeks after the blossoms fall. It
is at this time that the apple worms are hatching and some
will be killed by the poison on the foliage, and it is this
spraying which most effectually controls the "brown spot"
of the Baldwin, and other varieties.
Further sprayings will not usually be necessary unless
the fruit be attacked by bitter rot, when two more spray-
ings at intervals of ten days should be given.
If but two sprayings can be given, spray just after the
blossoms drop and three weeks later, but apply the two
sprayings before the blossoms open if possible.
Fig. 34.— Cal
for
54
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
How to Apply the Spray. — The spray should be applied
from four sides of each tree as it is impossible to cover
all parts of the tree from two points. In orchard
work, drive to the interval between four trees and
spray one fourth of each, proceed to the next in-
terval and repeat the operation and so on. Then, by
coming back on the next row, the other side of one row is
sprayed and each tree has been sprayed from four sides.
The first two sprayings
before the trees bloom
are principally against
the diseases, and for
them a nozzle should be
used which will throw
the finest possible
spray and evenly cover
the foliage with a thin
film. The finer the
spray, the less jnixture
is used and the better
the foliage is coated.
The spraying just af-
ter the petals fall is
the principle one
against the apple worm
and must be directed
from above the fruit
with considerable
force, so that the spray will be driven into the open calyxes.
A nozzle giving a strong spray, leaving the nozzle in a good
stream and making a spray with more force, is therefore
desirable. Nozzles attached to the extension rod so as to
form an angle of 30 or 40 degrees to the rod, will be found
serviceable for this spraying. For the last two sprayings,
a fine mist, as for the first two, is desirable. Do not try to
spray against a strong wind. Spray from the windward
Fig. 35.—" The day of the sky-scraper tree
is passed."
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD. 55
side and wait till the wind shifts, or a calm day, to spray
the other side.
It is evident that it is difficult to spray either the old tree
soaring skywards for thirty feet, valuable only in that it
furnishes a home to the friendly woodpecker, for it costs
more to pick the fruit from it than it is worth, or trees
scattered over a rough pasture, or following a stone wall
along the roadside, where a ditch or bank often makes it
impossible to reach them from the roadway. For suc-
cessful spraying, as well as for proper care in culture, etc.,
the orchard should be in rows and the trees should be kept
headed in, so that the tops can be readily reached. The
day of the sky-scraper tree is passed.
Is the Spray Dangerous? — The question is often asked
whether the spray on the apples is not dangerous, or
whether that on the grass beneath the trees will not poison
stock. Repeated experiments and analyses of apple par-
ings have shown that one would need to eat several pecks
of fruit at a sitting to secure sufficient poison for ill ef-
fects. Cattle and horses have been allowed to graze the
grass beneath sprayed trees without apparent effect. Of
course, the spray material should not be dumped out on the
grass in any quantity, or where poultry will get it, but the
ordinary drip from the trees is harmless.
Cost of Spraying. — In the records of our experiments
we have shown the profit from spraying and have stated
the cost at about 12 or 13 cents a tree for two sprayings.
The chief cost in spraying is the labor and no definite fig-
ures are therefore possible for trees scattered over a pas-
ture or along roadways, etc. ; but where they are in or-
chards, the following figures give the actual cost from rec-
ords made by us for several seasons and corroborated l\v
hundreds of growers throughout the country. Indeed,
many are spraying with power sprayers for half this cost
per tree.
56
SPRAYING THE APPLE ORCHARD.
Material.
Bordeaux Mixture.
3 pounds copper sulfate at 8c $0.24
4 pounds lime at Ic .04
$0.28
Arsenate of lead, 2 pounds at 20c., or Paris green, \i>
pound at 2.5c .40
Total cost of spray material per barrel §0.68
One barrel (50 gallons) covers 20 20-year-old apple
trees, or cost of material per tree .034
Labor.
Two men at $1.50 per day $3.00
One horse at $1.50 per day 1.50
$4.50
Will cover 150 trees per day, or labor per tree 0.03
Total cost per tree for otie spraying $0,064
Cost of first spraying with copper sulfate only .038
Total cost of four sprayings per tree .23
Can I Afford Not to Spray?
Profit from Spraying an Orchard of 100 Trees.
Average gross profit per tree, based on above experiments (see
pages 26-33) at $1.25 $125.00
Four sprayings at 23c., or say 25c. per tree $25.00
20% on $40 invested in the best outfit 8.00
33.00
Net profit $92.00
Less cost of outfit 40.00
Net profit for first year (80% on total investment) $52.00
Can you make money more easily?
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Fig. 36.—" It Is difficult to spray trees . . . following a stone wall."
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