The fruit of the tree. THE •PRINCIPLES OF FRUIT-GROWING WITH APPLICATIONS TO PRACTICE BY L. H. BAILEY n TWENTIETH EDITION, COMPLETELY REVISED gorfe THE MACMILLAN COMPANY LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD. 1915 All rights reserved 5 . COPYRIGHT, 1897, 1915 By L. H. BAILEY Set up and electrotyped June, 1897 Reprinted July, 1898; July, 1900; July, 1901; June, 1902; February, 1904; January, 1905; January, November, 1906; Oqtober, 1907; June, 1908; January, July, 1909; January, 1910; January, November, 1911; April, 1912; March, 1913; February, 1914 Completely revised edition. Published February, 1915 jTEount Pleasant fpreSS J. Horace McFarland Co. Harrisburg, Pa. PREFACE This book was first published in 1897, seventeen years ago. The second edition was called for in 1898, and the preface for it was written in the Tyrol, where I was then looking into the interesting fruit-growing of certain regions. Aside from minor changes in the text, this edition included an addition to the appendix of "remarks on classifying and describing fruits." The third edition ap- peared in 1900, with no change except in details; and the fourth in 1901. The present issue of the book, which is the twentieth, is a new work, it having been rearranged and reset, and largely rewritten. In the years since the book first appeared, much new knowledge has come to the aid of the fruit-grower. The advanced opinions of that day on the merits of tillage over hay and sod have now been affirmed by experience and experiments, although the sod-mulch method has proved itself under certain circumstances. The many investigations of insects and fungi, and the means of attacking them, have resulted in a new literature and more certain means of control. We are beginning a new line of approach to the difficult problem of protection from frost. We have more rational recommendations to make on the fertilizing of fruit-lands. We are begin- ning in many ways to adapt practices of caring for the (vii) 3 00 i 73 viii Preface plants to the better understood physiology of the plants themselves. The older and traditional opinions and notions are gradually giving way to the results of careful investigation. In this edition I have had the great advantage of the advice of many persons. I have freely incorporated the work of others, as appears in the text. Particularly am I indebted to Prof. C. S. Wilson and Prof. W. H. Chandler, of the Department of Pomology in the New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University. The one has read all the proof in galleys and the other has read it all in pages. They have helped me over many doubtful places, and have thereby made the book more worth the while. L. H. BAILEY. ITHACA, N. Y., December 25, 1914. CONTENTS CHAPTER I Pages THE FIELD OF INQUIRY 1-37 INVENTORY OF FRUITS 2-8 THE COURSE OF DEVELOPMENT OF A FRUIT REGION . . 8-10 THE DETERMINANTS IN FRUIT-GROWING 10- 20 The temperature determinant 11-12 The moisture determinant 12— 13 The soil determinant 13- 15 The subsoil 15-16 The parasite determinant 16-20 THE OUTLOOK FOR FRUIT-GROWING 20- 24 THE ORGANIZING OF THE BUSINESS 24- 31 Cost-accounting 27- 31 THE Two KINDS OF COMMERCIAL FRUIT-GROWING . . . 31-34 GARDEN AND AMATEUR FRUIT-GROWING 34- 36 THE GENERAL PRACTICE AND THE SPECIAL PRACTICE . . 36- 37 CHAPTER II THE LOCATION AND ITS CLIMATE 38-63 THE PLACE 39-51 Location with reference to market 40 Location with reference to weather 41- 51 Rain at blossoming time 41-42 Wind 42-44 Low temperature 44- 48 Atmospheric drainage 49- 51 THE SITE FOR THE FRUIT-PLANTATION 52- 55 The aspect , 53-55 (ix) x Contents THE LOCATION AND ITS CLIMATE, Continued Pages WINDBREAKS FOB FRUIT-PLANTATIONS 55- 63 Benefits 56 Injuries 56 Forests and fruit-growing 57- 58 General statement 58- 60 How to make the windbreak 60-63 CHAPTER III THE TILLAGE OP FRUIT-LANDS 64-108 The case of the early apple plantings 67- 69 Sod orchards 69-72 Allowable use of sod 72- 75 THE PHILOSOPHY OF TILLAGE 75- 84 The structure of the soil 77-81 The moisture of the soil 81- 84 USE OF THE VARIOUS TOOLS IN RELATION TO MOISTURE- SAVING 84- 91 Plowing to save moisture 84- 85 Harrowing to save moisture 85- 88 Cultivators and moisture-saving 88- 89 The roller, in its relation to soil-moisture 89- 91 SUGGESTIONS FOR THE TILLING OF FRUIT-LANDS .... 91-102 Preparation of the land 91- 94 Subsequent tillage 94- 97 Specific advice on tillage 97-102 CROPPING THE PLANTATION 102-106 Orchard crops 104-106 IRRIGATION OF FRUIT-LANDS 106-108 Irrigation in the East 106-108 CHAPTER IV THE ENRICHING OP FRUIT-LANDS 109-152 The land is to be kept at work 109-112 The lesson of nursery lands 112-113 COVER-CROPS 113-126 The kinds of cover-crops 116-123 List and rates of seeding of cover-crop plants . . . .123 Average quantity of seed to the acre 124-125 Weights of the seeds of cover-plants 125-126 Contents xi THE ENRICHING OF FRUIT-LANDS, Continued Pages ROTATION OF PLANTATIONS 126-129 STABLE MANURES . 129-131 CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS 131-152 Apple-orchard experiments 134-140 What to do 140-151 Individual plants 142-143 Recommendations for apples 143-144 Other suggestions for apples and pears 144-145 A test plat for apples 145-146 Peaches 146-147 Plums, apricots, cherries 147 Quinces 147 Grapes 147-149 Berry bushes 149-150 The cranberry 150 Strawberries 150-151 How to apply 152 CHAPTER V THE PLANTS AND THE PLANTING 153-190 THE CHOICE OF VARIETIES 153-164 Self-sterile varieties 156-160 Pears 157-158 Apples 158 Plums 158 Grapes 158 Scoring the varieties 161-162 How did the varieties of fruits originate 162-164 THE SECURING OF THE PLANTS 164-173 Dwarfs vs. standards 167-168 Pedigree plants . . ...... . 168-169 Stocks .•••.*...... 169-171 Stock for top-working. . 171-172 Buying the trees 172-173 THE SETTING OF THE PLANTS' 174-190 When to plant 174-176 Distance apart 176-178 Double-planting; fillers 178-181 How to plant 181-184 Trimming the trees 184-190 xii Contents CHAPTER VI THE LAYING OUT OF THE PLANTATION 191-226 CONTOUR PLANTING 192 ORCHARD SYSTEMS 192-194 MAKING THE Rows STRAIGHT 194-206 To lay out with a plow 198-201 Laying out with a line 201 Another line method 201-202 Staking methods 202-206 DETAILS OF ORCHARD LAY-OUTS 206-217 Lining-in method 212-213 Wire-compass method 213-214 THE FAMILY FRUIT-PLANTATION 217-221 MAPS AND RECORDS 221-226 Labels . . 222-226 CHAPTER VII SUBSEQUENT CARE OP THE FRUIT-PLANTATION 227-287 PRUNING 230-241 The bearing wood 232-234 The kind of top 234-236 What to remove 236 Renewing old trees by pruning; "dehorning" .... 236-237 Heading-in 238-241 THE THINNING OF THE FRUIT 241-250 Thinning the apple 243-248 Thinning other fruits 248-249 How to thin 249-250 PROTECTING PLANTATIONS FROM FROST 251-273 How to predict frost 252-255 Mulching to enable plants to escape frost 255-257 Covering the plants to protect from frost 257-259 Whitewashing as a protection 259 Making currents of air 260 Adding vapor of water to the air; flooding 260-261 Explosives for frost and hail 261-263 The making of smudges 263-265 Heating the plantation 265-273 Contents xiii SUBSEQUENT CARE OF THE FRUIT-PLANTATION, Continued Pages SPECIAL CARE OF THE PLANTS 273-283 Staking young trees 273-274 Watering .274 Bark-bound trees 274-276 Scraping trees 276-277 Whitewashing trees 277 Ringing 277-279 Top-grafting bearing trees 279-281 Grafting-wax 281-282 Bagging fruits 282 Winter preparations 282-283 RENOVATING OLD ORCHARDS 283-287 Why are orchards barren? 286-287 CHAPTER VIII ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES 288-318 MISCELLANEOUS INJURIES 289-299 Depredations of live-stock 289 Birds 289-290 Rodents 290 Girdled trees 290-292 Hail injuries 292 Sun-scald . 292-294 Borers 294-296 Cankers and bad spots; wounds 296-298 Root-galls 298-299 WINTER-KILLING 299-307 Winter-killing of the wood 299-304 Frost cankers 304-305 Winter-killing of the fruit-buds 306-307 INJURY BY FROSTS IN THE GROWING SEASON 307-317 What is an injurious degree of cold? 313-317 THE EFFECT OF RAIN ON THE SETTING OF FRUIT . . 317-318 xiv Contents CHAPTER IX Pages THE SPRAYING OF FRUIT-PLANTATIONS 319-363 THE KINDS or DIFFICULTIES 322-324 SPECIFIC REMARKS ON SPRAYING 324-333 LISTS AND FORMULAS 333-336 Synopsis of the principal considerations in the choice of a power sprayer and nozzles 334-336 INSECTICIDES AND FUNGICIDES 336-343 LEADING FRUIT INSECTS AND DISEASES THAT ARE CON- TROLLED BY SPRAYING 343-361 ARSENICAL POISONING OF FRUIT TREES . . 361-363 CHAPTER X HARVESTING AND MARKETING THE FRUIT 364-422 PICKING FRUITS 365-380 When to pick 365-369 Apples 366-367 Pears 367-368 Stone-fruits 368-369 How to pick 370-374 Ladders for picking 374-377 Fruit-pickers and harvesters 377-380 Necessity of hand-picking 380 CARING FOR THE FRUIT AFTER PICKING 380-383 Keeping records with the pickers 380-383 THE GRADING AND PACKING OF FRUIT 383-407 What is first-class fruit? 383-384 The grading 384-385 The packages 386-392 How to pack 392^00 Box-packing of fruits 400-407 FARM PACKING-HOUSES AND APPLIANCES 407-413 STORING FRUITS AT THE FARM 413-422 Requisites for domestic storage without ice 415-418 Farm storage buildings 418-422 THE PRINCIPLES OF FRUIT- GROWING CHAPTER I THE FIELD OF INQUIRY '!T is natural for a fruit-plant to bear. There are cer- tain hindrances, however, that must be overcome; and the better the conditions under which the plant is placed, the better will be the results hi the production of accept- able fruit. The whole subject of producing fruit is known as fruit-growing or pomology. This subject comprises the art of raising and handling fruits and fruit-plants, and the applications of the various sciences thereto. It is impossible exactly to define what a fruit is, in the sense in which the term is understood in pomological writings. It is best delimited by giving a list of the products that are commonly known as fruits. If a definition were attempted of the pomological use of the word, it would be approximately correct to say that a fruit is the edible product mostly of a woody or a tree-like plant — as of a tree, bush, or vine — that is intimately associated in its development with the flower. This conception of a fruit is unlike the botanical idea, for the botanist defines the fruit to be the ripened pericarp and attachments. It should be said, however, that this confusion in terminology A (1) 2 , V. < ;, , The Prindples of Fruit-growing is not the fault of the horticulturist, for the botanists have given a special or technical meaning to a common- language word. The word belongs primarily to general literature and horticulture, and if the botanist desires to impress it into other service, he must be prepared to accept the confusion that arises. The ' 'fruit" of the pomologist is not defined in terms of botanical structure. It may be a ripened pericarp (or ovary), as in the currant, gooseberry, cranberry, grape, plum, peach, orange, olive; an ovary or pericarp im- mersed in a receptacle, as the pomes, comprising apples, pears, quinces; a greatly enlarged fleshy receptacle bear- ing achenes, as the strawberry; an aggregation of peri- carps, as in the raspberry, or combined with the recep- tacle, as in the blackberry; an aggregation of thickened flowers and flower-parts, as in the mulberry and pineapple; a nut inclosed in a husk, as in hazel and chestnut. Among fruit-growers, several large classes of fruits are recognized, as stone-fruits, pome-fruits, citrous fruits, berries, grapes, and nuts; or the division may be orchard- or tree-fruits, grapes, small-fruits or berries. None of these classifications is inclusive or exact; and it would not be profitable to enlarge on the discussion here. INVENTORY OF FRUITS Pomological fruits may be roughly classified under four heads from the cultural point of view, — tree-fruits, vine-fruits, small-fruits, and herb-like fruits. The follow- ing is an inventory of the staple fruits of the United States and Canada, and of many of those lesser known species which, having been tried in this territory, either give The Species of Fruits 3 promise of successful cultivation here or have been more or less prominent subjects of discussion or sale: CLASS I. ORCHARD* CULTURE, OR TREE-FRUIT CULTURE. SUBCLASS 1. Pomaceous fruits. Apple, Pyrus Mains. Crab-apple, Pyrus baccata and P. prunifolia. Prairie crab, Pyrus ioensis. Atlantic crab, Pyrus coronaria. Pear, Pyrus communis. Sand pear, Pyrus serotina. Quince, Cydonia oblonga. / Chinese quince, Chaenomeles sinensis. / Japan quince, Chxnomeles japonica. xMaule's quince, Chaenomeles Maulei. Medlar, Mespilus germanica. Loquat, Eriobotrya japonica. SUBCLASS 2. Drupaceous or stone-fruits. Common plum, Prunus domestica. Bullace, mirabelle and damson plum, Prunus insilitia. Cherry and myrobalan plum, Prunus cerasifera. Japan plum, Prunus triflora. American plum, Prunus americana. Canada plum, Prunus nigra. Hortulana plum, Prunus hortulana. Chickasaw plum, Prunus angustifolia and P. Munsoniana Sand plum, Prunus Watsoni. Beach plum, Prunus maritima. Pacific plum, Prunus subcordata. Apricot plum, Prunus Simonii. Sweet cherry, Prunus Avium. Sour cherry, Prunus Cerasus. Sand cherry, Prunus Besseyi. Peach and nectarine, Prunus Persica. Apricot, Prunus armeniaca. Japan apricot, Prunus Mume. Purple apricot, Prunus dasycarpa. *0rchard, an inclosure, assemblage or plantation of fruit trees. Oranges are commonly said to be grown in "groves." The word orchard is not used in this country for the shrub fruits. The Principles of Fruit-growing SUBCLASS 3. Citrous fruits. Common or sweet orange, Citrus sinensis. Sour or Seville orange, Citrus Aurantium. King orange, mandarin, tangerine, and satsuma orange, Citrus nobilis. Calamondin orange, Citrus mitis. Citron, Citrus Medico,. Lemon, Citrus Limonia. Lime, Citrus aurantifolia. Grapefruit, Shaddock or Pomelo, Citrus grandis. Kumquat, Citrus japonica. Trifoliate orange, Pondrus trifoliata. Glycosmis, Glycosmis aurantiaca. /Lime berry, Triphasia trifoliata. /White sapote, Casimiroa edulis. SUBCLASS 4. Moraceous fruits. Fig, Ficus Carica, F. Sycomorus. k*' White (and Russian) mulberry, Morus alba. Black mulberry, Morus nigra. i. Red mulberry, Morus rubra. Downing mulberry, Morus multicaulis. Japan mulberry, Morus japonica. ^Bread-fruit, Artocarpus incisa. ^Jack-fruit, Artocarpus integrifolia. UBCLASS 5. Annonaceous fruits. Sour-sop, Annona muricata. Sweet-sop, sugar-apple, Annona sguamosa. Cherimoya, Annona Cherimola. Custard-apple, Annona reticulata. Pond-apple, Annona glabra. And other annonas. Northern papaw, Asimina trttoba. SUBCLASS 6. Myrtaceous fruits. Guava, Psidium Guajava, and others. Feijoa, pineapple guava, Feijoa Sellowiana. Rose-apple, jamrosade, Eugenia Jambos. Surinam cherry, Eugenia uniflora. iX Jambolan, Eugenia janibolana. ix And other eugenias. The Species of Fruits 5 ^ SUBCLASS 7. Sapotaceous fruits. Sapodilla, Achras Sapota. Marmalade tree, Lucuma mammosa. Star-apple, Chrysophyllum Cainito. And others. SUBCLASS 8. Anacardiaceous fruits. Mango, Mangifera indica. Jew plum, Spondias dulcis. Cashew, Anacardium occidentale. SUBCLASS 9. Ebenaceous fruits. Kaki (Japan persimmon), Diospyros Kaki. Persimmon, Diospyros virginiana. SUBCLASS 10. Leguminous fruits. Tamarind, Tamarindus indica. St. John's Bread, or Carob, Ceratonia Siliqua. SUBCLASS 11. Nut-fruits (Nuciculture). Walnut, Juglans regia. Japan walnut, Juglans Sieboldiana. Black walnut, Juglans nigra. Butternut, Juglans cinerea. And other species of Juglans. Pecan, Gary a Pecan. Shellbark hickory, Carya ovata and C. laciniosa. And other species of Carya. Beechnut, Fagus grandifo7ia. European chestnut, Castanea saliva. American chestnut, Castanea dentata. Japan chestnut, Castanea crenata. Chinese chestnut, Castanea mollissima. / Chinquapin, Castanea pumila. Filbert, cobnut, Corylus Avellana, C. Colurna, C. pontica, C. maxima. Hazelnut, Corylus americana, C. rostrata, and others. . Japan hazelnut, Corylus Sieboldiana. Litchi, Litchi chinensis. Longyen, Euphoria Longana. / Ginkgo, Ginkgo biloba. Almond, Prunus Amygdalus. Russian almond, PrunuS nana. 6 The Principles of Fruit-growing Tropical almond, Terminalia Catappa. - Pistacio, Pistacio vera. Pili nut, Canarium ovatum. Brazil-nut, Bertholletia excelsa. Chile-hazel, Gevuina Avellana. SUBCLASS 12. Palmaceous fruits. Coconut, Cocos nucifera. Date, Phoenix dactylifera. ^ Peach palm, Bactris Gasipaes. And other palms. SUBCLASS 13. Miscellaneous tree-fruits. Olive, Olea europjea. Pomegranate, Punica Granatum. Papaw, Carica Papaya. Hovenia, Hovenia dulcis. Jujube, Zizyphus Jujuba, and others. Myrica, Myrica Nagi (M. rubra). Sea-grape, Coccoloba uvifera. Otaheite gooseberry, Phyllanthus disticha. Spanish lime, Melicocca bijuga. Avocado, Persea gratissima. x"- Strawberry tree, Arbutus Unedo. ^ Mammee apple, Mammea americana. / And many others. CLASS II. VINE-FRUIT CULTURE. SUBCLASS 1. Viticulture; comprising Wine grape, Vitis vinifera. Fox grape, Vitis Labrusca. Slimmer grape, Vitis aestivalis. Post-oak grape, turkey grape, Vitis aestivalis var. Lincecumii. Herbemont grape, Vitis sestivalis, var. Bourquiniana. Muscadine and scuppernong grapes, Vitis rotundifolia. Sand grape, Vitis rupestris. River-bank grape, frost grape, Vitis vulpina. And other native species of Vitis. SUBCLASS 2. Passifloraceous fruits. Granadilla, Passiflora edulis. And others. The Species of Fruits 7 CLASS III. SMALL-FRUIT* CULTURE (THE BERRIES). SUBCLASS 1. Bush-fruits.t Group a. Rubaceous fruits, or (bramble-fruits). Raspberry, Rubus idceus. Blackcap raspberry, Rubus occidentalis. Red raspberry, Rubus strigosus. Wineberry, Rubus phoenicolasius. Blackberry, Rubus nigrobaccus and other species. Thornless blackberry, Rubus canadensis. Evergreen blackberry, Himalaya berry, Rubus laciniatus. Northern dewberry, Rubus villosus, R. invisus. Southern dewberry, Rubus trivialis. Pacific dewberry, Rubus vitifolius. Group 6. Ribaceous fruits. Currant, Ribes vulgare. Black currant, Ribes nigrum. Buffalo currant, Ribes aureum. Gooseberry, Ribes Qrossularia. American gooseberry, Ribes oxycanthoides (or R. hirtellum). Group c. Blueberries. Swamp or High-bush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum. Canada blueberry, Vaccinium canadense. Low-bush blueberry, Vaccinium pennsylvanicum. A Group d. Miscellaneous bush-fruits. Juneberry, Amelanchier oblongifolia, A. alnifolia and others. Buffalo berry, Shepherdia argentea. Goumi, Eloeagnus multiflora. Caraunda, Carissa Carandas. Natal plum, Carissa grandiflora. Amatungulu, Carissa bispinosa. * Small- fruits. A term applied to all small and berry-like fruits produced on bushes or perennial herbaceous plants; as currant, blackberry raspberry, strawberry. In Europe the strawberry is classed with garden vegetables, and melons are often treated with the fruits. Small-fruits is an American term. ^Bush-fruits. Fruits borne on bushes, or small woody plants destitute of a central stem or axis. It is an English term, and is equivalent to small-fruits, except that it does not include the strawberry. 8 The Principles of Fruit-growing SUBCLASS 2. Strawberry-fruits. Garden strawberry, Fragaria chiloensis. Hautbois strawberry, Fragaria moschata. Alpine strawberry, Fragaria vesca. Virginian strawberry, Fragaria virginiana. Everbearing strawberry, Fragaria mexicana. SUBCLASS 3. Cranberry-fruits. Common cranberry, Vacdnium macrocarpon. Cowberry, Vacdnium Vitis-Idaea. CLASS IV. MISCELLANEOUS NON-WOODY OR HERB-LIKE FRUITS. SUBCLASS 1. Musaceous fruits. Banana, Musa Sapientum. Plantain, Musa paradisiaca. SUBCLASS 2. Pineapple. Common pineapple, Ananas sativus. SUBCLASS 3. Cactaceous fruits. Prickly pear, Opuntia Tuna, and others. Indian fig, Opuntia Ficus-indica. Barbadoes gooseberry, Pereskia aculeata. SUBCLASS 4. Other herb-like fruits. Cyphomandra, Cyphomandra betacea. Cerinam, Monster a deliciosa. THE COURSE OF DEVELOPMENT OF A FRUIT REGION Fruit-growing has. usually been a comparatively late development in any region. The epochs that precede the agricultural occupation of a country are commonly about as follows: Discovery, exploration, hunting, specu- lation, lumbering, or mining. The real and permanent prosperity of a country begins when the agriculture has evolved so far as to be self-sustaining and to leave the soil in constantly better condition for the growing of plants. From Lumbering to Fruit-growing 9 Lumbering as now practised, and mining, are simply means of utilizing a reserve that nature has laid by, and these industries, therefore, are self-limited, and are constantly moving on into unrobbed territory. Agriculture, when at its best, remains forever in the same place, and gains in riches with the years; but in this country it has so far been mostly a species of mining for plant-food, and then a rush- ing on for virgin lands. The first effort in an agricultural region is usually the growing of the staple crops, as the grains or breadstuffs. This is both because the capabilities of the country are all unknown, and because such regions are far removed from the markets, and must, therefore, grow such commodities as can be stored or shipped long distances; and it may be said, also, that the growing of these crops in a new country demands comparatively little special skill. Moreover, the new lands are cheap, and the supply of labor is small; and grain-raising and cattle-ranging are economically possible. The second development is very often a well- regulated stock-raising or grazing industry. If the country possesses special adaptabilities for fruits, a man here and there will be found enlarging his orchards or small-fruit plantations, and in time there is a wide- spread change from general farm practices to fruit-grow- ing. The growing of specialties, or perishable products, or those that are essentially luxuries, demands the finer skill, the more developed ideals, and the less fluctuating employments of an old or at least of a well-settled country; and it is in such areas, also, that the best special markets are to be found. It has been a frequent experience that when any area has fully committed itself to the raising of any particular fruit, the business is devoted too exclu- sively to one product and the individual farms may not be 10 The Principles of Fruit-growing good economic units. The lesson is that mixed industries are best for any community, even though the region make a specialty of one or of a few commodities, and that it is practically impossible to reduce the agriculture of any large region to a dead level of uniformity. The diversity of industries also brings a diversity of population. In the present development of the newer parts of North America, however, these stages in the evolution of fruit- growing may not be marked. Fruit has now come to be such a standard commodity that virgin areas in newly opened regions may be developed at once as fruit lands; but there is a large element of risk in such undertakings in virgin regions. THE DETERMINANTS IN FRUIT-GROWING Fruit-growing, in common with all agricultural pur- suits, thrives best in certain geographical areas. That is, the business is not capable of equal development in all parts of the country. Four of the most apparent determinants of the distri- bution of fruit-growing may be mentioned briefly. The distribution of fruits may also be studied in their relations to life-zones, and particularly as determining the adapta- bilities of varieties (see for example, Bull. No. 10, Div. of Biol. Surv., U. S. Dept. Agric., 1898, by C. Hart Merriam, on "Life Zones and Crop Zones," as one of the early con- tributions to the subject). The leading determinative factor in the distribution of fruit-culture is climate. The particular factor of climate that determines the fruit- zones differs with each type group of fruits; but in gen- eral it may be said that the relative annual temperature is the most influential factor. The Climatal Zones 11 The temperature determinant. It is customary to recognize three general climatal fruit-zones, — the temperate (typified by the apple and the peach), the semi-tropical (citrous tribes, fig, olive, pomegranate), and the tropical (coconut, banana, annona, mango). There are no positive limits of temperature to mark off or separate these zones; but it is sufficient for our purpose to say that the temperate zone is marked by a long winter of freezing and by the deciduous types of fruits; in the semi-tropical zone the winter is a short sea- son of light frosts or only occasional freezes, and the fruit trees are evergreen or very nearly so; and the tropical zone is frostless, and is marked by evergreen and largely ever-growing fruit-plants. The limits of these climatal zones are exceedingly devious. In eastern North America, the northern limit of profitable fruit-growing is not far from the 45th parallel, and the limit sinks considerably lower than this in the Middle West, and rises much above it on the Pacific slope. The northern limit of the subtropical zone in the East is northern Florida and a narrow area skirting the Gulf of Mexico, and on the western side of the continent it extends in the valley climates as high as the 40th parallel. The only part of the tropical fruit-zone in the United States is in extreme southern Florida, comprising about 2 degrees of latitude (reaching northward to about 27°). Beyond all these bounds are special localities in which fruits of the adjacent zone may thrive for a series of years, and the fruits of contiguous zones overpass. The strawberry is probably the most tractable of all our fruits as respects climate, because its stature and habit allow it to be protected from extreme cold, and its short period of growth allows it to thrive in the cool season of the subtropical regions. 12 The Principles of Fruit-growing The annual temperature of a region is chiefly deter- mined by four factors, — the latitude, the altitude, the physical configuration, and the proximity or remoteness of large bodies of water. The moisture determinant. The second chief factor of climate in determining the fruit-zones is relative humidity. Whilst the isotherms — or lines of equal temperatures — run easterly and westerly, the isohyetals — or lines of equal rainfall — have no in- trinsic direction. They are determined by physiographical features. In the United States, we might recognize very roughly six general fruit-zones marked by pecu- liarities of rainfall. These are the Atlantic zone, a moist area bounded westward approximately by the Mississippi River; the Plains zone, extending westward to the Rocky Mountains, mostly of low rainfall and in some parts semi- arid; the inter-mountain region, being mostly arid and requiring irrigation; the Sonoran zone of New Mexico and Arizona and southward; the California region, mostly arid and semi-arid; the upper Pacific region, comprising the humid belt of Oregon, Washington, and British Colum- bia. Within all these regions are geographical areas of special precipitation conditions. The interior or plains region is particularly trying to fruits because of the strong and dry winter winds, which evaporate the moisture from the trees while the ground is often so deeply frozen that the roots cannot supply moisture. There is probably always evaporation from tree tops in the winter when the air is drier than the wood. The fact that moisture may be lost from winter twigs is a most important consideration in the study of the winter injury of trees, and it throws light upon the severe damage that often follows the "dry Soil Adaptations 13 freezing" of nursery trees in transit and of fall-planted trees. 4^-^ The soil determinant. There are special adaptations of fruits to soils. Pomol- ogists have been well aware of this fact as a general truth, but only recently has close attention been given, in this country, to the minor and detailed applications of it. It is well understood that pears flourish best in clay soils and peaches best in sandy or at least in open soils, but no doubt there are distinct preferences in the varieties of pears and peaches themselves. It is possible, hi fact, that each distinct family or type of varieties of any species has preferences of land and location, and it will be the business of coming generations to determine what these peculiarities are. With the increasing refinements and competitions of the future, the special and local problems must receive more and more attention. If these positions are well taken, it must follow that the promis- cuous and wholesale dissemination of a few varieties over the country must eventually cease, and that local and special sorts must constantly tend to drive out the cos- mopolitan and general varieties. These questions of soil adaptations for fruits have been made the subject of study over a wide range by Wilder of the national Department of Agriculture, and he is able to discuss the soil requirements of the Baldwin apple, the Wagener, Spy, Hubbardston, Gravenstein, and others, with considerable definiteness. He points out that the common advice as to "any deep, well-drained soil, on hill or slope/' being adapted to apple-growing is not sufficiently exact and discriminating. "The loss from choosing a soil for orchard planting that is not adapted 14 The Principles of Fruit-growing to the purpose is so much more serious than a similar mistake with an annual crop that too much care can scarcely be taken in selecting the most suitable soils located on sites otherwise favorable." (Tribune Farmer, April 3, 1913.) Many fruits are very cosmopolitan as to soils, although probably none of them is indifferent to even comparatively minor variations in land. Of the temperate tree-fruits, the apple undoubtedly has the most generalized adaptabilities to soils, and this is closely followed by the domestica plum. Among semi-tropical fruits, the orange thrives in a wide range of soils. The peach and grape are more exacting, and the same may be said of the pineapple. Now and then fruits are made to grow in uncongenial soils by working them on adaptive stocks. Thus the plum is said to thrive best in sandy regions when it is budded on the peach, the pear is recorded as sometimes grown on very light lands by working it on the mountain-ash, and the mahaleb cherry is thought by most persons to be a better stock for strong soils than for light soils. We may look for the time when certain varieties of the same spe- cies may be selected as stocks for given soils. But all this forced adaption to soils is a very special matter, and it only illustrates the more strongly the great importance of giving particular attention to the general subject of the adaptabilities of species, varieties, and even of strains, to variations in soils. The grower should give particular attention to the character of the land. An experienced fruit-grower com- monly determines whether the land is adaptable by its "looks;" and this suggests that the novice secure the ad- vice of an experienced person if he would choose a farm for fruit. The success or failure of existing trees or orchards Soil Adaptations 15 in the neighborhood may give some indication of soil conditions. If the region is soil-surveyed, the intending grower should attempt to recognize the successful orchards on the soil-map. In a few cases, special studies by an ex- pert have been made of the soil types in relation to fruits, and advantage should always be taken of such work. The subsoil. — In making soil-determinations, the planter should not be guided by the character of the surface-soil alone. With modern methods of soil-examination, the subsoil is always taken into account. Booth goes so far (Okla. Exp. Sta.) as to say that "The character of the sur- face-soil appears to have little or nothing to do with mak- ing good tree land. Good orchards will be found on all kinds of soils, from dense clays to light sands. It is cer- tainly not due to the richness of the soil, for many of the best orchard sections of the United States have thin soils which require constant feeding. In fact, there is only one thing which is found constantly associated with good or- chard land, and that is an open porous subsoil. The adap- tability of land for tree-growth is shown by the character of the soil from 1 to 6 feet below the surface. If the land is satisfactory for 4 feet down, usually this is deep enough for satisfactory tree-growth, although 6 feet is better. The average farmer knows but little about his land below' the bottom of the furrow made by the plow, so that he is frequently but little better fitted to say where his trees should be planted than someone who has never seen the land. "There are many ways of becoming acquainted with the subsoil. One of the [best is by the use of a spade. The digging of a few holes 5 or 6 feet deep in different parts of the farm will reveal an astonishing amount of informa- tion as to the character of the subsoil. The number of 16 The Principles of Fruit-growing holes necessary to give satisfactory information as to the character of the underlying strata will vary. If it be found that half a dozen holes dug in a certain 5- or 10-acre tract give practically the same result in each case, it may usually be assumed that these indicate the general character of the subsoil. If, on the other hand, the verdict is variablej more holes will have to be dug until the limits of the differ- ent formations are shown. Where neither rocks nor stones are present, this work may be done more quickly and quite as satisfactorily with a ground-auger as with a spade. A home-made auger is usually quite as satisfactory for this purpose as the more expensive article purchased on the market. Take an old 1J^- or 2-inch wood-auger and have the local blacksmith weld it to the end of a 6-foot length of %-inch pipe or 3/2-inch wrought iron rod. The welding of a short cross-piece at the top completes the device. "An open porous subsoil insures drainage and thus pro- motes the establishment of deep feeding roots. Trees with such root-systems are not subject to the vicissitudes of vary- ing seasons to the same extent as those of a shallower root- system. . . . The capacity to penetrate impervious subsoils does not depend on the boring power of the root- tip. All roots have a boring power which is quite sufficient to force their way down in any ordinary subsoil. The rea- son for the absence of roots is that they are unable to live in the denser soil, owing to the lack of the necessary air. Thus it will be found that a soft mucky subsoil is quite as efficient a barrier to root-growth as solid rock." The parasite determinant. Inasmuch as many of the organisms that seriously in- terfere with fruit-growing are more or less restricted in their range, it would seem to follow that the zones of profit- Bugs and Things 17 able fruit-culture may be determined more or less by the parasite factor. A moment's reflection will show, however, that the geographical distribution of the parasite is deter- mined primarily by climate and by the distribution of its host-plants; so that, on the one hand, the climatal limit of the cultivation of the fruit may be approximately the climatal distribution of the pest, and, on the other hand, the parasite may be local or cosmopolitan according as the fruit is either local or widely grown. Many of the common pests are restricted in range because they have not yet reached the full limit of their distribution. An excellent illustration of this fact is the codlin-moth. Once Michigan was represented to be the Eutopia of the apple-grower because of the absence of this pest, and in our own day similar recommendations have been made of far western states. To the naturalist, however, it was evident from the first that the insect was following closely behind the apple frontier, as a storm follows an area of high pressure. In practice, the energetic and intelligent fruit-grower .will think last of the parasite factor when locating his plantation, for this factor is variable and migratory, and, moreover, there are means of keeping most fruit pests under control. Insects and fungi are of course to be reckoned with, and for this reason they are the direct and perhaps the most effective means of keeping the farmer hi a state of mental alertness. There are a few cases, of course, to which these remarks will not well apply, but they are clearly exceptions. One of these is the dreaded nematode root-knot of the southern states, and one might hesitate in planting peaches on certain land where it does not freeze deep enough to destroy the pest. The pro- fessional experimenters can determine the course of the B 18 The Principles of Fruit-growing life-histories of the various pests, and can point out their most vulnerable points, and may even devise general means for their eradication; but the final application of this knowl- edge is a local problem, which each man must work out for himself. Laws are only secondary means of keeping in- sects and diseases in check on a man's own farm; they are chiefly useful in providing a way of controlling the man who is neglectful, ignorant, or devoid of public responsi- bility. They are most applicable in those cases in which disease is more or less permanent or perennial, and in which there is no practicable recourse but to destroy the plant or the part affected. Such troubles are peach yel- lows and black-knot of the plum and cherry. A law can- not be enforced unless public sentiment is behind it, and when public sentiment is completely aroused the law may not be needed. Yet a good law is one of the best educators, and if properly enforced may save an industry, but it must be remembered that the final recourse is always greater knowledge and enlightenment on the part of the individual growers. That the grower may not expect so much of the opera- tion of laws as to lessen his own activity, let him consider the practical difficulties in the enforcement of them. It is practically impossible to detect the eggs of insects or spores of fungi on large numbers of plants, and there are many natural and uncontrollable ways in which the para- sites may spread. A law may very properly require that "whenever any trees, plants, or vines, are shipped into this state from another state, every package thereof shall be plainly labeled on the outside with the name of the consignor, and a certificate showing that the contents had been in- spected by a State or Government officer, and that the trees, plants, or vines therein contained are free from all San Jose Inspection 19 scale, yellows, rosette, and other injurious insect or disease;" yet it would be impossible for any botanist to certify that a dormant tree were certainly free of all disease ; and even in the matter of some insects, an entomologist could not give a clean bill of health without giving more time to the examination of the tree than it is worth. These difficulties are not justification for opposition to statutes or for in- difference to them, but they are reasons why the grower should be careful to avoid a false security. The grower must add his personal endeavor, and watch his plantation minutely with his own eyes even if it has passed the scrutiny of the inspector. A knowledge of the natural history of the pests provides the only final security. Most insects and diseases are be- yond the reach of legislative fiats. Some of the demands for functionary proceedings against the bugs recall the laborious efforts of the Middle Ages. "At one time," writes Fernald, "a thoroughgoing procedure, according to all the rules of jurisprudence, occurred before the spiritual judge. The accused insects were summoned, and in case of non-appearance, which always occurred, unless the in- sects were moving to new feeding-grounds and the court- house happened to be in their way, a proxy was appointed to represent the accused insects, who debated the whole subject with the accuser, after which judgment was ren- dered, invariably against the accused insect in the form of an excommunication, which was carried into effect only when the insects disappeared at the time of pupation." The most effective legal means are those that endeavor to regulate the commerce in diseased and affected plants, — to prevent the spread of the difficulty rather than to solve the difficulty on a given plantation. In recent years, 20 The Principles of Fruit-growing a useful body of inspection and quarantine laws has arisen that puts the power of the people behind the effort to stop invasion. It is to be expected that these laws will tend toward greater uniformity and therefore toward greater effectiveness, between the different political units of the country. It is particularly important that ports of entry and points of distribution be watched. The grower also must recognize that he has no right carelessly or wantonly to harbor an insect or a disease that may inflict great damage on his neighbors, and that if he violates this principle he is morally liable (as he ought to be legally liable) to correction. THE OUTLOOK FOR FRUIT-GROWING Two sets of factors chiefly control or determine the outlook of the fruit-grower: the ability of the grower, and the prospective conditions of the market. Few persons appreciate how personal a thing success is: yet everyone knows that any two persons placed in the same physical and environmental conditions, and given an equal chance, will arrive at very different results in business. The real directive forces are matters of character and personality, of which the most important requisites seem to be love of the occupation, indomitable energy, cool judgment, honesty, and ability to handle the details of the business. It is not probable that agricultural products are to be raised in too large quantities. Both population and rate of consumption are increasing. It is a common practice to estimate the amount of fruit which will be produced at any given time in the future by multiplying the number of acres of plantation by the yield of a normal acre of that kind of fruit. The fallacy in these calculations Competition in the Business 21 lies in the fact that very many of the orchards that are planted in hope and expectation yield only indifferent results. Not often is there a sufficiency of the best in any com- modity. It is in the production and careful marketing of the best that the greatest hope lies with any individual; and this raises at once the personal qualifications. A man cannot make the best unless he has ability for it. It is more important, therefore, that the first tillage and fertilizing and pruning and spraying be applied to the man rather than to the land or the crop; and while the man is acquiring discipline for the direct prosecution of his business, he is at the same time opening his mind to all the satisfactions of living. On the other hand, there is commonly a surplus of the ordinary. In fact, it is the ordi- nariness that often makes it a surplus. Now, inasmuch as most men are ordinary, it follows that most things which they make will be ordinary; and it does not matter if we raise the standard of all men, the greater part will still be ordinary, for we have only raised the ordinariness of the mass. This is equivalent to saying that the effort at excel- lence must be continuous and must not be satisfied with any achievement. One cannot expect to escape competition in the fruit business. As a rule, the best results are to be anticipated when one grows his fruit in a fruit-growing region in com- pany and in competition with other fruit-growers. If every occupation is already full, then it follows that the choice of an occupation resolves itself into what one cares for and what he has capital for, provided always that he can secure the proper land and location for the prosecu- tion of the business. He need have no fear of his success if he grows what people want, or puts it up so as to make 22 The Principles of Fruit-growing them think that they want it. In its common levels, fruit- growing, like every other business, is undoubtedly over- done, and there is only a precarious living in it. This is specially illustrated in apple-growing, — to which the least skillful attention has been given, — for the years of crop are years of low prices. This means that apple-growers allow the seasons and other circumstances to dictate the bear- ing time of the orchard, and when one man has a crop other men may have a crop. Yet there is no fruit that comes so near to being a staple commodity as does the apple, and none that has a longer market season, or is capable of manufacture into a greater number of secondary products. The demand for first-class apples, delivered in prime con- dition at the proper moment, is seldom fully satisfied. The most profitable stock-in-trade of the fruit-grower, therefore, is training for his work; and if a good part of his training is in business methods, very much will be gained, for there are probably ten men who can grow a given quality of fruit where there is one who can sell it to advantage. All this is proved by the fact that many successful farmers were not brought up on the farm, or they soon left it for other business. Good business men are likely to make a success of farming, if they are not too old and if they have learned the occupation. They come into the business with trained minds, skilled judg- ment, and especially without too much prejudice. They are willing to learn, and they quickly assimilate new ideas. There are most important non-commercial rewards in fruit-growing. A fruit-grower need not set before himself the single standard of money-getting. The end of life is satisfaction, and it may often be secured just as well on a moderate income as on a large one. It is one of the bless- ings that agriculture bestows on both the individual and Over-Production 23 the nation that it may make its workers happy and com- fortable without making them wealthy. Of all the lead- ing occupations, perhaps there is less scramble for big money in agriculture than elsewhere; and for this reason the farmer should remain a stalwart and conservative element in the national structure. Farming on a modest scale is capable of yielding a competent income; but the larger part of the wealth of the small farmer is of a different kind from that of the tradesman or manufacturer. All these remarks raise the old inquiry as to whether there is an over-production of fruit. The probability is that there is not over-production except in special years; that is, that there is not more fruit grown than can be con- sumed in one way or another. It is very likely, however, that there is frequently a relative over-production, — that there is more fruit grown than can be consumed in the mar- kets that are ordinarily at the reach of the grower. The difficulty is probably rather more of unequal or imperfect distribution than of over-production of the commodity. The tendency of the time is to remedy this defect by more perfect means of dissemination, but it is too much to hope for a perfectly equal distribution of fruits, since the fruit areas are more or less limited in their geographical position, whereas the fruit-consuming population is distributed far and wide ; and most fruits are very perish- able under shipment. When there are heavy gluts in some markets and fruit does not pay for the freight, there are often other places, a few hundred miles away, in which the commodity is insufficient or even scarce. The intro- duction of special fruit and refrigerator cars and the better grading and the practice of pre-cooling have lessened the difficulties of distribution. But these appliances are of use mostly to organizations, or to those growers who have a 24 The Principles of Fruit-growing large quantity of product; or, to those localities in which so much fruit is grown that the community of interests amounts to an organization. Of course, one cannot succeed commercially in the growing of fruit if his land, location, and climate are not proper, even though he may have all the personal qualifica- tions for the business; but if he has these personal quali- fications, he will probably not choose unfavorable or im- possible conditions. Many orchards reared with the great- est care and looking well in photographs are on lands un- suited to the production of profitable yields; or they may be in frosty localities, or too far from market or shipping stations, or be otherwise seriously handicapped. These disabilities must all be eliminated in any effective discus- sion of the general outlook for the fruit business; and this outlook seems to the writer to be good. THE ORGANIZING OF THE BUSINESS Perhaps the last thing the farmer learns, in respect to his own business, is thoroughly to master his local problem. He must feel that his problems of soil and exposure, his limitations of capital, and his own tastes, are all special and possibly unique, and he must then begin to work out his results for his particular conditions. From books and teachers he can learn principles and truths, he can pick up suggestions, and he can, above all, acquire an ability to grasp his particular situation; but he must solve his problems for himself. This is the secret of that close and single-minded attention to business that makes for the greatest success. A knowledge of the details and the local special require- ments should enable the grower to organize all the units The Farm Plan 25 and items into a consistent business procedure, or to sub- divide it into its parts. Merely to raise fruit is not the end and consummation of fruit-growing. The raising of the fruit is a part in an enterprise, and this enterprise should make the best use of capital and of labor and equipment, and it should secure the greatest results with the least expenditure of effort. In other words, the enterprise should be economically efficient. Fruit-growing is preferably one part — perhaps the leading part — of a farm scheme; but usually it should not comprise the entire farm scheme. Farm-management studies have shown that the most profitable fruit-growing is often that which is combined with general farming. The general farm, with liberal parts of it devoted to crops other than fruit, provides economical use of men, teams, and equipment for the larger part of the year, as also a stimulating variety in work. It also enables the fruit-grower to produce much or all of the feed and bed- ding for his work animals, as well as many supplies for his family; it insures him against years of failure in the fruit crop. On the other hand, too much general farming directly detracts from the fruit-growing part of the business. Oats and potatoes must be planted at a certain time, but the orchards may wait. What one gains in the raising of feed and other supplies, may be more than lost in the neglect of the fruit-plantations. Years may be required to repair the damage accruing from one or two seasons of neglect to the orchard, with the stunted growth, lack of pruning, neglect of spraying, injuries from borers, and other disabilities, although this damage may not be im- mediately expressed in dollars and cents. Where the happy mean shall be drawn between a business devoted too 26 The Principles of Fruit-growing narrowly and exclusively to fruit-growing and one demand- ing too much diversion and dividing of one's energies, only the grower himself can determine. It is certain that if one is to make a good business of fruit-growing, he must devote his best energies to it. Other things may wait, but not the fruit-plantations. He must have a "feeling" for fruit more than for anything else, and the fruit must have first call on men, teams, time, and painstaking oversight. If he does not have this feeling, he does not possess the essentials of a fruit-grower. The pride of a fruit-farm is in the fruit. By this it is not meant that the fruit-farm must be a "show place." Nothing is more attractive in a picture than a fruit-farm with rows all regular and uniform and the trees or bushes all complete and perfect, and with tillage faultless; and yet some of the most profitable fruit-plantations exhibit little of this beauty of regu- larity. Perhaps it would be better if the plantation were more comely and attractive, but this condition is not necessary to success. In fact, heavy bearing often makes the orchard irregular; and if there are many varieties, it is impossible to secure stereotyped uniformity. The good fruit-farm is told by its performance and not by its looks. Caution should be strongly expressed to those who would undertake fruit-farming by proxy. Delegated and absentee farming is ineffective enough at the best, but there are special difficulties in fruit-farming by that method or lack of method. One year's neglect to fight borers and other pests may be disastrous. Every tree or bush is liable to special injury, from winter-killing or otherwise, and much skill may be required to repair or overcome the damage. It is alluring to anticipate an orchard waiting for one on retirement from active busi- Absentee Orcharding 27 ness and which has been grown and cared for by others; but if the plantation has good care, in most cases it will be because the owner maintains a complete establishment of work animals, tools and men and does not depend on the hiring of the work from neighboring farmers. This means a general farming business. The costs accumulate rapidly, and the risks are heavy. The contingencies and difficulties are more than anyone can foresee. It is a com- mon opinion that the tilled crops from the orchard land will pay for the care of the orchard until it comes into bearing, but this is seldom true (if the orchard receives good care) and then only when this cropping is part of a good farm scheme and does not depend on fugitive hired labor. Purchasers should be careful of orchard land-schemes in which the work and oversight are all provided for in advance. Orcharding by others is rarely profitable. The annual cost of the care of an orchard for the first five years, including first cost of trees, pruning, fertilizing, tilling, cover-cropping, interest on moderate-priced land, may be expected to run from $25 to $30 an acre if one has his own equipment and does the work well. Cost-accounting. A well-organized business plan calls for a system of keeping account of costs, founded on an annual inventory and an analysis of the labor of men and teams and ma- chinery on each crop or for each part of the plantation, the general outlays, and the receipts. A daily work- report is necessary. The elaborate bookkeeping forms often devised for farmers' use should be avoided. It is more important to analyze the business than to keep a perfect set of books. Most of the bookkeeping blanks do not bring out the facts that the farmer needs. Warren 28 The Principles of Fruit-growing gives the following example (Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture) of a useful accounting with a 3-acre apple orchard : WORK-REPORT FOR APPLE ORCHARD. — THREE ACRES M an He >rse Hrs. Min. Hrs. Min. April 1. Manured 9 45 18 May 8. 2 30 5 15. Pruned 3 25. 27. Brush hauled and burned Sprayed 1 16 30 30 3 13 28. 4 30 5 31 10 15 10 June 1 13 45 3 45 3. 16 30 9 4. 9 30 5 5. 7. July 31.. Aug. 19 . . Cleaned and put up sprayer . . . Removed borers Thinned 14 1 7 11 15 15 30 7 20.. 4 Manured 8 30 17 Sept. 7.. Picked 4 15 Oct. 11.. Hauled barrels 8 16 12. . Picked and packed 34 30 2 30 14. . 7 2 15.. Hauled to station 11 2 30 30 5 5 17.. Picked and packed 15 45 4 18. . 19. . 12 28 30 30 2 30 21. . 25. . 26. . ' :::::::::: 22 19 25 15 30 30 1 1 28.. « 36 30.. ' 34 30 Hauled to station 5 30 11 31. . Picked and packed 21 30 1 Nov. 4 . . Selling .... 2 1 30 6. . Packed . . 7 30 Picked up drops 17 3 8. . 12. . Hauled to station Got ready for shipping 10 7 15 30 8 13.. Hauled to station 4 30 9 14.. 9 10 15.. « i— ( !N ) OS\ ^\ f\ * -/T\ a a' / 1 c C+- o o ' o o o / "I o o o o o < 1 3 B O O 0 0 0 3? o o o .0 o < > HJ no* Of\ f^ /"% w\ ^ ^'. t £ §:(»<* S^ £ C* i> ^ re o o — »e-33Li- §• 3 A t P* o o o o o < ) 5 o o o o o O X ^S 03^ O O O O |vv *<^ 33— ( EL C6^ u> 1 *^t V p fo O O O -^p-331-^- I 16. 5~ i o o o o o^ < 13 o o o O'S ro „ ±\ 212 The Principles of Fruit-growing distance between the rows that difficulty would be encountered in orchard operations." The alternate plan differs from the quincunx "essentially in widening the distance between the rows, maintaining the same distances between the trees in the row, and is therefore better adapted to planting under 40 feet. The first tree of each of the even rows is midway between the first and second trees of the odd rows. The rows are placed far enough apart so that the diagonal distance between trees of adjoin- ing rows is greater than the distance between trees in the row, and the perpendicular distance between rows is more than one-half the distance between trees in the row. In the alternate plan, with trees 30 feet apart in the row, the rows can be placed much closer together without reducing the space between the trees in adjoining rows so much as to interfere with orchard operations. By this method, the number of trees to the acre may be increased, the land better distributed among them, and inconvenience in orchard operations avoided. "The alternate system is frequently used in close plantings. In an orchard with rows 20 feet apart, set by the alternate system, it will be found much easier to get between the trees than if the rec- tangular system is employed, for the distance between the nearest trees of the adjoining row will be approximately 22 feet 4 inches, or over 2 feet more than when set by the rectangular. Set at this dis- tance the space between the trees of adjoining rows would be approximately the same as when planted 32 feet apart by the quin- cunx." Moore also describes two good additional methods for placing the trees, as follows: "Liriing-in method (Fig. 60). — A method very com- monly used in setting an orchard by the rectangular system is the 'lining-in' method. Stakes are set on both sides and ends of the FIG. 60. Staking the orchard, by not placing the stakes where the trees are to stand. Methods of Staking the Systems 213 area to be planted. Laths serve the purpose very well. The first stake should be the proper distance from the fence, and the others at intervals equal to the distance between the rows. Two rows of stakes are run through the center of the area at right angle to each other, care being taken not to have them come on the line of the row, which is easily done by starting between two of the stakes on the end. These stakes should be in line with the stakes run- ning parallel to them. The man setting trees now has two stakes in each direction by which to line-in his trees. By this method all intermediate stakes and the plant- ing-board may be dis- pensed with. "Wire -compass method (Fig. 61). — Another method is * < * FIG. 61. Wire-compass method of staking out a hexagonal orchard. frequently used in staking out the hexagonal orchard. The first row is located with reference to the fence and becomes the base-line. Beginning at the desired position of the first tree, stakes are set at the desired distance between trees, a wire the length of the distance between trees is then used for the location of the remaining trees. It is convenient to have a ring at each end of the wire as this facilitates handling. If the rings are used, the length of the wire should be con- sidered as extending from center to center of the rings. One ring should be fitted with a marking pin, this end to be used by the man locating the position of the trees. "In locating the trees, A holds the center of his ring over the first stake of row 1, while B takes the marking end and strikes an arc at what he thinks is the location of the first tree of the next row. A 214 The Principles of Fruit-growing walks to the second stake of the first row, and B again strikes an arc. At the intersection of these arcs he sets a stake, locating the position of the tree. B then strikes an arc where he thinks the location of the second tree will be. When all the trees of row 2 are located, it becomes the base-line from which to locate trees of row 3. If the ground be uneven, a plumb-bob should be used so that the wire may be kept FIG. 62. A method of squaring an irregular field. horizontal. In locating the end tree there is frequently but one stake from which to strike an arc. The location is easily determined, however, by locating the second tree first, and then using it as the point from which the arc is struck. After four rows have been located by the arcs, others may be lined-in." The method of squaring a field for orchard-planting is described again by Jarvis (Conn. Bull. No. 62): "Before attempting to lay out a field that is irregular in outline, it must first be squared off in To Square a Field 215 such a way that the rows running across the field will be at right- angles to the rows running the other direction. A base-line running along a straight side of a field is first chosen. If there is not a straight side, a straight line running along the longer side of the field may be established. At right angles to this straight line and near each end, may be projected two other lines. On small areas this may be done with two straight-edges and a carpenter's square, but on large tracts this method is not sufficiently accurate. The best and most reliable method is that described in Fig. 62. At the desired point (A) on the base-line a stake is set, and exactly 60 feet from this on the same line another stake (B) is set. By stretching a string 80 feet long from the first stake (A) and another string 100 feet long from the second stake (B) and by bringing the two ends to- gether at (C) the position of the third stake may be determined. Then the desired line is drawn from A through C to the other side of the field. The same operation is repeated near the other end of the field. The distance between the rows, one way, may be marked off on the projected lines and the distance between the rows the other way, may be indicated on the base-line and also on the line parallel to it on the opposite side of the field. The rows in both directions can be extended to the margin of the field. "On hilly lands it is often very difficult to get the trees lined up properly. In such cases, telephone wire is sometimes employed to stretch across the field. To indicate the position of the trees a smaller wire may be wound around and soldered to the larger one at the required distances. The telephone wire is stretched tightly, and a stake set at every point indicated by the soldered wire. In the hollow places, where the wire is far above the ground, a plumb- bob may be necessary to find the exact position where the stake should be set. Twine, on account of its stretching character, is unsuited to this purpose." Another variation for the laying out of a hexagonal tract is giyen by Fisher (Mont. Bull. No. 77) : "A base-line is established along a fence or permanent road, running east and west and marked off at intervals at which the trees are to be planted. From the stakes thus established, lines, can be run across the field at an angle of 60° with a surveyor's transit or other instrument that will measure angles. These lines are then marked off at intervals at which the trees are to be planted. If an instrument for measuring angles is not avail- able, a steel tape or wire about 360 feet long should be provided. 216 The Principles of Fruit-growing This tape should be marked off at intervals at which the trees are to be planted. If the trees are to be set 30 feet apart in the rows, the tape should be about 370 feet long, with marks at every 30 feet. This will leave 5 feet at either end for pulling while stretching the tape. "A line parallel to the base-line is then established 311.76 feet distance either north or south and marked off at intervals of 30 feet, the same as the base-line. One end of the tape-line is then held in T 6 9 IO II 12 13 14 15 16 FIG. 63. The layout of a hexagonal tract. peg No. 1 (see Fig. 63), in line AB, and the other end of the tape is held at stake No. 7 in line CD. The tape-line or wire should be pulled taut. Stakes are then placed at every 30 feet along the tape-line. When this is done the tape-line is stretched between peg No. 2 in line AB and peg No. 8 in line CD, and pegs placed at each 30-foot mark. This process is repeated until the length of the field has been gone over, when there will be a triangular space at each end that is not marked off, but which can be easily marked off by sighting the stakes in. Two men and a boy can mark off 10 or more acres a day by this method." Hutt describes the following method of planting small-fruits in an orchard: "The bushes were arranged so A Mixed-Orchard Plan 217 APPLE TREE" loo 10 S APPLE TREE BERRY BUSHES APPLE TREE that cultivation may be given both ways with a minimum amount of hand hoeing. The accompanying plan (Fig. 64) shows the arrangement of the trees and bushes. The trees are planted on the hexagonal plan, the rows being 30 feet apart and the trees 35 feet apart in the rows, the trees in one row alterna- ting with those in the next. By this method of arrange- ment, 15 per cent more trees can be planted to the acre than by the ordi- nary method, and yet not be any more crowded. The bushes are 6 feet apart one way by 5 feet 10 inches the other. At present no trees are nearer than 9 feet to the apple trees. As the trees increase in size, those bushes within the circles, Feet 9 "Ft, 6 Ft. 6 Ft. 9 Ft. FIG. 64. Setting small-fruits in an orchard. as shown on the plan, will be the first to be removed." THE FAMILY FRUIT-PLANTATION It is impossible to give much specific advice for the plan of a family fruit-garden, because tastes are so per- sonal, and the amount and character of land at disposal 218 The Principles of Fruit-growing are so various. One can only say that the varieties should be chosen for best dessert and culinary quali- ties, for succession through the season, and the area so 10 RODS i rd. 2rds. 2rds. 2rds. FIG. 65. Suggestion for a fruit-garden of one acre. planted that the rows run the long way of the land to allow of easy cultivation with a horse. In general, it will not be necessary to provide for cultivation both ways. The accompanying diagram (Fig. 65) suggests how an Plan for Home Grounds 219 area of 1 acre may be laid out in a fruit-garden for the home supply. For a number of years, other plants — as vegetables, small-fruits, or dwarf apples or dwarf pears — may be grown, not only be- tween the rows, but between the trees in the row. The dwarf apples and pears find a special and ad- vantageous use in the home gar- den, although, if there is room, a few trees of standards should be grown to lessen the chances of fail- ure and to sup- ply some of the staple varieties in larger quan- tity. The vege- table-garden and fruit - gar- VEOETABLC GARDEN 40X80 FT. SCALE. 20 FEET. FIG. 66. Plan for home grounds that comprise a fruit-garden. 220 The Principles of Fruit-growing den may be combined when the available area is small. Corbett says that an area 60 by 80 feet will accomodate 442 fruit-bearing plants, and that an area 40 by 80 feet will be sufficient for a good variety of vegetables. He gives a diagram (Fig. 66), and the following key: Fruits. Thirty-two grape-vines, dispersed at intervals of 10 feet around the entire garden. Three rows, each containing six trees, dwarf pears, eighteen specimens in all (rows Nos. 2, 10, 14). One row, six specimens, peaches (row No. 4). One row, six specimens, cherries (row No. 8). One row, six specimens, dwarf apples (row No. 6). One row, six specimens, plums (row No. 12). One row, twenty specimens, blackberries (row No. 1). Two rows, forty specimens, blackcaps (rows Nos. 3 and 5). Two rows, forty specimens, red raspberries (rows Nos. 7 and 9). Three rows, 300 specimens, strawberries (rows Nos. 11, 13 and 15). Vegetables. One row, one-half row rhubarb, one-half row asparagus (occupy- ing 4 feet). One row, salsify (\y% feet). One row, parsnips (IK feet). Two rows, beets (3 feet). One row, eggplants — plants set 18 inches apart — two dozen (3 feet). Two rows, tomatoes — plants set 2 feet apart — two dozen (6 feet) . One row, summer squash, 12 hills, 3 feet apart (3 feet). Two rows, cucumber, 24 hills, 3 feet apart (1 foot). Two rows, early cabbage, 4 dozen plants, set 18 inches apart (4 feet). Two rows, late cabbage, 4 dozen plants, set 18 inches apart (4 feet). One row, early celery, 6 dozen plants, set 6 inches apart (2 feet). Eight rows, peas, plant in double rows, 4 inches apart; follow by six rows late celery, thirty-six dozen plants (16 feet). Home Fruit-Garden 221 Two rows, lima beans, four dozen hills, 18 inches apart (4 feet). Six rows, bunch beans; in succession sow seeds in drills, placing seeds about 6 inches apart in the row; follow by late cabbage, turnips or spinach (12 feet). Two rows, radishes, four sowings, planted in double rows 6 inches apart (3 feet). Two rows, lettuce, two sorts, adapted for early and late use (3 feet). One row, parsley and peppergrass (1^ feet). The space occupied by the last three plants may be given over to winter squashes by planting these before other crops are off the ground. The satisfactions in a home fruit-garden are not to be measured by the money costs. It cannot be said that fruit can be bought more cheaply than it can be grown in the garden, for the market does not supply the varieties or the quality that one may secure from his own plantation. It is desirable that a fruit-garden be made a part of a landscape design of a place, as regularly as the flower- garden, vegetable-garden, garage, or recreation areas. (Page 34.) The condensed fruit-garden requires the best of ferti- lizing and of care. MAPS AND RECORDS One of the most annoying parts of fruit-growing is keeping track of the varieties that inevitably accumulate in plantations to which the owner gives much loving thought, and making a record of the performance of indi- vidual trees, vines and bushes. The best means is a systematic plat, map or diagram of the plantation, in which every tree or every row of small-fruits is given a number. It is well to designate the rows in orchards by letters, and then to number each 222 The Principles of Fruit-growing tree in the row, beginning with number one; or, some pre- fer to number all the trees in the plantation consecutively. It is an excellent plan for the grower to devote a large blank-book or record to each plantation, entering the plan of the area in the earlier pages, and then recording the yield of each tree or each row on consecutive pages devoted to the different years. Such a book would be to the orchard what the Babcock test is to the dairy, — a means of determining the profitable and unprofitable individuals. If such a record were kept, it would not be many years before the orchardist would be experimenting with a goodly number of his trees in order to determine how to make them as productive as are the best ones. Labels. Of labels there are endless devices, but no label can be expected to last in good condition more than six or eight years. For temporary or annual plants, where little horse work is done, the commercial garden stakes, 12 by 1J4 inches, are excellent. These cost, when painted and made of soft, clear pine, $5 to $6 a thousand. For a more permanent stake label, one cut from clear pine, 2 feet long, 3J^ inches wide, 1J^ inches thick, and sawed to a point, is one of the best. These are given two thin coats of white lead, care being taken not to pile them on their faces until thoroughly dry, to avoid a rough surface for the pencil. The record may be made by a large, soft pencil, like a carpenter's pencil, or by a brush and black paint; but for all annual crops the pencil will be found more serviceable. At the end of the season, or when the record becomes dim, a thin shaving is taken off the face of the label, it is repainted, and used again. The label is thick enough to allow of many annual dressings, while the Labels 223 lower part is not reduced, and it therefore lasts for many years and is strong enough to resist the shocks of cultivator and whiffletrees. For ornamental bushes, this large label is too conspicuous, and for this purpose a pine label 1 ^2 inches wide, J/2 mch thick, and 18 or 20 inches long is excellent. The lower half is soaked in a strong solution of sulfate of iron (copperas), and, after drying, in lime-water, to preserve it. A great variety of labels has been recommended for trees, but it is doubtful whether we have yet found the ideal tally, although some of those here described seem to satisfy most needs. Many persons like zinc labels (No. 11,. Fig. 67), cut in narrow strips from a sheet of the metal. The record is made on the zinc with a soft lead- pencil, and the label is then wound about a branch. Very often the record is indistinct on the zinc, but the chief fault is the inconspicuousness of the label itself. It requires much searching to find a zinc label in a large tree, and this objection holds with almost every practicable tree label that has been introduced, even with the 3- or 4- inch pine labels that are common in the market. Patent zinc and copper labels, cut from very thin metal, so that the record can be made by the impression of a sharp point or style, have been tried. These pretty and so-called indestructible labels are furnished with an eyelet through which the wire passes. They are soon broken by the wind, and in a year nothing is likely to remain of them but a hole hung on a wire. A good label is the device shown at No. 3, in the illus- tration (Fig. 67). This is the pine ^'package label," used by nurserymen, 6 inches long and 1J^ inches wide. These are wired with stiff, heavy, galvanized wire, much like that used for pail bales, and not less than 18 inches 224 The Principles of Fruit-growing FIG. 67. Various types of tree-labels. Labels 225 is used with each label. Hooks are turned in the ends of the wires before the labels are taken to the field. A pail of pure white lead, well thinned with oil, is taken to the field with the labels. The record is made with a very soft pencil, the label is dipped into the paint, the wire is placed about a conspicuous limb, and the hooks are joined with a pair of pliers. The paint at first almost completely obscures the writing, but some of it drips off and the re- mainder dries in, so that the record becomes bright, and the soft pencil marks are indelibly preserved, while the label remains white. If the paint is brushed on, the soft writing will be blurred. If in the future the wood becomes gray, the label may be brightened by immersing it in a pot of white lead, without removing it from the tree. The large loop of wire allows of the growth of the branch, and the label hangs so low that it can be seen at a glance. The heavy stiff wire insures the safety of the label against boys and workmen. It cannot be removed without a pair of pincers. The label is large enough to allow of a complete record of the name of the variety, the place of purchase, age, and other matters; and it is readily found. The various labels shown in Fig. 67, are as follows: Nos. 1 and 2, German labels, made of glazed earthenware, with the name colored blue and sunken. Strong copper wire, coiled, to allow of the growth of the limb, holds the label to the tree. No. 3, Cornell label, described above. No. 4, double wooden label, consisting of two com- mon wooden labels fastened together. The name is written on the double label, as in any other label, but it is also written on the inside to insure permanence. When the outside writing is worn off, the label is opened and the inside is still bright. The label is secured to the tree by a tack or small nail, as shown in the cut at the right. The label is seen opened in the picture at the left. Nos. 5 and 6, zinc labels, used at the New York State Experiment Station, Geneva. The wire is driven into the tree, and the name is written or printed on the zinc with black paint. No. 7, common hand-made 226 The Principles of Fruit-growing wooden tag, taken from an old tree in the test orchard of the late Charles Downing, Newburgh, N. Y. No. 8, thin copper label, with the name indented into the metal by the use of a hard-pointed instrument. Some metal labels are liable to tear out at the hole when exposed to winds. No. 9, common painted pine label used by nurserymen, and costing (without the copper wire) about 50 cents a thou- sand, for the common size, which is 33^ inches long. No. 10, Lodeman's label, consists of a tag of sheet lead securely fastened to a coiled brass wire. The wire is secured to the body of the tree by a staple or screw-eye, and it is expected that the wire will become imbedded in the trunk as the tree grows. No. 11, common zinc label or tally, described on page 223. The Fig. 68 is Paddock's vineyard label (designed by W. Paddock then of the State Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y.). The label is a strip of heavy zinc secured to a stiff galvanized wire. This wire or shank is provided with a hook at the lower end and a half -hitch near its middle, so that it may be securely adjusted to the wires of the trellis, holding the label well above the foliage. Much is said about the importance of giving attention to the behavior of indi- vidual trees and bushes in a fruit planta- FIG. 68. A good vineyard label. tion, yet there is seldom any available record of them. With the refinements of the fruit-growing business, attention must be given to this subject; and maps and labels will then be indispensable. CHAPTER VII SUBSEQUENT CARE OF THE FRUIT-PLANTATION Now that the property is planted, we may consider what to do with it. The main general practice' is tillage. This is to be the basis of the prosperity of the enterprise, but it will not be necessary to repeat the discussion in Chapter III. It is a common opinion with fruit-growers that very heavy growth is opposed to fruitfulness; and yet the plants that are vigorous and strong and make rapid growth from the start are usually the most productive. They are largest, and should have most bearing surface, and the fruit should be large. Just where lies the danger to productiveness of too rapid growth, if the danger exists, is not easy of statement. Very heavy pruning of old trees is reported as not breaking the fruit-bearing habit, but it is commonly supposed to have the effect of reducing the set of fruit. There are probably many conditions and circumstances that modify the results. We remember that if the roots are made to strike far into the land by deep plowing for the first few years, it may not be necessary to plow heavy furrows in the planta- tion in later years, except to turn under cover-crops. This can be accomplished even with hard clay land. Two orchards on very hard clay of uneven surface, in six years from the setting of the trees, were in such condition that heavy plowing was no longer necessary, and the spring fit- ting of the land was done with spading-harrows and spring- (227) 228 The Principles of Fruit-growing tooth harrows, and the subsequent tilling partly with a light spike-tooth harrow. Of course, this means that there must be no delay in the spring work in the orchard, and no years of neglect. Weeds are not allowed to appear; but if a patch should get a start now and then, it can usu- ally be destroyed with the cultivator. Perhaps once or twice in the season it may be necessary to send a man through the orchard with a hoe to take the weeds away from the trees, but the space that needs such hand labor will not exceed 2 feet in diameter, and it is usually very much less. This has been accomplished by exercising great care to plow the clay when it is in such condition that it pulverizes when it is worked, and by the incor- poration of one or two cover-crops. It will be necessary now and then to grow cover-crops, and the land will then be regularly plowed in spring to turn the crop under; but even so, it may not be the desire to secure a heavy growth of cover-crop, and the spring plowing need not necessarily be deep and laborious. If, however, it seems to be necessary to plow 5 or 6 inches deep, there will be no hesitation in doing so, for the roots are deep enough to escape the plow if the plowman is ordinarily careful about the trees. It is not necessarily a misfortune to cut the smaller roots with the plow, providing only a few are cut in any year. In other words, it is no doubt safer to sever a good many roots H inch, * IQ. 69. A broken grape-root renewing its . connection with the earth. Or SOmetmleS 6Ven 1 Working the Land 229 in diameter, than not to plow the orchard at all. The severed roots usually send out numerous branches near their ends, and these branches increase the foraging power of the roots in soil normally laid under small tribute. Figs. 69 and 70 are drawn from actual speci- mens of roots that were broken by the plow. It would seem as if the' absorbing area of the root had been actually increased, for the many FIQ> 70. The branching of a broken small roots present more aPPie-root. surface than did the main shaft of the root. It must be remembered, however, that the real surface of the original root extended far beyond the present point, and there is no way of telling whether the adventitious roots actually present more surface than the whole of the original root. This breaking of the small roots is not recommended, but it is not necessary to take great pains to avoid it. The particular methods of caring for plantations of small-fruits can scarcely be discussed in a general work on fruit-growing, but it may be said that a deep tillage with a spring-tooth cultivator (No. 9, Fig. 16, page 86) is usually sufficient for breaking up the ground in spring among bush-fruits, if the land is clean and in good con- dition. If the land is soddy or infested with bad weeds, however, a regular plowing may be necessary. A handy plow for such plantations is one of the type shown in Fig. 19, page 96, managed by a single horse. The manage- ment of the land in small-fruit plantations does not differ in principle from the management of orchard lands, and the tools are of the same general kind, except smaller 230 The Principles of Fruit-growing and usually adapted to a single horse. If the rows are far enough apart, however — as they usually are in black- berries and black raspberries — it may be necessary in hard lands to hitch two horses to such a tool as the spring-tooth cultivator. It is commonly a matter of a few years thoroughly to learn one's soil and climate, after moving to a new farm. The farmer has a local and personal problem to apprehend and to solve. He should not be discouraged, therefore, if he does not secure the desired results from the treat- ment of his land within the first two or three years. He must look after the work himself. Even though he have a perfect understanding of the subject and the intention to do the best by his plantation, he will very likely fail of satisfactory results if he leaves the management of the work to others. Aside from the general practice of tillage, there are many special and incidental practices, some of which may be discussed briefly, after we have considered such essen- tials as pruning, thinning and frost-protection. PRUNING The subject of pruning cannot be understood until the essential principles of the practice are clearly appre- hended. It is often said that pruning is unnecessary; this is true if one desires to grow brush. If he desires to grow fruit, and particularly good fruit, he must bring about the proper conditions for it; and one of these neces- sary conditions is a plant properly thinned and under control. The only proper pruning is one that is applied in something like the same proportion every year, and that The Aim in Pruning 231 begins the very year in which the plants are put into the ground. Trees alternately neglected and heavily pruned are kept in a condition of upset that is likely to interfere with the best satisfaction in fruit- FlG. 71. Fruit-spur forming at the side. growing. The aim in pruning is to keep the top open, to remove superfluous and interfering parts, to maintain a size and shape that admits of easy spraying and fruit- gathering and other labor, to eliminate diseases and injured branches, to encourage the fruit-bearing wood. How to accomplish these results is to be determined by practice. A good pruner has "an eye" for the work, and he undertakes it care- fully as an artisan skilled in the opera- tion. Pruning is not carpentering. It is easy to overdo pruning. It is not primarily the removal of wood, but the work- ing out of a purpose. Pruning is mostly for FIG 72 Shoot grown too long for probable fruit-bearing. There will be an alternation of fruit-bearing on this spur. training , trCCS, and Ul VOUng t( 232 The Principles of Fruit-growing twig is bent the tree's inclined." ' 'Pruning for fruit" and "pruning for wood" are refinements of the art that find little place in the usual commercial plantation. The bearing wood. Pruners should always under- stand how the fruit-bearing wood is borne. In the cane-fruits (raspberry, blackberry, dewberry), the fruit is borne on canes that grew the previ- FIG. 73. Terminal fruit-bud forming on an apple shoot. 'J FIG. 74. Peach - buds forming in the axil of a single leaf. The central one is a leaf-bud. ous year; and when this fruit is being borne, other canes are growing from the crown of the plant to bear the fruit the succeeding year : therefore, the fruiting canes are removed when the fruit is off, and only a limited number of canes is allowed to grow for the next year's crop. Goose- berries and currants also bear on canes, but these canes may not bear until the second year and they continue to bear profitably for two or three years. Grapes produce Fruit-buds 233 FIG. 75. Peach-buds forming with three leaves. The central bud is a leaf-bud. their fruit only from canes that grew the preceding year. The tree-fruits may bear on the preceding year's axial growth or on short spurs. Most of them bear both ways, but the larger part of the fruitage of apples, pears, plums, cherries, apricots, is on spurs. Peaches bear pro- fusely on the last year's axial or straight shoots, but they also bear on short-lived spurs. Figs. 71 to 76 show fruit-bearing in apple and peach. In the northern states, the best time for pruning, in general, is late winter and very early spring. It is best not to prune when the wood is frozen hard, although there is no physiological injury to a dormant tree thereby. The wounds should be made close to the branch or trunk, and no stubs should be left. Large wounds — of 2 to 3 inches and 1 W r'Wi \1 'K above — may be Painted or > waxed for protection. Well- mixed paint of white lead and raw linseed oil (colored, if one FIG. 76. A short branch or desires), applied after the fruit-spur on peach. Central bud , n i • i is probably a leaf-bud. wounds are well dried out, is 234 The Principles of Fruit-growing the standard dressing; on very large wounds, it should be renewed from year to year. All wounds should be made with clean, regular cute, without hacking or splintering. The kind of top. When the tree is planted, the grower must decide how high the top is to be and also what form; and then all the subsequent pruning must be directed consistently to that end. In the old apple orchards of the East and North, the tops were often too high, — as much as 5 or 6 feet. It is just as easy to make them too low, — 1 to 2 feet (see pages 189, 190). In general structure, the tree may be open-centered with no leader, which is a favorite form for peach trees; or it may be two- storied, with the trunk con- tinued beyond the first scaffold of branches or at least with a second tier or scaffold, which is the preferable form for pears and apples. The illustrations show different commendable ideas in pruning. Fig. 77, from Stuart, shows an apple tree unpruned and pruned, one year after planting. Figs. 78 and 79 (Erwin and Bliss, Iowa) show a neglected young tree before and after pruning. Spreaders have been inserted to encourage a more open top. Jarvis gives FIG. 77. An apple tree one year after planting, unpruned and pruned. Examples of Pruning 235 figures (Figs. 80 and 81) of an apple tree ten years old and not pruned since planting, and the same tree after pruning to an open center. This is for New England conditions. Fig. 82 shows a good old orchard tree; and Fig. 83 what Jarvis considers to be "an ideal Baldwin apple tree/' properly trained from the beginning, with a FIG. 78. A neglected young apple tree. FIG. 79. The tree pruned and branches spread. low head and broad -conical shape. P'ig. 84 shows a peach tree at bearing age of good top-form, but possessing a crotch that is likely to split; and Fig. 85 shows an unde- sirable formation in an apple tree. Many growers are now training peaches to lower heads than in Fig. 84. Fig. 86 represents a good Morello cherry at young bearing age ; and 236 The Principles of Fruit-growing FIG. 80. Ten-year-old neglected apple tree. Connecticut. Fig. 87 a sweet cherry (in bloom) but with more main branches than necessary. Fig. 88 is a successful orchard in Wyoming. Fig. 89 shows a Duchess apple orchard hi bearing at Ottawa, Ontario. What to remove. The pruner should remove superfluous and unnecessary parts, — water - sprouts, weak straggly limbs, diseased and badly injured limbs, at least one of the limbs when two cross and rub, hanging limbs that are much in the way, one of badly forking limbs, and some of the limbs in parts that are much crowded. Unless it is desired to thin the fruit, the fruit-spurs should be protected; and also the small healthy stocky shoots along many of the larger branches, for care should be exercised not to produce long and pole-like parts. Renewing old trees by pruning : ' 'dehorning. ' ' Pruning is one of the legitimate means of renewing neglected orchards; but aside from this, it is often advised that very old and weak trees be rejuvenated by cutting FIG. 81. The same tree thinned and pruned to an open center. Remaking Old Tops 237 the whole top off and leaving horns or stubs 1 to 3 feet long. This may work, but in most cases it is not worth the while. It takes too long, the results are too uncertain, FIG. 82. A good apple tree of the old-fashioned kind, with a trunk 4 to 5 feet high. and probably the old tree will not pay for the trouble. The remaking of a young or middle-aged tree by such operation when it has been broken by ice or overbearing or injured by winter or by fire is another matter, and may be in every way worth the effort. FIG. 83. A low-headed apple tree of good form and proportion. 238 The Principles of Fruit-growing Heading-in. The question of heading-in of trees is commonly mis- understood, and there are likely to be many opinions. It is a special practice. Two considerations may help the grower think out the problem for himself. In the first place, it is largely a question of the type of training that the grower prefers; that is, every good . 84. A peach tree, at bearing age, but with a bad crotch. fruit-grower will set before himself a certain conception as to form of tree, and he will bend all his energies uni- formly and consecutively to the working out of this idea throughout all the years of the plantation. If his ideal is for trees with round and dense heads, then he will, of course, head-in the stock from year to year; if, however, he sets for himself the ideal of a tree with the natural form and open head, he will not head-in, as a rule. Which- ever purpose the grower sets should be worked out sys- Heading-in 239 FIG. 85. A mature apple tree, showing scaf- fold limbs growing from same plane, and tematically and logically from first to last. The heading-in ideal is always set for dwarf trees. The other factor that chiefly determines the question of heading-in is the checking of redundant growth while the plants are young. As a rule, young trees grow more thrifty and upright than do old ones, and the grower should not be misled into thinking that his trees will keep up their present pace after they have come into maturity and bearing. Kieffer pears, for ex- Uable to split: ample, make a very tall and narrow growth for the first two or three years, as if headed for heaven (but they are not) ; and when the bearing time arrives, this enormous growth is checked and the tree spreads. However, in such cases, it may be advisable to head-in the tree for a time, or until the period of maturity begins to arrive. This heading-in, how- *^*S»r ever, is not the fundamental cor- rective of the difficulty; in fact, it rather aug- ments the diffi- culty. It is a question, there- fore, whether it" is better to prevent FIG. 86. Morello cherry. 240 The Principles of Fruit-growing redundant growth by withholding tillage and fertilizers, rather than to produce it and then to take it off. If, therefore, the grower wants headed-in trees, he should have them. He is then able to plant his trees closer together. The habitual heading-in is practised only with plums and peaches as a rule in the northern states. The fact that relatively very few persons grow headed-in trees is indication enough that it is not a gen- eral practice and is not essential to suc- cess. For general purposes, the free- growing tree is to be preferred, with only such shortening of some of the branches as will keep the plant in shape. The head- ing-in is performed at the same time as other pruning. If the annual growth is FIG. 87. A sweet cherry at bearing age. vigorous, perhaps one-half of it is cut away by being headed back. Dwarf apples and pears are always kept within bounds — that is, kept dwarf — by heading-in. After the plant has reached its full height — in five to eight years — it is not allowed to grow any taller, or at least to increase in height very slowly. This means that nearly all the annual growths in length are to be removed, and the fruit-bearing is to Pruning and Trimming 241 depend on the spurs. The top should be thinned at the same time of weak and soft shoots, to allow the fruit-spurs room and light for best development. THE THINNING OF THE FRUIT The thinning of fruit for the purpose of improving that which remains. is a practice much advised but too little FIG. 88. A Wyoming apple-orchard, showing form of trees. followed. It has been demonstrated time and again that no work in fruit-raising is more important than this thin- ing, if one desires to realize the most from his fruit. It results not only in a much finer product, but it is also a means of destroying the insect-infested and diseased specimens, and of saving the energies and vitality of the tree. Persons complain that the thinning of fruit is expensive and laborious, and this is true; but it is a fair question whether there is anything worth the having of 242 The Principles of Fruit-growing which the same may not be said. The fruit must all be picked sooner or later, and it does not cost very much more to pick it early in the season than to pick it late; in fact, much fruit not worth picking in the fall might have been eminently worth the labor if the trees had been Fia. 89. Duchess apple-orchard in Canada. thinned in the early summer. The practice is now assum- ing very special importance because of the rigid and high- class systems of grading fruits that are being adopted by shipping associations. There are two general methods of thinning fruits: One is by pruning, by means of which the superfluous branches, or even the fruit-spurs themselves, are removed; the other is the direct picking of the redundant fruits. While pruning may accomplish much, it is not sufficient when the best fruit is wanted. There is no reason in the nature of things why trees should not bear annually; but the formation of the fruit- The Thinning of Fruits 243 spur is usually such as to preclude the production of the fruit on the same spur every year. The philosophy of the thinning of fruit, therefore, is that one spur shall bear one year, and another spur the next. This means that when fruit is thinned, it should be the object to remove it wholly from some spurs in order that they may produce fruit-buds for the following year. In those regions in which certain fruits are systematically thinned, the crop is obtained with great uniformity every year. This is especially true of peaches. There is no reason why the FIG. 90. Apples in a cluster; to be thinned. same should not be said of other kinds of fruits, and for every fruit-region. Thinning the apple. There is no dispute of the value of thinning for peaches, dwarf pears and a few choice fruits, but it has been ques- tioned whether the same or similar methods can be profi- tably applied to the apple. The boxing of apples, however, 244 The Principles of Fruit-growing is forcing the question. When choice fruit is to be grown, the practice will be necessary if the set of fruit is heavy, if some of it tends to grow in clusters, and particularly if fertility and moisture are not well supplied. Some varieties tend to grow in clusters, as the Chenango (Fig. 90), and these should always be reduced to one fruit (Fig. 91). FIG. 91. Only one apple should remain of the cluster. 'TVipr.p havp been no long-continued experiments hi this country on the thinning of apples. One of the standard investigations is by the State Experiment Station at Geneva, New York, under the direction of S. A. Beach. He reports as follows (Bull. No. 239.): Tests are here reported on thinning apples in June and July during a period of four years. Mature trees of Baldwin, Rhode Island Greening and Hubbardston were included in the tests. These trees stood in a good commercial orchard. They were well cared for and were all similarly treated except that some had their fruit thinned while others did not. The thinning was usually done when the fruit had grown to about 1^ inches in diameter. Obser- vations were made on the effect of thinning upon the color, size and market value of the fruit and upon the amount and regularity of fruit-production. Some data were obtained for a comparison of different amounts of thinning, but the results are not regarded as conclusive. Color. — When the trees were well filled with fruit, thinning generally improved the color. At harvest-time the various hues were heightened and tended to be more brilliant on fruit from thinned Thinning the Apple 245 than from corresponding unthinned trees. Where the fruit set sparsely before it was thinned, the thinning had no appreciable influence on its color. Size. — Whenever the trees bore well, thinning had the effect of increasing the size of the fruit. This occurred with Baldwin and Hubbardston more often than with Greening, which may be ac- counted for by the fact that the Greening trees did not carry any crops so heavy as the heaviest crops of Hubbardston and of Baldwin. Market value. — The intrinsic value of the apples from the consumer's standpoint was generally increased by thinning, the thinned fruit being usually superior in size, color and general quality. The thinned fruit, as a rule, was better adapted than the unthinned for making fancy grades, for marketing in boxes, etc. Where such ways of marketing can be advantageously used, the thinned fruit should bring an increase in price corresponding to its superiority in real value. But where it must be put upon the ordinary market in barrels there is less chance for the thinned fruit to sell at sufficient advance over the unthinned to pay for thinning, especially if the thinned fruit cannot be furnished in large quantities. Amount and regularity of fruit-production. — In these experi- ments the practice of thinning the fruit did not appear to cause any material change either in the amount or the regularity of fruit- production. Methods of thinning. — No exact rule for thinning apples should be laid down. The requirements vary with the different individual trees and with the same tree in different seasons. The amount of thinning should be suited to the conditions as shown by the age and condition of the tree, by the amount of fruit which has set, and by the distribution of the fruit on the tree. In thinning apples, all wormy and otherwise inferior specimens should first be removed and no more than one fruit from each cluster should be allowed to remain. After this is done, if there is a full set of fruit, greater im- provement in the grade may be expected from thinning to 6 inches than to 4 inches apart. Does it pay to thin apples? — The reply of Mr. Wilson, a practical fruit-grower, in whose orchard these tests were made, is in effect that where there is a general crop of apples, the set full, the chance for small apples great and widespread, it would pay to thin enough to insure good-sized fruit; otherwise not, except to protect the tree. Methods of removing the fruit. — No way of jarring or raking 246 The Principles of Fruit-growing off the fruit is advised in thinning apples, since by these methods all grades are removed indiscriminately. Hand work is best. It per- mits selection of superior, and rejection of all inferior, specimens. Time to thin. — The experiments in thinning apples and other fruits lead to the opinion that early thinning gives best results. Begin with apples within three or four weeks after the fruit sets, even if the June drop is not yet completed. Cost of thinned as compared with unthinned apples. — The cost of thinning mature trees which are well loaded should not exceed 50 cents a tree, and probably would average less than that. Although a given number of fruits can be thinned faster than an equal number can be picked when ripe, it has required about as much time to thin a tree as it has to harvest the ripe fruit. Thinned apples can be graded more rapidly than an equal amount of unthinned apples. Thinned apples can be handled more economically than unthinned apples because they have proportionately less of those grades which form the least profitable part of the crop, namely, the No. 2's, the drops and the culls. Batchelor makes the following comments on the thin- ing of apples in Utah (Circ. No. 12, Utah Exp. Sta.) : The actual methods to be used in this operation will vary some- what with the conditions, such as soil, age of trees, varieties and methods of irrigation and pruning. The fruit-grower should experi- ment and learn the best methods to follow under his conditions. Some people thin to a definite number of boxes on a certain-aged tree. This may be determined on one or two trees by actually count- ing the apples. These counted trees may then be used as models, so to speak, and thin the others accordingly. Other growers have learned by experience the proper distance apples should be from each other on the tree if they are to reach a marketable size. For the past two years, in thinning Jonathans to a minimum distance of 4 inches, on eight- and nine-year-old trees, there were still too many apples remaining for their maximum development. A minimum distance of 5 to 6 inches would no doubt have given better results under the existing conditions. Gano trees nine years old, thinned to one fruit on a spur, with the spurs a minimum distance of about 6 inches, gave good results. The above experience may serve as a guide in helping each Thinning the Apple 247 grower to determine the proper method to follow under each in- dividual case. Certain thinning experiments have been carried on by the Ohio Experiment Station, in which case the fruit was left the minimum distance of 8 inches. This seemed to give the best results under the conditions. It is often suggested that pruning may be substituted for thinning. To be sure, pruning thins out the fruit-buds very materially, but it can hardly take the place of thinning. Some relief must be had for the crowded cluster on the individual branches, and again, such severe pruning as would prop- erly reduce the crop on a bearing apple tree would likely be too severe pruning otherwise. For the best results, the thinning operation should commence immediately after the June drop. The work should be done while the apples are 1 to 13^ inches in diameter. It is only natural to expect that the sooner the remaining apples are accorded the entire strength and nourishment of the tree, the better the results. Broken 'limbs may be averted if the thinning is done in August, but the other benefits will not be so pronounced as though the work had been done at an early stage in the fruit's development. In other words, less of the tree's energy will be thrown away and more diverted to the proper channels if the thinning is done early in the season. Concerning tools for this work, some varieties like the Gano and Ben Davis are easily thinned by hand, while varieties with short fruit-spurs are not so readily handled this way, and the work may be hastened by the use of a small shear made especially for this purpose. In any case, care should be used not to break or injure the fruit-spurs in the operation. Very few fruit-spurs will be broken by the careful worker if the spur is grasped firmly in one hand while the apples are removed with the other. An upward and backward twist of fruit will loosen the stem from the spur without disturbing the remaining fruit or breaking the spur. One or two apples are often removed from a cluster in this way, leaving the remaining apple undisturbed. Careless workers who persist in pulling oft the fruit should not be tolerated, as this practice loosens much of the remaining fruit and breaks off many spurs. A light picking ladder will hasten the work with the older trees, and the entire bearing surface may be easily reached. The cost of this work is only slight, compared with the increased returns. The actual time in thinning will be saved at harvest time in sorting the crop. If, however, full time is charged to this thinning 248 The Principles of Fruit-growing work, the cost should not exceed 1J^ to 2 cents a box of harvested fruit. In case of the Gano variety, which is more readily thinned than some other sorts, the cost will hardly exceed 1 cent a box, on low-headed trees. Herrick, in Colorado, also reports marked results with the Winesap (Bull. No. 170, Colo. Exp. Sta.) : Thinning of the mature Winesap tree pays in money returns the first year. The more evenly distributed the fruit on the tree, the more uniform will be the size and color of the pack. Winesaps respond to thinning by increased size and better color when thinned as late as July 20. The earlier thinning can be done, the better will be the returns from the fruit sold and the greater will be the vitality of the tree. The best results are attained in thinning an old Wine- sap tree, by leaving the apples 9 to 10 inches apart. (Fig. 92.) Proper pruning, and keeping the trees a proper distance from each other, will facilitate thinning. Systematic, annual, uniform thinning, done from the time the trees come into bear- ing, should have much to do in securing an annual crop, thereby doing away with the so-called "off-year" bearing of some of the apple varieties. Thinning other fruits. Maynard reports experi- ments in thinning plums, from which there were marked gains. "A distinct advantage gained by thinning is the appreciable decrease in the ravages of fungous diseases and, to a small extent, of insect pests. This is especially notice- FIG. 92. Three-foot branch of Winesap before and after thin- ning. Thinning the Fruits 249 able in the case of monilia, or brown fruit-rot, which often ruins the peach or plum crop in wet seasons, while the specimens of fruit attacked by the curculio were largely removed in thining." Good results have been reported in thinning of cane- fruits. Experiments at the Cornell Station with rasp- berries and blackberries failed, however, to give such specific results, as reported by Card: "To test the feasi- bility of thinning berries, rows of Cuthbert raspberry and Early Cluster blackberry were thinned by clipping off the tips of most of the clusters, and also by reducing the number of clusters, especially in the raspberry. The result was not encouraging, for the eye could detect no increase of size in the berries on thinned plants, and as the principal object was to increase the size and attrac- tiveness of the fruit, it seems to have failed of its purpose. It should be said, however, that the season was favorable for berries, and the crop was very fine. In a very dry season, or with varieties much inclined to overbear, the result might be different. In general, however, the thin- ing can be managed well enough and much more cheaply by regulating the amount of bearing wood at the annual spring pruning." It is not probable that the thinning of the bush-fruits will pay as a rule, inasmuch as they are not closely graded or sold by the size of the berry. Nor are cherries thinned. Grapes grown for table use may probably be thinned with good results. If it pays to thin apples, it ought also to pay to thin pears. How to thin. The thinning of tree-fruits is performed in essentially the same way. as the fruits are picked; that is, the fruits 250 The Principles of Fruit-growing are taken off by hand, and are then dropped to the ground, where they may either be allowed to lie, or, if they are infested with insects or disease, may be raked up and burned. Methods of thinning apples have been discussed (pages 244 to 248). It is customary to thin the fruits as soon as the dangers of spring frosts and other early acci- dents are past, but before they have become of sufficient size to be a tax on the tree. Peaches are usually thinned when they are about the size of a small hickorynut (that is, about the size of the end of one's thumb), and apples from that size until they are twice or sometimes even thrice as large. Various devices have been suggested for the thinning of fruit, but they are mostly impracticable, because they do not discriminate between good and poor fruit, do not leave the fruit well distributed, and are very likely to break off the spurs. Some of the implements figured on page 377 may be used in special cases. It requires more discrimination and judgment to thin fruit properly than to pick it. In the thinning of peaches, it is a good rule to allow none of the fruits to hang closer than 4 to 6 inches of each other. This means that in years of very heavy setting, fully two-thirds of all the fruits are removed in June. In many parts of the country this thinning is systematically done, and it has in all such cases come to be regarded as an indispensable element in successful fruit-growing. No reliable estimates of the cost of thinning fruit can be given, because so much de- pends on the form and pruning of the tree and the quantity of fruit to be removed. The result is also greatly influ- enced by the character of the workmen and the price paid for labor. Full-grown peach trees may be thinned for 20 to 50 cents each. Apple trees twenty-five and thirty years old have been well thinned for 40 to 90 cents each. Frost-Protection 251 PROTECTING PLANTATIONS FROM FROST Having considered (in Chapter II) the relations of location, site and windbreaks to cold and frost, we may address ourselves to a discussion of the means by which injury from local frosts may be averted, in case they threaten to occur. These means are of two types, — those that attempt to enable the plant to escape injury from the frosts, and those that attempt to prevent the frost from occurring. Altogether several general means have been proposed for protecting plants from frost, and there are also combinations of the methods. The methods are mulching, covering the plants, whitewashing the plants, adding the vapor of water to the atmosphere, explosives, causing currents of air, making artificial clouds, and heat- ing the air. The temperatures at which the fruit-crop may be injured by frost are discussed to some extent in Chapter VIII (page 313); but O'Gara summarizes the advice as follows : "The temperatures at which the principal orchard fruits are liable to be injured cannot be accurately stated, since weather conditions previous to a freeze determine to a very great extent the ability of plants to withstand low temperatures. Not only do the different degrees of cold produce different effects on the same plant, but the same plant will often behave differently when subjected to the same degree of cold. It is well known that plants or parts of plants in active growth are more easily killed by low temperatures than the same plants or parts of plants when dormant. Actively growing plants contain large quantities of water; that is to say, the protoplasm or cell-sap is watery, and, as a rule, the larger the pro- portion of water contained within the plants the more 252 The Principles of Fruit-growing likely they are to be injured by low temperatures. While tables giving injurious temperatures to fruit when in bud, blossom and so on, have been prepared, it is safe to say that these temperatures are not entirely reliable. This is because conditions are never the same in any frost period. It may be stated that in the practice of orchard- heating the safest plan is to keep the temperature just above the freezing-point, no matter what the variety of fruit. No doubt, this will often be 2° to 3°, or even more, higher than necessary, but the practice is on the safe side. In orchard-heating practice, the temperature should never be allowed to go much below the danger point, as it is usually difficult to bring it back without some chance of injury to the fruit." How to predict frost. There is no certain way of foretelling frost. Careful observation of conditions in the locality, long experience, and the use of the forecasts of the Weather Bureau are the most reliable means. Formerly the evening dew- point was considered a reliable guide to the minimum temperature of the ensuing night. Hence, if the dew- point say at 4 P.M., as determined by the wet-and-dry- bulb thermometer, or psychrometer (Fig. 93), should lie below the freezing-point, 32° F., frost was considered likely to occur. This method of forecasting frost seems to hold good for certain localities in the western states, but has been shown by Cox and others to be wholly unre- liable in the more humid eastern states. W. M. Wilson concludes (Cornell Bull. No. 316) as follows, after a study of the subject: "For the farmer who is prepared to make practical use of a frost-warning, the forecasts issued by the Weather Bureau should receive first con- Predicting Frost 253 sideration, because they may be obtained early in the day, before it is possible to secure- any reliable indica- tions from local observations as to the probability ' of frost. But when the warnings issued by the Weather Bureau cannot be obtained, and the farmer must rely on himself, there are no instrumental readings that will take the place of a careful observation of the condi- tion of the sky, the direction and force of the wind, and the trend of the temperature." "In the day, plants usually receive more heat from the sun than they give off (radiate), and conse- quently become warmer; but at night the process is reversed, and they radiate more heat than they receive and thus grow colder. When the surface of a plant has lost (radiated) sufficient heat to cause its temperature to fall to 32° or below, frost forms. Any condition that causes increased radiation will increase the liability of frost, and conversely, whatever checks radia- tion or supplies additional heat to the air will tend to ward off frost." Favorable con- ditions for frost are a clear night, a quiet or still night, a moderately dry atmosphere. The surface air is likely to be colder than that above, so that a wind may warm the surface air by mixing it with the warmer strata. Wilson makes the following observations on weather conditions as indicating frost : FIG. 93. One form of a wet-and-dry bulb hy- grometer. 254 The Principles of Fruit-growing "Preceding weather. — The character of the preceding weather is important because damaging frosts often follow an abnormally warm period. The weather moves over the country from west to east in somewhat irregular, but nevertheless well-defined waves. Hence, there is a strong tendency for extremes to follow each other, and such extremes are often disastrous in their effects. A light frost, particularly in spring, following an unusually warm period often will cause more damage than a severer frost preceded by cooler weather, because the warm weather forces out the blossoms prematurely and renders them more susceptible to injury. While an unusually warm period does not mean always that frost will follow, yet the fact that most frosts do follow such periods should be regarded as sufficient warning that frost is likely to occur. "State of the sky. — Frost is not likely to occur when the sky is overcast, because the heat given off by the earth at night does not penetrate the clouds easily and is practically all retained in the air below them, which therefore remains at a comparatively high tem- perature. Even a hazy condition of the sky, or the thinnest cirrus clouds, have an appreciable effect in retarding the fall of tem- perature at the surface. But on clear nights the heat escaping from the earth passes away quickly, almost without hindrance, far beyond the limits of the atmosphere. Hence, the fall of temperature at the surface is rapid and, unless the earth has a vast store of heat, frost is likely to occur. "Direction and force of the wind. — The direction of the wind is a reliable indication of the approach of colder weather. If, after a day or two of warm southerly winds and possibly rain, the wind changes to the southwest or west, it is an almost unfailing indication that the warm spell is over, and it is well to watch closely the con- ditions that follow, particularly if there are signs of clearing weather. Occasionally, a frost follows when the wind backs from east or north- east to north or northwest. In either case, the conditions to be looked for as soon as the wind changes are falling temperature, decreasing wind, and a clear sky. Frost is not likely to occur unless the air becomes quiet and the sky clear, for wind prevents the accumulation of the colder air at the surface. "Trend of the temperature. — The rate of fall in temperature during the late afternoon or early evening is a good indication of the lowest temperature that will be reached during the night. For example, a temperature of 40° at about 6 P. M., with a clear sky Predicting Frost 255 and light wind, is considered critical; particularly is this the case if the rate of fall approximates 1° for each two hours, which, if con- tinuous— as would be likely with a clear sky and light wind — would bring the temperature close to the freezing-point by early morning. A fall in temperature of 2° an hour would indicate frost, even with the temperature considerably above 40° in the late afternoon. "Atmospheric pressure. — The rate of change in the pressure of the atmosphere, as indicated by the barometer, is of some assistance in forecasting frost. The actual stage of the pressure, whether above or below normal, is not important, except that a warm period with unusually low pressure is likely to be followed by the opposite extreme. The important factor is the rate of change. If the pressure is increasing rapidly, as indicated by a rapid rise in the barometer, it is a good indication that the cold period or cold wave is approach- ing rapidly. The change in pressure usually precedes by a short interval the change in direction of the wind, because the wind depends on the pressure; but one will have to watch the barometer very closely to gain much advantage over the indications afforded by the direction and force of the wind." Mulching to enable plants to escape frost. It is a general opinion that a mulch or heavy cover placed about plants on the earth when it is frozen, will retard flowering and the maturing of fruit; yet the practice appears to be often unsatisfactory, and there are reasons for supposing that the philosophy of the subject is not commonly understood. The subject is one of increasing importance, for it is essential that every means be used to escape late spring frosts. Efforts must also be made to reach the market when there is least competition from other sources, and, in the North, at least, this competition comes chiefly from early products produced in states to the southward. If the plants are such that they can be entirely covered (as the strawberry), mulching will retard them; but the mulching of the earth does not greatly affect the blossom- 256 The Principles of Fruit-growing ing of early-blooming woody plants if the tops are left exposed. Plants store up starchy matters in their bulbs or branches, to be used in the growth of the adjacent parts in early spring. The earliest bloom of spring is supported by this store of nutriment, rather than by food freshly appropriated from the earth. This is well illustrated by placing well-matured twigs of apple or willow (or other early-flowering plants) in vases of water in winter, when the buds will burst and flowers will often appear. On the 15th of one February, a branch of a nectarine tree that stood alongside a horticultural laboratory was drawn into the office through a window. This office was maintained at the temperature of a living-room. On the 6th of April the buds began to swell, and the young leaves had reached a length of % mcn a week later. The leaves finally attained their full size on this branch before the buds on the remain- ing or outdoor part of the plant had begun to swell. This experiment must impress upon the reader the fact that much of the bursting vegetation of springtime is supported by a local store of nutriment, and is more or less indepen- dent of root-action. If the ground could be kept frozen for a sufficiently long period after vegetation begins, the plant would consume its supply of stored food, and might then be checked from inactivity of the root, but this would evidently be at the expense of injury to the plant; but, in practice, it is fortunately impossible to hold the frost in the soil so long. It is evident, too, that the covering of strawberries and other low plants for the purpose of retarding fruit must be practised with caution, for a mulch of sufficient depth measurably to delay vegetation is likely to bleach and injure the young growth, and to lessen the crop. Yet it can sometimes be used to good effect, and fruiting can be delayed a week, perhaps even more. Covering for Protection 257 Some skilful strawberry-growers are able to delay fruiting on small patches as much as two weeks by means of mulches. While mulching the ground may not retard the period of bloom, and thus enable the plant to escape frost, it is possible that it may be useful in protection from frost, because it holds moisture, and, therefore, tends to raise the dew-point. Covering the plants to protect from frost. Covering for protection is practicable in many cases. The discussion of the mulching of strawberries to protect them from cold and from frost, as already described, really belongs here. Plants may be protected from both winter cold and spring frost by this means. Many low-growing plants may be covered with earth. It is a practice in some places to plow a furrow or two over the strawberry rows when a frost is anticipated; fig trees, and other low or flexible-stemmed plants, are often planted on sloping land, so that they may be bent to the surface and covered when occasion requires. In parts of Russia, and other cold countries, the trees of orchard fruits are often pegged down in a similar way. Grapes are regularly removed from the trellises and laid down in some places. The vines may be covered lightly with earth, or drawn under boards nailed together trough-shaped. Sometimes a few sods are placed on the vines to hold them in place, and the snow fills in among them and affords adequate protection. Blackberries and raspberries are extensively laid down in cold climates, and it may be well to relate the method here, for the benefit of those who occupy bleak locations. Late in fall, the bushes are tipped over and covered. Usually three men are employed for this labor. One man Q 258 The Principles of Fruit-growing goes ahead with a long-handled round-pointed shovel and digs the earth away 6 inches deep from under the roots. The second man has a six-tined or four-tined fork which he thrusts against the plant a foot or so above the ground, and by pushing on the fork and stamping against the roots with the foot, the plant is laid over in the direc- tion from which the earth was removed. The third man now covers the plant with the earth or marsh hay. Earth is mostly used, and if the variety is tender the whole bush is covered 2 to 3 inches deep. Hardy varieties may be held down by throwing a few shovelfuls of earth on the tops of the canes, thus allowing the snow to fill in amongst the tops. If the grower lives in a locality where late spring frosts are not feared, the bushes should be raised early in the spring; but if frosts are anticipated, they may be left under cover until corn-planting time. If the buds become large and are bleached while under cover, they will suffer when exposed to the atmosphere; and one must watch the bushes in spring, and raise them before the growth starts. This method of laying down blackberry plants costs less than $15 an acre, and the slight breaking of the roots is no disadvantage. Some growers dig the earth away on both sides of the row, and still others bend over the canes without any digging. Whatever method is employed, the operator must be careful not to crack or split the canes. The method may be varied with dif- ferent varieties, for some bear stiffer canes than others. The laying down of orchard trees is little practised in this country, but it. must come to be better understood as the country develops and a greater interest arises in amateur fruit-growing. A method of training peach trees for laying down is as follows (method of J. T. Macomber) : The trunk is trained in a horizontal position, Covering and Whitewashing 259 and it should be 10 feet or more long to allow of its being twisted. The top is trained fan-shaped and is supported by a stake, and the bend of the trunk rests upon a block of wood. The long, horizontal trunk remains compara- tively small and pliable year after year. It should be covered with an inverted board trough at all seasons, to prevent injury from the sun. The flat top is laid upon the ground each winter, by twisting the trunk, and is covered with boards; it is not lifted until all danger of late spring frosts is past. A little ingenuity applied to the pruning and training of fruit-trees will make it possible to lay them down, by one method or another, with every hope of success. Some fruits may be advantageously protected by covering them with temporary (or even permanent) screens. This is extensively done in pineapple-culture, in which the better varieties are grown under lath or slat sheds, for the purpose of protection from frost, sun and drought; and it is now a practice with citrous fruits in parts of Florida. Small or amateur plantations of straw- berries, or even of bush-fruits, may be easily covered with lath screens when frost is feared. In the case of the cranberry, the plant may be covered with water, as explained on the next page. Whitewashing as a protection. The experiments of Whitten have shown that the whitewashing of trees may retard the period of bloom in early-flowering fruits, and sometimes sufficiently to allow them to escape spring frosts. The reason of this is that the white covering reduces the absorption of heat rays, since these rays are absorbed mostly by surfaces having dark colors; the tree is therefore kept cooler. Thorough spraying with lime-sulfur has a similar effect. 260 The Principles of Fruit-growing Making currents of air. Since frosts occur on still nights, it is sometimes pos- sible to prevent them by keeping the air in motion, thereby mixing the air and preventing any part of it from lying on the plant until it shall have become frost-cold by loss of radiated heat. In small areas, as in choice gardens, it is often feasible to undertake such means. It has been suggested that windmills be set in motion by electric or other power, or that mechanical fans be installed. These methods appear not to have been applied commercially. Adding vapor of water to the air; flooding. An abundance of watery vapor in the air tends to check the radiation of the earth's heat, and the addition of water-vapor has an influence in raising the dew-point. The means of adding vapor to the atmosphere are several: Spraying, flooding and irrigating, mulching and tilling. The machinery used in spraying for insects and fungi may be used for this purpose. Elaborate stand- pipe devices, connecting with underground pipes, have been used to facilitate the spraying of orchards. How much relief may be found from these practices is yet doubtful. The soaking of plantations to protect from frost is practicable in places where vineyards are arranged to be flooded for the destruction of phylloxera. Irrigating systems may also be used to add moisture to the soil, and therefore to the air, when frost is anticipated. "Cranberry bogs, being always lower than the surround- ing land, are peculiarly liable to damage by frost, serious loss frequently occurring when an ordinary farmer would not dream of danger, and a good supply of water is the only preventive that has been found efficient. The time of starting growth in the spring may be controlled by the Coverings and Explosives 261 time the water is drained off and the earlier spring frosts may so be avoided while an ample supply of water permits reflooding when a later severe frost threatens. Reflooding about the first of June, provided the water has not been withdrawn earlier than May 5 to 10, will also furnish pro- tection from a number of damaging insects and will not injure the crop, provided care is taken that the water does not stand on any portion of the bog more than forty-eight hours. If a bog should become seriously infested with insects later in the season, it is occasionally profitable to sacrifice what remains of the year's crop and clear the bog of insects by flooding. This sometimes results in a greatly increased yield the following year. Damage from a light frost in the fall, before the berries are picked, may be pre- vented by raising the water in the ditches and about the roots of the vines. Protection from a heavy frost requires covering the plants with water, but this will cause imma- ture berries to rot and should be done with great caution or the damage from water may be greater than it would have been from frost." — Elizabeth C. White, Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. Explosives for frost and hail. Explosives were first used in the vineyard districts of Austria, France and Italy, where hailstorms and frost were prevalent and were destructive to the grape-crop. Many years ago, Albert Stiger, burgomaster, Windisch- Briestrits (Lower Steirmark, Austria), we are informed, owned extensive vineyards on the lower slopes of the Bacher Mountains, a locality persistently visited by des- tructive hailstorms. He decided to drive the clouds away by the use of explosives and he established six stations on six of the surrounding mountains, a locality 2 miles in extent. The stations, built of wood, sheltered ten heavy 262 The Principles of Fruit-growing mortars each, and near each station was a cabin in which powder was stored. A corps of volunteers consisting of neighbors and owners of small vineyards was trained to proceed to the stations and handle the mortars whenever there was the slightest indication of a storm. Each mortar i i was loaded with about 43/£ ounces of pow- der; the firing was simulta- neous and con- tinuous until the clouds were either scattered or blown away. This also had a tendency to break up the stratum of cold air and prevent FIG. 94. Hail-gun, installed in a vineyard. The shed its Settling in is only a storehouse. . i i i thelowgrounds. These experiments were practised for some time, and are said to have been successful. (G. B. Brackett, Year- book, U. S. Dept. Agric., 1909.) This principle of applying explosives in the upper air has received considerable attention for the prevention of hail from fruit-growers abroad and it has been introduced in the United States, but meteorologists do not look on it with favor or as being likely to produce the desired results. Fig. 94 is an illustration of one of several hail-guns now employed in New York. When hail is threatened in the vineyard, these guns are fired repeatedly, heavy charges Frost-protection by Means of Smudges 263 of gunpowder being used. The guns are made of heavy sheet metal, and are fired from beneath. The vineyardists think that the results have been satisfactory. The sub- ject needs investigation. The making of smudges. Frosts occur on clear nights. This is because the earth's heat radiates quickly into space. When clouds or fogs are present, this radiation is checked. It is possible, in many cases, to supply a blanket of smoke to check radiation; and if this cover also contains much vapor of water, its efficiency will thereby be greatly increased. The use of smoke or smudges to protect plants from frost is an old practice. It is necessary, to secure the great- est protection, that the smudge be dense and uniform, and especially that it be maintained until all danger of frost is past. The best results are usually secured on level lands, where the smoke will not drain away, and where there are no higher lands from which the cold air may settle. The best smudges are usually made by burning some tar-like substance. In any case, a smouldering fire is much better than a blaze. The fire should burn slowly, and attendants should keep the smudge going all night. Wet leaves, manure, sawdust, brush, grass, crude-oil and a variety of materials are in use for smudges. Some grape- growers cut the trimmings into short lengths and pile them in vineyards, expecting to use them if frost should threaten. If frost does not occur, the piles are burned before tillage is begun. Crude petroleum stored in barrel- like tanks or receptacles is sometimes conducted through the plantation in pipes, and kettles are filled (and ignited) at intervals. A mixture of one part gas-tar and two 264 The Principles of Fruit-growing parts sawdust is said to make an excellent material for a smudge. In Europe, particularly in the vineyard regions, smudg- ing is an accepted practice, and there are patented com- positions in the way of fuels. One of the systems is that of M. Lestout, of Bordeaux: It consists of little cubical boxes, 20 centimeters (a little less than 8 inches) square, FIG. 95. Smudging a vineyard in France. weighing seven kilos (fifteen pounds four ounces), and cost- ing about 75 centimes (15 cents) apiece. These are placed around the field to be protected at a distance of 10 meters (32 feet 10 inches) apart, and are easily ignited from a torch. The fire emits a black smoke, which can be ren- dered more dense by pouring water upon the smudges. After a while, the columns of smoke fuse into a thick cloud, which settles upon the field, and elevates the tem- perature by 2° or 3°. The fires can be instantly put out by an extinguisher. M. Lestout declared some years ago that 300 smudges, costing 225 francs ($45), will protect a vineyard 3,000 meters square — i. e., one containing 900 Orchard Heating 265 hectares (about 2,200 acres) — namely, at a cost of 25 cen- times (5 cents) for each 2J^ acres. The illustration (Fig. 95) shows the Lestout method in operation. In North America, the direct heating of plantations is now gaining the ascendancy over smudging. One of the advantages of a smudge is the utilization of it very early in the morning to protect the plantation from the sun when the night has been very cold and there is reason to think that the buds have been injured. All frosted plants should be protected from the sun on the chance that they may recover. Heating the plantation. It is possible and in many cases practicable to heat the fruit-plantation by means of fires, even raising the temperature as much as 10°. Preparation is made in advance, and when the indications point to frost, the fires are lighted. The smoke arising from the fires may combine the effects of a smudge with the heating of the air, although little dependence is commonly placed on the smoke. In very recent years, the heating of plan- tations has assumed commercial importance, particularly in Colorado and on the Pacific slope, and many heating devices are now on the market. Any combustible material may be used, as wood, straw, leaves, shavings, manure, prunings from the plantation, coal and oil. The manure and straw are more useful for smudging, but the use of wood — as cordwood, old rails, stumps, and general refuse — is wholly practicable; the material to use is largely a matter of cost. The patented oil-burners are compact and effective; and it is now gener- ally considered that crude-oil or distillate is the best and most economical material to use. 266 The Principles of Fruit-growing Some of the methods in orchard-heating are here quoted and adapted from O'Gara, who has had much experience in Oregon and has written effectively on the subject. The number of heaps or piles of home material which should be distributed in the orchard will vary somewhat, depending upon the kind of material used, about forty to fifty piles to the acre being usually sufficient. In most cases a heap or pile was placed between every four trees — that is to say, a pile every other tree row in each direction in the orchard, as Fig. 96, which illustrates the preparation in an apple orchard. Usually it will be found that only half of these heaps will have to be lighted at one time, which of course allows a large amount of reserve material that may be used in case it is impossible to keep the temperature up with only half the fires lighted. It is also well to place heaps of fuel on the outer edges or borders of the orchard, since it is often found that the outside trees may suffer where a slight breeze tends to blow the heat away. These piles should be distributed outside the last row of the orchard, and in case the temperature can not be kept up they should be lighted. In case the temperature can not be kept up to 28° F., a certain quantity of straw or stable manure, which will produce a dense smudge, should be placed upon these heaps before the sun rises. These smudges should be started on the side or sides from which the wind is blowing, and the material should be wet, so as to make it burn without any flame. Experience has shown that the fires should not be large, since large fires tend to produce convective currents that are apt to bring in cold air; hence, the quantity of material for each heap need not be very great. Large fires also might scorch the blossoms.. From four to five pieces of cordwood, or its equivalent hi any other kind of wood or old rails, are sufficient for a single fire; very often when the low temperature is of short duration all of this material will not be consumed in a single firing. In case stable manure or rubbish was used, a larger number of heaps were placed, and the quantity of material to each heap averaged about a bushel or a bushel and a half. Orchard Heating 267 The cost of the material for firing varied greatly, depending upon how it was obtained. In some cases, where good cordwood was used, the cost of one firing was given as $2 an acre. However, it may be stated that generally the cost to the acre for one night was between $2 and $2.50. In some cases the cost was estimated as high as $4, but it is quite possible that more material than was necessary was burned, and that a higher price than usual was paid for it. When stable manure and rubbish alone were used, the cost for firing an acre was from 4 to 10 cents. This was because the material was on hand, and the only element of expense was for distributing it. Oil-heating, however, is the most dependable means. "No matter how remote a fruit-district may be from an oil-field," writes O'Gara, "there is no question but that oil is the best fuel to be used, especially in large commercial orchards when the labor problem is one of more than ordi- nary importance. There is a great deal of difference in the oils as secured in different parts of the country. For the most part, eastern crude-oils have a paraffine base, while those on the Pacific slope have an asphaltum base. The crude-oil, or petroleum, as it comes from the wells is very rich in gases and the lighter oils, such as benzene, gasolene, kerosene and others, and therefore, is not used as such for orchard-heating. The gases and lighter oils are all removed by fractional distillation, leaving behind the heavier oils and the asphaltum or paraffine base, as the case may be. The fuel-oils on the market are, therefore, residuals, and as such are used for orchard-heating. A residual oil with a paraffine base will burn in the common smudge-pot without leaving behind anything but a little soot; but the oils with an asphaltum base do not. For this reason it is found necessary to remove the asphaltum base in so far as is practicable. Asphaltum does not burn readily in a simple smudge-pot, and therefore, remains behind after the lighter oil has burned. Upon 268 The Principles of Fruit-growing cooling, it becomes very hard, and reduces the capacity of the pot for future fillings. The best oil for orchard-heat- ing purposes is one of approximately 20° Baume test, con- sidering the matter of cost as an item. A lighter oil up to 32° Baume may be used, but being lighter, it will burn more rapidly and reduce the effective burning time of the orchard-heater." The equipment for orchard-heating comprises appara- tus for determining weather conditions as well as devices for making and regulating the fires. For a large plantation in which heating is likely to be practised, there should be thermometers and frost-alarm thermometers (psychrom- eters), the heaters themselves, devices for igniting the heaters, reservoirs for storing the oil (if oil is used), and a wagon-tank for distributing the oil. Many types of oil-heaters are now available, some of them with reservoirs for holding an extra quantity of oil. O'Gara reports, however, that extensive experiments have shown "that the plain sheet-iron pot, holding approx- imately five quarts of fuel-oil is just as effective as the more complicated and expensive types. This pot is inexpensive, and, when made of No. 29 or 26 sheet-iron, will cost from 5 to 8 cents. In using a heater of such small size, the number to the acre should not be less than 100, and preferably more in districts in which periods of low tem- perature continue more than four or five hours. Owing to the cheapness of such pots, a very large number may be used in preference to using a few expensive heaters of the reservoir type. Many small fires give better results than a few large ones, as the heat is better distributed and convective air-currents are not produced. It must be understood that any orchard-heating device which is in any way complicated by dampers, cocks, valves and the Orchard-Heating 269 like, must be avoided. At best, an orchard-heater is roughly handled and the more expensive and complicated types would find a very short existence in actual orchard- heating practice. Furthermore, the matter of storage must be considered. The simple pot which will nest easily and occupy very little space will be more desirable. There is no objection to the high-priced reservoir heater provid- ing it is not complicated; but the same results may be secured by the more simple lard-pail type, holding about five quarts, and having a burning time of four and five hours, depending upon the quality of fuel-oil used. "The cost of orchard-heating is such a variable quan- tity that it is almost impossible to make a general estimate which will be of any value. Equipment, cost of fuel, length and number of firing periods, and so on, will vary in different localities and seasons. Orchard-heaters will cost all the way from 6 cents to 50 cents each, and from fifty to one hundred heaters, depending upon conditions, will have to be used to the acre. The quantity of oil will vary with the season, and the cost will be all the way from 1 to 5 or 6 cents a gallon. Usually, no less than 300 gallons an acre should be provided. At least one wagon-tank will have to be provided for each 10 acres at a cost of $25. Lighters and torches will cost from $1 to $2 an acre; thermometers 75 cents to $1 an acre. The cost of a storage- tank charged to each acre will depend upon its size, but will not be far from $10 an acre for large tracts. It is possible to get at the actual cost of fuel-oil to the acre in the following way: The quantity of fuel-oil necessary to raise the temperature 5° F. above the surrounding air in an orchard in full bearing, with wide-spreading trees, will be approximately twelve and one-half gallons an hour to the acre. This will be true if the air remains calm or does 270 The Principles of Fruit-growing not move more than 1 or 2 miles an hour. In young orchards, with the fruiting area low, practically double the quantity of fuel-oil as given will be necessary. The simple lard-pail type of heater, or, for that matter, any • g .«*;•. -- -*N? %i -~ '^%-;*A--4^^*'^-v? -rf-^— ~.> ^ z *' FIG. 96. The using of wood for heating an orchard, — fifty fires to the acre. type of orchard-heater providing a burning area of about 44 square inches, will burn about one quart of fuel-oil an hour. Fifty-one gallon heaters will burn approximately twelve and one-half gallons of fuel-oil an hour and if this oil costs 4 cents a gallon, the cost an acre-hour will be about 50 cents when all the pots are burning. In other words, under the above conditions, it will cost approxi- mately 1 cent an hour for each heater used, providing this heater does not have a burning surface greater than 44 square inches. It will require less fuel to heat an orchard in the square form than one of any other shape. The Orchard-Heating 271 more the orchard -heaters are massed in the form of a square, the better the results. In fact, it is almost impos- sible to protect an orchard of only a few rows because there is no massing of the heat generated on account of the lack of braking effect on air-movement." Figs. 96, 97, 98 (from Standard Cyclo. Hort.) show some of the methods in orchard-heating. Experiments in Indiana (Bull. No. 154) lead Wood- berry and Wellington to conclude that "Whether or not orchard-heating pays depends on whether spring frost- injury is the limiting factor in the production of the crop. There are probably some orchards on sites of such a nature, and cared for so well in every other respect, that spring frost-injury is the limiting factor in crop-produc- tion. In these orchards, heating would be profitable. FIG. 97. Protecting the windward side of an orchard by using a double row of oil-heaters. 272 The Principles of Fruit-growing In the vast majority of Indiana orchards, spraying, prun- ing and good management must become the rule instead of the exception before heating will pay. Considering the necessity of a reserve of extra heaters for emergency, supply of fuel for several successive nights, labor of dis- tributing and filling heaters, and labor-cost of firing, the initial investment to prepare for protecting a 10-acre orchard from frost-injury probably is not far from $500." FIG. 98. Smudge in an Oregon orchard. They found oil-heaters to give better results than coal- heaters, considering the price and the quick response of the oil-burners. A maximum rise of temperature of 10.2° was secured with 126 heaters to the acre. When using 80 to 100 oil-heaters to the acre, the usual temperature rise was 5° to 7°. In Iowa, Greene found heating of orchards to be practicable; the estimated cost for a 10-acre orchard, with 65 oil-heaters to the acre, was about $375 to $675 (Iowa Bull. No. 129). Church and Fergusson report gratifying Tying up Young Trees 273 results in Nevada (Bull. No. 79), with a good profit- balance. All these results, together with others not here men- tioned, indicate that the possibility of heating orchards to protect from spring frosts is now well beyond the experi- mental stage; whether it will become a generally profitable practice with deciduous fruits, however, remains yet to be determined. SPECIAL CARE OF THE PLANTS Many special practices, some of them local, are very important to the fruit-grower, and raise many questions. Some of these may now be briefly considered, along with other problems on which information may be desired. Staking young trees. If fruit-trees are stocky and well planted, and if the land is deep and in good condition, it will rarely be neces- sary to stake them. The staking of an orchard is usually an indication of poor trees or poor management at some point. It occasionally happens, however, that trees must be staked to enable them to overcome some accident or injury, as breaking by heavy winds or ice. When it is necessary to stake trees, it is ordinarily best to drive a stout stake on two sides and then to bind the tree firmly to each of these stakes, in order to keep it from whipping. The best bandage is of burlaps or other strong soft cloth, cut in strips 2 or 3 inches wide and firmly tied about the tree. Just as soon as the tree has recovered from its injury or weakness, the support should be re- moved. Trees that have blown over, but have not been broken completely off, may be severely headed-in and tied up in this way, often with the very best results. The B 274 The Principles of Fruit-growing wounded and broken surfaces should be thoroughly covered with some antiseptic wash or paint, or with grafting-wax. Watering. If the young trees or other plants are set in autumn or early in the spring and in well-prepared ground, there should be very little loss from lack of moisture to start them off well. In late spring planting, however, and if the trees are either shrivelled or have begun to start, the dry hot weather may catch them before they are well estab- lished. In exceptionally dry springs, many trees may be lost even with the best of care at the beginning. In all such cases, one good watering at the critical time may save the bushes or trees. If some of them are very slow to start, they should receive separate attention. See whether the earth has been properly firmed about them, and whether they have been sufficiently pruned. If the water- ing is undertaken, it should be liberal. A young tree may well receive a pail of water, so that the tissues may be well plumped up and revived. When the water has settled away about the tree, cover the place with loose earth or apply a mulch of straw or similar material. It may pay to go over a doubtful plantation with a clean spray tank and apply water to all trees that give signs of not starting. Even bearing trees in dry places, as on thin hillsides, may be carried through a dry spell by one or two thor- ough soakings. Remove the fruit also, if the tree appears to be failing. Bark-bound trees. When a tree has been allowed to become stunted for two or three or more years, it is very likely to be hide- bound, so that growth is impeded, even though the care Hide-bound Trees 275 of the plantation be corrected. The bark becomes very thick and dense and tight, and is likely to be dull and lifeless in color and sometimes moss-covered. The newer and fresher parts of the tree are likely to show a tendency to overgrow the lower parts. In all such cases, the bark should be softened so as to allow the trunk to expand. In general, the best means of loosening up the bark is to scrape off the outer hard layer, if it should become mossy or entirely dead, and then to wash the tree thoroughly with some soapy compound. This washing should be done with a broom, or preferably with a strong scrubbing- brush, so that the body may be vigorously scrubbed. A wash of strong soapsuds is very good. Tar soap, whale-oil soap or carbolic soap are also very useful for the purpose. These washes have the effect of softening the bark and allowing the tree to grow more readily. The effect of a good wash on orchard trees is often exceedingly marked. It is probable that the potash in the washes eventually becomes plant-food by being washed off to the soil, although the chief value of the wash is no doubt the soft- ening and loosening effect on the bark. The washing also has the additional advantage of killing various insects and their eggs that may be in or about the bark. Spraying with bordeaux mixture, or lime-sulfur, will kill the lichen or "moss" on the trunks. Another means of releasing the pressure in tight-- jacket trees is to slit the bark the entire length of the trunk or hide-bound part. This is done by thrusting the point of a knife through the bark until it strikes the wood, and then drawing the blade down the entire length of the area to be treated. When the knife is withdrawn, the slit is scarcely visible; but after a time the slit widens, as the tree begins to expand. This method is to be advised only 276 The Principles of Fruit-growing as an extreme resort, for it is better to keep the bark fresh and elastic by good tillage and by the use of washes; but the slitting is of no damage to the tree, as a rule. Scraping trees. The outer layers of bark gradually die and peel off. This old rough bark is of no direct use to the plant, but it probably affords some protection to the tender tissues within. It also affords a lodgment for insects and fungi. Trees in good condition of growth and which are watched carefully, will need very little, if any, attention in the removing of the ^p / bark; but if the shaggy \j bark accumulates to any FIG. 99. Scraper for cleaning and repair- great extent, it is Well to scrape off the loosest part. The operation should be performed when the warm weather approaches in spring, or, hi fact, at almost any time in the growing season. A good tool for this purpose is an old and thin hoe, the handle of which is cut down to about 2 feet in length. This tool is grasped lightly, and is raked up and down the tree, and it removes the rough bark readily. The best tool for the purpose, however, is that shown in Fig. 99, which is a steel plate with sharp- ground edges, fastened securely to a bent shank. This tool may be had of hardware dealers, to whom it is known as a box-scraper. Aside from removing the loose bark from the trunks, this tool is useful in cutting out and removing diseased spots on the bodies or in the crotches. The wounds resulting from the barking of trees may be trimmed down to fresh tissue by such a tool and a knife, and all spots injured by bark-borers, spots of pear-blight, Scraping and Whitewashing 277 patches of canker, and the like, may be cut away, and the wounded surfaces are thereafter covered with bordeaux mixture or paint. In the scraping of trees, it is advisable to take away every particle of wounded and diseased tissue, unless it extends deep into the wood. When the object is simply to take away the rough and loose bark, the tree should not be scraped down to the quick; that is, only the loose exterior part should be removed. The scraping of trees merely for looks is to be avoided. Itinerant quacks are likely to make it appear that all the outer bark should be removed from the trunk and branches of orchard and shade trees; but, as a general practice, the bark should be allowed to remain where it grows. Whitewashing trees. There is probably no virtue in whitewash, unless to retard the buds in bright climates (page 259), and perhaps to keep the trunks cool and to act as a protection from sun. The whitewashing of tree-trunks is a cleansing process, particularly when the material is applied vigorously with a brush or broom. Aside from these secondary uses, the whitewashing of trees has no particular merit. It is not employed by commercial orchardists. If trunks and branches are sprayed with lime-sulfur or bordeaux mix- ture (as they should be), there will be little occasion for resorting to whitewash as a cleansing agent. Ringing. Observation of girdled branches shows that there is likely to be congestion of the parts immediately above the girdle, indicating that those parts are then overfed; that is, they receive nutriment at the expense of the parts 278 The Principles of Fruit-growing below the girdle. It would seem, therefore, that inten- tional girdling might be made to increase the size and hasten the maturity of fruit borne beyond the girdle; and such is known to be the case. The girdling of grapes is a common practice in some regions. The girdled parts are entirely removed in the next annual pruning, and enough of the growing part is left below the girdle to maintain the roots and trunk. It will be seen, therefore, that the liability of injury to the vine is all a question of how much is left below the girdle and how much above it. Careful vineyardists are able to continue the practice year after year without apparent injury to the vine. The girdling or "ringing" is done when the grapes are about the size of peas, and a section of bark about an inch wide is entirely removed from the cane. A gain in earliness of a week to ten days may be secured by the process, but it is commonly thought that the quality of the better grapes is injured. In practice, only the very earliest varieties of grapes are girdled or ringed for commercial purposes; and it is doubtful whether the practice is to be commended. Apples and other fruit-trees are sometimes ringed to set them into bearing. Many orchards develop a habit of redundant wood-bearing, and these are of ten thrown into fruiting by some check to the trees, as seeding down, girdling, and the like. Probably every orchardist has ob- served that the attacks of borers sometimes cause trees to bear. It is an old maxim that checking growth induces fruitfulness. This may be the explanation of the fact that driving nails into plum and peach trees sometimes sets the trees to bearing, and also of the similar influence exerted by a label wire that has cut into the bark, or of a partial break in a branch. Ringing to set trees into bearing is an old and well-known practice, but it is not to Girdling for a Purpose 279 be advised as a general resort, although it may be allow- able to employ it on one or two of the minor branches of an unprofitable tree for the purpose of determining whether the tree needs a check. One sometimes sees a tree on which one or two large limbs have been girdled, and these limbs may be bending with fruit when the remaining branches and the adjacent trees are barren. Ringing may usually be performed with safety in spring, when the leaves are putting out. A ring of bark 2 or 3 inches wide may be removed to the wood, and en- tirely encircling the limb. One hears of excellent results following the simple severing of the bark — but removing none of it — completely around the tree with a sharp knife, in spring. These, of course, are only incidental operations, to be employed with caution. The treat- ment of trees that have been damaged by girdling is quite another subject; this is discussed on page 290. The regulations of societies and exhibitions usually prohibit the competition of fruits produced on girdled branches with those produced normally. Top-grafting bearing trees. One of the important factors in the secondary care of an apple orchard is the grafting over of old trees or of worthless varieties. Whether it will pay to graft trees after they are fifteen or twenty years old depends on how profitable the trees are in their present condition. If they are bringing in no return, then nothing can be lost if they are grafted; and if the trees are strong and healthy, and not too old to make vigorous growth, there is reason to expect that much may be gained.^ If the operation of top-grafting is properly done, the trees ought to be 280 The Principles of Fruit-growing FIG. 100. Top-grafted young apple tree, after four years. completely changed over to a new variety in three or four years (Fig. 100). It should be said, however, that the careful fruit-grower will find out whether his trees are to be profitable or not long before they reach the age of fifteen or twenty years. If there are strong indications that the varieties are un- suited to his needs, the sooner they are grafted the better. In grafting the top of an old apple tree, it should be borne in mind that the operation at best is harsh, and that the top should be replaced as quickly as possible. Effort • should be made to graft only limbs of comparatively small size (say not more than 1J/2 to 2 inches in diameter, and preferably less), and to set very many cions, even if some of them need to be cut out after two or three years. The setting of so many cions is somewhat expensive, but the orchardist should be able to do the work himself. Finally, it should not be , i , i j i j FIG. 101. Undesirable form of expected that a remodeled top-grafted tree. Top-grafting 281 old tree shall be of as good and handy shape as one that has been grown properly from the start. In forming the new top, care should be taken to avoid bad crotches, such as are represented in Fig. 101 (from G. H. Powell, Del. Bull., as is also Fig. 100). The new scaffold branches should alternate and should spread widely. Sometimes the trunk is grafted midway, and the top taken out farther up; in such cases, the union usually remains apparent throughout the life of the tree (Fig. 102). Grafting^wax. The waxes used in grafting are of two gen- eral kinds, — the resin-beeswax preparations, and the alcoholic waxes. The former kinds are hard waxes that must be worked up and warmed in the hands when they are applied, or sometimes they are melted and run on in a liquid state; the latter kinds are liquid or paste plastics that harden on exposure (on evaporation of the alcohol). Standard wax. — Resin, 4 parts by weight; beeswax, 2 parts by weight; rendered tallow, 1 part by weight. Melt all together in a kettle over a stove, avoiding boiling; then pour the liquid into a pail or tub of water to harden; then work with the hands, pulling it to a grain; make up into convenient balls or skeins. It will keep for years. Softer wax. — Resin, 4 parts by weight; beeswax, 2 parts by weight; linseed oil, 1 part or more, according as the material must be hard or FIG. 102. The place of the graft on the trunk of an old apple tree. 282 The Principles of Fruit-growing soft. Adaptable for use in cold weather. On account of the impurities in linseed oil, this wax is now likely to be unreliable; and it may be better to use a greater quantity of tallow in the Standard wax given above. Alcoholic wax. — White resin, 1 pound; beef tallow, 1 ounce; tur- pentine, 1 tablespoonful; alcohol, 5 ounces (more or less). Melt the resin; add the tallow; remove from fire and gradually stir in the tur- pentine and alcohol. Keep closed. Apply with brush. Bagging fruits. When it is desired to secure extra-fine fruit, it is a good plan to tie up the fruits in paper bags. This keeps away the insects and fungi, and protects the fruit from birds (although the whiteness of the bags is likely to attract thieves at night), and the fruit is likely to ripen later or at least to hang later, and to be of higher quality because of the warmth that the bag affords. The bag- ging of grapes is a frequent practice when exhibition or test specimens are desired; it is also employed in commercial work with grapes. It is customary to pin the bags on the clusters when the grapes are a third to a half grown. Bags made of mosquito netting are very useful later in the sea- son when it is desired to secure the full color of highly colored fruit. If it is desired to bring out the blossoms of a tree very early in the spring, it may be done by tying grocers' bags on the spurs when the buds first begin to swell. Winter preparations. In winter, plants are exposed to injuries of wind, snow, water, ice, mice, rabbits, and the like. Before the season closes, the farmer should see that young trees stand stiff and straight, and in order to keep them rigid and to afford good surface drainage, it is sometimes well (especially To Prepare for Winter 283 with newly set trees in cold climates) to bank up the trees with earth to the height of 6 or 8 inches. In making the bank, the workman should be cautioned not to leave holes, from which the earth is taken, close about the tree, for the water is likely to stand in them, and it may do harm. In small-fruit, grape and nursery plantations, it is often advisable to plow a furrow toward the plants, on either side, in the autumn. Care should be taken to pro- vide for top-drainage if the conformation of the land is such as to hold surface water. The protecting of bush-fruits, grapes and even trees from winter cold has been discussed on pages 257-259. RENOVATING OLD ORCHARDS It is impossible to give any specific method of pro- cedure when it is desired to renovate an old and profitless orchard. The first question is, whether the orchard is worth renovating, — whether it is too old, too few trees remaining, trees too much weakened by borers and rotten hearts and other injuries, or trees so very tall and sprawly as to promise little return for the effort that must be expended on them. If the orchard is thought to be worth it, then the next requisite is a change of heart on the part of the owner. It is then necessary to discover the causes of its unprofit- ableness— to diagnose the difficulty — and forthwith to go straight at the root of the evil. It must be remembered, also, that a long-neglected orchard cannot be expected to arrive at the profitable condition which trees enjoy that have received proper care from the beginning, no matter how thorough the means of recuperating it may be. At the best, one can make only an apology for long years of 284 The Principles of Fruit-growing carelessness and mistakes. If the grower once arrives at a clear conception of the agencies that make for productive- ness, he will readily perceive what the trouble with his orchard may be. Most neglected apple orchards need a general overhauling, — tillage, fertilizing, pruning, spray- ing, sometimes top-grafting, and often removal of part of the trees. The land must be tilled. This may demand a heavy trimming up of the trees to allow a team to work; and in many of the forest-like old orchards it may be economy to cut out a third or half the trees at the start. Perhaps the roots are so high that the land cannot be plowed. In such case, the land may be broken up in the spring, before the earth be- comes hard, by means of spading-harrows, disc-harrows, spring-tooth harrows and similar vigorous tools. Or corn and other grain may be dropped freely in holes made with a crow-bar, and the hogs then turned in to root for it. The earth-mulch once secured to save the moisture, it may next be necessary to apply plant-food, either in the form of stable manures, green crops or concentrated fertilizers, or in all these forms together. It is probable that the trees will need heavy pruning (Figs. 103, 104, from Jarvis). But this pruning is for the purpose of correcting the results of years of neglect, not for the purpose, directly, of making the trees to Fia. 103. A good type of neglected apple tree for renovation. Neglected Orchards 285 bear. In fact, the effect of heavy pruning is likely to be the very opposite of fruit-bearing; but it must be done in most old orchards to bring the trees back into manageable shape, to produce new and fresh wood for fruit-bearing, and to thin the top sufficiently to allow the fruit to develop to something like perfection of size and quality. Weak trees may sometimes be re-invigorated by this heavy pruning alone. Severe heading-in of decrepit peach trees often accomplishes ttiis. Tall long-armed apple trees may sometimes be headed -back severely for the purpose of estab- lishing a new top, if the trees still retain much vigor. When the new wood is once formed and the tree has re-established its equi- 1 i b r i U m, fruit-bearing p^. 104. The same tree as Fig. 103, after the may be expected to begin, if soil is good and other conditions are right. It will next be necessary to begin hunting for borers and other squatters and campers. The trees will very likely need to be thoroughly sprayed to dislodge the army of hangers-on that has held undisputed possession of the territory perhaps for a score of years. Cut out dis- eased spots, fill the holes with wax or cement, remove dis- eased limbs, take off the shaggy hanging bark. In other words, it may be necessary to give the trees a general cleaning up. If the trees are of the wrong varieties and are still vigorous, it will probably pay to top-graft them, as already explained (page 279), if they are apples, pears, 286 The Principles of Fruit-growing oranges or cherries. Old and poor peach, apricot, plum and quince trees would better be pulled out. Much good work has been done in the renovation of neglected orchards, particularly apple orchards, and results have been published widely in bulletin and press. These tests constitute some of the best applications of investigation to horticulture; and they also demonstrate that in existing profitless plantations the country has a latent asset as responsive to development as local mines, quarries and streams. Why are orchards barren? It may aid the grower to analyze the difficulty if he asks himself the above question, and then tries to answer it. The commonest reason why old orchards are barren is because they are in sod, — that is, because they are unbilled and unfed. There are men enough in the country who have taught that sodded orchards are wrongly managed orchards. They have been combatted by citations of orchards that are in sod but are still productive. They have replied that, in some cases, for a combination of reasons, orchards may do well in continuous sod, but they have still fallen back on the rationale of land management, and have said that the system is wrong, nevertheless. Time is rapidly demonstrating the accuracy of their teaching. It is a case in which a handful of philosophy is worth more than a forkful of facts. If one asks why orchards are barren, let him fill out the following synopsis by way of review of some of the principles enunciated in this book: The nature of the problem: Each case must be investigated by itself; teaching must be along the line of essentials, not statements of rules. The eight general factors that determine productiveness are : Factors of Productiveness 287 1. THE LOCATION FACTOR. Improper climate, aspect, land; insufficient drainage. 2. THE PLANTATION FACTOR. (a) Age of trees, (6) the "stand," — whether too thick. 3. THE TILLAGE FACTOR. Soil-structure. Fertility as influenced by (a) fineness, (6) conditions of root-hold, (c) life processes, (d) air-hold- ing capacity, (e) water-holding capacity. Sod in orchards. Cover-crops. 4. THE FERTILITY FACTOR. Conceptions of the uses of nitrogen, potash, phosphoric acid, lime, in fruit-production. 5. THE PRUNING FACTOR. (a) The relation of pruning to wood-growth and fruit- growth, (6) reshaping of the top to bring it within reach and to make it amenable to treatment, (c) reinvigorating the tree. 6. THE VARIETY FACTOR. (a) Unproductive varieties, (6) unadapted varieties, (c) impotent varieties, (d) top-working. 7. THE PROPAGATION FACTOR. (a) The individuality of the tree, and its power to perpetu- ate its characteristics, (6) poor physical union of cion and stock. 8. THE PARASITE FACTOR. (a) Fungi, (6) insects. Spraying. CHAPTER VIII ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES WHAT may happen to a fruit-plantation is beyond the wisdom of any man to foresee. One may be sure of having difficulties that are not set down in the books. Hail, wind, frost, drought, roaming live-stock, bad places in the land, trees not true to name, are among the proba- bilities. Some of the prevailing injuries that may be more or less remedied are mentioned in this separate chapter. Probably the greatest menace to the fruit-plantation is the hired man. Some men have no feeling for a tree. They will run over young trees, bark and scratch old ones, and break the limbs with no blush of conscience and with no care to bind up and mend the wounds. They are likely to work special evil in grubbing for borers, cutting more than is necessary, covering up shiftless work, and perhaps leaving the borer for bait. Discrimination in the choice of help is a prime consideration on a fruit-farm, not only in the care of the trees but also in the handling of the fruit after it is mature. Herein is one of the advantages of living in a fruit country, where most of the hired help has had some training in the business. Green and in- experienced hands should not be left alone in a fruit- plantation. The only safe man for such a plantation is one who feels that the welfare of the fruit-trees or plants is his first consideration; he must like the fruit-growing business and be proud of his connection with it. (288) Depredations 289 MISCELLANEOUS INJURIES The fruit-grower will not expect to find all his troubles explained in a book. There are some difficulties that he must solve alone and for himself. Yet some of the acci- dents that his trees are almost sure to meet sooner or later may be discussed briefly. Depredations of live-stock. Injuries of trees can be prevented in sheep pastures and hog pastures by giving the animals plenty to eat and especially plenty to drink. They are very likely to gnaw the trees for the moisture. If, however, the animals begin to injure the trees, the only recourse is either to take them out or to build wide racks about the trunks; but any sort of rack or fence prevents the proper care of the tree. Cer- tain animals in a herd of swine may be specially vicious about trees, and they should be removed. Horned cattle (or cattle of any kind) are not in place in an orchard. If the orchard adjoins a pasture, the fences should be kept in good repair. Birds. The incursions of birds in cherries and small-fruits may sometimes be overlooked by planting in such quantity that the birds may get their fill without ruining the plantation. Cherry orchards may sometimes be pro- tected by planting a number of trees of very early sweet varieties around the outside of the field. Some persons advise the free planting of mulberries to feed the birds; but they might increase the difficulty by attracting more birds to the place. In some cases, it is impossible to save the fruit unless fire-arms are used; but it is usually suffi- s 290 The Principles of Fruit-growing cient to fire blank cartridges a few times to scare the birds away, and thereby obviate the necessity of killing them. Small trees and garden-plats of small-fruits may be protected from birds by means of netting manufactured for that purpose. Rodents. Mice and other vermin injure trees mostly in cold winters, when green food is scarce. They are likely to be especially bad in new countries. The best preventive of injuries from mice is to see that there is no material, as dead grass or weeds, close to the base of the tree, in which the rodents can nest. If the litter is not taken away, it should at least be tramped down tightly before winter sets in. The best preventive of injury by rabbits is not to have the rabbits. If the brush-piles and old fence-rows, in which the animals harbor, are cleaned away, there will commonly be little trouble; and, at all events, a smart boy who is fond of hunting will ordinarily solve the question without help, so far as the game laws allow. If mice are very damaging, it may be advisable to put cylinders of wire netting about the trees, as elsewhere recommended (page 293). Rolls of birch bark are some- times used in regions where the paper-birch grows. It should be considered, however, that such covers for the bodies of trees interfere with clean culture about the base of the tree, and they are likely to afford a most excellent place for the lodgment of insects. Girdled trees. Trees that have been girdled by rabbits, mice or otherwise should have the injured parts pared down to live tissue and the wounded surface then covered with an Treating Girdled Trees 291 antiseptic dressing. It is also advisable to bind up the girdle with some material like grafting-wax, that will keep the wood moist and thereby allow the ascent of the sap-water; for the water rises in the tree through the young soft wood, and not between the wood and the bark. The bark is formed over the wound by material that is redistributed through the tree after it has been elaborated in the leaves; that is, the reparative tissue on the trunk is formed by elaborated sap that is on its downward course. If the woody tissue is kept soft and fresh, the tree may continue to live for years, but there will be a deposition of woody matter above the girdle, while the part below will not increase in diameter. This is well known to all observing fruit-growers. After a while the younger wood is likely to become hard and dry, prevent- ing the upward passage of root-water, and the tree then starves to death; or, the top may become so heavy that the plant breaks off at the point of constriction. It is, therefore, necessary that the orchardist give careful atten- tion to his label wires, to prevent them from doing great injury. It is always best to take the nursery labels from young trees when they are set, and to depend on a map record for the names of the varieties; or, if the label is left on the tree, it is best to hang it on one of the minor limbs, rather than on the trunk; or a less dangerous label may be substituted. In adjusting the label wire to the tree, it is important that only the ends of the wire be twisted together, thereby providing a large loop in which the limb may expand. The label may be held tightly to the limb by pinching the wires together with the fingers. Trees freshly girdled in the growing time of spring may be expected to heal over before the season is past, if the girdled zone is not more than 4 or 5 inches wide, and if the 292 The Principles of Fruit-growing surface of the wood, as already explained, is kept fresh. It is usually best, however, if no connection of bark remains, to bridge over the girdle by cions. These cions are of the same kind as those used for ordinary grafting. The edges of the girdle are pared down to fresh wood, and the cions are cut 2 or 3 inches longer than the width of the girdle. They are whittled to a wedge shape on either end, and these ends are inserted between the bark and the wood on the upper and lower rims of the girdle. They should be so numerous as almost to touch each other en- tirely around the tree. After they are inserted, a strip of cloth should be bound tightly upon the bark over their ends, and the whole girdle should then be waxed over. It is a good plan to pour alcoholic wax over the work, allowing it to run in between the cions and cover the edges of the bark and the exposed wood surface. Hail injuries. The injuries caused by hail are very often confounded with those wrought by borers and other pests, and it is the delight of many persons to endeavor to puzzle the experi- menters and teachers with specimens of such work. Plum limbs injured by hail-stones are shown natural size in Fig. 105. Nothing special can be done for such injuries. They soon heal. Sun-scald. Often it is necessary to shade the trunks of young trees to prevent sun-scald, particularly in the hot plains region. FIG. 105. Injuries by hail- stones. Injuries by Sun Scald 293 In the nursery-rows, the bodies of the trees are ordinarily well shaded. There are various means of providing this shade, but the best results may be expected to follow some protection that breaks the force of the sun and does not entirely obstruct it; for in the latter case, the bark does not so readily become inured to exposure to sunshine. 3&jytKJir*^^HK& J Finely woven wire netting *$ M rolled around the tree (in more than one thickness, if neces- sary), is said to afford very good protection for this pur- pose, as shown in Fig. 106 (but preferably extending higher up the trunk). The upper part of the trunk is likely to be shaded sufficiently by the branches, although this is not always the case. These rolls of wire netting also serve a purpose in keeping away mice and other vermin. A box of boards (Fig. 107, from S. B. Green) is sometimes used to protect from sun and other injuries. Hansen writes as follows on this subject for Dakota conditions: "Trees planted and kept with stem leaning toward the southwest until the branches shade the trunk, are free from it. Some fruit-growers set a board, or two boards nailed together trough-fashion, on the southwest side; others use corn-stalks, wire netting or lath. Low- FIG. 106. Tree protected from sun and rabbits by a roll of netting. 294 The Principles of Fruit-growing headed trees are best for severe locations; in more favor- able sections trees may be headed 2>£ to 3 feet high. Tall trunks suffer more from sun-scald and severe winds." Trees are liable to injury from sun-scald after a heavy pruning, especially if they have been allowed to grow too thick in the first place. Cutting out heavily from the center of the tree exposes the oblique and horizontal limbs to the intense heat of the sun, and the bark is liable to blister and be killed, after which borers are very likely to finish the work of destruction. In all interior hot re- gions, therefore, it is well to exercise caution in the pruning of the tops of trees. It is better to keep the top somewhat thin and open from the start, rather than to allow it to become overgrown and then to make a sudden correction. Perhaps sun-scald is a form of winter injury due to the rapid fall of temperature when the sun leaves the south- western side of the tree; but the above treatment applies in any case. Borers. The best treatment for borers and similar insect pests is to watch the plants carefully, and to dig the insects out at least twice every year. In grounds kept in clean tillage, such insects are rarely so troublesome as FIG. 107. A boxed apple tree. Hunting Borers 295 in neglected areas. This is both because. the insects find places of lodgment in neglected orchards, and because the fruit-grower is so seldom present that he does not discover them in season. Orchards should be gone over every spring and autumn for borers; this is patient hand-and- knee work, but it is the only sure way. The grower is certain of the borer when he has him under the knife. Borers in the stalks of currants and raspberries are despatched by cutting the canes and burning them. The affected canes usually show lack of vigor, yellowing or wilting leaves, and are sometimes limp. Peach trees are attacked by two very destructive borers, — the regular large borer larva, % inch long when mature, and the very small borer beetle known as the bark-beetle or pine-hole borer. The treatment for the former is to dig out in spring and autumn, and at the same time to apply gas-tar or coal-tar from the roots to 1 foot or so from the ground. The bark-beetle usually attacks trees that are not in full vigor, as those that have been shattered by winter cold or lessened in vitality by other borers, lack of tillage, overbearing and general neglect. The first thing to do is to put the trees in vig- orous condition; then whitewash the trunk and branches late in March, in July and in October (in the North). Some of the protective devices or materials are more or less effective against borers in orchard trees; but the grower should not lessen his vigilance. Wire screen is good if made tight about the top and where the edges come together and if it stands far enough from the tree to prevent the beetle from ovipositing through it. Tarred paper is sometimes used, but it often injures trees if allowed to remain in warm weather. Gas-tar may be applied about the crown of peach and other trees, extend- 296 The Principles of Fruit-growing ing a foot or so above the ground. Coal-tar is used with safety. Soap and carbolic washes in early summer are effective against the flat-headed borer (this borer is likely to work on the sun-scalded or injured parts of the trunk and larger limbs) ; probably if the trunks are well drenched with the lime-sulfur spray, the injury will be lessened. The use of axle-grease is not advisable. It is possible that no injury would result, but on the other hand if the grease should contain any of the oils, which soak into the trunk, or any turpentine, it might kill the trees. The addition of sulfur will do no harm, and also no good. In short-generation plants, as the small-fruits, rotation of plantations is a very important means of circumventing borers and some other pests. This is specially true of the strawberry, in preventing depredations of the root-borer, root-louse and white grub. Short, sharp rotations, clean tillage, burning of rubbish about the plantation, vigorous plants, are very effective means of getting ahead of many pests. Cankers and bad spots; wounds. Rough and sunken places in the bark on apple trees may be cankers, produced by a parasitic fungus (the canker of the peach is produced by the same fungus that causes the fruit-rot) ; smooth, dead, more or less sunken spots on apples, pears and quinces may be due to pear-blight. There are other kinds of bad spots in the bark, the cause perhaps unknown. In some cases they may be due to the work of the flat-headed borer or to sun-scald (page 292) . The treatment of cankers is described as follows by Jehle (Cornell Circ. 26) : "Whatever the origin of cankers, their treatment is essentially the same except that in the case of an infectious disease, such as the brown-rot canker, Treating Cankers ' 297 the work must be done with great care in order to insure that all trace of the fungus is eliminated. Whenever the cankers occur on limbs that can be removed without detriment to the tree, it is best to remove them while pruning; care being taken to cut several inches below any visible injury, as the living fungus in the brown-rot canker extends back beyond any external evidence of the dis- ease, and if allowed to remain will continue to infect healthy wood. If the cankers occur on limbs that it is desirable to save, they should be cleaned out by removing all the diseased wood a short distance back of any visible evidence of the disease. The diseased wood and bark can be readily detected by its brown color. In the brown-rot cankers it is very important to remove all this discolored tissue, as it is in this tissue that the fungus lives and if it is not removed the disease will spread. The amount of bark that it is necessary to remove depends on the extent of the diseased part. Sometimes the fungus has extended so far beyond the healthy callus that it is necessary to remove it entirely; while at other times the fungus may have extended but slightly into the upper and lower extremities of the callus and it is necessary only to remove a small part. It is always well to leave as much of the callus as possible, to facilitate healing. All the dead bark and twigs should be removed. It is not necessary to remove any of the solid wood except to smooth the treated part. The wound should be pointed at the upper and lower extremi- ties and the bark should be cut at right angles to the wood. As soon as the wound has dried out it should be coated with gas-tar. The gas-tar acts as a disinfectant and preservative, and no other treatment is necessary. Trials have been made in order to determine this point, and it is now evident that the use of corrosive sub- 298 The Principles of Fruit-growing limate or lime-sulfur solution in addition to the gas-tar is unnecessary." The collar-rots are infections, or winter injuries, about the base of the tree. Often they girdle the trunk. Some varieties seem to be particularly liable, as the Tomp- kins King among apples. Whether there are specific organisms for these collar-rots seems not to be known. Sometimes they may be cankers, or general infections following the "barking" of trees, or in windshakes. In any case, the remedy is to cut away the infected parts and to paint the area as for cankers. Very bad wounds should be bound up, to prevent evaporation and to afford protection. If the rot is discovered before it has made great headway, it may sometimes be stopped. Badly infested trees show yellowing and general loss of vigor. Similar treatment may be given to "barked" trees, where they have been hit by the whiffletree or plow; but as these places are not infected if the wound is fresh, no other treatment may be required than to pare down the ragged bark and to bind up the wound in any material that will prevent drying out and protect it from weather. The best material is soft adhesive grafting-wax, wound over tightly with a cloth. Clay and cow manure are sometimes used. See that the codlin-moth does not pupate in the bandages, and that the strips do not become a harbor for other insects. Rotten places in limbs and trunks may be gouged out to fresh wood, the ulterior painted, and the cavity filled tight with cement. Root-galls. The roots of many fruit trees and brambles are very likely to be affected with large tuber-like swellings The Winter Injuries 299 or galls, that have been the subject of much uneasiness with fruit-growers; these galls are contagious, being produced by a soil bacterium. The "hairy root" of apples and pears is a form of the same disease. The organism attacks many kinds of plants. It is now thought they do not often produce great injury in the orchard, but they are always to be avoided, and trees with galls would better not be planted. The root-knot of the southern states and of greenhouses is a wholly different trouble, and is the work of a nematode worm. There is also a root-swelling or gall on raspberries, due to the work of an insect. The nematode galls are commonly smaller and softer swellings, and occur on the younger or smaller roots, and appear not to be found in the open in regions where the ground freezes deep. WINTER-KILLING There are two distinct types of injuries to fruit-plants by cold, — true winter-killing (or the injury of the tree or buds when perfectly dormant, by the low temperature of winter), and the killing of the growing or swelling parts by the "cold snaps" or frosts of late spring and early fall. Winter-killing of the wood. Three factors chiefly appeal to the fruit-grower in the winter-killing of trees, — positive cold, very dry or very wet soil, and heaving of the land by frost. The subject of "dry freezing" has already been mentioned in Chapter I as a danger in the mid-continental country. The heaving of the land is prevented by drainage, by proper methods of tillage, and by the judicious use of cover-crops. The 300 The Principles of Fruit-growing degree of cold may be somewhat averted, as we have already found, by exercising judgment in the selection of site and exposure, and by the careful employment of windbreaks; and the danger of winter-killing is much enhanced when the plants make a late autumn growth and go into the winter with immature wood. Yet, winter- killing must always be one of the gravest risks of the fruit-grower. Winter-injury to the trees or plants usually appears hi the form of splits or long checks in the trunks, or in the outright death of the ends of the branches or even of the entire plant, or in discoloration of the wood. For the splits lengthwise the trunk, the proper treatment is to pare off the dead and loosened bark to the "quick" as soon as the bark begins to spread, and to cover the surface of the wound (and the cleft) with bordeaux mixture or paint or gas-tar. The proper treatment for frozen-back trees must be determined for each particular case; but the injured part is no longer of any use to the plant, while it may be a positive detriment by accelerating the evaporation of moisture. The best treat- ment for plants seriously injured at the extremities is to cut them back to fresh wood. This heading-in — sometimes to the extent of 3 or 4 feet — removes the driest and weakest parts, and concentrates the energy of the tree into a comparatively small area of FIG. IDS. The new wood top. Heavy pruning always tends formed around the core of a TJ.I i A • £ A *A winter-injured stem. toward the production of wood, and Treating Winter Injuries 301 this wood-production is probably never more needed than in winter-injured trees, for it tends to renew the vitality of the tree. Often the winter-injury does not appear at once on the surface, but the wood and interior bark are discolored, often so much so as to lead the observer to think that the tree is dead. But such trees may fully recover. Very much depends on the subsequent treatment of the trees. Fig. 108 shows the body of a young plum tree (in longitudinal and cross-wise sections) that was frozen black in a severe winter. It was heavily pruned the following spring and in the fall had made a ring of bright new wood, amply sufficient to maintain the tree in perfect health for a long life. This appearance is common in nursery stock the year following a very hard winter, but such trees may not be permanently injured. They are to be pruned mode- rately, and if they are young and have much reserve vitality, they may be headed-back heavily. Sometimes heavy heading-back does more harm than good. These are cases in which the entire tree is old or otherwise weak, and when the plant seems to need the stimulus of all its buds to bring out the feeble life still left to it. Fig. 109 Fio.,109. Recuperation of a winter-injured tree, moderately pruned in April. 302 The Principles of Fruit-growing (after Hedrick) shows good results from moderate pruning. It is probable that a large number of reported instances of death due to heavy pruning of winter-injured trees are of such trees as would have died or not fully recovered under any treatment. Winter-killed plants often retain sufficient vitality to leaf out or to bloom, and sometimes even to begin growth, but when the stored vitality of the tissues is exhausted the plant perishes. This explains the phenomenon which, after a bad winter, nearly always puzzles the inobservant fruit-grower, of trees starting into feeble growth and then suddenly dying when warm and dry weather approaches. Winter-injured trees should not be allowed to bloom or to bear until they are fully recovered. Such trees are very liable to attack by the flat-headed borer, pine-hole borer and other things. The physiological character of winter-injury is obscure, but it is probably in the nature of desiccation or the with- drawal of moisture from the cells. The greater the quan- tity of moisture in the tissue, the greater will be its loss under conditions of cold and the greater the injury; and this is probably the reason why a late growth of twig is likely to be so disastrous if the winter is severe. There is much that the grower can do to prevent winter-killing, as well stated by Reddick: "It is certainly advisable to recommend (1) that orchards be plowed early in the spring (not in June as is frequently the case) and receive thorough cultivation early in the season, in order to give the trees every advantage of conserved moisture. (2) That cultivation cease not later than August 1, in order to start the trees into maturation. (3) That a cover- crop, or robber-crop, be planted to take care of excess moisture in the autumn, Such a crop would seem to Character of Winter-Killing 303 be particularly essential following an unusually dry sum- mer. (4) That low, wet places be tile-drained, and air- drained if such a thing is possible." It should be added that the trees are less liable to injury if they go into the winter strong and undepleted. Plants weakened by drought, lack of tillage, over-bearing, borers, San Jose scale and diseases, are specially liable to winter-injury. The recent careful studies of Chandler, "The Killing of Plant Tissues by Low Temperature" (Mo. Research Bull. No. 8), have thrown much light on winter-killing. "There are several forms of injury from cold," he states, "some of them purely mechanical, such as tearing of tissue due to tension developed at low temperature, or evaporation from the surface when the conducting tissue is frozen so as to prevent the movement of water to that tissue, and killing as a result of long - continued exposure to low temperature. "With all plant-tissues, when a certain temperature is reached very shortly after thawing, it will be found that the tissue has taken on a brown, water-soaked appearance, and evaporation from that tissue is much more rapid than from living tissue. These are characteristics of plant- tissue frozen to death. "Results of many investigations have shown that during freezing (which may or may not result in freezing to death), ice forms in the tissue, generally not in the cells but in the intercellular spaces, the water moving out of the cells to form crystals in these spaces. The most commonly accepted theory is that killing from cold results from the withdrawal of water from the protoplasm. The amount of water-loss necessary to result in death varies with the different plants and different tissues." 304 The Principles of Fruit-growing As to treatment, he remarks: "The killing of wood of peach trees from freezing is one of the most important determining factors in peach-growing. Little can be done to influence the amount of killing except to have the trees start into winter in proper condition of maturity. The weakest-growing trees, however, do not generally reach this condition of maturity in the most satisfactory manner. Trees one or two years in the orchard, or old weak trees, are most liable to succumb to effects of low temperature. Pruning the trees severely following a winter when the wood has been killed, although apparently in the best condition of maturity, seems to reduce the amount of killing. However, such pruning following winters when the wood has been killed on account of its not having reached the proper condition of maturity in the fall, generally due to the presence of wet weather following a drought the season before, is liable to result in greater loss than if no pruning were done. "In the peach-growing district of south Missouri and Arkansas, and probably other similar climates, the most important factor influencing the loss of peaches from low temperatures in winter is keeping the buds from starting into growth during warm periods in winter. In that section the best means of accomplishing this end is pro- longing the growth of the trees in autumn, either by heavy pruning or by fertilizing with nitrogen the spring before. Some varieties of peaches have a much longer rest- period than other varieties, and therefore are started into growth more slowly by warm periods in winter." (Page 101.) Frost cankers. The effect of winter injury may appear in the form of sunken dead patches that sometimes exude gum. On Cankers Due to Frost 305 peaches, frost cankers, according to Jehle, "are oftenest found on the main trunk of the tree, usually near the sur- face of the ground or at the snow line of the previous winter; in the crotches of the larger branches; or about pruned stubs. They appear after a hard winter, particu- larly one of extreme changes in temperature and more particularly when such a winter follows a very late grow- ing season. The cankers appear in the spring as slight depressions. These are made more apparent as the tree puts on new growth of wood over the area not affected. Gum pockets usually form under the flattened areas and the gum often oozes out during periods of wet weather. The injured area is usually rather indefinite about the margin, and the formation of a healthy roll of callus is thereby much retarded. Fermentation of the dead tissue occurs and various fungi and insects quickly follow. One fungus, Valsa leucostoma, comes in so commonly that some- times it has been regarded as the cause of the trouble." As to prevention: "It is impossible to predict the char- acter of the winters, but one can judge by the growth and maturation of the wood what the probabilities are that a tree is in good condition to withstand a severe winter. Soft, poorly matured wood is easily injured. The use of highly nitrogenous fertilizers, particularly their use too late in the season, is to be avoided. In seasons of drought followed by abundant autumn rains a second growth is not uncommon. This may be prevented or held to a suita- ble minimum by the use of cover-crops." The treatment for frost cankers is the same as that for other similar wounds, as advised on a preceding page (page 296). It is difficult for the grower in some cases to distinguish between frost cankers and those produced by infection, and the subject also requires further investigation. 306 The Principles of Fruit-growing . Winter-killing of the fruit-buds. In severe winters, the entire fruit-spur (in the spur- fruits, as apples, pears, plums and apricots) may be killed outright, but the commoner case is the death of the bud only. The bud may be entirely killed, in which case it soon turns brown throughout its entire diam- eter and the flower never opens; or only the pistil (the central organ, that ripens into the fruit) may be killed, in which case the flower may open and appear to be perfectly normal to the uncritical observer. The latter case is common in peaches and apricots. Fig. 110 illustrates the condition. The flower at the right was uninjured by the winter, and the pistil is seen, grown full length, at 1. In the other flower, the pistil, at 2, is dead. We know FIG. 110. Normal apricot flower (at 1), and one (at 2) injured by cold of winter. FIG. 111. Live and killed pistils. FIG. 112. Peach buds in section, to show the pistil (in the center) and the stamens. Enlarged. that this pistil was killed before the bud began to swell, because it retains about the size it must have had in the dormant bud. If it had been killed after the bud had swollen, it would have appeared as a much larger and a more or less crumpled or withered organ, as in b, Fig. 111. Winter-Killing of Buds 307 Fig. 112 shows the structure of the peach-bud (after Halsted) ; at a is shown a longitudinal section (enlarged) in winter, the pistil, or fruit-bearing organ, being in the center; at b is shown a section of a partially opened bud. A true fruit-bud is one in which the flower, or cluster of flowers, is present in miniature. This flower occupies the very center of the bud, and is surrounded by dense layers of scales. A healthy bud is normally green in the central part in cross-section. When the bud has been killed by the winter, in the usual way, this central part of the flower becomes promi- nently discolored or almost black. Fig. 113 shows afresh or live bud at a, and a killed a b c bud at b and c. When only FIG. us. Apricot^buds: a, alive. 6 ,1 • JM • i MI i • i and c, killed by winter. Enlarged. the pistil is killed, untrained eyes may not detect the injury. The general run of examinations made of buds by farmers, to determine whether there is winter-injury, are of little consequence. Except in pronounced cases, the only reliable examination is made under a dissecting microscope. There are no remedies for winter-injured buds. INJURY BY FROSTS IN THE GROWING SEASON Much mischief is done by "cold snaps" after the buds have begun to swell, and yet the disaster is not so easily wrought, — at least not in the North, — as is commonly supposed. Even the buds of the tenderer fruits may endure very sharp freezes after they have begun to show color. Observations were made at Cornell on buds of apricots, peaches, plums and pears (as shown in Fig. 308 The Principles of Fruit-growing 114) that had swollen to three or four times their normal size. The pink color of the apricot buds was distinctly visible, and the tips of the anthers could be seen in the Japan plums by looking down squarely on the buds. In this condition, the buds endured with no FIG. 114. Swollen buds that withstood 14° of frost: a, apricot; b, peach; c, Japan plum; d, pear. injury the following temperatures, as taken by self- registering thermometers hung in the trees (very light snow on the ground and a wind blowing all night) : Lowest temperature April 20, Apricot, peach, Japan plum, pear 18° April 21, Apricot, peach, pear 19° April 21, Japan plum 18° These buds endured 14° of frost without injury. On the coldest morning, the buds were stiff from freezing, and in some instances the backs and tips of some of the petals Frost-Killing of Bulbs 309 FIG. 115. A strawberry nubbin, due to frost. were permanently discolored. The buds swelled with the freezing, but returned to their previous size when thawed out, and they looked as if withered for several days, — or until active expansion began. When the flowers have fully expanded, a comparatively light frost will destroy them. This is shown in the fact that a very slight elevation in a black- berry or strawberry patch is often suffi- cient to avert injury. The pistils seem to suffer first. A strawberry nubbin is shown in Fig. 115. The top of the berry (or the bottom, as it hangs) is flattened and deformed. This is usually due to the freezing of the upper pistils in the flower, as it stood erect. Nubbins are sometimes the result of imperfect pollination, but in such cases the deformity is more likely to be on the sides than on the top, for the top pistils are the ones that are very likely to be pollinated by insects. A similar case is reported on blackberries at Cornell. The only serious accident known to injure the blackberry crop in New York (aside from hail) is frost; and in most cases the injury is unavoidable, even though the grower has warning of its approach. In six crops grown in a certain patch, only one was injured by frost, and even this one, when the cold wave was unusually late and severe, suffered seriously only in the lowest places. Drawings of blackberry flowers were made on the spot, two or three days after the frost, and they are here reproduced, y . - * . . i Fia. 116. Normal blackberry natural size. A normal, uninjured flower; fuii size. 310 The Principles of Fruit-growing flower is shown in Fig. 116. Inside the five white petals are seen the numerous sprawling stamens, each one bear- ing an enlargement or anther on the end, inside which the pollen is borne. In the center of the flower is the head or cluster of pistils, each of which ripens into one of the little grains that go to make up the blackberry. The frost killed these pistils, so that the center of the flower bore only a small, black, dead column (see Fig. 117)- Now and then> one or more of berry part wanting. tnege pistilg m the head escaped) and developed into a fruit-grain, so that the berry became a nubbin. Fig. 118 shows the dead and aborted fruits at picking time. At the top of the picture are some fruits (n, n,) in which one or two grains or drupes are full grown, when the remainder of the drupelets making the berry failed to develop. On the 8th of one May, a temperature of 27° (5° of frost) was recorded by self-registering ther- mometers hung in fruit-trees at Cornell, but no injury resulted. At this time, all the petals had dropped from apricot flowers, but the calyx-ring had not yet fallen from the young fruits; peach flow- ers were in full bloom, but their fertilization had mostly taken place; Japan plum flowers were just FIG. 118. Blackberry fruits ruined by frost. Frost-Marked Fruits 311 dropping; pear flowers were open, but not yet fully fertilized. Young fruits of apples and pears may sometimes re- cover from a severe freeze and make perfect specimens. It is even insisted by some careful observers that they sometimes recover even if frozen solid shortly after they FIG. 119. Frost injuries on young apples. they are "set," the fruits failing to develop perfect seeds thereafter.* Fruits simply frost-bitten, — that is, injured by a deposit of white frost, — are very likely to persist, but to show blemishes or deformities even at maturity. A common effect of very late frosts is a distinct russet zone on the fruit. This zone marks the position of the frost on the young fruit. Apples and pears are usually still erect when these frosts occur, and the dew, — which, *"The freeze of May, 1895, froze the fruit solid. The center of each pear turned black, and yet they persisted in growing. There were eighty barrels. I doubt if there was a seed or core in the whole lot. The quality was the best that I have ever seen." — Extract from letter from Benj. F. Hawes, Oakfield, N. Y. 312 The Principles of Fruit-growing when frozen, is frost, — probably settles in a ring or belt near the top of the fruit or midway down it. The exact position and conformation of this deposit of dew are, of course, determined by the shape, posi- tion and exposure of the fruit. Fig. 119 shows the frost- zones on young apples. This in- jured, corky tissue has the power of increasing itself by the extension of the abnormal cells, so that the zone is likely to widen with the growth of the FIG. 120. Rusty frost-zone on a full-grown apple. fruit TVT fl t fruits, with the rusty frost marks still conspicuous, are seen in Figs. 120 and 121. In some cases, the growth of tissue in the injured zone seems to be slow, resulting in a constriction of the fruit at that point. Among the most serious results of very late frosts in the North are injuries to vineyards. Fig. 122 shows the shoots of a grape-vine as injured by a freeze in the middle of May. In treating frozen vines, like that shown in the illustration, it must first be remembered that the injured parts are of no further use to the plants, and they are very likely to weaken the plant by causing it to lose much of its moisture. The rational procedure, therefore, is to strip off all the frozen shoots soon after the disaster, allowing the energies of the plant to divert themselves to the pro- Late Frost Injuries 313 duction of new shoots. When the injured parts are soft and small, it is customary to remove them by pulling them off, rather than by cutting them off. In well-pruned vineyards the cost of stripping ought not to exceed $1 an acre. Early autumn freezing is one of the most damaging of all forms of frost-injury, because the plant has no time in which to recuperate, and a hard winter may add to the destruction. Fortunately, such freezes before the foliage falls are very infrequent. Probably little can be done except to await the condition as it presents itself in very early spring. It is not often that special treat- ment needs to be given to plants injured by late frosts; but the re- moval of the killed parts, or sometimes even a further head- ing-back, is the rational procedure. This should be sup- plemented by good tillage and other care. What is an injurious degree of cold ? To this question there is no specific answer, because so much depends on the latitude, the time of , , , FIG. 121. Frost-blotch on a Flemish year and the con- Beauty pear. 314 The Principles of Fruit-growing dition of the plants. We have already seen, (page 308) that at Ithaca, New York, fruits were able to endure the temperature at 18°, even when the buds were well swollen. Hammon gives the following figures at which plants are liable to injury from frosts, compiled from information received from horticulturists throughout the entire Pacific coast. Probably some of them are too high. The temperatures are as nearly as possible those in con- tact with the plant itself: Plants or fruits In blossom. Degrees In setting fruit. Degrees At other times. Degrees Almonds 30 30 28 Apples 29 30 26 Apricots 31 32 30 Grapes . . 31 30 28 Grapefruit Lemons Mandarins and tangerines Olives 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 28 28 28 *18-24 Oranges (injured at 2° higher if con- tinued four to six hours ^ 31 31 f26-29 Peaches 30 30 29 Pears . . 29 29 28 Peas 30 30 25 Plums 31 31 29 Prunes 31 31 29 Strawberries Walnuts, English 28 31 28 31 30 28 *18 ripe, 24 green. f26 ripe, 29 green. Howard (Circ. No. 35, Mo. Exp. Sta.) gives the follow- ing temperatures injurious to peaches: "Fully dormant peach buds can stand 8° or 9° below zero. When they are appreciably swollen, zero is the danger-point. When the buds are showing pink they can stand 15° above zero. When the buds are almost open, 25° is the danger-point. What are Killing Frosts? 315 When they are newly opened, about 26° would be the point of danger. When the petals are beginning to fall, 28° above zero is cold enough to cause uneasiness. When the petals are off, they can stand 30° above zero. When the shucks (calyx - tubes) are beginning to fall off, 32° above zero is the danger- point. The above figures will serve as a guide to the fruit-grower as showing the proper time to light the fires in the orchard." Chandler finds that "The killing temperature of peach blossoms, when the tree is just coming into full bloom, under Missouri conditions, seems to vary from about 22°F. to 25° or 26°F. After the blossoms are old enough that they are probably pollinated, and from that time on until the peaches are as large as J^ inch in diameter, at least, they continue to become more tender until they will withstand but very few degrees below the freezing-point, the seeds of young peaches killing at a higher temperature than other peach tissue." In New Mexico, Garcia and Rigney secured somewhat different results (Bull. No. 89) : "The data recorded at the New Mexico Station show that the fruit-buds, particularly those of the peach, at their different stages of development, — at least, in the experiment station orchard, — FiG. 122. Grape-shoots killed by a freeze. 316 The Principles of Fruit-growing are somewhat more resistant to cold than has been reported by observers from other parts of the United States. The data further show that the degree of resistibility to frost varies with different stages of growth. The peach is least resistant when it is about the size of a pea, when the calices are falling off. Contrary to the findings of other observers, the bloom is not the most tender stage of growth. In other words, the data indicate that the newly set peach is more deli- cate than the newly opened blossom. In the majority of cases, a temperature of 26°, lasting only a short time, did little or no in jury- to the opening bud, newly opened blossom or newly set fruit of the peach, native plum, pear and apple; while one-half a degree below this, or 253/6°, although lasting only a few minutes, killed a large percentage of the opening buds, newly set blossoms and young fruits of the peach, in a number of cases. In other words, 26° was the danger-point and any temperature below this is liable to do more or less injury, depending on how low it gets and how long it remains at that temperature. In some cases, however, a temperature of 24°, lasting only a short time, left about 25 per cent of the blooms and 9 per cent of the newly set fruits uninjured. Three important factors that influence the amount of damage done by spring frosts are: The degree of killing temperature, the time of day at which it occurs, and the length of time the temperature remains below the danger-point. ... As the young fruit develops, it seems to get more tender, until it grows beyond a certain size, when it seems to get hardier again; so that the later frosts which come after the young fruits have made quite a growth are liable to do more injury than the same degree of cold in the earlier part of the season, when the fruits are less developed. At this stage of growth, 26^° to 27° would probably be dangerous to peaches. The very late frost of 25° on May 4, 1912, killed practically all the peaches in the experimental orchard, while 24%° on April 17, 1910, left about 30 per cent of the Elbertas. "On the whole, apples and pears seem to be more resistant than peaches and plums." All the studies of this subject indicate that local con- ditions greatly modify the effect of cold, and probably no generalizations can be made that will warrant a grower in withholding smudging or fires when the mercury indicates Injuries by Weather 317 a temperature at or below freezing. See the discussion in Chapter VII (page 265). Harm may come to fruit-setting even though the tem- perature does not touch the frost-point. Hedrick states that "A temperature low enough to be harmful to blossoms is usually associated with frost or rain; but a low tempera- ture, even though it does not touch the frost-point, nor accompany rain, is often disastrous to the setting of fruit. The injurious effect is probably due to the prevention of the growth of the pollen-tubes." THE EFFECT OF KAIN ON THE SETTING OF FRUIT It is well known that the weather conditions may pro- foundly affect the fecundity of the flowers. In the forcing of winter vegetables, for example, it is of the greatest importance to keep the house dry and warm when polli- nation is to be effected, and better results — both in the amount of pollen produced, and in the ease with which it is discharged from the anthers — are commonly secured in bright sunshine. (See, also, page 156.) It is probable that if the flowers of fruit plants were to be kept constantly wet, very little pollination would take place. It is likely also, that dashing rains at blossoming time wash away much of the pollen; but it is doubtful whether enough of it is lost in such passing storms seriously to reduce the crop. The most disastrous storms are probably those milder ones of long duration, and which are accompanied by a low temperature. Not only may such weather tend to prevent the discharge of pollen, but it prohibits the work of insects. It must be admitted that the above remarks are largely inferences or results of general experience. We 318 The Principles of Fruit-growing have little exact knowledge as to the effect of rain- storms and other weather conditions on the setting of fruit. See the discussion of this subject in Chapter II (page 41). Hedrick thinks it "is probable that the chill of rainy weather decreases the vitality of the pollen, and an excess of moisture often causes pollen-grains to swell and burst." Many of the injuries detailed in this chapter are beyond the reach or rescue of the fruit-grower, but, even so, he will want to understand them. CHAPTER IX THE SPRAYING OF FRUIT-PLANTATIONS IN 1886, the present author 'wrote in a book that "A remedy proposed of late is to syringe the trees with a mixture of paris green and water, very early in the season, while the young apples stand erect. The poison lodges in the 'blossom end' and destroys the first brood of worms. Later, when the apples turn downward, the poison is washed out by the rains. This remedy was proposed, and its entire success demonstrated, by Prof. A. J. Cook, of the Michigan Agricultural College. A tablespoonful of poison to a gallon of water is sufficient." This statement represented nearly the sum of knowl- edge respecting the spraying of orchards at that time. Ten years later, the writer had part in putting before the public Lodeman's "The Spraying of Plants," which made a closely printed book of some four hundred pages. Today, the spraying of fruit-plantations is a stand- ard practice, conducted in a large way with much skill, and involving the use of highly specialized equipment. These contrasts show how rapid has been the develop- ment of the spraying of plants to combat insects and diseases. Sometimes its importance may have been magni- fied out of proportion to other essential operations of fruit- growing. Spraying has been hailed as a positive means of making orchards fruitful. In practice, however, it makes orchards fruitful only when the cause of unfruitfulness is incursions of insects and fungi. It will not correct the (319) 320 The Principles of Fruit-growing faults of poor tillage, nor of insufficient plant-food, nor of unprofitable varieties, nor of neglect in pruning. It is only one of the various elements that enter into success- ful fruit-growing. There is a tendency in fruit writings to give relatively too much space to spraying. Aside from its direct and immediate importance, spray- ing has had a very marked secondary effect in waking up the horticulturist. It has raised the standard of intelli- gence. Any movement that sets a man to thinking very strongly along one line is likely to awaken his interest in related subjects. So it happens that spraying has been one of the means of rapidly diffusing a better knowledge of horticultural operations. Some of the ways in which this secondary influence of spraying has enlarged the horti- cultural horizon may be stated as follows: 1. The necessity of spraying calls attention to the reasons for the recent incursions of pests. Spraying was unknown in his boyhood days: why is it so imperative now? This opens a world of suggestion, and leads the questioner to consider the fact that insects and fungi are constantly changing their habits from one plant to another, as the native plants are destroyed and as the area of culti- vated plants is increased, and that the continuing com- merce with all parts of the world constantly exposes us to new dangers. Pests that suddenly overwhelm the planta- tion may have been breeding hi unobserved numbers in the neglected places for many years. The ideals of the fruit-grower are also higher now. Competition has increased, demands have been refined, and the smallest blemish on a fruit is enough to throw it out of a first-class article, whereas years ago it might have passed with- out comment. 2. The necessity of spraying is forcing a new discern- Spraying as an Educator 321 ment of varieties. Those persons who grow in a large way for the general and more or less staple markets find themselves inquiring for those varieties that are least susceptible to disease- and insect-injury and which, there- fore, need the smallest attention in the way of protection. On the other hand, the protection that spraying affords tends to bring back many of those good old varieties that have almost disappeared from cultivation because of dis- ease. Those persons who are growing special kinds of fruit for particular or personal markets, or for home use, will choose the varieties of ideal qualities in spite of the liability to insect or fungous attacks. 3. Spraying demands closer study of the companion- ships and inter-relations of crops, fungi and insects. Cer- tain pests follow the round of certain crops, and when the planter breaks such a rotation he also lessens the liability of attack. It also forces the use of shorter rotations, for it is a very nimble insect or fungus that can keep pace with a lively and resourceful farmer. He learns that the best treatment of the red-rust on raspberries is a short rotation rather than spraying. The best treatment with many diseases may be a combination of both; but he will find that if he reduces the number of crops to two or at most to three, and then has plantations coming on in other places, he will suffer comparatively little. The same suggestion is applicable to the cultivation of strawberries, and other short-generation fruits. 4. Spraying emphasizes the importance of better care, that the crop may repay the cost of the extra treatment. The potato bug has no doubt exercised a very pronounced influence in improving the cultivation of the potato, and it is already apparent that the San Jose* scale is increasing the alertness in fruit-growing. u 322 The Principles of Fruit-growing 5. The necessity of spraying must develop a greater watchfulness on the part of the fruit-grower for new pests, for they are all the time appearing from foreign countries, from adjacent states or geographical regions, or from the wild. 6. Inasmuch as every new necessity or new subject of inquiry awakens new thoughts and expands the person's relationships, so it becomes a means of enlarging and educating the man. A concentrated invasion of the army- worm is one of the very best means of waking up any farming community and of setting every man, woman and child to asking questions of every passer-by, every agricultural editor and teacher, and experiment station. The good effects of such an invasion are likely to last for a number of years. It is surprising, as one thinks of it, how easily people are scared by a bug! A strange insect, which perhaps does not weigh a grain, will set a whole community of able-bodied men agog, and may cause as much downright fear and discussion as a political revolution. The kinds of difficulties. There are three general types of difficulties or dis- orders within the view of the discussion hi this chapter: 1. Attacks by insects. (a) The injuries of those insects that eat or chew the parts of the plant, and which, therefore, are killed by the application of arsenical and similar poisons. Such insects are the whole tribe of caterpillars, worms and beetles. (6) Attacks of insects that suck their food, and which, therefore, are destroyed by caustic applications that injure their bodies. All the The Kinds of Diseases 323 tribes of plant-lice and scale insects belong here, and for these the kerosene emulsion, lime-sulfur washes and the like, are the specifics. 2. Parasitic fungous diseases, such as the apple-scab, black-rot and mildew of the grape, fruit-rot of the peach, leaf -blight of the plum and pear, black-knot of the plum. These diseases are characterized by definite spots, discolorations or excrescences more or less scattered over the surface of the leaf, fruit or branch. As a rule, the attacked leaves and fruits have a tendency to drop from the tree. The general treatment for these diseases is to spray with some fungicidal mixture, as lime-sulfur or bordeaux mixture. The treatment is useful in proportion as it is applied early and thoroughly. After the fungus once gets into the tissues of the host-plant, it is difficult, if not impossible, to kill it. If, however, the fungicide is on the plant before the fungus is, the parasite may not be able to gain a foothold. Even after it does secure a foothold, however, the spray may check its spread by preventing the development of its external parts and the formation of spores. 3. The physiological and bacterial diseases, or the so-called constitutional troubles. In these cases, there are rarely any definite spots, as in the attacks of parasitic fungi, but the entire leaf, or even the entire plant, or a large part of it, shows a general weakening and wilting, as if there were some cutting-off of the accustomed source of nourishment. Such diseases are a general yellowing and death of the leaf, the dying of the leaf along the main veins and 324 The Principles of Fruit-growing around the edges, showing that the difficulty probably affects the entire leaf and not any one part of it. In general, there is a tendency for foliage in plants so attacked to wither and hang on the tree for a time. The peach yellows and pear blight are diseases of this kind. There are no specific treatments for these troubles. They must be approached by what physicians call prophylaxis, — that is, by methods of sanitation and prevention, and by eradication of the parts. The diseased plants or parts are cut away and burned. All conditions that seem to favor the development of the disease are removed. Varie- ties particularly susceptible are discarded. Care- ful management is often much more important than any attempt at specific treatment. SPECIFIC REMARKS ON SPRAYING 1. Spraying is only one of the requisites to success in fruit-raising. — Trees must grow before they can bear, and this growth depends on food and proper conditions of soil, more than it does on the accident of im- munity from insects and fungi. It is one of the cardinal operations for which the grower must plan hi the beginning. 2. Spraying is insurance. — There are many elements of risk in the growing of fruit. It is impossible to foretell by any considerable length of time whether any or all of the difficulties liable to harass the fruit-raiser will actually appear. The owner does not know whether his buildings will burn, yet he insures them. We know that, in four years out of five, some damaging injury of insects or Rules for Spraying 325 fungi may be confidently expected, and it is the part of wisdom to insure against it. 3. Spraying is of some value every year, on apples , pears, plums, quinces, grapes and various other fruits. — Even in years of great immunity, nearly all sprayed orchards carry a better foliage than those untreated. So, wholly aside from the idea of insuring against risk, it is advisable to spray for those insects that are more or less abundant every year. Some insects and diseases appear late in the season, so that the spray may be needed at some epoch in the season. 4. Spray thoroughly, or not at all. — Much of the spraying is little more than a waste of time and material. Squirting a few quarts of water at a tree as one hurries past it, is not spraying. A tree is thoroughly and honestly sprayed when it is wet all over, on all the branches and on both sides of all the leaves. An insect or a fungus is not killed until the poison is placed where the pest is. It is not frightened. Bugs do not search for the poison, in order that they may accommodate the orchardist. The one spot not sprayed may be the very place where a bud- moth is established. 5. Prepare in winter for next year's work. — Secure nozzles and pumps, and repair the tanks and wagons. It is especially important that the wagons be handy, and that the equipment be large enough and strong enough to do the work quickly. A break-down in spraying time is likely to be a serious matter. Pumps should be cleaned inside and out, repacked if necessary, oiled and com- pletely repaired. If power is used, the engine should be tested, and it may need to be overhauled. All repair parts and all insecticides and fungicides should be ordered well in advance of the spraying season. 326 The Principles of Fruiting-gr owing 6. The style or "make" of pump and nozzle to be used depends on the particular kind of work to be done. — The reader will now see that the advice as to machinery must depend on the specific purpose for which the appliances are to be used and the extent of operations. Apparatus devised a few years ago for the distribution of paris green may be of no value for the application of such a thick compound as the bordeaux mixture or the lime-sulfur. Whatever the outfit chosen, the pump should be strong and powerful, with hard brass working parts, and capable of throwing much liquid with great force. In respect to nozzles, it may be said that there is no one kind which is best for all purposes. It is desirable that the liquid should reach the plant in the form of a very fine mist; but it is just as important that the nozzle should have the power of throwing the liquid to the desired point. In other words, there are two elements to be considered, — the nozzle must have carrying power and delivering power. A fine mist at the orifice of the nozzle is of no use when the nozzle is 30 feet short of the bug. With many of the modern devices, the man who holds the hose in spraying rigs may stand 8 or 9 feet above the ground, and he may use a pole 12 to 15 feet in length, which will elevate the nozzle something like 25 feet from the ground; but many apple trees are 50 to 60 feet high. It will therefore be seen that the liquid must carry itself 25 to 30 feet beyond the nozzle. For such purposes, a nozzle that distributes the liquid in a spray directly from its orifice is of small use; it must throw a more or less solid stream, and the stream should break up when it reaches its destination. Such nozzles require very strong power behind them. For the spraying of fruits, the various disc nozzles are now most in use. They are provided with a chamber in Pumps and Nozzles 327 which the liquid is whirled, and it is then projected through a disc with openings of different sizes. The bordeaux nozzle is also used for the codlin-moth and some other purposes. The spray liquid should penetrate the top of the tree and drench all the leaves; this requires not only a good nozzle but much force, — more than the usual hand- pump develops. Remarks similar to the above may be made for pumps; that is, there is no one best pump. We might divide all pumps into two general classes, — those that deliver the liquid by force of gravity, as some of the potato sprayers, and those that deliver it by the force of pressure. The force of gravity is not sufficient to do the work well, especially when bor- deaux mixture is to be used. Of the pressure machines, there are sev- eral kinds, as those that derive their force from the suction of a piston and valves, and those that work from the force of compressed gas or air. Knapsack pumps are very efficient, not only be- cause they are powerful for their size, but also because they enable the operator to stand very close to his work; but they are not adapted to work on trees nor, in fact, on large areas in this country, because labor is too high-priced. For small areas, for experiment purposes and the like, they are exceedingly useful and handy. The syringe and bucket pumps are very efficient for work in, a small way in yards, and especially when it is desired to be extra thorough. The force or power to drive a pump may be the arm FIG. 123. Platform above a tank outfit. 328 The Principles of Fruit-growing of the operator, the geared wagon wheel, or an engine. The geared sprayers may be useful for small-fruits and grapes, inasmuch as they work while the team walks; but, as a rule, they are not adapted to large orchard trees, because enough liquid cannot be thrown while the machine is passing a tree thoroughly to spray it. In recent years, very effective power spray- ers have come into use, mostly employing gasolene or com- pressed air. In plan- tations of four to five acres and more, the power sprayer will probably pay, partic- ularly if the farm grows other crops, as potatoes, that need spraying. The engine may be used at other times to drive a wood-saw, dairy machinery, silage-cutters, well-pumps and other apparatus. In low orchards, a low truck may be needed, and in some cases a stone-boat is best; but most orchards will need some kind of high rig, to enable the operator to reach the tops of the trees. Fig. 123 is a standard rig for hand- power work. The tank holds 300 gallons. The pump is placed on the front of the rig (in the seat-rack), and one man drives and pumps. The rig is stopped at every tree. Two leads of hose are used. Another good rig for hand FIG. 124. Platform above a barrel outfit, now becoming obsolete for large orchards. Pumps and Rigs 329 power is shown in Fig. 124. In Fig. 125 is shown a power outfit, the machinery being covered for protection. Many other efficient spraying outfits are in use, but these three will serve to illustrate the kind of work that is needed. Until ten or fifteen years ago, the greater number of fruit-growers used an ordinary wagon, with box or rack, and a single fifty-gallon barrel, and this outfit may still be seen; but this is found to be both uneconomical and ineffective for large operations. The use of long pieces of J^-inch gas-pipe, with the nozzle attached to the end, is advisable when one is work- ing in the tops of the trees, but they are likely to be a nuisance if one works from the ground. They are awkward if more than 10 feet long. Growers usu- ally prefer to use a bamboo fishing-pole, and to secure the hose near its upper end, letting the lower part of the pole re- main free. Most operators use insuffi- cient hose. For work in old orchards, the run should be at least 15 feet long. For yards and ornamental plants, a cart-like rig, like that shown in Fig 126, is handy and efficient. A Vinmp rrmrlp rio- fnr FlG' 125' Elevated platform above a power A IlOIIie-IIldUe Tig lor sprayer, as used on the Pacific coast. 330 The Principles of Fruit-growing spraying strawberries and potatoes is seen in Fig. 127. It is a barrel- pump, mounted on wheels, with three nozzles rigged on the tail- board, so as to cover as many rows of plants. There are dust- sprayers on the mar- ket, that apply the material in a dry powder rather than in water; but, while they have given satis- faction for particular pur- poses, they have not become 126. A convenient spraying equipment popular for Orchard WOrk. for home grounds. 5»i j r J //-« Blodgett found (Cornell Bull. No. 340, 1914) that dust-spraying needs to be further tried as a means of controlling apple diseases. (Fig. 128.) "The use of finely ground sulfur as the fungicide in a dust mixture has given very encouraging results, and warrants further trials on a more exten- sive scale. The application of arsenate of lead in powdered form in the quantities applied is more effective against the common orchard insects that chew than is the same substance applied wet. The time required for dusting an orchard is much less than that required for spraying it." The cost of controlling insects and fungi is not lessened. Melander and Beattie ,__ . _ „ -_ .,.._, FIG. 127. One-horse outfit for spraying (Wash. Bull. -NO. lOb) strawberries and potatoes. The Substances for Spraying 331 think that dust-spraying does not have sufficient pene- trating power for orchard work. 7. The farmer should know what he wants to kill before he begins to spray. — It is still common to find a man who is going at spraying with enthusiasm, but who cannot explain a single definite object in view. He merely knows, on general principles, that spraying is useful. To such a man, spraying is spraying, whether he uses arsenicals, or bordeaux, or both, or neither one; and his results are about equal to his knowledge. There is no longer an excuse for such practice, for all the leading insects and fungi have re- ceived treatment in the publications of the govern- ment and experiment sta- ^^ 128- Dust-sprayer. tions. Of course, the real fruit-growers are well and exactly informed, even to details; but there are some persons who need to know that: The arsenicals are used to kill all larvae or worms, and all those insects that chew the leaves or shoots, such as the codlin-moth, bud-moth, canker-worm, potato-beetle, tent-caterpillar, and the like. Lime- sulfur and kerosene emulsion are used for scale-insects and plant-lice. Lime-sulfur and bordeaux mixture are used to prevent the attacks of fungous parasites, as apple-scab, leaf-blight of the pear, quince and plum, potato-blight and such like. The leading poisonous insecticide is now arsenate 332 The Principles of Fruit-growing of lead, although arsenate of lime is much used; the leading fungicide for most fruits is lime-sulfur, and it is also a good scalecide. 8. The time to spray must be determined for each particu- lar case. — The grower himself must decide when and how often to spray, because he should know what enemies he desires to reach. If he has the bud-moth, he should spray with the first swelling of the buds, and if he has the plum- scale he should spray in the winter. But, leaving the special insects aside, it is safe to say that for the two staple enemies — the apple-scab and the codlin-moth — at least two sprayings should be given. Spraying when the tree is dormant has an important effect in de- stroying the apple-scab fungus. As a general statement, one may spray apples and pears two or three times, — once when dormant, with lime-sulfur; once just as the fruit-buds break but before the flowers expand (Fig. 129) with weak lime- sulfur and arsenical, and again just as the last blossoms fall, with the same combination. The first spraying is for the scab fungus in particular. The second spraying (which is often omitted) is for the scab and bud-moth. The third is particularly for the codlin-moth. If scab is very bad, other sprayings may be necessary. Whether or not it is necessary to spray again will depend largely on the season. The operator must watch matters FIG. 129. Showing when apple trees are ready for the main spraying. When to Spray 333 closely, and spray when he needs to do so, or when he is in doubt. Two sprayings are sufficient for the codlin- moth, and three are usually sufficient for the apple-scab. These two sprayings constitute the insurance that has been mentioned; thereafter, the grower will be able to see more definitely what is needed. These remarks illustrate the nature of the questions that the fruit-grower must consider. 9. Keep posted. — Every year, read the new bulletins, note the articles in the agricultural papers, keep in touch with the discussions before societies, secure the publica- tions of manufacturers. The practice in spraying is mov- ing rapidly, and new studies of insects and diseases are constantly being made. The practices are now well stan- dardized, but modifications are often made and new pests appear. The grower must be vigilant. LISTS AND FORMULAS The marked departures in spraying in recent years have been not only in the perfecting of the mechanical devices, but in the character of the spray materials. Lon- don purple and paris green are now little used, and arsen- ate of lead and arsenate of lime have taken their places. Bordeaux mixture is still the standard fungicide for plants in a growing condition, although lime-sulfur is now mostly used for summer spraying of apples and pears, as well as for the winter spraying. On most plants, lime-sulfur has a serious dwarfing effect on foliage. Bordeaux is used for grapes, small-fruits, potatoes and many other things. Arsenate of lead may be combined with lime-sulfur as well as with bordeaux. 334 The Principles of Fruit-growing Synopsis of the principal considerations in the choice of a power sprayer and nozzles (Melander and Beattie, Wash. Bull. No. 106): 1. General operation and efficiency. Capacity. Engine — Type of motor. Operating with distillate or denatured alcohol. Average horse-power. Maximum brake horse-power. Cubic feet of piston displacement per horse-power hour. Revolutions per minute. Capacity of fuel- tank. Cooling device: Efficiency. Amount of heating. Ignition. Detachability from pump for other uses. Pump — Belt- or gear-drive. Number and style of cylinders. Diameter of pump cylinder. , Length of stroke. Strokes per minute. Discharge per minute at 250 pounds pressure. Maximum operating pressure. Capacity of air-dome. Outfit- Tank capacity. Filling pump: piston or rotary. Weight. Economy of operation. Engine — Time lost due to engine. Horserpower hours per gallon of gasolene used. Gallons of gasolene per 100 gallons pumped. Gallons of lubricating oil per 100 gallons pumped. Percentage of fuel-tank capacity used an hour for operation. Points of a Spraying Outfit 335 Pump, etc. — Slippage (rated capacity less actual delivery). Uniformity of pressure. Efficiency of pressure regulator in maintaining uniform pressure when hose is cut off or is on. Drop in pressure between pump and nozzle. Amount of overflow from pump to tank when working at normal capacity. Outfit- Efficiency of agitator. Time required for refilling tank. Ratio of weight to capacity. . Accessibility and convenience. Accessibilty of working parts — Valves: Ease of replacing valve-seats. Drains: Engine, pump and tank. Plunger-cups or packing; repacking stuffing-boxes (if any). Screws; bolts; oil-cups; pressure-regulator. Method of taking in slack between pump and engine. Cleaning strainer on suction hose; cleaning tank of debris. Adaptability to field conditions — Cramping of wheels in turning. Radius of circle required in turning. Possibility of miring in irrigation ditches or loose soil. Draft. Repairs — Possibility of securing duplicate parts. Ease of making repairs. Construction. Engine — General construction: Durability; simplicity of design. Exposure of working parts: Freedom from danger of breaking cogs, cranks, etc. Freedom from danger on part of operator. Proportions of working parts; quality of materials; workmanship. Provision for drainage. Method of feeding gasolene. 336 The Principles of Fruit-growing Pump — General construction: as above. Valves: composition and design. Cylinder lining. Provision for drainage. Provision for supplying air to air-dome. Reliability of pressure gauge. Type of pressure regulator. Outfit- Tank: Wood or metal; location; design suited to agitator. Trucks: Steel or wood; rigidity; strength; weight. Wheels: Diameter; width of tires; metal or wood. Tower: Weight; detachability; position. With railing or straddle. Hose— Quality; diameter; length; number of ply. End couplings set in rubber and bound hi place, without sharp projections to catch in operator's hands. Extension rods — Length; Bamboo or not; aluminum, brass or iron. Character of end ferrules (whether they slip through the hand easily, and thoroughly grip t}ie core). Nozzles — Kind; quality. Cut-offs — Globe or ball or quarter-turn. Anti-leak; rapidity of action. 3. Cost. Accessories supplied: e. g., filling pump and suction hose; magneto; hose; rods; nozzles; tools; crooks; tower. Ratio of cost to capacity and efficiency. INSECTICIDES AND FUNGICIDES (Adapted from Crosby and Matheson, and from Reddick.) Of poisoning insecticides, the most widely used and effective substance is arsenic in its various forms. Arsenic is never used pure, but only when chemically combined Arsenicals 337 with lead, lime or other substance that produces a com- pound insoluble in water. White arsenic is the cheapest form in which arsenic can be obtained. It is a white powder, soluble in water, and very injurious to foliage. A cheap and efficient insecticide may be prepared from it as follows: For use with bordeaux mixture only. — Sal-soda, two pounds; water, one gallon; arsenic, one pound. Mix the white arsenic into a paste and then add the sal-soda and water, and boil until dis- solved. Add water to replace any that has boiled away, so that one gallon of stock solution is the result. Use one quart of this stock solution to fifty gallons of bordeaux mixture for fruit trees. Make sure that there is enough lime in the mixture to prevent the caustic action of the arsenic. For use without bordeaux mixture. — Sal-soda, one pound; water, one gallon; white arsenic, one pound; quicklime, two pounds. Dis- solve the white arsenic with the water and sal-soda as above, and use this solution while hot to slake the two pounds of lime. Add enough water to make two gallons. Use two quarts of this stock solution in fifty gallons of water. As there is always some danger of foliage-injury from the use of these home-made arsenic compounds, and as they cannot be safely combined with the dilute lime-sulfur when used as a summer spray, they are now rarely employed in commercial orchard spraying. Arsenate of lead was first used as an insecticide in 1893, in Massa- chusetts. For orchard work throughout the country, it has now almost entirely replaced paris green. It adheres better to the leaves, may be used at considerably greater strength without injuring the foliage, and may be combined with a dilute lime-sulfur solu- tion or with the self-boiled lime-sulfur. Chemically, arsenate of lead may be either triplumbic arsenate or plumbic-hydrogen arsenate. The commercial product usually consists of a mixture of these two forms, the proportion depending on the method of manufacture employed. It is usually sold in the form of a thick paste, but for some purposes the powdered form is preferred. Under the National Insecticide Law of 1910, arsenate of lead paste must not contain more than 50 per cent water and must contain the arsenic equivalent of at least 12 Y^ per cent arsenious oxid. The water-soluble arsenic must not exceed an equivalent of three-fourths of 1 per cent of V 338 The Principles of Fruit-growing arsenic oxid. In the best grades of arsenate of lead paste the chemi- cal is in a finely divided condition, and thus when diluted for use remains in suspension for a considerable time. Arsenate of lead is used at various strengths, depending upon the insect to be killed and on the susceptibility of the foliage to injury. Four pounds in one hundred gallons can be used on the peach if combined with the self- boiled lime-sulfur; on apple, four to five pounds in one hundred gal- lons is usually sufficient; on grapes for killing the grape root-worm beetles and the rose-chafer, eight to ten pounds in one hundred gallons have been found necessary. The poison is more readily eaten by these beetles if sweetened by two gallons of molasses in one hun- dred gallons; but, unfortunately, the addition of molasses greatly decreases the adhesiveness of the poison. Some species of fruit flies may be controlled by the use of sweetened arsenate of lead sprayed on the foliage of the plants at the first appearance of the flies. They lap up the poison with their fleshy tongue-like mouth-parts and suc- cumb before ovipositing. Hellebore is a poisoning insecticide of recognized standing. It is a light brown powder made from the roots of the white hellebore plant (Veratrum album), one of the lily family. It is applied both dry and in water. In the dry state, it is usually applied without dilu- tion, although the addition of a little flour will render it more adhe- sive. In water, four ounces of the poison is mixed with two or three gallons, and an ounce of glue, or thin flour paste, is sometimes added to make it adhere. A decoction is made by using boiling water in the same proportions. Hellebore soon loses its strength, and a fresh article should always be demanded. It is much less poisonous than the arsenicals, and should be used in place of them upon ripening fruit. It is used for various leaf-eating insects, particularly for the currant-worm and rose-slug. Of the contact insecticides, the most important for the fruit- grower are soaps, kerosene emulsion, lime-sulfur solution and tobacco preparations. Soaps. — The most commonly used soap solution is that pre- pared from fish-oil soap. The commercial brands of this soap are usually by-products and contain many impurities; further, many of them contain an excess of free or uncombined alkali, and are thus likely to injure young and tender foliage. A good fish-oil soap may be prepared by the following formula: Caustic soda, six pounds; water, one and one-half gallons; fish-oil, twenty-two pounds. Dissolve Contact Insecticides 339 the caustic soda in the water and then add the fish-oil gradually under constant and vigorous stirring. The combination occurs readily at ordinary summer temperatures, and boiling is unnecessary. Stir briskly for about twenty minutes after the last of the oil has been added. There is now on the market a good brand of insecticide soap prepared from cotton-seed oil soap-stock, or from an impure grade known as pancoline. Kerosene emulsion is the oldest of our contact insecticides. It is especially valuable for use against plant-lice and other small, soft- bodied insects. It is prepared by the following formula: Soap, one- half pound; water, one gallon; kerosene, two gallons. Dissolve the soap in hot water; remove from the fire and, while still hot, add the kerosene. Pump the liquid back into itself for five or ten minutes or until it becomes a creamy mass. If properly made, the oil will not separate on cooling. For use on dormant trees, dilute with five to seven parts of water. For killing plant-lice on foliage, dilute with ten to fifteen parts of water. Crude-oil emulsion is made in the same way by substituting crude-oil in place of kerosene. The strength of oil emulsions is frequently indicated by the percentage of oil in the diluted liquid; for a 10 per cent emulsion, add seventeen gallons of water to three gallons of stock emulsion; for a 15 per cent emulsion, add ten and one-half gallons of water to three gallons of stock emul- sion; for a 20 per cent emulsion, add seven gallons of water to three gallons of stock emulsion; for a 25 per cent emulsion, add five gal- lons of water to three gallons of stock emulsion. Lime-sulfur solution is both insecticide and fungicide. A solution of lime-sulfur was first used as an insecticide in California in 1886. It is now the standard remedy for blister-mite, San Jose scale and similar scales, as well as an efficient fungicide. The lime-sulfur solu- tion may be purchased in the concentrated form, or may be prepared as follows: Lump lime (95 per cent calcium oxid), thirty-eight pounds, or lump lime (90 per cent calcium oxid), forty pounds; sulfur, eighty pounds; water, fifty gallons. Make a paste of the sulfur with about ten gallons of hot water. Add the lime. As the lime slakes, add hot water as necessary to prevent caking. When the lime has slaked, add hot water to make fifty gallons and boil one hour, stirring constantly. Water should be added from time to time to keep the liquid up to fifty gallons. Store in air-tight hardwood barrels. Test the strength of the solution with a Baum6 hydrometer, and dilute for use according to the following table: 340 The Principles of Fruit-growing DILUTIONS FOB DORMANT AND SUMMER SPRAYING WITH LIME- SULFUR MIXTURES Reading on hydrometer. (Degrees Baume') Amount of dilution. Number of gallons of water to one gallon of lime-sulfur solution. For San Jos6 scale. Dormant. For blister- mite. Dormant. For summer spraying of apples. 35 9 8^ f Q 6M 6^ 6 5M 5 4^ 4M Q3/ ZYz 3M 3 2M 2K iy± 2 12H 12 iiM is* 9^ 9 I* I* VA 6 i* 4M 4J| 4 3M 3K2 45 43M 41H 40 37^ 36M 34M 32M 31 29 H 27M 26 24M 22M 21|2 19M 18M 17 16 15 14 12% 34 33 32 31 30 29 28... 27.. 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 Commercial concentrated lime-sulfur, as manufactured and placed on the market, is a clear amber liquid, and should test 32° to 35° Baume. It costs about 20 cents a gallon retail, and comes ready to pour into the spray tank. For apple and pear diseases arsenate of lead can be used with this solution, and increases its fungicidal value. Scott's self -boiled lime-sulfur is a mechanical mixture of the two substances, and is really not boiled, the heat being supplied by the slaking lime. In a small barrel or keg place eight pounds of good quicklime. Add water from time to time in just sufficient amounts to prevent burning. As soon as the lime begins to slake well, add slowly (preferably through a sieve) eight pounds of sulfur flour. Stir constantly, and add water as needed. As soon as all bubbling has ceased, check further action by adding a quantity of cold water, or Tobacco Insecticides 341 pour into a barrel or tank and make up to fifty gallons. Keep well agitated. Very effective against peach-scab and brown-rot. Several other formulas have been used: 10-10-50 and 5-5-50. Arsenate of lead can be used with this mixture. By using boiling water and allow- ing the hot mixture to stand for half an hour, a stronger spray mix- ture than the above can be secured. It cannot be used safely on peaches, but has been used successfully on grapes for surface mildew. The addition of sulf ate of iron or sulf ate of copper, one to two pounds to fifty gallons, has been used for apple-rust. Tobacco is one of our most useful insecticides. The poisonous principle in tobacco is an alkaloid nicotine, which, in the pure state, is a colorless fluid, slightly heavier than water, of little smell when cold and with an exceedingly acrid burning taste even when largely diluted. It is soluble in water and entirely volatile. It is one of the most virulent poisons known; a single drop is sufficient to kill a dog. Commercial tobacco preparations have been on the market for many years. The most important of these are black leaf, "black leaf 40," and nicofume. "Black leaf" was formerly the most widely used tobacco extract. It contains only 2.7 per cent nicotine and has now been replaced by the more concentrated extracts. It is used for plant-lice at the rate of one gallon to sixty-five gallons of water. "Black leaf 40" is a concentrate tobacco extract containing 40 per cent nicotine sulf ate. Its specific gravity is about 1.25. In this preparation the nicotine is in a non-volatile form, it having been treated with sulfuric acid to form the sulfate. "Black leaf 40" is used at strengths varying from one part in 800 parts of water to one part in 1,600 parts. It can be satisfactorily combined with other sprays, as for example, lime-sulfur solution, arsenate of lead, and the various soap solutions. When used with water, about four pounds of soap should be added to make the mixture spread and stick better. "Nicofume" is a tobacco extract containing 40 per cent of nicotine in the volatile form. Strips of paper soaked in this preparation are smudged in greenhouses to destroy aphids. Tobacco is also used in the form of dust for the same purpose. It is especially valuable against root-lice on asters and other plants. Tobacco extracts can be made at home by steeping tobacco stems in water, but as they vary greatly in nicotine content and are some- times likely to injure tender foliage, it is better to buy the stand- ardized extracts. 342 The Principles of Fruit-growing The standard fungicides for spraying purposes are bordeaux mixture and lime-sulfur. The lime-sulfur has already been dis- cussed; we may now take up the preparation of bordeaux. Bordeaux mixture is a bluish green copper compound that settles out when freshly slaked lime and a solution of copper sulfate (blue- stone) are mixed. Many formulas have been recommended and used. The 5-5-50 formula may be regarded as standard. In such a formula the first figure refers to the number of pounds of copper sulfate, the second to the stone or hydrated lime, and the third to the number of gallons of water. Bordeaux must often be used as weak as 2-2-50, on account of injury to some plants. To make fifty gallons of bordeaux mixture, proceed as follows: (1) Pulverize five pounds of copper sulfate (blue-stone), place in a glass, wooden or brass vessel, and add two or three gallons of hot water. In another vessel slake five pounds of quicklime in a small amount of water. When the copper sulfate is all dissolved, pour into a barrel and add water to make forty to forty-five gallons. Now strain the lime into this, using a sieve fifty meshes to the inch or a piece of cheese-cloth supported by ordinary screening. Stir thoroughly, and add water to the fifty-gallon mark. The flocculenfc substance which settles is the effective fungicide. Always stir vigorously before filling the sprayer. Never add the strong lime to strong vitriol. Always add a large amount of water to one or the other first. Copper sulfate used alone would not only wash off quickly in a rain, but cause a severe burning of fruit and foliage. Lime is added to neutralize this burning effect of the copper. If the lime were absolutely pure, only slightly more than one pound would be required to neutralize this burning effect. For many purposes an excess of lime is not objectionable and may be desirable. For nearly ripe fruit and ornamentals an excess of lime augments spotting. In such cases the least amount of lime possible should be used. Determine this by applying the cyanide test (2). (2) Secure from the druggist 10 cents' worth of potassium ferrocyanide (yellow prussiate of potash) and dissolve it in water in an eight-ounce bottle. Cut a V-shaped slit in one side of the cork, so that a few drops of the liquid can be obtained. Now proceed as before. Add lime with constant stirring until a drop of the ferro- cyanide ceases to give a reddish brown color. (3) When bordeaux mixture is desired in large quantities, stock solutions should be made. Place one hundred pounds of copper The List of Pests 343 Bulfate in a bag of coffee-sacking, and suspend in the top cf a fifty- gallon barrel, and add water to the fifty-gallon mark. In twelve to fifteen hours the vitriol will be dissolved, and each gallon of solution will contain two pounds of copper sulfate. Slake a barrel of lime, and store in a tight barrel, keeping it covered with water. Lime so treated will keep all summer. It is really hydrated lime. This is often dried, pulverized, and offered on the market in paper bags of forty pounds each, under such names as ground lime, pre- pared lime, hydrated lime, and the like. If the paper is not broken, the lime does not air-slake for a long time. One and one-third pounds of hydrated lime equals in value one pound of quicklime. Air-slaked lime cannot be used in preparing bordeaux mixture. Arsenical poisons can be combined with bordeaux mixture. LEADING FRUIT INSECTS AND DISEASES THAT ARE CONTROLLED BY SPRAYING The insects, mites, parasitic fungi, bacteria and other organisms that attack fruit plants of one kind or another are legion; but there are several prominent pests and dis- eases of each of the temperate-climate fruits that should be recognized by every fruit-grower. The following notes, assembled from the statements of.Reddick, and of Crosby and Matheson, represent the best advice that is available at the present writing. The grower should keep himself well informed on the new practices. Only such insects and diseases are included as yield to treatment by spray- ing or similar practices; borers, cankers and similar troubles are discussed in Chapter VIII. Apple. — APHIDS, or PLANT-LICE. — Three species commonly attack the opening buds and leaves of apple — the leaf aphis (Aphis pomi), rosy aphis (Aphis sorbi) and bud aphis (Siphocoryne averne). These small, soft-bodied insects may be controlled by thor- ough spraying with "black leaf 40" tobacco extract, three- 344 The Principles of Fruit-growing fourths of a pint in one-hundred gallons of water, adding four pounds of soap. Make the application before the leaves curl. APPLE-SCAB (Venturia inequalis). — Olive-green, brownish or black- ish scab-like spots on leaves and fruit. Scab is one of the most prevalent, as well as one of the most damaging, of the apple diseases. It appears on the leaves (Fig. 130) and also in the fruit (Fig. 131). Whetzel. The definite lesions are readily distinguished from the rusty, irregular injuries often caused by bordeaux mixture (Fig. 132, N. Y. Exp. Sta.). Rake and burn or plow under old leaves very early in spring. Spray with lime-sulfur 32° Baum4, 1^0, or bordeaux, 3-3-50: (1) when blossom buds show pink; (2) when majority of petals have fallen; (3) three weeks after 2, de- pending upon the weather; (4) if a late attack is feared, spray before fall rains begin. AppLE-CuRCULio (Anthono- mus quadrigibbus) . — A soft, white grub, about 3/£in. long, in the fruit. Clean cultivation. Rake the small, early-dropped apples out into the sun where they will dry up. APPLE LEAF-HOPPER (Empoasca mali}. — A slender, pale yellow- ish green bug; the nymphs are pale greenish and usually found on the under side of the leaves. The winter eggs are laid in blisters under the bark of the smaller branches; summer eggs, in the leaf veins and petioles. Four generations annually. The insect feeds by extracting the juices from the leaves, causing them to turn pale and curl. It is most injurious to nursery stock. FIG. 130. The characteristic markings of apple-scab. Apple Insects 345 The young nymphs may be killed by spraying with "black leaf 40" tobacco extract, three-fourths of a pint in one hundred gallons of water, adding three to four pounds of soarj. Nurserymen of ten catch the adults by the use of sticky shields. APPLE LEAF-ROLLER (Archips argyrospila). — A green caterpillar with a black head, 1 inch or less in length when mature, attacks the opening buds, rolling and webbing together the leaves, flowers and young fruit into a nest. Holes are eaten in the young apples, deforming them. Eggs are laid in June in small, flat masses on the bark, and are covered with a smooth, varnish-like coating. They do not hatch till the follow- ing spring. To kill eggs, spray with miscible oil, one gallon in fifteen gal- lons of water, making the application as late as possible before the buds open. If the eggs have been neg- lected, recourse must be had to arsenate of lead, six pounds in one hun- dred gallons water. Apply before the blos- soms open. APPLE-MAGGOT (Rhagoletis pomonella). — A white maggot that tunnels apples through and FJG> m> Apple_scab. through, causing decay and falling of the fruit. The parent flies appear FIG. 132. Bordeaux injury. 346 The Principles of Fruit-growing the latter part of June and early July, and insert the eggs under the skin of the fruit. Hibernation takes place in small puparia just below the surface of the soil. Sweet and subacid varieties are most susceptible, but others are sometimes attacked. Clean cultivation. Spray when flies appear with arsenate of lead, four pounds in one hundred gallons of water. The addition of two or three gallons of molasses is supposed to render the poison more attractive to the flies. BROWN-TAIL MOTH (Euphroctis chrysvrrhaxi) . — This highly destruc- tive European insect was introduced near Boston a number of years ago, and is now rapidly spreading over New England. The snow-white moths, with a large tuft of brown hairs at the tip of the abdomen, appear in July, and deposit eggs on the leaves in elongate masses covered with brown hairs from the body of the female. The caterpillars become only partly grown the first season, and hibernate in conspicuous nests, 3 to 4 inches long, at the tips of the branches. The black-bodied caterpillars, clothed with rather long, brownish, stinging hairs, complete their growth the next spring, feeding ravenously on the tender foliage and causing great damage in orchards, parks and forests. Cut out and burn all winter nests before the buds start. In the spring, spray with arsenate of lead, as recommended for the gipsy-moth. Prevent the ascent of caterpillars from other trees by banding the trunks with tanglefoot. Keep the bands fresh by combing the surface every few days. BUD-MOTH (Tmetocera ocellana). — The small brown caterpillars with black heads burrow into the buds, feeding on the opening leaves and flowers and web them together. Spray with arsenate of lead, four pounds in one hundred gallons of water, just as the blossoms show pink, and again as the last of the petals are falling. CANKER-WORM, FALL (Alsophila pometaria) . — Wingless female moths usually emerge from the ground in late autumn, crawl up the trees and deposit their eggs on the smaller branches. The eggs hatch in April or May, and the blackish, yellow-striped, looping caterpillars defoliate the trees. Band tree trunks in the fall with tanglefoot or cotton batting to prevent ascent of moths. The young canker-worms may be killed by spraying with arsenate of lead, six pounds to one hun- dred gallons of water. Apple Insects 347 CANKER-WORM, SPRING (Paleacrita vemata). — Habits similar to the fall canker-worm, but the moths emerge in March and April. Caterpillars are distinguished by having only two pairs of prolegs. Same as for fall canker-worm except the bands should be applied in early spring. CASE-BEARERS. — The pistol-case-bearer (Coleophora malivorella) and the cigar-case-bearer (C. fletcherella). — The small cater- pillars live in pistol- or cigar-shaped cases, about ^ inch long, that they carry around with them. They appear in spring on the opening buds at the same time as the bud-moth, and may be controlled by the same means. CODLIN-MOTH (Carpocapsa pomonella). — This is the pinkish cater- pillar which causes a large proportion of wormy apples. The eggs are laid by a small moth on the leaves and the skin of the fruit. Most of the caterpillars enter the apple at the blossom end. When the petals fall, the calyx is open and this is the time for spraying. The calyx soon closes, and keeps the poison inside ready for the young caterpillars' first meal. After the calyx has closed, it is too late to spray effectively. The caterpillars become full grown in July and August, leave the fruit, crawl down on the trunk, and there most of them spin cocoons under the loose bark. In most parts of the country there are two broods annually. As the last of petals are falling, spray with four pounds arsenate of lead in one hundred gallons of water, using a stiff spray to force it into the blossom end of the apple. Repeat the application three weeks later. FALL WEB- WORM (Hyphantria cunea). — Hairy larva, about an inch long, varying from gray to pale yellow or bluish black, feeding upon the leaves of many trees, in tents or webs. Destroy by burning the webs, or removing them and crush- ing the larvae. Spray with arsenicals. GREEN FRUIT-WORMS (Xylina sp.). — Yellowish or apple-green caterpillars, striped with cream-color, 1 to !}/£ inches in length when mature, attack the opening leaves and blossoms and eat holes in the developing fruit. The parent moths emerge from hibernation in early spring and lay their eggs on the smaller branches. One brood annually. Thorough and repeated spraying with arsenate of lead, six pounds in one hundred gallons of water, will kill many of the young caterpillars. Make the application when blossom clusters appear. 348 The Principles of Fruit-growing GYPSY-MOTH (Porthetria dispar). — The full-grown caterpillar is about 2 inches long, dark gray in ground-color, with eleven pairs of prominent tubercles on the back, the first five pairs blue, the last six dark red. They become full grown about the first of July. They pupate in slight cocoons. The moths emerge in seven to seventeen days. The male has a light brown body, wings yellowish brown, and each front wing is crossed by four wavy, dark brown lines. In the female the body is light buff and the wings grayish white. The dark markings on the front wings are similar to those of the male. The females do not fly, but each lays its eggs in a mass about an inch in length covered with hairs from its body. Hibernation takes place in the egg-stage. The eggs hatch just as the buds are bursting. Kill the eggs by saturating the masses with crude coal-tar creosote, to which a little lamp-black has been aded as a marker. When the young caterpillars hatch, spray the trees with arsenate of lead, ten pounds in one hundred gallons of water. When the caterpillars are half grown, use thirteen to fifteen pounds of lead arsenate. Full-grown caterpillars are very resistant to poisons. Band the tree trunks with tanglefoot to prevent the ascent of wandering caterpillars. OYSTER-SHELL SCALE (Lepidosaphes ulmi). — This is an elongate scale (sometimes called bark-louse), % inch in length, resem- bling an oyster-shell in shape, and often incrusting the bark. It hibernates as minute white eggs under the old scales. The eggs hatch during the latter part of May or in June, the date depending on the season. After they hatch, the young may be seen as tiny whitish lice crawling about on the bark. When these young appear, spray with kerosene emulsion, diluted with six parts of water, or whale-oil or any good soap, one pound in four or five gallons of water. When trees are regularly sprayed with lime-sulfur, as for the San Jose scale or blister-mite, the oyster-shell scale is usually controlled. This is a very prevalent pest, and should be kept under complete control. PALMER WORM (Ypsolophus pometellus). — The brownish green, white-striped caterpillars, % inch in length when mature, skeletonize the tender foliage in June and eat holes in the young apples. There is only one brood a year. Spray with arsenate of lead, four pounds in one hundred gal- lons of water, when the caterpillars first appear. Apple Insects 349 PLUM-CURCULIO (Conotrachelus nenuphar). — A snout-beetle that deforms the fruit by its characteristic feeding and egg-laying punctures. The grubs develop in the fruit and cause it to fall. Spraying with arsenate of lead, as for codlin-moth, whenever it can be applied with a fungicide so as not to increase expense, will help to control the trouble. Thorough superficial tillage of the surface of soil during July and August will kill many of .the pupse, and is recommended. For treatment on plum, see under Plum. RED BUGS (Heterocordylus malinus and Lygidea mendax). — The win- ter is passed as eggs inserted in the smaller branches. The bril- liant red nymphs appear as the buds open and feed on the foliage for a time. Then they puncture the newly set apples, causing one of three things: Some drop, some dry up and remain on trees till next spring, and others mature as knotty, misshapen, worth- less fruit. One generation a year. The young nymphs may be killed by thorough spraying with "black leaf 40" tobacco extract, one pint in one hundred gal- lons water, adding four pounds of soap, (1) when blossoms show pink, (2) when the last of the petals are falling. ROSE-CHAFER. — See Grape. SAN JOSE SCALE (Aspidiotus perniciosus). — This scale is nearly circular in outline and about the size of a pinhead. When abun- dant it forms a crust on the branches, and causes small red spots on the fruit. It multiplies with marvelous rapidity, there being three or four broods annually, and each mother scale may give birth to several hundred young. The young are born alive, and breeding continues until late autumn, when all stages are killed by the cold weather, except the tiny, half-grown, black scales, many of which hibernate safely. Spray thoroughly in the fall after the leaves drop, or early in the spring before growth begins, with lime-sulfur wash, one gal- lon in eight gallons of water, or miscible oil, one gallon in fifteen gallons of water. When badly infested, make two applications, one hi the fall and another in the spring. In case of large, old trees, 25 per cent crude-oil emulsion should be applied just as the buds are swelling. TENT-CATERPILLARS (Malacosoma americana and M. disstria). — Larvae nearly 2 inches long, spotted and striped with yellow, white and black; feeding upon the leaves. They congregate in tents or 350 The Principles of Fruit-growing in clusters on the bark at night and in cool weather, and forage out upon the branches during the day. Arsenicals, as for codlin-moth. Burn out nests with torch, or cut them out and crush the larvse. Pick off egg-masses from twigs during winter and spring. TUSSOCK-MOTH (Hemerocampa leucostigma) . — A handsome, red- headed, yellow-and-black tufted caterpillar, about an inch long, which devours the leaves and sometimes eats into the fruit. Collect the frothy egg-masses in fall and winter and band the trees to prevent a reinfestation by migrating caterpillars. Spray with arsenicals as for codling-moth, taking care to cover the under side of the leaves. WOOLLY APHIS (Schizoneura lanigera) . — Small, reddish brown plant- lice covered with a conspicuous mass of white, waxy fibers, found on the branches, sprouts, trunks and roots. For the form above ground drench the infested parts with 15 per cent kerosene emulsion; for the underground form remove the earth beneath the tree to a depth of 3 inches, and apply 10 per cent kerosene emulsion liberally, and replace the earth. In the case of nursery stock the emulsion may be applied in a shallow furrow close to the row. Do not set infested trees. Apricot. Diseases and insects require treatment similar to those of peach and plum. Bramble Fruits. BLACKBERRY CROWN-GALL or ROOT-GALL (Bac- terium tumefaciens) . — Swellings, hard or soft, on roots and stem below ground. Plow up and burn all bushes in a diseased patch. Plant clean roots in a new place. BLACKBERRY LEAF-MINER (Metellus rubi). — Greenish white larvse, with brown markings, % inch in length when full- grown, causing blotch mines in the leaves. No satisfactory treatment is known. DEWBERRY LEAF-SPOT (Septoria rubi). — Small pale spots of dead leaf-tissue finally becoming dotted with black specks. No successful method of treatment is known. RASPBERRY ANTHRACNOSE (Gl&osporium venetum). — Circular or elliptical, gray, scab-like spots on the canes. Remove diseased canes as soon as fruit is picked. Avoid taking young plants from diseased plantings. Brambles and Cherries 351 RED or ORANGE RUST (Gymnoconia interstitialis) . — Dense, red, powdery growth on under side of leaves of black raspberries and blackberries. Dig .up and destroy affected plants. RASPBERRY ROOT-BORER (Bembeda marginata). — Larva about 1 inch long, boring in the roots and the lower parts of the cane, remaining in the root over winter. Dig out the borers. Destroy wild berry bushes. RASPBERRY SAW-FLY (Monophadnus rubi). — Larva about ^ inch long, green, feeding upon the leaves. Hellebore; arsenicals, after fruiting. RED-SPIDER. — See Peach. Do not use lime-sulfur on raspberry foliage. TREE-CRICKET (CEcanthus nigricornis) . — Small and whitish cricket-like insect, puncturing canes for 2 to 3 inches, and depositing eggs in the punctures. Burn all infested canes in winter or very early spring. Cherry. BROWN-ROT (Sclerotinia fructigena). — The flowers decay, the leaves become discolored with irregular brown spots, and the fruit rots on the tree. Spray with bordeaux mixture, 4-^r-50, or lime-sulfur, 1-40 (1) just before the blossom buds open; (2) just after the blossoms fall; (3) one or two more applications at inter- vals of ten days. APHIS (Myzus cerasi). — Blackish plant-lice infesting the leaves and tips of new growth. • Spray as soon as the first lice appear, with whale-oil soap or tobacco extract. BLACK-KNOT. — See under Plum; same disease. CHERRY FRUIT-FLIES (Rhagoletis dngulata and R. fausta). — Small maggots infesting ripening fruit. Adults are flies with banded wings and insert their eggs under the skin of the fruit. Spray with arsenate of lead, five pounds in one hundred gallons, sweetened with three gallons of molasses to kill flies before egg-laying. Should be done when flies first appear, — last of June in New York. CHERRY TREE TORTRIX (Archips cerasivorana) . — Tips of branches are frequently webbed into nests by colonies of lemon-yellow caterpillars. Wipe out nests and destroy the caterpillars. 352 The Principles of Fruit-growing POWDERY MILDEW (Podosphaera oxycanthse). — Leaves and twigs affected, often causing defoliation. Spray with lime-sulfur, 1-40, or dust heavily with pow- dered sulfur. SLUG (Eriocampoides limacina). — Larva ^ inch long, blackish and slimy, feeding upon the leaves; two broods. Arsenicals, hellebore, tobacco extract. Chestnut. CANKER, or BARK DISEASE (Endothia parasitica). — Sunken or swollen cankers on limbs or trunk. Limbs die and leaves and burs cling in winter. Control. — Remove diseased parts and burn. Paint all wounds. Little chance of saving trees in infested locality. WEEVILS (Balaninus probosddeus and B. rectus). — Brownish beetles with extremely long, slender snouts with which they bore holes into the nuts for deposition of eggs. The grubs feed on the kernel, producing wormy nuts. Treatment. — No satisfactory control measures known. TWO-LINED CHESTNUT-BORER (Agrilus bilineatus). — Slender, flattened grubs, % inch long, when mature, burrowing under the bark and girdling the trees. Treatment. — Cut and burn infested trees to prevent spread. Cranberry. BLAST, or SCALD (Guignardia vacdnii). — Young flower and fruits blasted, older fruits appear scalded or watery. Spray five or six times with bordeaux mixture, 5-5-50, to which has been added four pounds of resin fish-oil soap. Begin just before the blossoms open. CRANBERRY FULGORID (Phylloscelis atra}. — Small, broad-bodied, black, jumping insect punctures the vines, causing the leaves to turn brown and the fruit to shrivel. "Black leaf 40" tobacco extract, one pint to one hundred gallons of water, adding four to five pounds of soap to kill young nymphs. CRANBERRY-GIRDLER (Crambus hortuellus). — Small caterpillar, feeding on the stems just beneath the surface of the sand. Reflow just after picking, for a week or ten days, or reflow for a day or two about June 10. FALSE ARMY- WORM (Calocampa nupera). — Green to blackish caterpillars devouring the leaves and buds. Reflow for from twenty-four to thirty-six hours soon after the middle of May. It may be necessary to reflow a Cranberry and Currant 353 second time. Destroy all caterpillars washed ashore while the water is on. In dry bogs, spray early in May with arsenate of lead. FIRE- WORM, CRANBERRY- WORM, or BLACK-HEADED CRANBERRY- WORM (Eudemis vacdniana). — Small larva, green, black- headed, feeding upon the shoots and young leaves, drawing them together by silken threads; two broods. Flooding for two or three days when the worms come down to pupate. Arsenicals. FRUIT- WORM (Mineola vaccinii). — Small caterpillar working in the fruits, eating out the insides. For bogs with abundant water, reflow for ten days immedi- ately after picking. Let the foliage ripen, and then turn on water for winter. Draw off water early in April, and every third or fourth year hold it on until the middle of May. For dry bogs spray three times with arsenate of lead during July. Burn all screenings. YELLOW-HEADED CRANBERRY- WORM (Acleris minuta). — Stout, yellowish green, small caterpillar, with a yellow head, webbing up the leaves as it works. Hold the water late on the bog in spring to prevent egg- laying. Arsenicals from the middle of May till July 1. Currant. WILT, or CANE-BLIGHT (Botryosphseria ribis). — Canes die suddenly, the leaves wilting. No satisfactory method of control is known. Cut out and burn affected plants. RUST (Cronartium ribicola). — Brown rust pustules and brown felt-like growth on under side of leaf. Black currants espe- ially susceptible. Grow at least 500 feet from white pine trees. CURRANT APHIS (Myzus ribis). — Small, yellowish green lice attacking the under side of the leaves, distorting the leaves and causing them to turn red. Contact insecticides when leaves first appear. CURRANT MEASURING- or SPAN-WORM (Cymatophora ribearia). — Larva somewhat over an inch long, with stripes and dotted with yellow or black, feeding upon the leaves. Hellebore, applied stronger than for currant-worm. Arsenicals; hand-picking. W 354 The Principles of Fruit-growing CURRANT-WORM, OF CURRANT and GOOSEBERRY SAW-FLY (Pteronus ribesii).- — Larva, about % inch long, yellowish green, feeding on leaves of red and white varieties; two to four broods. Hellebore, applied early; arsenicals for the early brood. Treatment should begin while the larvae are on the lower- most leaves of the bushes. Before the leaves are fully grown, the holes made by the worms may be seen. The second brood is best destroyed by killing the first brood. FOUR-STRIPED PLANT-BUG (Psecilocapsus lineatus). — A bright yellow, black-striped bug about ^ inch long, puncturing the young leaves and shoots of many plants. Jar into a dish of kerosene. Kerosene emulsion when the nymphs are young. Cut off the tips of the shoots in early spring to destroy the eggs. Dewberry. See Bramble Fruits. Gooseberry. MILDEW (Sphseroiheca m&rs-uvse). — A powdery mildew of the fruit and young growth of English varieties. Spray with potassium sulfid, one ounce to two gallons of water, at intervals after leaves begin to unfold. GOOSEBERRY FRUIT- WORM (Dakruma convolutella) . — Larva about % inch long, greenish or yellowish, feeding in the berry, caus- ing it to ripen prematurely. Destroy affected berries. Clean cultivation. Poultry. Grape. BLACK-ROT (Guignardia bidwellii). — Brown circular spots on leaves, black, elongated, sunken pits on petioles, canes, etc., and on the berry a brown rot, with shriveling and wrinkling. Spray with bordeaux mixture, 4-4-50, before rains. Spray (1) when the third or fourth leaf unfolds; (2) as soon as the blossoms have fallen; (3) when berries are size of a pea; (4) about two weeks later. Two or more applications if wet DOWNY MILDEW, or LEAF-BLIGHT (Plasmopara viticold). — White frost-like patches on the under side of the leaf. Same as for black-rot. GRAPE-CURCULIO (Craponius insequalis}. — Larva small, white, with a brownish head. Infests the grape in June and July, causing a little black hole in the skin and a discolora- tion of the berry immediately around it. The adult is a gray- ish brown snout-beetle, about one-tenth inch long. Grape Insects and Diseases 355 Spray with arsenate of lead while the beetles are feeding on the leaves. The beetles may be jarred down on sheets, as with the plum-curculio. Bag the clusters. GRAPE ROOT- WORM (Fidia viticida). — The small white grubs feed upon the roots, often killing the vines in a few years. The adults are small, grayish brown beetles that eat peculiar chain-like holes in the leaves during July and August. Cultivate thoroughly in June, especially close around the vines to kill the pupae in the soil. At the first appearance of the beetles, spray the plants with arsenate of lead at the rate of eight or ten pounds in one hundred gallons 'of water, to which should be added one gallon of molasses. GRAPE-SLUG or SAW-FLY (Selandria vitis). — Larva, about l/$ inch long, yellowish green with black points, feeding upon the leaves; two broods. Arsenicals; hellebore. GRAPEBERRY-WORM (Polychrosis viteana). — Larva, about K inch long, feeding on the berry, often securing three or four together by a web; two broods. Spray with arsenate of lead before blossoms open. Repeat after blooming and again in early July. Destroy wormy berries in August. GRAPE-VINE FLEA-BEETLE (Graptodera chalybea). — Beetle, of a blue metallic color, about 34 inch long, feeding upon the buds and tender shoots in early spring. Arsenicals to kill the grubs on leaves during May and June. The beetle can be caught by jarring on bright days. GRAPE-VINE SPHINX (Ampelophaga myron). — A large larva, 2 inches long when mature, green with yellow spots and stripes, bearing a horn at the posterior extremity, feeding upon the leaves and nipping off the young clusters of grapes; two broods. Hand-picking. Arsenicals early in the season. LEAF-HOPPER (Typhlocyba comes). — These small yellowish leaf- hoppers, erroneously called "thrips," suck the sap from the under side of the leaves, causing them to turn brown and dry up. Spray the under side of the leaves very thoroughly with one gallon "black leaf 40" in 1,000 gallons of water about July 1, to kill the young leaf-hoppers. When using tobacco 356 The Principles of Fruit-growing extract, add about two pounds soap to each fifty gallons to make it spread and stick better. Repeat the application in a week or ten days. In houses, tobacco smoke, pyrethrum poured upon coals held under the vines, syringing with tobacco-water or soapsuds. ROSE-CHAFER (Macrodactylus subspinosus') . — The ungainly, long-legged grayish beetles occur in sandy regions, and often swarm into vineyards and destroy the blossoms and foliage. At the first appearance of the beetles, spray with arsenate of lead at the rate of eight to ten pounds in one hundred gal- lons of water, to which should be added one gallon of molasses. Hickory. LEAF-SPOT (Marsonia juglandis) . — Large leaf-spot, caus- ing premature dying of leaves. Spraying with bordeaux mixture may be of value. GALL APHIS (Phylloxera sp.). — Yellowish green plant-lice causing hollow galls on the leaves, petioles and small twigs. Spray with contact insecticides as buds are opening in the spring. Peach. BLIGHT (Coryneum beyerinkii). — A spotting, gumming and death of the buds and twigs, particularly in the lower parts of the tree. The fruit drops. For California conditions, two applications bordeaux mixture, 5-5-50, or lime-sulfur, 1-10, (1) in November or December, and (2) in February or March. LEAF-CURL (Exoascus deformans). — Leaves curl and wrinkle. Spray with lime-sulfur, 1—11, before buds swell. BROWN-ROT (Sclerotinia fructigena). — Rot on fruit and cankers on limbs. Spray with self-boiled lime-sulfur, 8-8-50, adding two pounds arsenate of lead. Spray (1) about time shucks are shedding from young fruit; (2) two or three weeks later; (3) one month before fruit ripens. SCAB, or BLACK-SPOT (Cladosporium carpophilum) . — Black scab- like spots on fruit. Self-boiled lime-sulfur applied as under Brown-Rot. BLACK APHIS (Aphis persicx-niger) . — A small black or brown plant-louse, which attacks the tops and roots of peach trees. When upon the roots it is a very serious enemy, stunting the tree and perhaps killing it. Thrives in sandy lands. Kerosene emulsion; tobacco decoction and extracts. Peach Insects and Diseases 357 CLOVER MITE (Bryobia pratensis). — Small reddish mites attack- ing the leaves, causing them to turn yellow. Lime-sulfur while trees are dormant. In summer, use self-boiled lime-sulfur as a dust, or sulfur paste. GREEN PEACH-LOUSE, or APHIS (Myzus persicse). — A small insect feeding upon the young leaves, causing them to curl and die. Lime-sulfur, kerosene emulsion or tobacco extract. After the buds open, either of the last two. PEACH TWIG-MOTH (Anarsia lineatella). — The larva of a moth, 24 inch long, boring in the ends of the shoots, and later in the season attacking the fruit. Several broods. Spray with lime-sulfur just after the buds swell. Spray trunk and larger branches in late spring to kill first brood of pupae in the curls of bark. PLUM-CURCULIO (Conotrachelus nenuphar}. — This insect may be successfully controlled on peach by spraying with arsenate of lead, four pounds to one hundred gallons of self-boiled lime- sulfur. Spray, first, when the "husks" drop from the fruit; second, ten days or two weeks later. It is unsafe to spray peaches more than twice with arsenate of lead. RED SPIDER, or MITE (Tetrancyhus bimaculatus) . — A small mite infesting many plants, both in the greenhouse and out-of- doors. It flourishes in dry atmospheres, occurring on the under sides of the leaves. In some forms it is reddish, but usually light-colored and two-spotted. Common. Persistent syringing with water will generally destroy them, if the spray is applied to the under surface. Use lots of force and little water to avoid drenching the beds. Sulfur and water. Dry sulfur. On orchard trees, flour paste. WHITE PEACH SCALE (Diaspis pentagona). — Circular gray scales with the exuviae at one side of the center. Same as for San Jose Scale. See Apple. Pear. BLIGHT (Bacillus amylovarus) . — Flowers, young fruit, twigs and leaves turn black and die. Limbs die back, and sunken cankers form in bark. This is a widespread and very damaging disease. Some varieties appear to be more susceptible than others. Not amenable to spraying. Eradicate all wild hawthorns, pears and apples. Inspect and remove all blighted parts of tree. Paint wounds with coal-tar. 358 The Principles of Fruit-growing SCAB. — Very similar to apple-scab and demanding similar treatment. MIDGE (Diplosis pyrivira). — A minute mosquito-like fly; lays eggs in flower-buds when they begin to show white. These hatch into minute grubs which distort and discolor the fruit. New York and eastward. Prefers the Lawrence. Introduced in 1877 from France. Not controlled by spraying. Destroy the infested pears. Cultivate and plow in late summer and fall to destroy the pupae then in the ground. PEAR-LEAF BLISTER-MITE (Eriophyes pyri). — A minute mite which causes black blisters to appear upon the leaves. The mites collect under the bud-scales in winter. Lime-sulfur or miscible oil as a dormant spray. PEAR PSYLLA (Psylla pyricola). — These minute, yellowish, flat- bodied, sucking insects are often found working in the axils of the leaves and fruit early in the season. They develop into minute, cicada-like jumping lice. The young psyllas secrete a large quantity of honey-dew, in which a peculiar black fungus grows, giving the bark a characteristic sooty appear- ance. There may be four broods annually, and the trees are often seriously injured. Clean culture; remove rough bark from trunks and larger branches to discourage adults from hibernating; spray with "black leaf 40" tobacco extract, one pint in one hundred gallons of water, adding four pounds soap, on warm days in November or April, to kill hibernating adults. Spray with lime-sulfur, winter strength, when the blossom clusters appear, to destroy eggs. In summer, spray with "black leaf 40" tobacco extract just as the last of the petals are falling, to kill young. Repeat if necessary. PEAR THRIPS (Euthrips pyri). — Minute insects one-twentieth inch in length, dark brown when adult, white with red eyes when young, that attack the opening buds and young fruits in early spring. They suck the sap from the tender growth, and the females lay eggs in the fruit-stems, causing a loss of the crop. The nymphs hibernate in the ground a few inches from the surface. A serious pest in California, and recently introduced into New York. Pecan, Pear, and Plum Pests 359 Thorough cultivation during Octpber, November, and December (in California). Make two applications of "black leaf" tobacco extract, one gallon in sixty gallons of 2 per cent distillate oil emulsion, the first just as the fruit-buds begin to open, the second just after the petals fall. In the East it may be controlled by timely applications of tobacco extract and whale-oil soap. Pecan. BUD-MOTH (Proteopteryx deludana). — A brownish cater- pillar about y% inch in length, feeding on the opening buds in early spring and on the under side of the leaves in summer. Arsenate of lead in summer to kill larvae of second brood. Lime-sulfur and arsenate of lead in dormant season just before buds open, to destroy hibernating larvae. CASE-BEARER (Acrobasis nebulella). — A small caterpillar living inside a case which it carries with it. It attacks the opening buds. Arsenate of lead as soon as the buds begin to open. Repeat if necessary. Plum. BLACK -KNOT (Plowrightia morbosa). — Black tumorous swellings from 1 to several inches in length, on limbs and twigs. Orchards thoroughly sprayed with bordeaux are not likely to be attacked. Burn all affected parts in the fall. Burn whole tree if badly affected. CURCULIO (Conotrachelus nenuphar). — Larva, a whitish grub, feeding in the fruit. Arsenate of lead, six pounds to one hundred gallons of water; apply as soon as the calyx falls, and repeat two or three times at intervals of about ten days. Jarring the beetles on sheets very early in the morning, beginning when trees are in flower, and continuing from four to six weeks, is proba- bly the most certain procedure. There are various styles of sheets or receptacles for catching the insects as they fall from the tree. Clean culture. SAN JOSE SCALE. — See Apple. EUROPEAN FRUIT SCALE (Lecanium comi). — A large circular scale occurring on plum; occasionally very destructive. Thorough spraying with kerosene emulsion, one part to five of water, in the winter. More dilute emulsion or tobacco extracts in midsummer, when the young insects are on the 360 The Principles of Fruit-growing leaves and young shoots. Miscible oils when trees are dormant. Quince. BLIGHT. — See under Pear. RUST (Gymnosporangium globosum). — Orange rust of fruit. Destroy red cedars in the neighborhood, also wild apples and hawthorns. Spray as for apple-scab. GREEN APHIDS. — As for apple-aphids. QUINCE CURCULIO (Contrachelus crat&gi). — This curculio is somewhat larger than that infesting the plum, and differs in its life-history. The grubs leave the fruits in the fall, and enter the ground, where they hibernate and transform to adults the next May, June or July, depending on the season. When the adults appear, jar them from the tree on sheets or curculio-catchers, and destroy them. To determine when they appear, jar a few trees daily, beginning the latter part of May. Spray with arsenicals. Pick and burn all infested fruits a month before harvesting. Raspberry. — See Bramble Fruits. Strawberry. LEAF-SPOT, or LEAF-BLIGHT (MycosphasreUa fra- garise). — Small purple or red spots appearing on leaves. Leaf appears blotched. Spray with bordeaux mixture, 4-^-50, soon after growth begins and make three or four additional sprayings during season. LEAF-ROLLER (Ancylis comptana). — Larva less than % inch long, feeding on the leaves, and rolling them up in threads of silk; two broods. Turn under in the fall all old beds that have become worth- less. Spray with arsenate of lead, four pounds in one hundred gallons of water, after the eggs are laid but before the leaves are folded — the first half of May hi the latitude of New Jersey. ROOT-BORER (Typophorus canellus). — A whitish] grub % inch hi length feeding on the roots. The parent beetle is brownish, and appears in great numbers in May. Arsenicals to kill the beetles. Plant new beds at a dis- tance from old ones. ROOT-LOUSE (Aphis forbesii). — From July to the close of the season the lice appear in great numbers on the crowns and on the roots of the plants. Rotation in planting. Disinfect plants coming from Conclusion of the List of Pests 361 infested patches by dipping the crowns and roots in kerosene emulsion, or tobacco extract. Fumigation. SAW-FLY (Emphytus maculatus) . — Larva nearly % in long, greenish, feeding upon the leaves; two broods. Hellebore; arsenicals for second brood. Walnut. BLIGHT (Pseudomonas juglandis). — Appears as a black spotting of the fruit and as black cankers on the stems. The twigs and fruit-spurs are killed. Control. — None, except those ways mentioned under pear- blight (page 357) ; grow immune varieties. ANTHRACNOSE or LEAF-BLIGHT (Marsonia juglandis). — The same disease that attacks hickory (see page 356). ARSENICAL POISONING OF FRUIT TREES In the first edition of this work, the question was asked as to what becomes of the arsenic that finally reaches the soil from the sprays. From the few studies that had then been made of the subject (Cornell Bull. No. 101) it was concluded that the arsenites do not leach from the soil, but "remain where they fall, the same as sand does, and are carried down only when there are crevices or other openings in the soil, and they go down as insoluble compounds, and, to a slight extent, by the mere mechanical action of the water." In the early days of spraying, the question of the effect of the materials on the soil and on live-stock feeding on the grass beneath the sprayed trees (as also on persons eating sprayed fruit) was much discussed. The subject of soil injury was gone over carefully by Lodeman in his "Spraying of Plants," 1896, and the experiments at that time had shown no danger following the customary use of the arsenic and the copper salts in spraying. "The only conclusion to be drawn from these extracts," he says, "is that proper applications of insecticides and fungicides will apparently never cause 362 The Principles of Fruit-growing an appreciable injury either to the roots of plants or to the soil." Recent studies lead Headden to conclude, in conditions in Colorado, that the plant may take up the arsenic, that the arsenical preparations used in spraying are water- soluble to some extent, and that the tree may be injured and killed by the action of arsenic collected about the crown or collar (Colo. Bull. Nos. 131, 157). Arsenic was found in plant tissue and soluble arsenic was detected in the soil. "Three forms of this trouble were recognized, — corrosive arsenical poisoning, systemic arsenical poisoning, and arsenic-lime poisoning. The last form is considered as being produced by the joint action of lime and arsenic, because we do not find this trouble present on limestone soils in general, nor is it characteristic of arsenical poison- ing produced by soluble arsenic preparations, — sodic arsenite, for example." The subject of soil-poisoning by arsenical materials used in spraying is now again under discussion. It needs to be worked over under many conditions. Similar in- juries are those of crown-rot due, perhaps, to winter injury, and there may be confusion between these injuries and those attributed to arsenic poisoning. Ball and Titus have found (Journ. Econ. Ent. Ill, pp. 187-197, 1910) that arsenic can be packed about the roots or trunks without injury. The subject will have increasing importance, as the arsenical materials are used more liberally and as they accumulate in the soil. Whether there is danger of injury to trees in humid regions is to be determined by investi- gations in many places. It is a good commentary on the certainty and regu- larity of spraying, and the control of the processes, that Spraying Ideals 363 practically no accidents occur to persons or to live-stock, notwithstanding the immense quantities of poisons used, the continental range of the work, and the great number of persons employed in spraying, not only of fruit trees but of street and shade trees; and yet we must look to the day when effective materials of a less poisonous nature shall be discovered for this important work and also when greater reliance than now shall be placed on securing the proper balance in nature. CHAPTER X HARVESTING AND MARKETING THE FRUIT THE crop is now grown, and the grower is confronted with the problem of disposing of it. If he is growing the fruit for profit, he must give attention to the business situation involved in the picking, packing, storing and shipping. The actual selling of the product is an enter- prise belonging to the merchantman rather than to the fruit-grower; but the grower must understand the demands of the market, and the conditions under which the sales- man is obliged to work. Marketing is rapidly coming to be recognized as a semi-public function. It is being regulated by legislation on packages and inspection, transportation, ordinances on marketing and licensing of middlemen. The producer as well as the seller must work within the law; and it is to be expected that the laws will be more specific and con- trolling in the future. This will impose a special obliga- tion on the grower of fruits to raise a good product, and to grade and pack with care, for fruits are mostly shipped in separate gift packages. Associations and exchanges for the handling of fruits have been productive of much good and have stimulated the business in many parts of the country. They are to be encouraged when the growers are ready for co-action and when the volume of business in any definite geographi- cal region is large. This book is devoted primarily to the growing of (364) The Gathering of the Fruit 365 fruits; but the questions of marketing may be given brief consideration, particularly in their bearing on the work of the grower himself and on farm practices. It is not in- tended here to take up the larger questions of commercial pre-cooling, refrigeration, cold-storage, transportation and salesmanship. PICKING FRUITS If it is worth while to exercise care and ingenuity to grow the fruit, it is equally important to take pains with the finished product. It is a pity to miss the best rewards of one's labor by carelessness or inattention at the harvest. When to pick. Just when and how the fruit should be picked for best market results depends very largely on the species or variety of fruit, and greatly also on the distance to which it is to be shipped. The closer and better the market, the riper the fruit should be when taken from the plant. If one is fortunate enough to have a special or personal market, delivering the fruit to the consumer direct, then one may hope to retain this market only by delivering the products in the very best dessert condition. Such consumers are willing to pay a sufficient extra price for the advantage of having the fruit taken from the plant when it is in its highest state of edible quality. Most serious mistakes are constantly made in the picking of blackberries, for example. It is ordinarily considered that when the berries are black they are ripe, but such is not the case. They are fully ripe only when they shake from the bushes readily, and when they are soft and free from sharp acidity. In this condition, blackberries can be handled direct to the consumers in a local market that is only a few miles 366 The Principles of Fruit-growing away; but they could not be shipped by rail. The straw- berry is ordinarily picked for market when only a part of the berry is really ripe, and when the organic acids are still too sharp and austere for the dessert. A strawberry with a green or white tip is not yet in fit condition to pick, if one is expecting to reach a really good market. With the tree-fruits in general, the samples keep longest when they are picked greenest, but they suffer thereby in point of quality. There are no well-marked lines between greenness or immaturity, ripeness or full maturity, and over- maturity and decay. The one stage passes into the other insensibly, and it is a part of the normal chemical history of the fruit that it should begin an incipient breaking down and disorganization of tissue as soon as the ripening pro- cess is complete. It will be seen, therefore, that the riper the fruit, the more nearly does it approach this period of disorganization and the sooner the breaking down of the tissues may be expected to begin. When the fruit is picked very green, however, this period of natural dis- organization is comparatively remote. On the other hand, fruits picked very green are not yet arrived at their most edible stage, and unless they are kept in the most favor- able conditions, they are very likely to shrivel and to become unmarketable. Apples. — In the case of winter apples, it is best to pick them, if they are to be stored or exported, just as they have arrived at their full size and when they have attained only a part of their full color. Over-ripe or fully ripe fruits must be sent to the market at once, or else they must be kept in artificial cold storage in order to halt the chemical processes, and when they are taken from storage they are very likely to decay quickly. Apples picked slightly green, however, usually continue to keep well Picking Apples and Pears 367 after being taken from cold storage. This was demon- strated at the World's Fair at Chicago, at which New York apples taken from cold storage remained on the shelves in good condition for several weeks. Pears, on the other hand, nearly always lose quality by ripening fully upon the tree. The cells of the fruit fill with gritty mineral matter, much to the detriment of texture. It is ordinarily considered that the best time to pick a pear of any variety is just as soon as it reaches its full size and before it has begun to color. In most varie- ties, this stage is well indicated by the facility with which the fruit-stem parts from the spur. The pear is taken in the hollow of the hand and turned up; if the stem snaps off the spur at its point of articulation, the fruit is con- sidered to be ripe enough to pick. The pears are then ripened under cover. The best place in which to ripen them is a rather cool but dry room, like a loft or a chamber. Here they are piled on the floor or on racks, and they should not lie, for the best results, more than three or four pears deep. If they are piled too deep, the lower ones are likely to be indented by the weight of those above them. The room should be kept fairly close. If there is too much circulation of air, and if the tempera- ture is high, the pears ripen too quickly, and often shrivel. A Bartlett pear, when properly picked and handled, ordinarily requires a full week in which to ripen to its best quality, and the ripening process may often be continued considerably longer than this by picking the fruit early and keeping it cool. Kieffers, especially if grown in the North, seem to ripen best if they are stored in bulk, like beans, two to three feet deep, or even in barrels, and the ripening process is ordinarily two to three weeks long. If they are given this long time in which to mature, the quality may 368 The Principles of Fruit-growing be expected to be very much better than in the general run of samples. Stone-fruits. — A peach is fit to pick when it is full grown and has begun to develop its characteristic color. Peaches and apricots do not ordinarily color up well after they are picked, although plums usually will do so, especially the Japanese plums, which may be picked very green and yet develop a high color. It is very difficult to describe that period of maturity at which a peach is ready for picking. An experienced picker will take the fruit softly in his hand and press the ball of his thumb very lightly on the side, and if the fruit has a somewhat springy feeling, it is ready to take from the tree. This pressure is never sufficient to leave any mark on the fruit. Pinching a peach will usually spoil it. If the peach is too green, it will feel hard and stone-like. If it is too soft, it will simply indent, and will not have the characteristic elastic feeling. In the case of cherries and plums, it is very important that the fruits be picked just before they have reached their condition of most edible quality. This is largely because the fruit-rot fungus is likely to destroy the fruits at the tune of their ripening, especially on those varieties particularly subject to the disorder. Amongst plums, the Lombard is one of the most seriously attacked; and amongst cherries, nearly all the white-fleshed varieties, like Governor Wood and Napoleon, are greatly subject to injury. If the weather at picking time gives promise of being close and warm or "muggy," then it is exceedingly important that the fruit should be picked early. In sweet cherries, a delay of a few hours will sometimes result in the loss of an entire crop from the fruit-rot fungus. Cherries and plums should always be picked, if possible, when they are perfectly dry. This is especially Decay of Cherries 369 true of the sweet cherries; if they are picked when they are wet, and put into boxes or baskets in this condition, they will be almost certain to decay before reaching the market, unless the weather remains very cool. This fruit-rot fungus is very damaging on many stone- fruits. In sweet cherries, writes G. H. Powell, "the losses from this disease which have come under my observation are invariably the result of letting the fruit hang on the trees till ripe, and then the rot is very active; but cherries should be picked a few days before ripe, before they soften, and then the rot does not seriously affect them. An illus- tration of this point, which is a most important one, was brought to my notice the present season. The last week of June, in eastern New York, was very hot and close, with showers every day or two. The cherries were then ripen- ing, and the conditions were favorable for the rot to spread. In one orchard, from which several tons of cherries were shipped that week, there was not more than one hundred and fifty pounds destroyed by the rot, while in another orchard a few miles distant at least ten tons of the same varieties were ruined on the trees. In the first orchard the fruit was picked before it had ripened, and all that was fit was taken off as soon as the trees dried off after a shower; in the other orchard it was left till nearly ripe, and one- half to two-thirds of the crop was lost before the fruit could be picked. So rapid is the work of this fungus at this period, that the owner of the orchard told me that he lost three tons of one variety in one night. It might be added that the orchard first mentioned was a much stronger one, as it was in cultivation, while the last had been in sod for years, and the general debility and neglect of the trees made them good subjects for the attacks of rot or any other disease." x 370 The Principles of Fruit-growing FIG. 133. A good berry-stand for the field. How to pick. In picking the soft fruits, like cherries and plums, the operator grasps the stem and not the fruit itself. In this way he does not remove the delicate bloom, and does not injure the fruit when pulling it from the spur. In the case of grapes, it is likewise very important, especially in those with a heavy bloom, that the picker should not grasp the bunch itself, but should take the cluster by the stem and snip it off with shears (which are made for the purpose). In the case of peaches and apricots, this pre- caution, of course, need not be taken, because the stem does not naturally adhere to the fruit; but the operator must be very careful, when picking these fruits, not to grasp them too tightly, otherwise he will bruise them and cause them to become discolored. Strawberries should always be picked with the stems on. A berry that has the hull pulled out is not fit for the market. The picker should grasp the stem itself and pinch it off between the thumb and finger. Every evidence of fruits having been touched by the hands detracts from their market value. On all fruits that grow on a distinct pedicel or stem, this stem should be allowed to remain. Pears with the stems pulled out or broken in two are never first-class fruits, no matter how good and uniform the specimens otherwise may be. This is even true of apples when they How to Gather the Fruit 371 FIQ. 135. Tray for berry-boxes. are put up for the finest dessert trade; but as they are ordinarily handled, very little attention is paid to leaving the stems on. Leaving the stems on is vital to the hand- ling of plums and cherries, not only because the market demands it, but because the fruit will be very likely to rot if the stems are pulled out, and they will not pack so snugly and will not stand the transportation so well. The stems of cherries, plums and currants, and the hulls of straw- berries, serve a most useful purpose in holding the fruits in place in the box or basket, and in taking up the slack from settling or shrinkage. It is only in rare cases that fruit should be sent to the market hi the packages in which the pick- ers place it; it will need to be sorted from these packages into others, and this sorting should be done in a cool shed or packing- room. In the picking of small-fruits, various kinds of trays or stands are used. In strawberries, it is important that these stands should have legs, so that when the package is set down it will not crush berries on the vines, and neither will it be so likely to tip over. Such stands are handy for grapes, or for any kind of berry fruits as well. Fig. 133 shows a type of berry-stand largely used for the picking of raspberries and blackberries. This stand holds six one-quart boxes, and a tier is easily stacked upon another, one tier or layer of FIG. 137. A half- stands breaking joints with those above and Setpicking~ FIG. 136. Berry-stand on legs. 372 The Principles of Fruit-growing below. Other types of berry-stands are shown in Figs. 134-136. In the picking of tender or ripe tree-fruits, it is best to use a basket (Fig. 137) and not a bag, for in spite of all one can do, the fruit is bruised when it is thrown into a bag slung over the shoulder. Winter apples, however, are sometimes picked in bags (Fig. 138). In the picking FIG. 138. The apple harvest. of peaches and other soft fruits, it is customary to pick in something like a Climax basket or, better still, in the old-fashioned, tall, round-top, peck baskets, such as are standards in New Jersey and other places. These baskets may be held at about one's middle by dropping them into a hoop held on the person by a strap running over the shoulder and under one arm (Fig. 139). This allows the picker the free use of both arms, and obviates the necessity of his being obliged to stretch or stoop to Picking-Baskets 373 deposit the fruit after he has picked it. The baskets are filled about level full, all the fruits that are ripe enough for picking being saved indiscriminately. The basket is then set in the shade alongside the tree from which the fruit was taken, and at intervals a wagon or cart collects the baskets and takes them to the packing-room, where the fruit is sorted, graded and packed. In the picking of apples, the best method is ordi- narily to use a half -bushel, round- bottomed, splint (not woven) bas- ket with a swing- ing handle (as in Fig. 137). If the basket is lined on the inside with thick cloth or bur- lap, it will answer the purpose all the better. This bas- ket is provided with a strong wire hook that can be hung over a limb, allow- ing the picker to have both hands free. There are special conveniences for apple-picking, which are not proper subjects for discussion in a general fruit-book. There are various appliances to facilitate the picking of fruit, some of which may be briefly mentioned. The fruit-picker should provide himself with an ample supply of crates or baskets, or whatever other receptacle may be used in the field. The receptacles should be strong and FIG. 139. Picking stone-fruits. 374 The Principles of Fruit-growing durable, so that they may be used year after year; this is especially true of the baskets and crates used for the picking of the heavier fruits, as pears, apples and grapes. It is usually advisable to take the fruits to the packing- house in the very baskets or boxes in which they are placed from the tree, thereby avoiding unnecessary hand- ling of the fruit. In the case of winter apples, however, it is sometimes admissible carefully to pour the apples from the round-bottomed baskets, into which they are picked, into bushel baskets, or sometimes into, crates such as are used for potatoes. In any case it is always advisable, in the best quality of fruit, to have all these baskets or crates lined with burlap or padded. The best wagons for use in orchards are those of the platform style, with low and very broad-tired wheels, and the platform extending over the wheels. Such wagons are not only capable of carrying a very large load, but do not cut up the ground; they are easily drawn and managed, and they escape the limbs hi low orchards. It is desirable that the front wheels move under the platform, hi order that the wagon may be turned at sharp angles. The prac- tice of loading apples and other fruits into a wagon box in bulk cannot be too strongly deprecated. It is admissible only when the apples are of low quality, and are fit for sale as second and third grades, or for manufacture into cider, evaporated stock or other products. Ladders for picking. The styles of ladders to be used must depend directly on the height of the trees. In old apple orchards, it is necessary to have long and light ladders, with a sharp or peaked top, which can be run directly up into the top of the tree and find lodgment against the branches. Exten- Kinds of Ladders 375 sion ladders are also used, but they are usually more cumbersome and more difficult to manage than the light pointed-top pattern. In most other orchards, however, a step-ladder of the ordinary pattern, but perhaps some- what taller (run- ning from 10 to even 12 feet high), is all that will be required. This ladder should have a flat top, and also a movable shelf on its back, where baskets may be ^-^PT j, placed. The facility of picking fruit is very much in- creased if the trees have been well trained and pruned. Dwarf pears should rarely reach a height of more than 12 to 15 feet; and if pear and apple trees are planted sufficiently far apart, and are kept open at the base, the pickers can reach most of the fruit by climbing. In the picking of apples and pears, nothing answers the purpose so well as a strong, nimble boy who is not afraid to climb. In many orchards the long and cumbersome ladders may be almost entirely dispensed FIG. 140. Various types of ladder arrangements. 376 The Principles of Fruit-growing with if this requisite is at hand. In a fruit country, good workmen may usually be secured. For getting into the topsol fruit trees, a short and very light ladder with three or four rungs is exceedingly useful. This little ladder will also aid greatly in the gathering of fruit that hangs on the lower limbs just out of the reach of the picker. The ladder is stood upright and the picker mounts it quickly, crossing his legs over the top one or two rungs, and holds himself erect by grasping a limb above his head, as shown in the illustration (Fig. 140, 2). This type of ladder is used by professional top-grafters. The pictures show various forms of fruit ladders. In Fig. 140, the items are as follows: No. 1 is a light ladder with a wheel, allowing it to be wheeled like a barrow when it is shut, as at 4; 2 is the short ladder, not requiring sup- port, described in the text; 3, a German device for securing a support to the ladder, allowing the two supporting legs to be shut together; 5 is a pointed ladder with support; 6, a similar ladder, with- out support, very useful in tall trees; 7 is a platform ladder; 8 is a wagon rigged for picking, the planks, y, y, upon which the picker stands, being swung length- . V. , , , . . . FIG. 142. The Japanese wise the box when driving from tree to ladder. FIG. 141. Two types of tripod picking-ladders. The Picking of Fruits 377 tree. The so-called tripod ladders are shown in Fig. 141, and the Japanese ladder in Fig. 142 (both adapted from Ore. Bull. No. 118). The picking scene in Fig. 138 shows ladders in actual use in tall apple trees. Fruit-pickers and harvesters. The various kinds of fruit-picking devices on the market are useful only for gathering the few outlying fruits on the tall and far-reaching limbs. In Fig. 143 are shown some of the fruit-picking implements, as follows : No. 1, picker com- posed of two pincer-like jaws, with wire guards to receive the fruits, the jaws being closed by means of a cord, which is worked below (2 and 3) by a catch; 4, hook used for cutting off the fruits (the curved edge being sharp); 5, V- picker with delivery sack; 6, bag-picker, hung on a wire frame (as shown in 7); 8, a wire finger -picker; 9, cranberry picker (now probably little USed) ; 10, 6-quart FIG. 143. Different implements for picking fruits. 378 The Principles of Fruiting-gr owing cranberry measure; 11, 12, 13, forms of wire -pickers. There are many other forms. It is never practicable to use picking implements for the gathering of the entire crop, except in those very rare cases in which the crop is small and all the fruits are fit for the dessert trade. The labor of picking with these devices is slow and onerous. One of the best types of fruit-pickers is shown at 5 in Fig. 143 which may be made by any handy man. The fruits are hooked off by the V-shaped trigger at the top, and are delivered to the picker through the canvas or burlap bag that extends along the handle. Of course, only one fruit should be allowed to go through the bag at a time. Another very handy device is the finger-picker, illustrated at 13. This may be made by any handy tinsmith, who, however, should be cautioned against making it too heavy and cumbersome. In this instance, the apple is delivered to the picker by taking down the instrument. The disadvantage of this tool is that the fingers are likely to spring with use, and the apple will pull through between them rather than be pulled off. There are also devices in use for catching the fruit when it is shaken from the tree or bush. These are usually on the principle of a soft cloth hopper (see Fig. 144). Such machines are .often very useful in the gathering of black currants and goose- *)* .*^»M*».._-» i poses^ inverted um_ FIG. 144. Cook's apple-picker, brellaS are Harvesting Machines 379 used. Cherries were formerly sometimes gathered by being shaken into the machines used for the catching of curculios. It is needless to say that these means of gathering fruit « are advisable only when the fruit is to be manu- |B facturedintosomecommercial prod- uct, or when the price of fruit is extremely small. To lessen the cost of har- vesting and to overcome the difficulty of securing pick- ers in remote places, a har- vester for rasp- berries has come into use. This is a canvas tray, made by stretching the cloth over a light wooden frame about 3 feet wide and 4 to 5 feet long. At the bottom, the frame projects upward at right angle to the body of the frame to a distance of 5 or 6 inches, to catch the berries as they fall upon the canvas. A wooden shoe or runner is placed on the bottom of the apparatus, to allow the operator to slide it along from bush to bush, as shown in Fig. 145. A long wire hook is used to pull the bushes over the tray, or to lift up the fallen canes, while with the other hand the operator deftly cuffs off the berries with a paddle of wood, or of wire covered with canvas, and about the size of a butter-ladle. This harvester FIG. 145. Harvesting rasp- berries by batting; and the batter's hook. 380 The Principles of Fruit-growing is used only for the gathering of berries that are to be evaporated. The berries are allowed to become fully ripe, so that they fall easily, and the patch is gone over about three times. Much litter falls with the berries, but this is readily removed by running the dried fruit through a fanning mill. There are few growers who use this har- vester exclusively. It is often brought into requisition for the last picking, or in seasons of low prices, and it also has a stimulating effect on a lot of disaffected berry-pickers. Necessity of hand-picking. It would seem to be unnecessary to say that all fruits intended for a good market should be hand-picked, and yet it is a fact that a great quantity of the apples, and even of the pears and plums, that go into our common markets are shaken from the trees. It is impracticable to grade or assort such fruits, because the proportion of jammed or bruised specimens is so great that the samples of first quality are found to be very few. It is an axiom in fruit-marketing that only the best fruit pays for careful packing, and that the poor fruit is rarely worth the trouble of grading. The better the fruit, therefore, and the more carefully it is picked, the more profitable may be the attention given to sorting and packing. CARING FOB THE FRUIT AFTER PICKING After fruit is picked, it is very important that it be kept cool and away from the direct sun. This is particu- larly true with the soft and berry-like fruits, as grapes, strawberries, cherries and peaches. The fruits not only ripen rapidly after they are picked if the sun strikes them, but they may also become so warm that they will not with- Handling Fruit in the Field 381 stand shipment. It is ordinarily best to pick the perish- able fruits early in the morning, if they are dry, and then to pack them up tight and send them directly to the rail- way station; or, if they have become too warm, or if it is desired to delay the shipment, they should be put in the cellar or a cold storage to reduce them to a low tem- perature. If the soft fruits, as strawberries and raspberries, are treated in this way, they will ordinarily endure ship- ment best if they are sent in tight, unventilated crates. Apples ripen very rapidly in the pile if they are exposed directly to the rays of the sun. It is always well, therefore, if they are piled in the field, to place them on the shady side of the tree, if possible; but, no doubt, the very best results in long-keeping qualities are secured when the apples are taken directly from the trees to a cool room and there kept in storage, where the ripening process is wholly or parti- ally checked. This is especially important if they are to be shipped long distances, and particularly if they are to be exported. If the weather is cool and somewhat dull at the picking time, this precau- tion is not so essential as in autumns that are dry, bright and warm. Keeping records with the pickers. There are various ways of keeping accounts with berry-pickers. Perhaps the commonest way in large patches is to use a simple ticket, like Fig. 146, given to the picker ha exchange for the berries delivered. There are tickets of various' denominations, the figures repre- 6 382 The Principles of Fruit-growing senting quarts, so that any number of quarts can be represented by combinations of tickets. These tickets are so often lost that they may soon come to be a nuisance, although some growers may not object to them for this reason, for all that are lost do not have to be redeemed. Some growers, therefore, have designed tickets that can be tied to the person by a string, bearing the picker's name, and in which the numbers are cancelled by a punch. FIG. 147. Picker's tag. FIG. 148. Picker's tag. Two good styles are shown, half-size, in Figs. 147 and 148. In the latter are two styles of punch marks, representing different foremen. Other growers disregard all ticket systems outright, and keep a book account with each picker; and, what is better, they pay by the pound. A small, flat-topped grocers' scale may be taken to the shed in the berry field. Each picker is numbered, and he picks in an eight-pound or ten-pound Climax basket. As he comes to the shed, he Handling and Grading 383 slips his number into the basket on a bit of card or splint, and he sees the basket weighed and the credit given; or, if the picker has no suspicions, the foreman may gather the baskets from the field. It is always essential that each picker finish the particu- lar job to which he is assigned. This is specially impor- tant in the small-fruits, for the picker must follow a cer- tain row, and not be wandering over the plantation in search of the best picking. THE GRADING AND PACKING OF FRUIT One never grades fruit accurately until he establishes the grades in the mind. One must first visualize certain standards, from which departures may be made. What is first-class fruit? The first thing to be considered in the grading and packing of fruit is to determine what first-class fruit is. Even amongst those persons who sell apples for the export trade, there is very little exact practice in the sorting of the apples. It seems to be ordinarily considered that any fruit sound enough to reach its destination is good enough to be called first-class ; but such standard is a grievous error. The fruit should not only reach its destina- tion in approximately the same condition in which it leaves the orchard, but it should also be attractive and uniform in quality, and capable of being held for some time when it reaches the wholesaler. Mere soundness or perfectness of form, and freedom from all bruises and blemishes, do not constitute a first-class sample. All the specimens should grade up to a more or less uniform stand- ard of size and shape; and any fruit ever so perfect in 384 The Principles of Fruit-growing itself would not be considered to be first class if placed amongst fruits either very much larger or very much smaller. In other words, there is a great difference between a perfect specimen and a first-class parcel. Perhaps it will answer all requirements to define first- class fruit as a quantity of sufficient amount to be quoted in the market (as one box, basket or barrel), that is thor- oughly well packed and of one variety, and in which the individual specimens are very nearly uniform in size, shape and degree of ripeness, are possessed of full-length stems (in stem-bearing fruits), are free from bruises and injuries and all insect and fungous blemishes, are fully characteristic of the variety, and are in that stage of maturity that the market demands at the tune of their exposure for sale. The grading. The more personal and local the market, the more exacting that market is; and therefore the greater the atten- tion to be paid to the details of sorting and grading. The proper grading of fruit is greatly facilitated by thinning the fruits on the trees, a subject that has received specific treatment in Chapter VII. Recently, useful mechanical graders have been devised, and used even for the softer tree fruits. They are to be considered when different sizes are to be made in the same grade. The recent laws to regulate grades and packages will necessarily" demand more attention to the sizes in the pack. It is evident, therefore, that if fruit is sorted, two grades will result, — the first-class grade and the remainder. In small-fruits, these two grades — known as the firsts and the seconds — usually comprise the entire crop, and Grading the Fruit 385 the same may be true of tree-fruits that have been well grown and rigorously thinned. In most cases, however, tree-fruits are made into three grades, the third grade being known as culls. Persons who sort their fruit as carefully as our definition requires will do well to desig- nate the first grade by some spe- cial name or mark, as "Selected," "First Choice," and the like, to distin- guish it from the common type of so- called first-class fruit. In such thorough sorting, four grades are often necessary properly to present the fruit to the various types of con- sumers. It should be remarked, how- ever, that the better the fruit as it hangs on the tree or vine, the fewer will be the grades in the packing-house. The packing of fruit, therefore, comprises two rather distinct elements, — the sorting or grading (which has now been considered), and the placing of the fruits in the final receptacles, or packing proper, to which we now proceed. FIG. 149. Various types of fruit packages. 386 The Principles of Fruit-growing The packages. Some of the many forms of packages for fruits are shown in the pictures. These are: Fig. 149. — No. 1, common quart berry box; 2, the bottom, in flat; 3, the sides, in flat; 4, 5, 7, till baskets; 6, paper basket, set up; 8, oblong quart boxes; 9, 10, metal- topped baskets; 11, bushel basket with slat cover; 12, common splint peach basket; 13, same, with cover. Fig. 150. — No. 1, veneer peach basket; 2, standard peach basket; 3, veneer straight-sided basket; 4, vege- table basket; 5, California peaches, wrapped in paper; 6, a frequent result in the market ; 7-1 1 , various styles of Climax baskets; 12, 13,basketsforapple- picking (the illustra- tion also shows same number of apples in each basket or pile, but those in 13 from sprayed trees, those in 12 from untreated trees). Fig. 151.— No. 1, Diamond market basket; 2, 16-pint basket - tray ; 3-9, various styles of crates for berry FIG. 150. Various types of baskets. The Packages for Fruits 387 Fig. 152. — No. 1, crate for Leslie boxes; 2, 4-quart hand- tray; 3, 24-quart crate; 4, till-basket crate; 5, 6, fruit boxes (holding from % to 1 bus.); 7, the bushel handling box; 8, patent fruit barrel; 9, High- cliffe patent barrel for export apples (arranged to be sawn in two without disturbing the fruit). Of the peach-basket type there are many varieties. Fig. 153 shows two of them, the upper one being the "New York" basket and the lower one the "Jersey" basket. Covers or hoods are shown in Fig. 154. The shipper's half-bushel, a very handy package for firm fruits handled loose, is shown in Fig. 155. Other forms of carriers are displayed in Fig. 156. The bushel box (Fig. 157) is standard, and is used for a great variety of purposes. In Fig. 158 is seen the crate used in Hawaii for shipping papayas (Higgins and Holt), each fruit being in a separate carton. It is well nigh useless to try to make specific remarks about the packages used for fruits, because so much depends on the particular grade of the fruit and the way in which it is shipped and handled; very much also depends on the demands of the given market. It is an excellent plan for the fruit-grower to visit markets in advance of the ripening of his crop, and to determine just what style of package his market will most appreciate. When fruits 388 The Principles of Fruit-growing are pooled, or shipped through exchanges or unions, it is imperative that a uniform style of package be used; but when a man handles fruit solely on his own account, and has a superior quality, he may often adver- tise his product by a unique package, or at least by one that is unlike those in most common use. Such a package singles him out from his neighbors, and answers as a trade- mark for his product. The writer has known profitable returns to be secured from fruit shipped in colored baskets. A dye was made of aniline, and the baskets were dipped into the kettle (being handled with a pitchfork), and fruit no better than the ordinary run brought several cents a basket more than that packed in the ordinary white package. This will not often suc- ceed, however, but this example is given to show that a package somewhat out of the ordinary may be desirable for a person to use for special trade. In all the finest fruits the grower should use nothing but a gift package, one that is given away with the fruit. This insures a clean and dainty parcel, and the pur- chaser is not bothered with the thought of returning it. In a good market, a package that has been previously used FIG. 152. Crates and barrels. The Packages 389 is a detriment. In many cases, it is the packing and the package that sells the fruit, as much as the fruit itself. When fruits are sold by the definite quantity, as by the quart, the peck or the bushel, the packages should be full measure. It sometimes happens that for a time a man secures as much for a short or "snide" package as for one of full measure; but such person can scarcely expect to hold a superior trade for a great length of time. The laws are now en- forcing full-measure packages. FIG. 153. Peach- basket forms. FIG. 154. Peach- basket covers. FIG. 155. The half -bushel shipping-basket. One of the standard packages for grapes, peaches and apricots is the Climax basket, made in various styles and sizes. Some of the common forms are shown in Fig. 150, Nos. 7-11. These are made in sizes holding five to ten or twelve pounds of fruit. They are handy, cheap, nest well in the shipment, and are durable. A good basket of any kind should be neatly made, with no splinters or tag-ends hanging from it, which is firm and symmetrical in shape, well nailed, and perfectly clean or white in appearance. Baskets become yellow and discolored if they are left in the sun; therefore, when they are stored, they should be placed in a clean and dark dry loft or room. If packages left over from the last year are somewhat dingy, it is some- times possible to bleach them by burning a little sulfur in the room. 390 The Principles of Fruit-growing The grower, then, will begin some months in advance to look up the packages, for he will thereby not only suit himself and the market, but he will likely be able to secure his packages at a lower cost; and he will, hi any event, be sure of his packages in case there should be a large demand for them at marketing time. It is well to secure the illus- trated price-lists of the manufacturers, and to canvass the subjects of styles and prices. All packages smaller than a half -peck should be shipped in crates. It is customary to use crates with slat sides and many openings, to insure complete ventilation; but, if the fruits are firm and dry when they are picked and are then reduced to a lower temperature, they may be shipped in unventilated crates, usually with better results. The shriveling and shrink- age of the fruits will be less in the tight crates, and decay will ordina- rily be less also. These crates may be gift pack- ages, and made of light Split Stuff. Fia. 157. The bushel box. FIG. 156. Carriers. Top, twenty-four- pint crate; middle, four-basket carrier or crate; bottom, sixteen-quart crate. The Gift Package 391 Crates designed to be returned to the grower are usually heavy, are commonly made of sawed stuff, and are pro- vided with hinges and clasps. In shipping long distances by rail, large crates (holding as many as sixty baskets or cups) are usually preferable, as there is less "side shake," because of the greater bulk; and such heavy packages may not be so carelessly handled as are the small ones. The time is coming when all the better grades and higher quali- ties of fruits will be put up in special gift pack- ages, and the time can- not be far distant when pasteboard boxes will be used to some extent. One of the most marked results of the recent ad- vancement and competi- tion in the manufacture of products is the pack- ing of single articles in tasty boxes. Boots and shoes, for example, were once shipped loose in large cases, while now, in all the better grades, every pair is boxed by itself. In other words, not only is the product itself a finished article, but it is packed in a dainty and finished way; and the same must come to be true of many of the better kinds of agricultural products. In the fanciest fruits, as the best dessert pears, and even some of the largest and finest strawberries, it is often FIG. 158. Papaya crates, Hawaii. 392 The Principles of Fruit-growing profitable to ship in cases something like those used for eggs, in which each individual fruit has a compartment or receptacle of its own. If, in addition, the fruit is carefully wrapped in these compartments, the very finest type of packing will result. How to pack. The method of packing must depend very greatly on the market to be reached, on the quality of the fruit, and the package to be used. Ordinarily, women are better fruit-packers than men, especially for the delicate fruits, as peaches, the berries and grapes. Each individual fruit or cluster should be placed in the package separately and by hand. This is emphatically true of all the tender and perishable dessert fruits. The specimens are ordinarily laid in concentric rows, the first row being placed on the outside of the bottom of the basket, and other circles filling in the layer until it is full. Other tiers are then placed in the same way. The top layer is placed with special care, the stems of the fruits being all laid one way, and the same side of the fruit (ordinarily the cheek) show- ing uppermost. The top of the basket should present a uniform and finished appearance, and should be slightly rounding or oval in shape. There will ordinarily be a difference of 10 to 30 cents a basket between good plums or peaches sent to the market as they are picked from the tree, and those properly packed and finished up. Whether the extra sale price pays will depend, of course, on the extra cost of the careful packing; and this cost will be determined not only by the price of labor but also by the care with which the fruit is grown, the quantity, the train- ing of the packers and the facilities at their disposal. One gains reputation as well as extra sales-price from carefully packed fruits. The Packing 393 When packing apples and pears in kegs or barrels, it is not always necessary to place every individual ; and yet, if the packages are to go abroad, it is ordinarily best to take this pains, laying all the fruits in tiers, for thereby there is tight packing and little shrinkage; and when one handles his fruit so carefully he is constantly throwing out the inferior samples. As apples are ordinarily handled for our domestic trade, however, they are faced only on the two ends. They ought always to be faced on one FIG. 159. Well-packed Esopus Spitzenburg apples, removed from storage in March. FIG. 160. "Slack"-packed North- ern Spy apples removed from stor- age in March. end. This facing is done by choosing apples of uniform grade and placing them in concentric rows on the lower head or end of the barrel. About two or three tiers should be faced, the rings of one tier breaking joints with those of another. The stem-end should point toward the head of the barrel. The apples in the middle of the barrel may be turned in from a round-bottomed swing-handle basket, that can be let directly into the barrel (or from a smaller basket that will turn in the barrel), and after every basket is emptied the barrel should be lightly shaken to settle the fruits. It is advisable to face the upper end of the barrel before the head is placed in, but this is not always done. 394 The Principles of Fruit-growing The barrel is ordinarily headed up, then ended over, and the opposite or originally faced end is stenciled, and this is the end that the dealer is supposed to open. It fre- quently happens, however, that the dealer, in order to test the packing, opens the other or unintended end of the barrel; and in selling large lots of apples, two or three barrels are sometimes used as samples, and the entire contents are rolled out on the packing-house or auction- room floor. A barrel of winter apples properly faced and packed is shown in Fig. 159, just as it was opened in cold storage in March; a barrel of "slacks" is shown in Fig. 160. The greatest care should be taken in the packing of apples for export, because they are subjected to long and trying transportation, the freight and incidental rates are high, and only the best fruits will pay transportation and other expenses. One reason why the foreign market has sometimes been so poor for American apples is because a great quantity of poorly sorted and poorly packed fruit has been exported. The following suggestions for the exporting of apples are condensed from a report made by George T. Powell, to the New York Commissioner of Agriculture, and will be found to be very useful: Kind of fruit wanted. — Only good fruit is wanted abroad. The fruit-grower should begin months in advance to secure good quality, by practicing good tillage, efficient fertilizing and thorough spraying. Apples grown on trees which have imperfect (insect-eaten and fungus-infested) foliage generally fail to carry in good condi- tion to Europe. Standard fall and winter varieties are most in demand in the export trade. Duchess and Twenty Ounce generally sell well if picked while hard. Alexander is too soft. Baldwin, Greening, Spy, King, Spitzenburg, Hubbardston (Nonsuch), New- town (Pippin), Peck's Pleasant and late Russets are popular varie" ties. Jonathan and other medium-sized apples are especially desired. The Packing of Fruit 395 Red apples sell better than solid green ones, as a rule. Soft summer varieties do not ship well. Picking the fruit. — Apples intended for export should be picked earlier than for the home trade, but not when green and immature. It is largely the beauty of the American apple which sells it; there- fore, the color should be well advanced before the apple is picked. Hand-pick the finest very carefully. It is advisable to barrel and ship as soon as picked, rather than to store the fruit for some days in piles in the orchard. Packing. — Sort carefully. Very fine fruit should be marked "Fancy" or "Selected," with four X's (XXXX), and with the grower's or shipper's name or initials. The second grade should be good, and marked with three X's. Nothing lower than this should be exported. The English law requires that the package be plainly marked "American Produce." Use only standard-size barrels. Put in a double row of facers. Apples somewhat soft in texture, like Greenings, may be pressed down a full inch in barreling, but hard apples should not be squeezed so much. Nail the barrels securely. If the apples become loose in transit, they will be very much injured. Methods of sale. — Apples are sold in the English markets by sample. Two barrels of a lot are selected, one opened to show the packing, the other turned out so that every apple can be seen. The lot is then sold at auction. The first day of sale they are sold as "sound." These are delivered within twenty-four hours. Any loose barrels, known as "slacks" or "slack-packed," and any from which the juice is running, called "wets," are closed out at the succeed- ing sale. Fruits intended for the dessert may often be put into the consumer's hands in superior condition by wrapping them in soft grocer's paper, of the kind ordinarily called tea-paper, or, when the product is especially choice, and the grower has a large quantity, it may pay him to use a grade of tissue-paper. There are many middlemen who prac- tise this careful packing, and growers may often imitate them with profit. With pears or apples, the inside of the keg or barrel is lined with newspapers or other grades, and each fruit is individually wrapped in soft manila paper. Such 396 The Principles of Fruit-growing fruits may be expected to carry thousands of miles without perceptible injury. When opened, their aroma is such that no well-bred consumer can resist the temptation of a $o\\o«* Twt KX\, /-t*L UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY