Show COMBAT DISEASE AND PESTS spraying Is necessary to profitable growth of either fruit or gar den truck crops by F the loss incurred from plant diseases Is often underestimated by the farmer passes unrecognized or Is regarded as natural and inevitable As a matter of fact plant diseases are exceedingly destructive and the differ ence between profit and loss on a given crop Is often traceable to th way in which the plant diseases am handled in general plant diseases may be described as including all rots molds baights blights ts mildews rusts smuts and spots of various kinds many of these depreciate the value of the yield or cause its loss during storage leaf spots baights blights ts etc reduce the amount of green matter of the leaf and thereby reduce the starch making power ot the leaf the purpose of the leaf is to produce starch to nourish the wooda twigs and fruit of following montha and years it the green portion of the leaf and its starch producing pow er be destroyed future yields must sut fer accordingly there are several hundred serious and injurious plant diseases of hese many can be prevented by proper treatment although of course there are many others for which no eanls factory treatment Is known wherever fruit or truck crops are raised commercially we now find that spraying forms part of the care of the crop just as much as does tillage pruning and fertilizing spraying Is a necessity to the profitable growth of these plants many people object to the idea of spraying baying that their grandfathers could raise abundant good fruit without spraying this may be true but we of today cannot do it diseases have increased in number many have been imported nto this country from foreign countries diseases which prevailed in only one or B few states now spread over the whole united states diseases were formerly trifling in injury have increased to be very injurious so that tho crop producer of today must face he tact that to raise profitable crops he must take steps to prevent plant diseases in many instances an outi ay of a few cents gives a return of several dollars orchards entirely useless are frequently made product ive by proper treatment every tar mer should gain knowledge concern ing the chief diseases of his crops and should equip himself to fight them DOCTORING WOUNDS IN TREES any cut of more than an inch should be covered with paint to pro hect surface it does not take the experienced long to detect faulty arun prun ing in an orchard even if done years before tree butchery be calls it A common fault Is shown in the illus tr atlon says the farmers mall and breeze the cut made at A leaves a stub that Is too long it cannot heal over as the bark will die around it leaving the heart wood exposed to de common pruning fault cay and disease the cause of many a dead or sickly tree could be traced to just such a beginning B represents a cut made in the right way the stub Is short wound small and it will soon heal over the cut at C la too close and leaves too large a wound any wound more than an inch in diameter should be covered with an ordinary lead paint to protect the exposed surface until the new growth can callous over it MAKING LIME SULPHUR WASH liquid for dormant spray may be ade by diluting gallon of poison with water by r L farm at paul glnn A concentrated lime sulphur wash for use as a dormant spray may be made by diluting one gallon of con cent rated ame mme sulphur with ten gal ions of water the concentrated ahme sulphur Is put on the market by many insecticide firms or may be made at home in accordance with the follow ing formula sulphur 80 pounds best stone lime 40 pounds water 60 gallons further information on the preparation and use of the ebur wash may be found in bulletin of the agricultural experiment tt atlon university parm st paul fruit for home use when fruit Is cheap and plentiful in the market its value for home us not by any means lessened |