OCR Text |
Show How the Farmers of Western New York Are Keeping Their Orchards Free From Pests Tho control of fruit treo paraBltos Is Important In any orchard oven though only enough fruit for family uso Is desired. In renovating u decadent de-cadent orchard tho two essentials aro spraying and pruning. Merely seeing tho results of timely and thorough spraying Is to bo convinced that It pays. Most of tho western Now o k orchurdlstB neglect nothing that tan bo dono to protect their trees. I visited ono of tiicso farms to see tho methods und results In spraying. On the way I saw unsprayed and pooily spruyed orchards with leaves blighted by fungus. I wondered It these farmers know that 00 per cent of n tree's food comes from tho gases In the atmosphere, and that tho leaves are essential feeding organs or mouths of tho treo that take In tliolr freo food; also that keeping tho leaves healthy Is as Important as adding pant food to the soil. Tho apples on thoso unsprayed trees wero Bmall and wormy. Thero wero also many dead branches In some orchards, showing that tho blight had dono Its work of destruction. Hut Biich orchards wero exceptional In that section of Now York; most of them wero tu good condition. Tho orchard, to which 1 wont for Information on spraying was owned and operated by ono of tho most sue cossful glowers. When I saw his npplo trees 1 wus Impressed by their largo size and Immense bearing sur-faco. sur-faco. Trees standing 40 foot apart touched branches on all sides. The bearing wood was ovenly distributed throughout the trees, but not so thick as to prevent tho sunshine entering en-tering to ripen and color tho fruit. I could not boo n diseased leaf or twig ou tho trees. They wero carrying ft great load of apples, overy ono was smooth. Wo estimated some of tho trees would jleld 40 to CO bushels of upp'es. This Is tho kind of orcharding or-charding that has returned In some Instances gross Bales of fl.GOo per aero. The Spraying Schedule In Brief Tho orchard had been cultivated with tractors nnd fed with clover cov cr crops and stable manure, but right spralng had been ono of the main reasons In getting theso results. Tho first spray Is applied when the trees nro dormant, usually not later than April. Tho solution Is llmo sulphur wash, strength ono jmrt of tho wnsh to eight of water This Is to pro-vent pro-vent and control San Joso scale, and nlso to provent the development of fungus dlsensos and blister mlto. The second sprny 1b after tho fruit buds havo swelled, Just beforo the blossoms open. Tho solution Is llmo sulphur wobIi, strength 1 to 40, nnd 3 pounds of nrsonato of lead to 60 gallons of tho mixture This spray Is for applo scab, fungus diseases, bud moth, case bearer, cankerworm, and tent caterpillar. The third spraying Is done Just after af-ter the blossoms havo fallen. Sul phur wash (summer strength) and 3 pounds arsenate of lead to CO gallons gal-lons of mlxturo nro used. The fourth and fifth sprays are a ropotltlon of the third, und nro given about two vvooks apart und ten Jays after tho third spray. Theso aro to destroy coddling moth, bud moth, fungus, nnd cankerworm. Bordeaux mixture can bo substituted for Hmo sulphur wash In tho third and Bubseciuont sprays if desired. Most of tho orchardlsts In weitcrn Now York do not spray peachos, pears, plums nnd cho -les except during dur-ing tho dormant stage In tho early snrlng. Don't Let Dead Branches Remain I havo soon somo applo and poar orchardB with porhaps ono half of tho branches doad becauso of nro blight. In orchard culture no dead, diseased, or dying wood should bo loft on tho treo as a sourco of infection infec-tion and harbor for Insects . Cut such wood oft Immediately on Us first ap-poaranco. ap-poaranco. Tho necessity of tho yearly examination and pruning of trees to provont the dovolopmont of blight and other bacterial diseases is apparent to ovory en'lghtoned orch-tard orch-tard owner. In an npplo orchard I visited re? cently, tho form of tho trees was almost Ideal. Thoy had been hoad-ed hoad-ed low, and pruned so tho head was symmetrical, with an oven bearing Burfaco, without wnsto spacos, yet sufficiently thinned to lot In BunBhlno to ripen and color tho fruit "We prune our treos," said tho owner of this orchard, "any tlmo when they aro dormant and wo huvo tlmo. Wo begin In late fall when leaves aro off, and contlnuo the woik through tho wlntor on mild days un til spring. Our mothod Is first to examine the treo carefully and cut out all diseased wood. Second, wo cut out tho smal cr branches that c owd each other. Do not cut a branch over an Inch in diameter un-loss un-loss necessary, In which caso paint tho end with gns tar. When there Is not enough open space to allow the ( sun to reach tho fruit boiuo tlmo dur-j lug the day, we cut out n little wood but no rnoro than necessary. Tho greater tho leaf surface tho greater tho capacity of tho tree to take food from tho atmosphere, and tho greater great-er tho growth. Wo want to keep tho bearing surfaco as largo as tho tree will support. Wo favor tho head Ing of trees moderately low, about four feet, as tho spraying, pruning, |