The day has gone, probably forever, when setting out fruit trees and giving them occasional cultivation, "plowing up the orchard" once in several years, would produce fruit. Apples and pears and peaches have occupied no preferred position against the general invasion of the realm of horticulture by insect and fungous enemies. The fruits have, indeed, suffered more than most plants. Nevertheless there is this encouraging fact: that, though the fruits may have been severely attacked, the means we now have of fighting fruit-tree enemies, if thoroughly used, as a rule are more certain of accomplishing their purpose, and keeping the enemies completely at bay, than are similar weapons in any other line of horticultural work.

With fruit trees, as with vegetables and flowers, the most important precaution to be taken against insects and disease is to have them in a healthy, thriving, growing condition. It is a part of Nature's law of the survival of the fittest that any backward or weakling plant or tree seems to fall first prey to the ravages of destructive forces.

For these reasons the double necessity of maintaining at all times good fertilization and thorough cultivation will be seen. In addition to these two factors, careful attention in the matter of pruning is essential in keeping the trees in a healthy, robust condition. As explained in a previous chapter, the trees should be started right by pruning the first season to the open-head or vase shape, which furnishes the maximum of light and air to all parts of the tree. Three or four main branches should form the basis of the head, care being taken not to have them start from directly opposite points on the trunk, thus forming a crotch and leaving the tree liable to splitting from winds or excessive crops. If the tree is once started right, further pruning will give little trouble. Cut out limbs which cross, or are likely to rub against each other, or that are too close together; and also any that are broken, decayed, or injured in any way. For trees thus given proper attention from the start, a short jackknife will be the only pruning instrument required.

The case of the old orchard is more difficult. Cutting out too many of the old, large limbs at one time is sure to give a severe shock to the vitality of the tree. A better plan is, first, to cut off close all suckers and all small new-growth limbs, except a few of the most promising, which may be left to be developed into large limbs; and then as these new limbs grow on, gradually to cut out, using a fine-tooth saw and painting the exposed surfaces, the surplus old wood. Apples will need more pruning than the other fruits. Pears and cherries need the least; cutting back the ends of limbs enough to keep the trees in good form, with the removal of an occasional branch for the purpose of letting in light and air, is all the pruning they will require. Of course trees growing on rich ground, and well cultivated, will require more cutting back than those growing under poorer conditions. A further purpose of pruning is to effect indirectly a thinning of the fruit, so that what is grown will be larger and more valuable, and also that the trees may not become exhausted by a few exceptionally heavy crops. On trees that have been neglected and growing slowly the bark sometimes becomes hard and set. In such cases it will prove beneficial to scrape the bark and give a wash applied with an old broom. Whitewash is good for this purpose, but soda or lye answers the same purpose and is less disagreeably conspicuous. Slitting the bark of trunks and the largest limbs is sometimes resorted to, care being taken to cut through the bark only; but such practice is objectionable because it leaves ready access to some forms of fungous disease and to borers.

Where extra fine specimens of fruit are desired, thinning is practiced. It helps also to prevent the tree from being overtaxed by excessive crops. But where pruning is thoroughly done this trouble is usually avoided. Peaches and Japan plums are especially benefited by thinning, as they have a great tendency to overbear. The spread of fruit diseases, especially rot in the fruit itself, is also to some extent checked.

Of fruit-tree enemies there are some large sorts which may do great damage in short order—rabbits and field mice. They may be kept away by mechanical protection, such as wire, or by heaping the earth up to a height of twelve inches about the tree trunk. Or they may be caught with poisoned baits, such as boiled grain in which a little Rough on Rats or similar poison has been mixed. The former method for the small home garden is little trouble, safer to Fido and Tabby, and the most reliable in effect.

Insects and scale diseases are not so easily managed; and that brings us to the question of spraying and of sprays.

For large orchards the spray must, of course, be applied with powerful and expensive machinery. For the small fruit garden a much simpler and very moderate priced apparatus may be acquired. The most practical of these is the brass-tank compressed-air sprayer, with extension rod and mist-spray nozzle. Or one of the knapsack sprayers may be used. Either of these will be of great assistance not only with the fruit trees, but everywhere in the garden. With care they will last a good many years. Whatever type you get, be sure to get a brass machine; as cheaper ones, made of other metal, quickly corrode from contact with the strong poisons used.

APPLE ENEMIES

The insects most commonly attacking the apple are the codlin-moth, tent-caterpillar, canker-worm and borer. The codlin-moth lays its eggs on the fruit about the time of the falling of the blossoms, and the larvae when hatched eat into the young fruit and cause the ordinary wormy apples and pears. Owing to these facts, it is too late to reach the trouble by spraying after the calyx closes on the growing fruit. Keep close watch and spray immediately upon the fall of the blossoms, and repeat the spraying a week or so (not more than two) later. For spray use Paris green at the rate of 1 lb., or arsenate of lead (paste or powder, less of the latter: see accompanying directions) at the rate of 4 lbs. to 100 gallons of water, being careful to have a thorough mixture. During July, tie strips of burlap or old bags around the trunks, and every week or so destroy all caterpillars caught in these traps. The tent-caterpillar may be destroyed while in the egg state, as these are plainly visible around the smaller twigs in circular, brownish masses. (See illustration.) Upon hatching, also, the nests are obtrusively visible and may be wiped out with a swab of old bag, or burned with a kerosene torch. Be sure to apply this treatment before the caterpillar begins to leave the nest. The treatment recommended for codlin-moths is also effective for the tent-caterpillar.

The canker-worm is another leaf-feeding enemy, and can be taken care of by the Paris green or arsenate spray.

The railroad-worm, a small white maggot which eats a small path in all directions through the ripening fruit, cannot be reached by spraying, as he starts life inside the fruit; but where good clean tillage is practiced and no fallen fruit is left to lie and decay under the trees, he is not apt to give much trouble.

The borer's presence is indicated by the dead, withered appearance of the bark, beneath which he is at work, and also by small amounts of sawdust where he entered. Dig him out with a sharp pocket-knife, or kill him inside with a piece of wire.

The most troublesome disease of the apple, especially in wet seasons, is the apple-scab, which disfigures the fruit, both in size and in appearance, as it causes blotches and distortions. Spray with Bordeaux mixture, 5-5-50, or 3-3-50 (see formulas below) three times: just before the blossoms open, just as they fall, and ten days to two weeks after they fall. The second spraying is considered the most important.

The San JosÉ scale is of course really an insect, though in appearance it seems a disease. It is much more injurious than the untrained fruit grower would suppose, because indirectly so. It is very tiny, being round in outline, with a raised center, and only the size of a small pinhead. Where it has once obtained a good hold it multiplies very rapidly, makes a scaly formation or crust on the branches, and causes small red-edged spots on the fruit (see illustration). For trees once infested, spray thoroughly both in fall, after the leaves drop, and again in spring, before growth begins. Use lime-sulphur wash, or miscible oil, one part to ten of water, thoroughly mixed.

CHERRY ENEMIES

Sour cherries are more easily grown than the sweet varieties, and are less subject to the attacks of fruit enemies. Sweet cherries are troubled by the curculio, or fruit-worm, which attacks also peaches and plums. Cherries and plums may be sprayed, when most of the blossoms are off, with a strong arsenate of lead solution, 5 to 8 lbs. to 100 gals. water. In addition to this treatment, where the worms have once got a start, the beetles may be destroyed by spreading a sheet around and beneath the tree, and every day or so shaking or jarring them off into it, as described below.

PEACH ENEMIES

Do not spray peaches. For the curculio, within a few days after the flowers are off, take a large sheet of some cheap material to use as a catcher. For large orchards there is a contrivance of this sort, mounted on a wheelbarrow frame, but for the home orchard a couple of sheets laid upon the ground, or one with a slit from one side to the center, will answer. If four short, sharp-pointed stakes are fastened to the corners, and three or four stout hooks and eyes are placed to reunite the slit after the sheet is placed about the tree, the work can be more thoroughly done, especially on uneven ground. After the sheet is placed, with a stout club or mallet, padded with a heavy sack or something similar to prevent injury to the bark, give a few sharp blows, well up from the ground. This work should be done on a cloudy day, or early in the morning—the colder the better—as the beetles are then inactive. If a considerable number of beetles are caught the operation should be repeated every two or three days. Continue until the beetles disappear.

Peaches are troubled also by borers, in this case indicated by masses of gum, usually about the crown. Dig out or kill with a wire, as in the case of the apple-borer. Look over the trees for borers every spring, or better, every spring and fall.

Another peach enemy is the "yellows," indicated by premature ripening of the fruit and the formation of stunted leaf tufts, of a light yellow color. This disease is contagious and has frequently worked havoc in whole sections. Owing to the work of the Agricultural Department and the various State organizations it is now held in check. The only remedy is to cut and burn the trees and replant, in the same places if desired, as, the disease does not seem to be carried by the soil.

PEAR ENEMIES

Pears are sometimes affected with a scab similar to the apple-scab, and this is combated by the same treatment—three sprayings with Bordeaux.

A blight which causes the leaves suddenly to turn black and die and also kills some small branches and produces sores or wounds on large branches and trunk, offers another difficulty. Cut out and burn all affected branches and scrape out all sores. Disinfect all sores with corrosive sublimate solution—1 to 1000—or with a torch, and paint over at once.

PLUM ENEMIES

Plums have many enemies but fortunately they can all be effectively checked. First is the curculio, to be treated as described above.

For leaf-blight—spotting and dropping off of the leaves about midsummer—spray with Bordeaux within a week or so after the falling of the blossoms. This treatment will also help to prevent fruit-rot. In addition to the spraying, however, thin out the fruit so that it does not hang thickly enough for the plums to come in contact with each other.

In a well kept and well sprayed orchard black-knot is not at all likely to appear. It is very manifest wherever it starts, causing ugly, black, distorted knarls, at first on the smaller limbs. Remove and burn immediately, and keep a sharp watch for more. As this disease is supposed to be carried by the wind, see to it that no careless neighbor is supplying you with the germs.

As will have been seen from the above, spraying poisons are of two kinds: those that work by contact, which must be used for most sucking insects, and germs and fungous diseases; and those that poison internally, used for leaf-eating insects. Of the former sort, Bordeaux mixture is the standard, although within the last few years it has been to a considerable extent replaced by lime-sulphur mixtures, which are described below. Bordeaux is made in various forms. That usually used is the 5-5-50, or 5 lbs. copper sulphate, 5 lbs. unslaked lime, 50 gals. water. To save the trouble of making up the mixture each time it is needed make a stock solution as follows: dissolve the copper sulphate in water at the rate of 1 lb. to 1 gal. This should be done the day before, or at least several hours before, the Bordeaux is wanted for use. Suspend the sulphate crystals in a cloth or old bag just below the surface of the water. Then slake the lime in a tub or tight box, adding the water a little at a time, until the whole attains the consistency of thick milk. When necessary, add water to this mixture if it is kept too long; never let it dry out. When ready to spray, pour the stock copper sulphate solution into the tank in the proportion of 5 gals. to every 50 of spray required. Add water to amount required. Then add stock lime solution, first diluting about one-half with water and straining. The amount of lime stock solution to be used is determined as follows: at the druggist's get an ounce of yellow prussiate of potash dissolved in a pint of water, with a quill in the cork of the bottle so that it may be dropped out. (It is poison.) When adding the stock lime solution as directed above, continue until the prussiate testing solution when dropped into the Bordeaux mixture will no longer turn brown; then add a little more lime to be on the safe side. All this sounds like a formidable task, but it is quite simple when you really get at it. Remember that all you need is a few pounds each of quicklime and copper sulphate, an ounce of prussiate of potash and a couple of old kegs or large pails, in which to keep the stock solutions,

Lime-sulphur mixtures can be bought, or mixed by the home orchardist. They have the advantages over Bordeaux that they do not discolor the foliage or affect the appearance of the fruit. Use according to directions, usually about 1 part to 30 of water. These may be used at the same times and for the same purposes as Bordeaux.

Lime-sulphur wash is used largely in commercial orcharding, but it is a nasty mess to prepare and must be used in late fall or winter. For the home orchard one of the miscible oils now advertised will be found more satisfactory. While they cost more, there is no time or expense for preparation, as they mix with cold water and are immediately ready for use. They are easier to apply, more comfortable to handle, and will not so quickly rot out pumps and spraying apparatus. Like the sulphur wash, use only during late fall and winter.

Kerosene emulsion is made by dissolving Ivory, soft, whale-oil, or tar soap in hot water and adding (away from the stove, please!) kerosene (or crude oil); 1/2 lb. soap, 1 gal. water, 2 gals, kerosene. Immediately place in a pail and churn or pump until a thick, lathery cream results. This is the stock solution: for use, dilute with five to fifteen times as much water, according to purpose applied for—on dormant fruit trees, 5 to 7 times; on foliage, 10 or even 15.

Of the poisons for eating-insects, arsenate of lead is the best for use in the fruit orchard, because it will not burn the foliage as Paris green is apt to do, and because it stays on longer. It can be used in Bordeaux and lime-sulphur mixtures, thus killing two bugs with one spray. It comes usually in the form of a paste—though there is now a brand in powder form (which I have not yet tried). This should be worked up with the fingers (it is not poison to touch) or a small wooden paddle, until thoroughly mixed, in a small quantity of water and then strained into the sprayer. Use, of the paste forms, from one- fourth to one lb. in 20 gals, clear water.

Paris green is the old standard. With a modern duster it may be blown on pure without burning, if carefully done. Applied thus it should be put on during a still morning, before the dew goes. It is safer to use as a spray, first making a paste with a small quantity of water, and then adding balance of water. Keep constantly stirred while spraying.

If lime is added, weight for weight with the green, the chances of burning will be greatly reduced. For orchard work, 1 lb. to 100 gals. water is the usual strength.

The accompanying table will enable the home orchardist to find quickly the trouble with, and remedy for, any of his fruit trees.

The quality of fruit will depend very largely upon the care exercised in picking and storing. Picking, carelessly done, while it may not at the time show any visible bad results, will result in poor keeping and rot. If the tissue cells are broken, as many will be by rough handling, they will be ready to cause rotten spots under the first favorable conditions, and then the rot will spread. Most of the fruits of the home garden, which do not have to undergo shipping, will be of better quality where they ripen fully on the tree. Pears, however, are often ripened in the dark and after picking, especially the winter sorts. Apples and pears for winter use should be kept, if possible, in a cold, dark place, where there is no artificial heat, and where the air will be moist, but never wet, and where the thermometer will not fall below thirty-two degrees. Upon exceptionally cold nights the temperature may be kept up by using an oil stove or letting in heat from the furnace cellar, if that is adjacent. In such a place, store the fruit loosely, on ventilated shelves, not more than six or eight inches deep. If they must be kept in a heated place, pack in tight boxes or barrels, being careful to put away only perfect fruit, or pack in sand or leaves. Otherwise they will lose much in quality by shriveling, due to lack of moisture in the atmosphere. With care they may be had in prime quality until late in the following spring.

FRUIT " PEST " REMEDY " TIMES TO APPLY
" " " AND WHEN
———+———————+———————————————-+————————
Apple " Apple-scab " Bordeaux 5-5-50, or summer " 3.—b B O—a B
" " lime-sulphur spray " F—f 14 d.
" " "
" Apple-maggot " Pick up and destroy all " (See key below.)
" or " fallen fruits "
" Railroad worm" Dig out or kill with wire; "
" Borer " search for in fall and spring"
" " "
" Codlin moth " Arsenate of lead, 4 in 100; "
" " or Paris Green, 1 in 200. " 2.—a B F-f
" " Burlap bands on truck "20 d.
" " for traps during July "
" " "
" Cankerworm " Same as above "
" " "
" Tent- " Same as above, also wipe out "
" caterpillar " out or burn nests "
" " "
" Blister-mite " Lime-sulphur wash; kerosene " Late fall or
" " emulsion (dilute 5 times) " early spring.
" " or miscible oil (1 in 10 gal.)"
" " "
" Bud-moth " Arsenate of lead or Paris " 2.—When leaves
" " Green " appear—b B O.
———+———————+———————————————-+————————-
Cherry" Leaf blight " Bordeaux 5-5-50 " 4.—b B C—a
" " " calyx closes—f
" " " 15 d—f 15 d.
" " "
" Curculio " Arsenate of lead, 8 in 100. " 1.—a B F.
" " Curculio catcher (see Plum) " 3 times a week
" " "
" Black-knot " Cut out and burn at once "
" " (see Plum) "
" " "
" Fruit-rot " Pick before fully ripe. "
" " spread out in cool airy room "
———+———————+———————————————-+————————-
Peach " Borer " Dig out or kill with wire "
" Yellows " Pull out and burn "
" " tree—replant "
" " "
" Curculio " Do not spray. Catch on sheets "
" " (see Plum) "
" " "
" Brown-rot " Summer lime-sulphur; open "
" " pruning; pick rotten fruit " 3.—When fruit
" " " is half
" " " grown—f 10
" " " d—f 10 d.
" " "
" Leaf-curl " Bordeaux 5-5-50; lime-sulphur " 1—b buds swell,
" " wash " fall or early
" " " spring.
———+———————+———————————————-+————————-
Pear " Blight " Cut out diseased branches; "
" " clean out sores; disinfect "
" " with corrosive sublimate 1 "
" " in 1000; paint over "
" " "
" Scab " Bordeaux 5-5-50, or summer " 2.—b B O—a B
" " sulphur (see Apple) " O—f 14 d.
" " "
" Blister-mite " "
———+———————+———————————————-+————————-
Plum " Leaf-blight " Bordeaux or summer sulphur " 1.—After fruits
" " " set.
" Fruit-rot " Same; also thin fruits so as "
" Black-knot " not to touch (see Cherry) "
" Curculio " also have neighboring trees "
" " cleaned up "
" " Jar down on sheets stretched "
" " beneath trees and destroy " a B F—cool
" " " mornings-3
" " " times a week.
———+———————+———————————————-+————————-
Any " San JosÉ " Lime-sulphur wash, kerosene " Late fall or
" scale " emulsion, 5 times diluted; " early spring.
" " miscible oil, 1 in 10 gals "
" " "
" Oyster-shell " Kerosene emulsion " May or June,
" scale " " when young
" " " whitish lice
" " " appear.
———+———————+———————————————-+————————-

a-After. b-Before. d-Days. f-Follow up in. B-Blossoms. O-Open. F-Fall.

Do not let yourself be discouraged from growing your own fruit by the necessity for taking good care of your trees. After all, you do not have to plant them every year, as you do vegetables, and they yield a splendid return on the small investment required. Do not fail to set out at least a few this year with the full assurance that your satisfaction is guaranteed by the facts in the case.