Page 93

WIScoNsIN STATE HORTICULTURAL SocIETY         93
The trees in our bearing orchard previous to 1919 had not
been sprayed. There consequently was some roughened bark to
be cleaned up-no scab. This would have been worked off gradu-
ally in the course of the regular management, but this last summer
we had a very bad blight infection, which was brought in by
bees from neighboring farm orchards.
The farm orchards are typical throughout the state,-planted
by people who know nothing of raising fruit, and who are too
busy with their general farm work to give them the needed and
timely attention they must have. They are a menace, and a
serious one, and something should be done promptly, to provide
for their care or removal. Blight of apple trees is as insidious
as cancer in the human being, and calls for drastic and prompt
action.
Along with the roughened bark condition and blight, we have
a visitation of grain aphis. We want to catch as many of them
as possible. We therefore shall put in a delayed dormant spray
when the buds are swelling and aphis beginning to hatch.
This delayed dormant spray will be followed by the pre-pink
when the clusters show color, but before the pedicels have
sprouted, adding nicotine sulphate, if presence of aphis justify.
This is followed by the regular pink spray,-when the blossom
buds are well separated in the cluster, just before opening. I
believe this is the fruit spray recommended for this state aside
from a dormant.
This past season, with us, development from pre-pink to full
bloom took place practically over night. Owing to weather con-
ditions, clusters held in the pre-pink stage longer than usual,
and then, with a warm wave, burst into full bloom.
This may not occur again for some time,-again it may. If
you are raising apples on any scale, you can hardly afford to
take the chances. With a small acreage to get over,-one that
you can cover in a day, it probably would not be necessary or
advisable to apply this pre-pink spray unless you wish to grow
top-notch apples-but, with a larger acreage, we do not feel safe
in omitting this spray.
Following the "pink" comes the "caylx"-just as the last
petals are falling and before the caylx closes on the main bud
of each cluster.