(Continued from March No.)

Then just as soon as your bloom falls, just as soon as the blossom petals fall, then you want to spray again.  You should use arsenate of lead along with your lime-sulphur in both sprayings, because your arsenate of lead will take care of a great many insects that injure the fruit.  The first spraying, immediately before the bloom, with arsenate of lead is for the curculio, what is called the Palmer worm, for canker worm—­if you have any of them—­the tent caterpillar, the leaf roller and various other insects that injure the fruit and the foliage.  The spray just immediately after the bloom in addition to fungous is a codling moth spray.  To get rid of the codling moth worm you use the arsenate of lead.  The codling moth egg hatches shortly after the bloom falls, and the little worm instinctively goes into the blossom end of the apple, because that is the only place it can enter the apple at that particular time.  Just why it does not enter on the side of the apple I can not say, but there is a little fuzz on the outer side of the apple at that stage of growth that perhaps prevents their getting in, and that fuzz as the apple grows larger disappears, so a little later they can enter on the side or at any other part of the apple that they choose.

[Illustration:  Hon. H. M. Dunlap, Savoy, Ills.]

When the blossoms fall the apples stand upright on the tree, and the little pointed leaves that are on the blossom end of the apples, that we call the calyx, are all open, and at that time you can spray so as to get the arsenate of lead on the inside.  Within a week or ten days after the bloom falls these sepals, or little leaf points, gradually close together until they are all closed up tight, and after that you can’t get your spray in there.  After the worm hatches he gets between the little leaves of the calyx and goes on the inside of the apple and into its center.  You want to have your poison ready for Mr. Worm when he enters the blossom end of the apple, and the more thoroughly and more effectively you spray the better are the results.

It has been said that if you spray thoroughly at that time, that that is the only spray you really need for the codling moth worm.  I don’t agree with that, as there is always a second brood of worms.  I use the arsenate of lead along with the lime-sulphur for all these sprays, before the bloom and after the bloom, and if you don’t spray more than three times you will be doing yourself a good service, and it will well pay you.  In some parts of the country they spray as high as seven or eight times in the commercial orchards, but I would say in a farmer’s orchard three times would be enough, once before the bloom and twice later, and you will notice the good results.

There are other sprays besides these, but none perhaps of any importance to you up here except the winter spray for the San Jose scale, if you have that, and I noticed one or two specimens out there that seemed to have the scale upon them.  That spray should be done either in the fall or early winter or late winter while the trees are dormant.  That has to be put on of winter spray strength, using lime-sulphur or some of the other San Jose scale sprays without the arsenate of lead, as you don’t need to use the lead with this spray.