Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/244

 good plan to scrub the trunks of fruit trees the beginning of each season, and to whitewash them all round, from the ground up to the smaller branches.

Many people ignore these pests on their trees at first, because, (as they say) the trees continue to bear and struggle on apparently unharmed against them. But though the trees may do this there comes a time when it is too late to check their ravages, and the trees gradually die. It is wonderful how soon the whole orchard will become affected if one affected tree is in it, therefore, it is only reasonable to say that all tainted trees if not treated at once had better be removed immediately and destroyed. Disease spreads just as fast from a scaley tree as scab will from one scabby sheep in a flock. The best way of all is to avoid the disease by grafting on resistant stock, as then though the trunk and branches may be liable to it, the roots are not.

—These are the most difficult of all to get rid of, as being so minute they can make their way under the bark and so defy all spraying and washing.

The orange is most affected by these insects, and they appear to attack all trees that are the least weakly and poor in habit. If you examine these tiny creatures under a magnifying glass they will prove of great interest, as they are wonderfully formed for their special mission in life. I have often felt sorry to have to destroy them, they are so—what the Americans call—cunning. One of the best remedies is the following wash :—Cut up ½ lb. of common soap and pour upon it one gallon of boiling water, and stir into it two gallons of kerosene. Mix it all thoroughly together, when it will form a sort of creamy compound, thickening as it cools. Before spraying, dilute the mixture with about eight gallons of milk warm water to each gallon of wash. This is an excellent wash for almost any trees, but care must be taken not to apply it to peach and nectarine trees till late in the season when their leaves have strengthed and toughened. I have given another wash elsewhere in this book.

Mildew on either trees or plants can be cured with sulphide of potash—about 1 ounce to 3 gallons of water. Rose plants when young are very subject to this blight, but if syringed with the above mixture they can be cured in a few days.

Dig trenches about 15 or 16 inches deep, and about 16 inches wide, into these put 2 or 3 inches of good manure and then about the same of earth, and continue this until the trench is filled right