THE SECRETARY'S PORTFOLIO. 211 



There are two apple orchards in my neighborhood, in one of which no stock 

 of any kind is ever allowed to run. In the other, horses and calves constantly 

 graze in warm weather. In the latter the fruit is invariably smooth and. 

 perfect; in the orchard from which stock is excluded, a worm hole can be 

 found in almost every apple. My family supply of apples since last fall has 

 been derived from these orchards, and the great difference in the quality of 

 the fruit was palpable when first contrasted. In the orchard which was 

 grazed, the first generation of insect enemies in wind-fall fruit was destroyed 

 by the stock. In the other, the propagation of the codling moth met with no 

 interruption. 



ROSE SLUGS. 



All at once in early summer the rose bushes lose their color, and on closer 

 examination it is found that that little pest, the rose slug, is doing the damage. 

 There are numerous effective remedies, which should be familiar to everyone. 

 The one which is most certain in its effects is whale oil soap suds, made in the 

 proportions of one pound of soap to eight gallons of water. The objections to 

 this remedy are that it has a disagreeable odor, and is liable to discolor the 

 opening buds. Dusting freely with powdered white hellebore has also been 

 tried with very good success, and it may be used in water by dissolving a 

 tablespoonful of the powder in two gallons of boiling water. The pyrethruni 

 powders have as yet been used only to a limited extent, but with the prospect 

 that thoroughly applied they would prove effectual. Lime has long been used 

 with satisfactory results, especially if applied when the dew is on the plants. 



HOW ABOUT THE ANTS? 



There is a chance for our horticulturists to learn something about ants. It 

 is commonly supposed that they are all noxious insects, and any effort at their 

 destruction is commendable ; but some intelligent foreigners hold to a differ- 

 ent opinion, as witness the following from the Geneva Continent : Many of our 

 leading orchardists in northern Italy and southern Germany are enthusiastic 

 cultivators of the common black ant, which industrious insect they hold in 

 high esteem as the fruit-grower's best friend. They establish ant-hills in 

 their orchards, and leave the police-service of their fruit trees entirely to the 

 tiny sable colonists, which pass all their time in climbing up the stems of the 

 fruit trees, cleansing their boughs and leaves of malefactors, mature as well 

 as embryotic, and descending, laden with spoils, to mother earth where 

 they comfortably consume or prudently store away their booty. They capture 

 the eggs of caterpillars, grubs, and canker worms; they "requisition" all the 

 countless varieties of leaf -lice that strip trees of their young foliage ; they break 

 up the crysalids awaiting transformation, and carry them off in minute mor- 

 sels ; they never meddle with sound fruit, but only invade such apples, pears, 

 and plums as have already been penetrated by the worms, which they remorse- 

 lessly pursue to their fastnesses within the very heart of the ' fruit. Nowhere 

 are apple and pear trees so free from blight and destructive insects as in the 

 immediate neighborhood of a large ant-hill five or six years old. The favorite 



