January 8, 1916 



HORTICULTUEE 



43 



WINTER PROTECTION OF STRAW- 

 BERRIES. 



In all except the extreme southern 

 and western districts the autumn or 

 early winter is the season in which the 

 strawberry fields should be covered 

 with a mulch, partly to protect the 

 plants from the continual freezing and 

 thawing which occurs in many sec- 

 tions, partly to conserve moisture and 

 keep down weeds during the following 

 spring and during the fruiting season, 

 and partly to keep the berries from 

 contact with the soil when they ripen. 

 This mulch may consist of some kind 

 of straw or hay or of stable manure 

 containing a large proportion of straw, 

 but it should be free from weed seed. 

 Wheat, rye, oat, and buckwheat straw, 

 long-leaf pine needles, prairie hay, 

 marsh hay, salt marsh hay, and other 

 materials are frequently used for this 

 purpose. The mulch should be placed 

 on the berry field after the ground 

 freezes and before it is covered with 

 snow. If a rain follows the spreading 

 of the mulch, less trouble will be ex- 

 perienced from scattering by the wind. 

 The mulclv should be spread evenly 

 over the whole field. If available, suffi- 

 cient material to make the depth of 

 the mulch when it settles from 2 to 3 

 inches should be used. 



Stable manure, though frequently 

 used, is not always satisfactory. In 

 some sections it causes a vigorous leaf 

 growth the following spring and actu- 

 ally lessens the yield of berries. If 

 either the stable manure of the straw 

 contains weed seed, it may infest the 

 berry field with weeds to an extent 

 which decreases the yield and causes 

 much expense in cleaning. When sta- 

 ble manure is applied, the solid por- 

 tions as far as possible should be put 

 between the rows and that part con- 

 taining more straw placed over the 

 row. In the spring before the plants 

 start growth, sufficient straw should be 

 removed from the rows to allow the 

 plants to grow through the mulch. 

 This straw may be thrown into the 

 space between the rows. Where the 

 ground is weedy, it will often be neces- 

 sary to rake the mulch upon the rows 

 of plants and cultivate the field. The 

 mulch is then returned to the middles 

 between the rows of plants to be left 

 until after the picking season. — WeeA- 

 ly News Letter V. S. Dept. of Agri. 



Fall River, Mass. — George L. Free- 

 man, promoter of the defunct Geo. L. 

 Freeman Company, has claims against 

 it which he has prosecuted by means 

 of a bill in equity. There were other 

 bills in equity entered by other claim- 

 ants. The claims are all now before 

 F. L. Hanson as master. A. S. Thurs- 

 ton is receiver for the company. 



HORTICULTURE Publishing Com 

 pany: 

 I gladly enclose one dollar for re- 

 newal to HORTICULTURE for 1916. 

 May the New Year be a prosperous 

 one for HORTICULTURE and its pub- 

 lishers, including "Ed." 



Sincerely yours. 

 New Rochelle. N. Y. F. 



CYCNOCHES. 



All the species of Cycnoches are ex- 

 tremely interesting owing to their 

 curious flowers and their habit of pro- 

 ducing flowers of both sexes on one 

 and the same pseudo-bulb. In most 

 species the difference between the 

 male and female flowers is very dis- 

 tinct, the male flowers as a rule being 

 produced on long, many flowered 

 scapes, whereas the female flowers 

 are produced in short 2 or 3-flowered 

 scapes; these latter much larger and 

 of more substance than the former, 

 one female flower equalling in weight 

 about twenty male-flowers, and they 

 also vary in color. All the species 

 produce male flowers frequently but 

 female flowers only on rare occasions 

 and only under very favorable condi- 

 tions. At this season of the year most 

 of the species will be at rest and will 

 require very little if any water until 

 the new growth appears at the base 



.Mexico, flowers buff-colored, thickly 

 spotted with purple. 



M. J. Pope. 



Cycnoches maculatdm. 



of the last made pseudo-bulbs. As 

 soon as these new growths show signs 

 of making roots, the plants may be 

 shaken out of their pots, all dead roots 

 cut away, and repotted in new com- 

 post consisting of a good quality jf 

 osmunda fibre, chopped rather fine and 

 a little live sphagnum moss and coarse 

 sand or finely broken crocks niixe-i 

 with it. Watering must be done with 

 great care until the roots have taken 

 a firm hold of the new compost and 

 at no time should water be allowed 

 to stand in the new^ growth, else these 

 are very apt to rot off. When the 

 new bulbs commence to form and until 

 they are comi)leted they can recei\G 

 more liberal supplies of water witii 

 an occasional dose of weak liquid 

 manure water. Cycnoches reciuire at 

 all times a light, sunny position in the 

 warmest house, being best suspended 

 from the roof where they will get the 

 maximum amount of light and heat. 

 Catasetums and Morniodes will require 

 similar treatment to grow them to per- 

 fection. 



C. maculatum. the subject of the ac- 

 companying ilhistration, is a native cf 



FIGHTING MOTHS WITH PARA- 

 SITES. 



Over 12,000,000 specimens of two 

 parasites which prey on the gipsy 

 moth and brown-tail moth were re- 

 leased in 201 towns in Maine, New 

 Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode 

 Island during the fall of 1914 and 

 spring of 1915, according to the annual 

 report of the Bureau of Entomology, 

 United States Department of Agricul- 

 ture. 



As a result of the successful estab- 

 lishment of colonies of these and other 

 parasites which feed on the gipsy and 

 brown-tail moths, marked progress Is 

 being made in reducing these pests. 

 Effective cooperation is being afforded 

 by the states, which carry on as much 

 work as possible within the infested 

 areas, thus allowing the Federal au- 

 thorities to carry on field work along 

 the outer border of infestation, so as 

 to retard the gipsy moth's spread. 

 Spread of the Gypsy Moth. 



As a result of scouting work carried 

 on by the entomologists in 223 towns 

 in New England, the gipsy moth was 

 found in 4 towns in Maine, 23 in New 

 Hampshire, 3 in Vermont, 10 in Massa- 

 chusetts, and 10 in Connecticut, mak- 

 ing a total of 50 towns where the in- 

 sect had not been previously reported. 

 This scouting consists in an examina- 

 tion of all roadsides, residential sec- 

 tions, orchards and woodlands. Where 

 colonies are found the egg clusters are 

 treated with creosote and the trees 

 are banded with tree tanglefoot and 

 sprayed with arsenate of lead. 



Brown-Tail Moths Decreasing. 



The spread of the brown-tail moth 

 during the past year has been incon- 

 siderable, the indications being that 

 this pest has not infested any territory 

 other than that already reported. In 

 cooperation with the United States 

 Lighthouse Service, the work of col- 

 lecting moths at nighl along the coast 

 of Connecticut and Long Island has 

 been continued. 



Other activities of the Bureau in re- 

 lation to the gipsy moth include the 

 inspection of forest products, nursery 

 stock, and slone and quarry products 

 shii)ped from gipsy moth territory, as 

 well as extended investigations along 

 other lines. 



Among the many New Year Greet- 

 ings received this week is one sent 

 out by Doubleday, Page & Co., which 

 is particularly attractive, showing a 

 view of their buildings and grounds at 

 Garden City, N. Y. 



HORTICULTURE. Boston, Mass.: 



Dear Sirs: — I gladly enclose one dol- 

 lar for your valuable paper, which 1 

 appreciate and enjoy weekly. 



Yours faithfully, 

 Cooperstown. N. Y. F. 



