1905 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



87 



Apples in the Ottawa valley were abundant and in sprayed orcliards of first 

 quality. In western Ontario tlie crop was rather poor, tlie shortage being 

 due probably to lack of vigour in the trees. The very severe winter of 

 1903-04 worked great havoc in orchards. The trees in 1904 bore very 

 heavily, which fact was in many cases an indication of weakness. This 

 made a further draught on their strength, and the result was apparent in 

 1905. The very fact that the crop was light this season, was a benefit to 

 the trees. Another cause for the lowering of the average of the apple crop 

 in 1905 was the heavy wind storm which occurred in October last. Plums 

 were a good crop and much less injured by the Curculio than last year. 

 Peaches and pears were abundant and of high quality. Grapes were to some 

 extent attacked by the Grape Rot ; but, on the whole, vineyards which were 

 sprayed and well looked after gave good returns. The Grape-berry moth 

 (Eudemis botrana, Schiff.), Fig. 34, was prevalent in south-western Ontario, 

 as could be seen by traces of its work in grapes which were sent to the 

 market. This little insect, the minute caterpillars of which eat into the 

 berries and web two or three of them together, is apparently increasing 

 in the grape-growing districts of the province. The remedy which has been 

 suggested by Saunders, is to gather up and burn all leaves of the vines in 

 the autumn, so as, at the same time, to destroy the overwintering pupae. 



Fig. 34. Grape-berry moth ; a, much enlarged ; b, 

 caterpillar ; c, grapes ; d, injured berry. 



The San Jose Scale (Aspidiotus perniciosus, Comst.). Notwithstanding 

 all that has been written on the subject, there is little change in the San 

 Jose Scale situation. In the infested district there are still a great many 

 fruit growers who are content to grow small, poor and almost useless crops 

 of fruit, because they will not spray; but most of the advanced growers 

 have now adopted the lime and sulphur wash and have grown paying crops 

 as a consequence. That large class of fruit growers who are always on the 

 lookout, first of all, for something new, and put off work on this score, have 

 unnecessarily lost a large percentage of the returns which they might have 

 had for the necessary yearly work among their fruit trees. If any new 

 remedy is discovered which will take the place of those already in use, over- 

 anxious people may be quite sure that it will be quickly made known and 

 they will soon hear of it, if it proves successful. There are ample means 

 in Canada for anyone engaged in any kind of farming to find out, free of 

 all cost, from the Government institutions, both at Ottawa and at Guelph, 

 what the recognized best treatment is, and they would be wise to adopt this 

 until something better has been discovered. There is never a year passes 

 by that some new and loudly exploited supposed improvement on recognized 

 methods, or some new remedy, is not brought forward to be heard of for 

 a short time and then disappear altogether. The best advice which I think 

 can be given to those who are wise enough to acknowledge that they do not 



