60 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



9-10 EDWARD VII., A. 1910 



' Injuries to turnips are seldom severe, and in most instances a crop shows little 

 sign of this attack in autumn, even in seasons when the maggots may have been 

 found in considerable numbers in the spring. 



' (1.) The Cook carbolic wash, consisting of one quart of soft soap, or 

 one pound of hard soap, in a gallon of water, with half a pint of crude carbolic acid 

 added, and the whole boiled together for a few minutes, to make the stock emulsion, 

 has proved over and over again an excellent remedy for radish maggots. The stock 

 emulsion can be kept in a closed vessel, so that dust and rubbish will not fall into it, 

 and, when required for use, one part of this mixture by measure is added to fifty of 

 •water, and should be sprayed directly upon the growing plants from the time they 

 appear above the ground, once a week until ready for the table. 



' (2.) White hellebore dusted along the rows of radishes once a week from 

 the time they appear above the ground, has given good results in most years. 



For Beans and Corn. — Injury to these crops in Canada is a rare occurrence. The 

 only remedy which can be suggested, is to sow these crops in good season in well 

 prepared soil and not deeper than one or two inches.' 



During 1908, some experiments were conducted at the Central Experimental 

 Farm with several mixtures in the hope of obtaining something more definite in the 

 way of a practical remedy. The most encouraging results were obtained from a use 

 of sulphate of iron, two ounces to every gallon of water, applications made a week 

 apart from the time the onions appeared above ground. 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FRUITS. 



Among the insects which have been most destcurtive to fruits during 1908, the 

 following may be mentioned: — 



The Apple Maggot, Rhagoletes pomonella Walsh. — This insect continues to be 

 prevalent in certain districts in Ontario and Quebec. During 1908, it was again 

 present in injurious numbers at Como and one or two other points in Quebec pro- 

 vince. In Ontario, in Prince Edward county, it was much inquired about and did 

 serious damage in some orchards. Fortunately, when the Apple Maggot once gets into 

 an orchard its spread is very slow. The mature flies apparently do not fly away to any 

 distance for the purpose of egg-laying, but confine their attention to the trees nearest 

 to the place from which they emerged. The female fly lays her eggs in the flesh of 

 the apple, by means of her sharp ovipositor. A single female may lay from 300 to 

 400 eggs, according to Quaintance. The eggs hatch within a week, and the maggots 

 become full-grown in from a month to six weeks. The maggot leaves the apple after 

 this has fallen to the ground and enters the earth just below the surface, where it 

 remains in the pupal stage until the following summer, when the fly emerges. As 

 the larvse do not leave the fruit until this has fallen to the ground, all windfalls 

 should either be carefully gathered by hand or a herd of pigs should be allowed to 

 run in the orchard from July, when early apples which are specially susceptible to 

 attack begin to fall, until all fruit is gathered. Cattle and sheep are also useful for 

 such a purpose, and if allowed to pasture in the orchard, for a while, when the fruit 

 is falling, much good will be accomplished. If the windfalls are gathered and there 

 is no stock to feed them to, they should be buried in a deep hole with not less than 

 three feet of earth on the top. As the larvos of the Apple Maggot work entirely 

 within the apple, it cannot be reached by any of the poison sprays such as are used 

 for insects which feed on foliage. 



The Codling Moth, Carpocapsa pomonella L. — This insect was again reported 

 as being very destructive in many districts in Ontario and Quebec. Its injuries were 

 most apparent of course in»unsprayed orchards. Growers who had regularly sprayed 

 their trees with the poisoned Bordeaux mixture were well repaid for their labours. 



