329 



tliamotov, and was larjje enoufih to inclose a tree at loast 24 feet liigb. It had hecn 

 oiled with bdiltnl liuseed oil, to each gallon of which 1 jionnd of melted heeswax had 

 been added for the imi'iKJso of rendering the cloth more durable. The sheet, when 

 completed, cost about $75. 



The apparatus for placing this sheet over the tree consists of two u])right poles, to 

 the top of which are attached the pulleys through which pass the ropes used for 

 hoisting the sheet. The uprights consist each of a pine scantling, 3 by 4 inches in 

 dianaeter and 24 feet long. A crosspiece 5 feet long is bolted to one end of this 

 scantling, with a brace extending from each end of the crosspiece to a point on the 

 scantling a few feet from its base; this crosspiece is for the purpose of preventing 

 the scantling from falling over to one side when it is raised to a perpc^ndicnlar ])osi- 

 tion. These uprights are very light affairs, and one man can carry them about with 

 ease. 



When th<^ sheet is to be placed upon a tree, it is brought close to one side of the 

 tree and thrown upon the ground. The two uprights are next elevated on opposite 

 sides of the tree from each other, and leaned until their upjier ends are nearly above 

 the sheet as it rests upon the ground; a stay rope attached to the ui)per end of each 

 upright and held Ity men stationed several yards from the base of the uprights, and 

 in an opposite direction from the sheet, prevents the uprights from falling over in 

 one direction, while the crosspiece at the base of each upright prevents it from fall- 

 ing over sidewise. The hook at the end of the rope which passes through the jfulley 

 at the upper end of each upright is then hooked into an iron ring fastened to a rope 

 that is sewed across the tent aljout 6 feet from its edge ; the opposite ends of the 

 ropes passing through the pulleys are then drawn downward until the sheet is drawn 

 to the upi»er ends of the ujirights, after which these ropes are fastened to the braces 

 on the uprights, and the men holdiug the stay-ropes draw the tops of the uprights 

 toward them, thus dr,twing the sheet over the tree, and after it has been drawn far 

 enough, the lower ends of the ropes passing through tht* pulleys are unfastened and 

 the sheet allowed to fall down over the tree, the uprights at the same time being 

 allowed to fall flat upon the ground. 



When the sheet is to be removed from the tree this can be done either by hand or 

 by the use of the uprights, and if each tree in the row is to be treated the sheet can be 

 drawn off of one tree and placed over the next without the necessity of lowering 

 the uprights, since one man can carry the foot of the upright several feet forward 

 with ease at the same time that the sheet is attached to the top of it. 



Five men can operate this apparatus with less labor than is required to manipu- 

 late the fumigators now in use, and by the one pair of uprights and ropes at least 

 half a dozen sheets could be operated by the one set of men, without any loss of 

 time. I am informed that the cost of this apparatus, including half a dozen sheets 

 large enough to cover trees 24 feet high, will not exceed $4.50, this being only about 

 one-third of the cost of fumigators for operating six tents as at present used. 



This sheet-fumigator can be used in places where the ordinary kind could not be 

 used; for instance, on steep hillsides, or among trees planted so closely together that 

 an ordinary fnmigator could not be driven between them. The sheet, in being 

 pulled off of the ti'ee, does not catch beneath the branches, as the ordinary tent is 

 very liable to do. 



As this new fumigator can be easily constructed by almost any fruit-grower, we may 

 reasonably expect that .this method of destroying scale-insects will come into more 

 general use. — [D. W. Co(|uilletr, California, March 18, 1892. 



Life-history of and Remedies against the Mosqnito — The House Fly. 



Will yon be so kind as to give me the life-history of the Mosqnito — hibernation, 

 duration of life of individual, and best means of preventing their propagation ? I 

 desire to iuipress upon our citizens the importance of destroying the first brood of 

 injurious insects that appear in sjjring. 



