84 



The CauadJati Horticulturist. 



an enormous rate. The earlier the 

 cherry and plum trees are sprayed with 

 the kerosene emulsion the easier these 

 lice are destroyed. The manner of 

 making this is simple — a strong soap- 

 suds is made, and, while boiling, the 

 kerosene is added and well churned, 

 before adding water. The usual for- 

 mula is : Kerosene, 2 gals ; Water, i 

 gal. ; Soap, yi lb. , ftiixed as above, and 

 then diluted with about jo gals, of water. 



The English SpaFFOw. 



At a recent meeting of the Dominion 

 Farmers' Council, at London, the fol- 

 lowing resolution was passed : — 



"That the Dominion Government 

 be asked to offer a small bounty for the 

 heads of English sparrows, and in case 

 that government declines to take action 

 in the matter, that the Ontario Govern- 

 ment be asked to do so in this pro- 

 vince, and that a copy of this resolution 

 be sent to the agricultural departments 

 of each government, and to the secre- 

 taries of fruit growers' and agricultural 

 societies throughout the Dominion." 



At our Winter Meeting in Ottawa, a 

 valuable paper on the House Sparrow, 

 by Mr. P. Mcllwraith, of Hamilton, 

 was read ; and in it some wise recom_ 

 mendations were given for favoring the 

 destruction of this bird, such as: — (i) 

 Repeal of laws affording it protection ; 

 (2) Enactment of laws legalizing the 

 killing of it at all seasons of the year, 

 and the destruction of its nests, eggs 

 and young ; (3) Enactment of laws pro- 

 tecting the great Northern Shrike, the 

 Sparrow Hawk, and the Screech Owl, 

 which feed largely on the sparrows ; 

 and a resolution was passed asking the 

 government for legislation for carrying 

 out these suggestions. 



For a riddance of our premises of 

 them, a good. plan is to destroy their 

 nests, eggs and young, by means of a 



long, light pole, with an iron hook at 

 the point. At the Council above men- 

 tioned, Mr. Little reported that he had 

 been successful in poisoning them by 

 placing a dish cf wheat soaked with 

 water, in which Paris green had been 

 dissolved, on the eave-trough of the 

 building where it was out of the way of 

 other things. 



Treatment of Girdled Trees. 



E. A. RiEHL, in Orchard and Garden, 

 gives the following opportune advice : — 



The most satisfactory way of treating 

 trees girdled in the winter by mice or 

 rabbits is to cut them down to the. 

 ground and let them make a new stem 

 and top, which they will do quicker 

 and be better trees after than by- any 

 other method I have ever tried. The 

 sooner this is done after discovery of 

 the damage the better. Should the 

 girdling extend below the point where 

 the tree was budded or grafted, it will 

 still be better to cut down and then bud 

 or graft the young tree after, or the 

 graft can be inserted at once into the 

 root or collar. 



A Portable Propagating Case. 



I herewith enclose a sketch cf a 

 propagating case now in use in my 

 conservatory, and which pleases me 

 better than anything I have ever before 

 seen. Water (having an oil lamp be- 

 low) is the heating medium for the 

 sand, and this is preferable to a body 

 of heated air, as sometimes used, a fact 

 that any good propagator will, I think, 

 substantiate. 



In the constiuction of this case (size, 

 three feet by four) a strong board outer 

 case, with no bottom, is made. A 

 tight fitting glazed sash should be 

 hinged on, and the woodwork is, in 

 the main, finished. Two feet of the 

 lower part is made double, with pro- 

 jecting pieces, as shown, upon which 

 the water tray rests, and other projec- 

 tions on each side, about an inch wide, 

 should be fixed inside the frame, and 



