THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



233 



easily reconciled with the present known 

 cause of the knot. The soft substance 

 developed by the fungus furnishes a fine 

 home for voracious larvae, and the 

 mother insects make the most of the 

 feeding ground thus provided. The 

 remedy consists in the removal and 

 burning of all affected parts. The 

 branch should be cut several inches 

 below the swelling, to insure the re- 

 moval of all the " disease." If the parts 

 removed are not burned, the spores 

 will continue to form for some time. 

 The knots are most easily seen when 

 the trees are free from leaves in the 

 winter season, but they should be re- 

 moved whenever found. The choke 

 cherry is a favourite host of the knot, 

 and all the hedge-rows should be cleared 

 of this kind of tree. Look for the black 

 knot, and whenever found, cut and 

 burn it. — B. D. H., in Country Gentle- 



FRUIT INSECTS. 



A young cultivator, who is about to 

 b<'t out a fruit garden with a general 

 supply of fruits, wishes to know wliat 

 are the most formidable insects to be 

 generally feared, and how to meet them 

 to best advantage ; and also if there are 

 any other troubles to guard against. In 

 answer, a book might very j)roperly be 

 writteu on the subject, and we can 

 therefore on the present occasion give 

 "Illy ;i f'nv condensed and leading state- 

 uieiits. 



The Apple. — The most formidable 

 enemy is the codlin moth, and the re- 

 medy is spraying with Paris green in 

 700 times as much water, two or three 

 tvu"< \v]w.,, fi,«. Mn,.iMc, ai-e j^g large as 

 ' t 1 worm is killed 



by tin- ^>;llIn• ii ^Mi iii(!i)t earlier in the 

 season. The orchard cateri)illar is easily 

 destroyed by well-known means. The 

 borer is killed by punching in its hole 

 with a flexible wire. With these re- 

 2 



medies promptly applied, it is not diffi- 

 cult to have good crops of fine apples, 

 but good culture and manure are also 

 indispensable. 



The Pear. — The great drawback is 

 the blight. A remedy, pretty effica- 

 cious, is cutting off promptly all the 

 affected limbs and burning them; and 

 the best preventive is planting those 

 sorts least liable to the disease, as the 

 Seckel, Winter Nelis, Duchesse, Clair- 

 geau, Anjou, &c. In some places the 

 curculio disfigures the crop, and the 

 young fruit is to be treated the same as 

 for the plum and the codlin worm 

 the same as for the apple. 



The Plum has its great enemy the 

 curculio, usually regarded as too for- 

 midable to be conquered. We have 

 for many years found the insects easily 

 destroyed by jarring down on a stiffen- 

 ed sheet carried on the operator's left 

 arm, while striking with a heavy ham- 

 mer in his right hand on an iron plug, 

 when they are quickly killed by a pinch 

 of thumb and finger. The whole ex- 

 pense for a season is about six cents a 

 tree, but there must be no intermission. 

 Failure results from the use of padded 

 mallets and other feeble appliances. 

 The black knot sometimes destroys 

 plum trees, but it is easily kept off by 

 prompt excision. 



The drawback of pe tch culture is the 

 yellows. When first seen in an orchard, 

 the diseased trees must be grubbed up 

 and burned. The grub in the bark at 

 the root is easily cut out and destroyed. 

 To keep a peach orchard in good bearing 

 condition, the ground must be kept mel- 

 low by cultivation, and the limbs must 

 be kept short by cutting back in spring. 



Tiie Cherry is troubled with the 

 curculio and with birds. The former 

 is prevented by the same method as 

 described for the plum ; it is hard to 

 say what is the best treatment for the 

 birds. Some cultivators assert that 



