-^©(j^^^tioQ i)palo^p. ^ 



Insect on Norway Spruce. 



953> Sir, — I send you sample of insect 

 attacking Norway Spruce. They number 

 thousanils, though mostly in chrysalis state 

 yet (May -iStli). What will kill them, and 

 not the hedge ? 



Adam Bonn, Gait. 



Reply ly Dr. Fletcher, Ottaiva. 



The spruce twigs from Mr. A. Dunn, 

 of Gait, came safely to hand. The in- 

 sects are the same species as was very 

 abundant on a spruce hedge belonging 

 to IJr. Smale, of Wro.xeter. It is a spe- 

 cies of Retiiiia, and as the moths are 

 just now issuing, the remedy which sug- 

 gests itself is to spray the hedge at once 

 with kerosene emulsion, which will de- 

 stroy many of the moths and prevent 

 them laying their eggs again on the same 

 hedge. This moth is well known, but it 

 is only occasionally that it is so trouble- 

 some as you describe. 



Hog Refuse for Fertilizer. 



951. Sir, — Please give me recipe for 

 preparing a mixture of hog refuse, blood, 

 bones and hair, for a fertilizer. 



D. BoLDEN, CoUinfiviood. 



Reply by R. Haramrt, Assistant Chemist., 

 O. A. C, Gnelph. 



The best way to prepare a mixture of 

 hog refuse, blood, bones and hair, for a 

 fertilizer, is to thoroughly dry them and 

 then grind to a fine powder. This will 

 bring the whole mass into a convenient 

 form for handling, and, at the same time, 

 render more available the various fertili- 

 zing constituents which it contains, espe- 

 cially the phosphoric acid of bone. 



This method may be impracticable for 

 the farmer or fruit grower who wishes to 



make use of these crude materials. Oood 

 results have been obtained by breaking 

 up the bone as finely as possible, by use 

 of mallet or otherwise, and mixing it 

 with the hog refuse, blood, etc., and 

 composting with stable manure. Where 

 a large amount of bone is to be treated, 

 this method may not give the best re- 

 sults, as phosphoric acid of bones would 

 be but slowly rendered available. A 

 good plan for dissolving bones is to mix 

 them with wood ashes and place in a 

 tight box, covering the whole mass with 

 damp earth to prevent loss of nitrogen, 

 which will be liberated from the bones 

 by the action of the lime in the ashes. 



Gooseberries. 



9->3. Sir, — What do you consider the 

 best Red Englisli Gooseberry ? Also, the 

 best White or Yellow ? What is the average 

 yield per tree, when not troubled by mildew ? 

 Mildew is unknown here. What is the gen- 

 eral price obtained for ripe English Gooseber- 

 ries ? Can English Gooseberries be made a 

 success on light sandy soil ? Downing, 

 Houghton, Smith's Improved and other Am- 

 erican varieties yield well here, when man- 

 ured, as does also the Industry ; but the 

 Industry is a very feeble grower, seeming to 

 put all its vigor in fruit. Red .Jacket is a 

 rampant grower, but a shy bearer of late, 

 poorHavored berries. 



D. J. Stewart, 

 AitktrCs Ferry, P.B.I. 



We would like some of our gooseberry 

 growers to reply. At Maplehurst we 

 have thus far grown only the American 

 varieties, such as Houghton, Downing, 

 Smith and Pearl. Recently we have 

 added about fifty English sorts, which 

 are not yet in bearing, excepting Indus- 

 try and U'hitesmith, the latter of which 

 mildews considerably. We have always 

 looked upon Whitesmith as the best 

 white, and Crown Bob as the best red 

 for growing in Canada. 



jS2 



