236 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



hardy to withstand the winter's cold and 

 summer's fluctuations in temperature, to 

 resist mild-dew as its parent, the Con- 

 cord. Last fall I kept a bunch each of 

 Lady Washington, Niagara, and Pock- 

 lington till near the mid die of December, 

 on a plate in a close room. To my sur- 

 prise, the Lady Washington, although 

 the thinnest skin, was apparently the 

 best keeper. I have no doubt, with a 

 little care, either of these graj^s may be 

 kept to January 1 5th in good condition. 

 To my taste the l^ady Washington is 

 the best as to quality. The Pocklington 

 is the next best, and while we are in 

 doubt as to whether we can grow the 

 Lady Washington successfully, it being 

 a hybrid, I think there is no doubt 

 whatever that the Pocklington will 

 thrive and do well over a wider extent 

 of country than any other good grape, 

 not excepting the Concord ; for where 

 the Concord will do well, I believe the 

 Pocklington will do better because of 

 its earliness. 



While I cannot agree with my friends 

 who think the Pocklington grape better 

 in quality than the best hothouse grapes, 

 I do think it will prove the best and 

 most valuable purely American Grape 

 we may have for years. And on purely 

 American and of the Labrusca species, 

 I think we shall have to rely for our 

 crops of market and wine grapes in most 

 localities of this latitude east of the 

 Rocky Mountains. 



I consider the Pocklington grape, the 

 white " grape for the million." We 

 have had scores of white grapes intro- 

 duced, tested, proved wanting, and dis- 

 carded within the last thirty years but 

 the Pocklington has come to stay. It 

 is of the largest size both in bunch and 

 berry and the most successful white 

 grape in taking premiums at fairs. It 

 is seen above all others, it attracts more 

 attention, and recommends itself — the 

 grape men cannot let it alone. 



THE CHERRY TREE APHIS. 

 This insect, a plant louse, infests the 

 under side of the leaves and the tender 

 twigs of the cherry and plum. And I 

 have this season found it attacking the 

 green fruit of the plum. It appears 

 with the earliest leaves in the spring, 

 in countless numbers, causing them to 

 curl or wrinkle into fantastic shapes, 

 lose their color and fall prematurely. 



It appears in both the winged and 

 wingless forms, the earlier broods con- 

 taining fewer of the winged forms than 

 the later. The winged females mea- 

 suring about one-tenth of an inch to 

 the tips of the closed wings ; color 

 black or brownish-black ; abdomen 

 broader than the thorax, having an 

 ovoid or egg shape which is more mark- 

 ed in the wingless female. 



The wingless female measured about 

 five-hundredths to six-hundredths of an 

 inch in length ; antennae whitish with 

 the two basal joints and the apical half 

 black ; legs whitish except the feet, 

 tips of tibiae and femurs which are 

 black. The abdomen has a prominent 

 raised ridge along the lateral margins. 

 General color black or brownish-black. 



There are several broods^in one sea- 

 son (from five to eight) and they are so 

 prolific that were it not for their natural 

 enemies they would soon over-run and 

 kill the whole tree. 



One of its most persistent enemies 

 is the larva of a two- winged fly of the 

 genus Syr.phus. The larva is of a pale 

 greenish color, translucent, spindle 

 shaped, attenuated anteriorly, and about 

 one-half an inch in length. And it is 

 a refreshing sight to the fruit grower 

 to see with what avidity this sluggish 

 looking worm sucks the juice from 

 these tiny pests and casts their empty 

 skins aside. 



The larva of a small beetle (Cocdnel- 

 la) and of a neuropterous fly (Ohrysopa) 



