286 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



many or as large berries in proportion 

 to the canes left as they did before, so 

 I shall go back after this unfortunate 

 experiment to my former method. 



The canes should be pinched off at 

 the height of two or three feet, accord- 

 ing to the soil and the sort of raspberry 

 grown ; but blackberries may be left 

 three to four feet long. Let the cur- 

 rants and gooseberries grow as high as 

 they will. By keeping the canes so 

 short they do not require staking, and 

 by having so many grow together they 

 shade the ground, and add to its mois- 

 ture and coolness, which are essential 

 to prevent injury from a hot sun. — A. 

 B. Allen, in Rural New Yorker. 



INSECTS AS TALKERS. 



" Two ants," says Buchner, " when 

 they are talking together, stand with 

 their heads opposite to each other, 

 working their sensitive feelers in the 

 liveliest manner, and tapping each 

 other's head." Numerous examples 

 prove that they are able in this way to 

 make mutual communications and even 

 on definite subjects. " I have often," 

 says the English naturalist Jesse, 

 " placed a small green caterpillar in 

 the neighborhood of an ant's nest. It 

 is immediately seized by an ant, which 

 calls in the assistance of a friend after 

 ineffectual efforts to drag the caterpillar 

 into the nest. It can be easily seen 

 that the little creatures hold a conver- 

 sation by means of their feelers, and 

 this being ended, they repair together 

 to the caterpillar in order to draw it 

 into the nest by their united strength. 

 Further, I have observed the meeting 

 of ants on their way to and from their 

 nests. They stop, touch each other 

 with their feelers, and appear to hold a 

 conversation, which, I have good reason 

 to suppose, refers to the best ground 

 for food." Hague writes a letter to 

 Darwin that he one day killed with 



his fingers a number of ants who came 

 every day from a hole in the wall to 

 some plants standing on the chimney- 

 piece. He had tried the effect of brush- 

 ing them away, but it was of no use, 

 and the consequence of the slaughter 

 was that the ants who were on their 

 way immediately turned back and tried 

 to persuade their companions, who were 

 not yet aware of the danger, to turn 

 back also. A short conversation ensued 

 between the ants, which, however, did 

 not result in an immediate return, for 

 those who had just left the nest con- 

 vinced themselves of the truth of the 

 report. 



THE YEAR'S RAISIN CROP. 

 Some weeks ago a commercial paper 

 of this city roughly estimated the raisin 

 crop of California, 1881, at 91,000 

 boxes. The Riverside (San Bernardi- 

 no) Press, of a later date, corrects this 

 estimate as follows : 



Boxes. 



Produced at Briggs' 65,000 



" by Blower 9,000 



" at Rocklin 12,000 



" in Fresno county 8,000 



*♦ at Riverside 27,000 



" at Orange 10,000 



** other places 20,000 



Total 151,000 



The Press is located in the heart of 

 a raisin district, and has means of ob- 

 taining correct information on the sub- 

 ject. From its figures the value of the 

 raisin crop of the State this year will 

 reach half a million dollars. The pro- 

 gress of this industry has been remark- 

 able. In the reports of 1878 the As- 

 sessors made no metion of it. At least 

 none is made in the embodiment of 

 their reports in the report of the State 

 Surveyor-General, dated 1879. It now 

 reaches the grand aggregate of half a 

 million, and this will probably be 

 doubled next year, if no unforeseen ac- 

 cident happens to the Grape crop in 



