NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



249 



The Georgian Bay Fruit Growers' 

 Association held meeting's last month at 

 Creemore, Stayner, Collingfwood, Thorn- 

 bury and Meaford, addressed by Mr. Alex. 

 McNeill. The object is to organize branch 

 associations at these places. The secretary 

 is Mr. Chas Lawrence, of Colling-wood. 



The Victoria Medal of Honor in horti- 

 culture was established in 1897 with the 

 assent of Her Most Gracious Majesty, in 

 commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of her 

 reig"n. The limit in number of persons upon 

 whom this honor may be conferred is sixty- 

 three, a record of the number of years of her 

 late majesty's glorious reign. Among these 

 we notice the name of Miss E. A. Ormerod, 

 L.L.D. 



Fruit Growers' Institute Meeting. — 

 Supt. Creelman is planning a series of June 

 meetings of Farmers' Institutes, several of 

 them to be Field days at our fruit experi- 

 ment stations. The South Wentworth In- 

 stitute, for example, will make an excursion 

 by special cars, along the line of electric 

 railway from Hamilton to Grimsby, visiting 

 the more important fruit farms on the way 

 Some of the Cabinet ministers will also be 

 invited to attend. This will be a departure 

 in the right direction. 



Trap Lanterns for Insects. — This 

 scheme for destroying insects is very plaus- 

 ible as a substitute for spraying, but the 

 difficulty with it is that nearly all kinds of 

 insects and moths are attracted by the light 

 and caught in the trap, some of them friends 

 of the fruit grower, while the codling moth, 

 the one most injurious, is the one least liable, 

 to be caught. 



Prof. Stedman, of Missouri Experimental 



station, says : — 



I find that the following injurious insects, that 

 are claimed to be caught by certain trap lantern 

 agitators, are either not caught at all or are caught 

 in such rare cases as to be only accidents : Codling 



moth, potato beetles, plum curculio, gouger, flat 

 and round-headed apple-tree borers, peach-tree 

 borers, tobacco worm moths, tomato worm moths, 

 squash bug. 



The following injurious insects are caught by 

 trap lanterns : Com worm moth or boll worm 

 moth, cut worm moths, June or May bugs (beetles), 

 tent caterpillar moth, pickle worm moth, army 

 worm mcth. 



On the other hand, a great many species of 

 Ichneumon tiies, which are our most beneficial in- 

 sects, were caught in immense numbers, and out- 

 numbered all other species in my traps. These 

 insects sting and lay eggs in or upon the bodies of 

 injurious and other insects, and their larvae prey 

 upon their tissues and destroy them. It is in this 

 way that many injurious insects are kept within 

 bounds ; and these Iclmeum( n and other parasitic 

 insects do vastly more good than all trap lanterns 

 and sprays combined. These Ichneumon fly 

 parasites are what a certain trap lantern agitator 

 calls in his circulars "Stinging fly or wasp-like 

 insect that stings the fruit." (This is as perfect a 

 short description as could be giver). Now these 

 parasitic creatures never sting fruit or plant at all. 



Any person can see from the above facts that a 

 trap lantern is of no value in an orchard, but on 

 the other hand is a great injury, because of the 

 immense number of parasites it kills. 



A trap lantern is of great value in its place, and 

 one of these places in Missouri is in the corn field 

 at the time the corn tassels out. 



Improvement Associations is a depart- 

 ment in the journal " Park and Cemetery," 

 conducted by Frances Copley Seavy, giving 

 suggestions for the improvement of village 

 and home grounds. Of late many local 

 associations of this sort have been formed 

 and much work done through the schools 

 and otherwise, by arousing public interest. 

 Wherever one of our affiliated horticultural 

 societies exist there should be no room for 

 any such society, for it is for just such work 

 that these societies have been fostered. 



Some useful suggestions are given in the 



following reports : 



The City Improvement Society of Lincoln, Neb., 

 was organized for the improvement of civic condi- 

 tions. Its specific work has so far resulted in clean- 

 er streets, better sidewalks, the cutting of weeds, 

 placing boxes at street corners for rubbish, better- 

 ed sanitary conditions generally, the decoration 

 and improvement of school grounds, the opening of 

 a city park and park concerts. A comprehensive 

 and satisfactory showing and one that should make 

 for increased membership and influence. But, in 

 addition, it has graded, established lawns, set trees, 

 planted flowers, made window boxes and built pro- 

 tecting fences for its factor^' grounds, and is plan- 

 ning to offer prizes for well-kept lawns, flowers, 



