156 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



Rather risk having all the fruit des- 

 troyed by insects than that one human 

 life should be endangered. 



White hellebore being a weak vege- 

 table poison, answers a good purpose 

 for rose slugs and currant caterpillars, 

 and can be used with more safety, as 

 it would require a large quantity of it 

 to produce any dangerous results. 



On two occasions 1 used a solution 

 of bitter aloes on plum trees, with very 

 favorable results in banishing the cur- 

 culio ; but such was its cathartic re- 

 sults to myself and others around that 

 I was obliged to abandon its use, and 

 adopted the safer plan of jarring and 

 shaking the trees. Now I can save all 

 trouble in this matter. I have only a 

 few trees left out of thirty varieties 

 which I prided myself on cultivating. 



The plum trees around Berlin are 

 verging on extinction, and I hope they 

 will carry black knot and curculio with 

 them. Simon Eoy. 



Berlin, April, 1886. 



EXPERIENCE WITH PARIS GREEN 

 FOR INSECTS. 



Mr. Editor, — I duly received the 

 Early Victor grape and have carefully 

 planted it. It is a fine little specimen 

 and is now showing two vigorous shoots. 

 I hope my experience with it will be 

 more satisfactory than it has been with 

 my other vines hitherto. 



I have read the Report of the Fruit 

 Growers' Association for 1885 with 

 very great pleasure and, I trust, also 

 with some profit. I was particularly 

 struck with the experiences of the Pre- 

 sident, Messrs. McD. Allen, Hickling, 

 Beall and othei's with Paris green on 

 various kinds of fruit trees ; so, a few 

 days ago, having made the discovery 

 that the currant worm, though exceed- 

 ingly diminutive, had already began its 

 ravages, I, in accordance with the ex- 

 perience above referred to, forthwith 

 mixed "a teaspoonful of Paris green 



with a patent pailful of water," and 

 syringed nearly every fruit tree I had^ 

 and since then I have not been able to 

 detect the smallest sign of either goose- 

 berry or currant worm, or any other 

 grub which infests fruit trees ; but, un- 

 fortunately, two or three days after- 

 wards I saw something wrong with my 

 gooseberry bushes ; towards the lower 

 part of the stem the leaves began ta 

 droop, then to shrivel, then to turn 

 brown, just as though a sharp frost had 

 struck them. We had not had any 

 frost, so I feared that Paris green was 

 the matter with them. I was loth to 

 attribute the change to that, but other 

 trees which had also been syringed with 

 the mixture began to exhibit similar 

 symptoms, until I could no longer resist 

 the evidence before me that Paris green^ 

 and naught else, was the cause of the 

 trouble, for the blight was invariably 

 in the direction in which the stream 

 from the syringe was applied, and the 

 parts beyond, being protected by the 

 foliage had always escaped injury. The 

 damage done is considerable, though, if 

 what I now see is the extent of it, it 

 wont be serious, and I send you my 

 experience that it may appear in the 

 Horticulturist and may be useful to 

 others. 



My own impression is that the " tea- 

 spoonful" — a somewhat indefinite quan- 

 tity — which I applied, is too large a 

 dose, possibly two douches of half that 

 quantity would have been in the end 

 as efficacious and much less injurious to 

 the plant ; at any rate, I purpose to fol- 

 low this course in future. 



I may further add that the trees in- 

 jured are, proportionally, in this order : 

 gooseberries, black raspberries and 

 pears ; plums, apples, red raspberries, 

 blackberries and currants, red and 

 white, do not appear to be affected at 

 all Yours truly, 



J. L. Thompson. 

 Glen Cottage, Toronto, 18th May, 1886. 



