THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



ing, it is unquestionable that no man may, in these 

 days, successfully manage a farm or orchard without 

 the aid of books or periodicals treating of the business. 



KEROSENE FOR PEAR LEAF BLISTER. 



Kerosene 'oil diluted with not more than eight parts 

 of water is found to be effective with pear leaf blister 

 caused by the Phytoptus pyri, a microscopic insect 

 believed to have been imported from Europe on nurs- 

 ery stock. Professor Alexander Craw, entomologist 

 of the California State Board of Horticulture, also 

 recommends dusting the trees with powdered sulphur, 

 the same as for red spider. From the high authori- 

 ties quoted, it would appear to be merely a matter of 

 expense or convenience as to the method each grower 

 should adopt. In any event, however, careful watch 

 should be kept upon the pear trees, and whenever 

 blisters appear upon the leaves the remedy should 

 be applied without delay. 



DO BEES INJURE ORCHARDS? 



In many sections of the country there exists a cer- 

 tain degree of hostility between orchardists and bee- 

 keepers. Fruit growers allege that bees, when kept 

 in great number near their orchards, work much 

 damage to fruit by puncturing the skin and extract- 

 ing the juices. Especially is this alleged with refer- 

 ence to certain varieties of grapes, though nearly all 

 deciduous fruits are said to be affected injuriously in 

 the same manner. On the other hand, the most reli- 

 able and skillful apiarists stoutly assert that the bees 

 are unjustly accused, and that the damage they are said 

 to bring to fruit crops is really due to other agencies. 

 Birds, wasps and sometimes other animals or insects 

 first break the skins of fruit and thus allow the juices 

 to exude ; the bees in search of honey then visit such 

 fruit, and the casual observer takes it for granted 

 that they wrought the mischief in the first place. 

 Professor Cook, late of the University of Michigan, 

 now of Southern California, has given much atten- 

 tion to this subject, and his conclusion is that the 

 bees only visit the fruit after its juices are brought 

 out from other causes, hence do primarily no dam- 

 age whatever to fruit. Moreover, Professor Cook 

 maintains that bees are the best friends of the fruit- 

 growers, and that most varieties of fruit bear much 

 more surely and abundantly if bees have access to 

 the trees during the period of their blooming. 



PHOSPHATE AS A FERTILIZER. 



To mature the seeds of nearly all fruits or plants 

 requires a due proportion of phosphate in the soil. 

 This must exist naturally or must be applied arti- 

 ficially. Continued cropping will, of course, eventu- 



ally exhaust any natural supply of phosphate in the 

 soil, hence artificial application must finally be re- 

 sorted to in any case. Whenever, in the evolution of 

 fruits, for example, we shall have eliminated the 

 seeds, as in the banana, the navel orange and many 

 other fruits, the needed supply of phosphates for the 

 maturity of a fruit crop will be greatly lessened. 

 But in order to properly develop and mature a crop 

 of fruit containing seeds, as nearly all fruits do, it is 

 necessary that due attention be paid to supplying a 

 fair proportion of phosphate in the fertilizers used. 

 Pure ground bone, as finely pulverized as possible, is 

 probably as good a form as any in which to apply 

 the needed phosphates to crops of any kind. In this 

 form, however, the action of the fertilizer is not ob- 

 served so soon, perhaps, as when applied in some 

 other form, but the good effects are certain to appear 

 without long delay. Still, for most crops there are 

 special fertilizers prepared, and when they may be 

 bought with reasonable surety of having been hon- 

 estly prepared and sold, there is little risk in secur- 

 ing them, at least as a supplement to the staple 

 manures of the farmyard, which should always be 

 carefully preserved and applied. 



FEED THE FRUIT TREES. 



As horticulturists the Germans have few equals, 

 and possibly no superiors. Von Mocke once said : 

 " Feed your fruit trees as well and regularly as you 

 feed your pigs and calves." The German chemist 

 for the German Horticultural Society in Munich 

 makes the following suggestions : 



The fruit tree requires the same food stuffs neces- 

 sary to all other plants. Of this large number, how- 

 ever, three nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid 

 are to be specially considered, and under certain 

 circumstances, also lime. The complete absence of 

 any one of these food materials prevents the growth 

 of the tree. 



For a prevention of soil exhaustion a change in the 

 sorts of fruit trees is often to be recommended. For 

 example, flat rooted stone fruits may still find food 

 where deep going stone fruits no longer thrive; but 

 through such means the condition of the soil is not 

 improved, and complete soil exhaustion or weakening 

 of the trees is sure to come. 



Such a soil exhaustion in which the feed materials 

 become deficient cannot be compensated by supplies 

 of the best soil; but it must be supplied in rich food 

 stuffs in easily accessible forms. Now the potash 

 and phosphoric acid of the top soil will be unavailable, 

 so that as much as possible a deep application of 

 both these food stuffs should be looked to so that the 

 roots in the deeper strata shall not suffer from any 

 deficiency. 



