232 



THE IRRIGATION AGE 



and kept clean of weeds. Over-irrigation 

 or too much rain can be remedied by drain- 

 age, or using dynamite beneath the roots, 

 to break up the soil. "Drains may be cut 

 through the orchard at proper angles, and 

 deep enough to draw away the stagnant 

 pools of water that collect round the roots 

 and on the subsoil strata. If this is done 

 the trees will make such a vigorous growth 

 the first year as to surprise the owner. 



Cleanliness is one of the first and most 

 necessary preventions of fruit pests. The 

 leaves, dead limbs, old fruits and bark 

 should be cleaned up and burned early in 

 the spring. It is well to leave everything 

 on the ground through the winter as it 

 serves well for mulching and becomes the 

 habitation of dormant pests. If raked up 

 and burned in the spring the trash will un- 

 cover the hiding places of spiders, worms 

 and bugs, and many of them will be 

 burned. Hay or straw left lying about the 

 trunks of the trees will make a safe retreat 

 for field mice that destroy many young 

 trees and plants. Old, well rotted manure 

 may be piled around the trees, providing 

 it does not contain coarse straw or corn- 

 stalks. The liquid fertilization is bene- 

 ficial and feeds the tree roots, making them 

 more thrifty. 



Spraying is absolutely necessary if a 

 good crop of perfect fruit is expected. In 

 addition to killing the moths, worms, lice 

 and mites, and destroying fungus diseases 

 the spraying acts as a fertilizer for the 

 foliage. I have used a solution of lime and 

 vitriol, one pound each, and Paris green, 

 one-fourth pound, mixed in forty gallons 

 of water, for the early insects. This is ap- 

 plied to the trunks and branches around 

 the roots of the trees immediately after 

 the leaves are raked and burned. For ap- 



ple borers, a paste made of two pounds of 

 lime, one pound of soap, one pint of lye 

 and one pint of tar is an excellent remedy. 

 After the blossoms have dropped I have 

 used a quarter of a pound of Paris Green 

 with a pint of flour, mixed in 40 gallons of 

 Avater. This ought to be kept up, at inter- 

 vals of 10 days, until the fruits are half 

 grown. I use the proportion for all fruits 

 except peaches and pears, when I add soft 

 soap and kerosene in the ratio of about 

 one part of the emulsion to 15 parts of 

 water. JOEL SIIOMAKER. 



Cotton exporters from the cotton belt of 

 Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana are ship- 

 ping their product from the eastern ports 

 instead of from New Orleans, as has been 

 the custom. Since September l,692.r)7!> 

 bales of cotton have peeri shipped through 

 St. Louis, while lastyear, during the same 

 period, 391,925 bales only were shipped. 

 The change in shipping ports is due to the 

 war with Spain. 



Anyone wishing to grow ferns should 

 take them up when the fronds begin to ap- 

 pear, as this is the best time for trans- 

 planting. 



Latest reports from the South put the 

 estimate of the cotton crop new being 

 marketed at apout 11,500,000 bales, which 

 is by far the largest ever produced, and 

 four times as large as that of the year 

 1872. 



The report of the Department of Ag v i- 

 culture for March 1st makes farm reserves 

 as follows: Wheat. 121,000,000 bushels; 

 corn, 783,000,000 bushels. 



