Enteral at Palo Alto Post Office as SecomiClass Mail Matter. 





PALO ALTO PLIIiLISHIINti COMPANY. PALO ALK) and SAM JOSE 



Volume \1\. Nr.Mi;i':u 47. 



l'"F,j:Kl'AKy, I'.iO:!. 



Mo.NTiii-v, ■")<) Cknts a Vi;,\i:. 



THE HORTICULTURIST 



The Codlin Moth and Other items 



Prof. Woodvvorth and I'rof. 

 Clarke, UiitomologisLs of llie State 

 University, have been visitinj; the 

 country around Watsonville, and 

 arranji;ing to establish stations for 

 the purpose of making a thorough 

 study of the codlin moth in the 

 apple orchards there during the 

 coming summer. In the interests 

 of the suffering apple growers, it is 

 to be hoped that Prof. Woodvvorth 's 

 investigations may result in some 

 relief for them from this pest, the 

 worst of all the fruit pests against 

 which we now have to contend. 

 We believe it is the Professor's in- 

 tention to make experiments look- 

 ing to better means of combatting 

 the moth in some of its earlier 

 stages, at which time it is within 

 reach. The life history of the cod- 

 lin moth has been thoroughly 

 studied and recorded, so that there 

 remains little to be done in this 

 direction, but our method of fighting 

 the pest is still cumbersome and un- 

 satisfactory, and there is a broad 

 field for investigation. The great 

 difiiculty in fighting the codlin 

 moth is that it must be reached in 

 the short period of its life which 

 elapses between the hatching of the 

 egg and the time it burrows beneath 

 the surface of the apple, as it is 

 only during this period that is with- 

 in reach. As soon as the little 

 moth larva is hatched it begins to 

 eat its way into the center of the 

 frviit, and in a very short time bur- 

 rows beneath the surface and is out 

 of reach of any of our present poi- 

 sons. If when it is hatched it finds 

 a fresh supply of poison coating the 

 fruit, it absorbs some of this, and 

 at once retires from active service. 



This renders necessary frequtnt 

 sprayings, and entails heavy ex- 

 pense upon the orchardist. Tkkk 

 AND Vine sincerely hopes that 

 Prof. Woodworth's investigations 

 may bear good fruit, and that he 

 may discover .some cheaper and 

 more effective way of keeping this 

 great scourge of the apple grower 

 in check. 



The jiruning season is with us 

 again, and in many orchards the 

 tree butcher is vigorously at work, 

 in too many cases destroying his 

 employer's chances of a remunera- 

 tive crop. If there is any branch 

 of orchard work which requires the 

 use of brains it is in pruning, yet 

 too often anyone who can wield a 

 saw, a pair of pruning shears or an 

 ax, is supposed to be able to prune 

 a tree. The skillful pruner isvvo'th 

 his weight in gold He should be 

 acquainted with the habits of the 

 different classes of trees, and even 

 of the different varieties of each 

 class, and know just what wood to 

 remove and what to leave; whether 

 to cut both vigorously or to spare 

 the tree. In some cases, with 

 peaches, tor instance, there has got 

 to be severe pruning, or the tree is 

 apt to overbear and break down, 

 and yield a large amount of in- 

 ferior Irnit. Even in this case some 

 varieties should be pruned to throw 

 the greater part of their new growth 

 to the center of the tree, while 

 others can be trained to a more 

 spreading habit. Other trees, as 

 the prune, the walnut, and the fig, 

 require little cutting back, merely 

 the removal of interfering wood. 

 Then, the age of the tree is to be 



con.sidered. 'I'lie young tree has 

 to be pruned, and is pruned so that 

 the new roots may take the shape 

 it is desired that the tree shall as- 

 sume, liven the character of the 

 soil on which the tree is growing 

 is a factor, for the stronger the soil, 

 the more vigorous will be the 

 growth of the tree, and more severe 

 the necessary pruning. We re- 

 member a case in which an Italian 

 who had been brought uji in a vine- 

 yard and worked by the rule of sym- 

 metry was turned loose in an or- 

 chard because he was a "pruner," 

 and, following his rule, cut the 

 trees all back to three buds. In 

 another case, a landscape gardener 

 from England, who understood 

 growing ornamental trees, was set 

 to work to prune an orchard, and 

 when he was through all the trees 

 were of a uniform shape and the 

 orchard was a model of beauty, but 

 there was no fruit. So it is neces- 

 sary that the pruner should under- 

 stand the nature of the tree and the 

 object for which he is at vk'ork, and 

 shape it to that end. 



The prune growers of the State, 

 will enjoy a better Christmas 

 this season than they did last, 

 in view of the advancing price of 

 their product. The active demand 

 for prunes in the past month re- 

 minds the growers of the old times 

 when it was not necessary to hunt 

 up a market for their fruit, but 

 found it at their door. While the 

 high prices of the past will never 

 again, in all probability, be reached, 

 it is to be sincerely hoped that we 

 have passed the worst, and that our 

 growers in the future will get a fair 

 price for their crops. 



