24 WoitC^ST^It COUNTY HOMICULTURAL SOCIEltt. [IS^B. 



ment long enough to pronounce fully upon its value. Speaking of the 

 currant worm he would deal with him with white hellebore, but the worm 

 which bores into the wood and down through the pith he thought could 

 be dealt with only by cutting off the affected part and burning. The 

 enemy of the quince, which has been called the terminal blight, could be 

 treated, he thought, only by cutting back and burning the wood. In 

 speaking of the cultivation of roses, the thrips which are found on the 

 under side of the leaf should be destroyed by a solution of hellebore and 

 water, two spoonfuls of the former to a pail of the latter, applied with a 

 syringe. They appear in the spring and fall. The rose slug can be dis- 

 posed of in the same way. Birds he was fond .of, but didn't like too 

 many. He knew robins would destroy fruit and leave the insects un- 

 molested, especially the caterpillar. In cultivating cherries he set fifty 

 trees, early and late varieties, and didn't succeed in marketing one, as 

 the birds got them all. He believed birds could be destroyed legitimately 

 by the destruction of the eggs, and that a man had as good a right to take 

 birds' eggs as hens' eggs. He again urged the importance of non-depen- 

 dence upon birds for the destruction of insects, and believed the snow- 

 ball insect could be destroyed by a solution of tobacco applied before the 

 leaf curls. 



Mr. William H. Earle spoke a good word for the birds as a friend of 

 the horticulturists, and had never been seriously damaged by them, while 

 he had been much benefited. He advised the protection of the birds. 

 The currant worm, curculio, codling moth, pear blight, white grub and 

 black flea are the enemies they had to contend with. The codling moth 

 he thought could be caught with a lantern placed on a block in a pan of 

 water and left burning. He agreed with other speakers in their methods 

 of destroying other insects, although the black flea is a subject for fur- 

 tiier investigation. 



Mr. Hadwen gave his experience with birds, stating that they had 

 proved destructive to his Blackberries and Delaware Grapes. 



Mr. Earle again spoke in defense of the birds, and Mr. Kinney spoke 

 of the ravages of the black wasps among his Grapes, and the protection 

 he got from the robins. 



Mr. E. W. Lincoln spoke of air slaked lime as effective in protecting 

 the cherries from the green fly and the currant from the currant worm, 

 advocating its use as a powder. He thought the farmer was cutting his 

 own throat in destroying the crow, as he is the greatest enemy of the 

 o-rub, which is most destructive to the grass fields and the corn. Divid- 

 ing' fruit with birds he considered an impossibility, as a robin will not 

 touch an insect when he can get strawberries and cherries, as he has bet- 

 ter taste. Speaking of the value of birds he said, although the birds are 

 increasing the insects keep up with them, and he believed the introduc- 

 tion of the English sparrow would be repented in sackcloth and ashes. 



