No. 4.] FRUIT GROWING. 151 



considerably less valuable. For those who do not care to 

 mix their own materials, I presume that our fertilizer manu- 

 facturers would be glad to furnish them to order, in the pro- 

 portions of constituents here indicated, already combined. 

 The reason that such a compound is not now offered for sale 

 is a plain business one. There is no call for it. It is not 

 for these dealers to educate or lead public opinion, unless 

 there is money in it. The moment a demand comes they 

 will prepare themselves to respond to it. I have no doubt 

 that the dealer who will first provide formulas more conso- 

 nant with the results of chemical analysis will be the first to 

 be able to publish testimonials tending to advertise and 

 enlarge his business in consequence. 



The time for the application of fertilizing material is in the 

 spring, as soon as the land is free from frost and surplus 

 water. It should be spread broadcast and evenly over the 

 entire surface ; and we are then ready to anticipate the phe- 

 nomena of that wonderful, annually recurring miracle, — 

 the active resurrection of the vegetable world. 



No sooner, however, does this commence, than we are 

 confronted by a multitude of insect enemies. I shall here 

 mention only a few out of the many, those whose depreda- 

 tions are the most serious : the tent caterpillar, the curculio, 

 the codling moth, in some localities the bud moth, the canker 

 worm, the pear-tree psylla, various forms of aphis, and, later 

 in the season, the apple maggot and the web worm. It is 

 pretty evident that these enemies of ours have acquired by 

 possession a fee simple of our premises, and are prepared to 

 remain with us. Some combination of seasons or some par-, 

 asitic enemies of theirs may so far aid us as to reduce their 

 injurious effects to a minimum for a year or two, but we can- 

 not hope to bid them good-bye. Whatever fruits we obtain 

 we must fight for ; and it behooves us to become acquainted 

 with the tactics of our enemies, and provide ourselves with 

 effective weapons and materials for defence. 



The tent caterpillar ( C 'lis iocampa Americana) is a familiar 

 insect that attains its mature condition and lays its eggs 

 during the month of July, in a ring encircling the smaller 

 twigs of the apple and wild cherry. These eggs hatch about 

 the time of the swelling of the buds, and the hairy worms or 



