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' OUR QUESTION AND ANSWER DEPARTMENT 



Readers of THe Horticulmrist are Invited to Submit Questions on any PKase of Horticultural "Worh 



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XHe Terrapin Scale 



Is the Terrapin scale prevalent in Ontario. 



id is it a serious pest ? — S. M., St. Catharines. 



t. 



I have seen the Terrapin scale, Le- 

 Tanhim nigrofasciatum, but once or 

 twice in Ontario. Some six years ago, 

 specimens came under my observation 

 in the Kent district, but they have not 

 spread to any extent so far as I have 

 heard. Dr. Bethune of the Ontario 

 AgricuUural College reports the appear- 

 ance of this scale on a maple tree at St. 

 Catharines last summer. I observe 

 that the recent circular from the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, ex- 

 tracts from which were published in The 

 Canadian Horticulturist for June, 

 states that it must be considered a dan- 

 gerous pest. As it is a single-brooded 

 species, I am of the opinion that it will 

 never become widespread. It may 

 become quite numerous on individual 

 trees, and injure the trees attacked, 

 but it will never compare with the San 

 Jose scale. — Answered by Prof. Wm. 

 Lochhead, Macdonald College. 



TKe Codling' "Worm 



I am sending specimens of insect cocoons and 

 larv-T for identification. — C. E. T., Brighton, Ont. 



The cocoons hidden away so nicely on 



Iie bark belong to the codHng worm, 

 righton is in that part of Ontario where 

 lis insect is mostly single-brooded. 

 1 such cases the cocoon is not made 

 until August, and the caterpillar remains 

 in the cocoon until the next spring. 

 The pupa, in such case, is not formed 

 until spring. In the specimens sent the 

 caterpillars were hidden away snugly 

 in cocoons lying in hollows made in the 

 bark. 



Bag'g'ing' Grapes 



Is the plan of jnitting bags on grapes for the 

 arpose of securing extra size for exhibition 

 lirposes practicable? — M.H., Stoney Creek, 

 It. 



I The plan is practicable for the purpose 



Mentioned. It may also be employed in 



le growing of grapes for home use. 



imediately or soon after the grapes 



blossomed, cover the bunches with 



vo or three-pound ordinary manillabags. 



: is the surest and often the most practi- 



^1 way of securing perfect bunches. 



lip the sack over the bunch and pin about 



Be stem, leaving no opening to catch 



fater. It is well, also, to make a small 



jle in the lower corner of the bag so 



lat no water will remain in it. Leave 



be bag on until the fruit is ready to pick. 



gagging grapes prevents injury by 



disease and also protects the fruit from 

 attacks by birds; some varieties are 

 greatly improved by the method, and 

 the bloom of the fruit is preserved at 

 ripening time, thus improving the ap- 

 pearance of the fruit for exhibition pur- 

 poses. 



Apple Tree Borers 



Kindly give summer treatment for apple tree 

 borers. — H.G., Vernon, B.C. 



Prevent the beetles from laying their 

 eggs on the tree by encircling the trunk 

 with a few sheets of paper extending 

 from the surface of the ground to two 

 feet in height. Hill up with earth at 

 the bottom, and make tight at the top 

 with a cord. Above the paper the trunk 

 should be washed from the limbs down- 

 wards, and even the larger limbs, with 

 the following mixture : one pint of 

 crude carbolic acid, one quart of soft 

 soap, and two gallons of hot water, 

 mixed thoroughly. Apply with a cloth 

 or soft broom. Use only on old bark, 

 as suggested, not on the young twigs or 

 leaves. 



Treatment of Roses 



I purchased a couple of rose bushes last fall. 

 They were strong, healthy-looking bushes. I 

 planted them, but am afraid 1 did not spread 

 the roots enough, so planted them over again 

 this spring. They are strong and green-looking. 

 Will you kindly tell me what to do for them? 

 Would also like to know the quickest and best 

 way to make rose cuttings grow. — Mrs. J. D. M., 

 Lardo, B.C. 



Various conditions may have entered 

 into the failure of your rose bushes. As 

 you re-planted them this spring it was 

 necessary, first, to prune them back 

 severely. If this was done, it is prob- 

 able that they will grow if they are strong 

 and healthy in appearance as mentioned. 

 When they are growing nicely it would 

 be well to work in some poultry drop- 

 pings around the bushes, as there ap- 

 pears to be no natural manure better 

 suited to the growing of roses. 



There are various ways of propagating 

 roses by the use of cuttings. One of 

 them is to fill a shallow box with sharp 

 sand to the brim, pack the sand fairly 

 firmly, sprinkle it with water and insert 

 single-jointed cuttings almost their 

 whole length in the sand. The cuttings 

 may be inserted directly in a cold frame, 

 the soil of which is light in nature. The 

 essentials to success are to shade the 

 cuttings until root growth starts, and to 

 keep the sand saturated with water. It 

 is best to transplant the cuttings as soon 

 as they have a cluster of roots one-half 

 an inch or an inch long. Leaving them 

 too long in sand weakens the cuttings. 



173 



Spruce Gall-Louse 



I have a spruce hedge that is infested with the 

 gall-louse. How shall I treat it? — W. L., Elles- 

 mere, Ont. 



The spruce gall-louse is an insect that 

 is causing much trouble and anxiety to 

 the growers of these evergreens in many 

 parts of the province. Good results in 

 treating it have been obtained by spray- 

 ing the affected trees at the time the 

 young plant lice are exposed. This 

 should be done at once, so that the treat- 

 ment may be made before they are en- 

 closed in the galls. The spraying should 

 be done with a tobacco and soap wash 

 or with kerosene emulsion, Towards 

 the end of August when the winged 

 forms of the insect come out of the galls, 

 the spraying should be repeated. The 

 point is to spray when the insects are 

 seen to be moving about. They are so 

 small that a magnifying glass will be 

 required to see them. For a complete 

 job the spraying should be repeated two 

 or three times at short intervals, as the 

 insects do not all come out at the same 

 time. 



Ordinary kerosene emulsion is made 

 by the use of the following ingredients: 

 Soft water, one gallon; hard soap, one- 

 half a potmd ; kerosene, two gallons. 

 The soap should first be dissolved in the 

 boiling water, after which the kerosene 

 is added and the two churned for five or 

 ten minutes. The mixture should be 

 diluted with ten times its measure of 

 warm water before using. There are two 

 essential conditions of success in making 

 this emulsion. The liquids should be 

 warm, and the water as soft as possible. 



Cutting Asparagus 



When should the cutting of asparagus cease, 

 and how should the bed be treated during sum- 

 mer?— B.N,, Nelson, B.C. 



If it is desired to keep the bed in bear- 

 ing, cutting asparagus should cease be- 

 fore July. Late cutting exhausts the 

 roots and shortens the time in which 

 to prepare for the next year's crop. The 

 plants must have a season's recuperation. 

 The roots must be stored with food for 

 another season, and this cannot be done 

 unless the tops are allowed to grow. 

 If the plants are weak or inclined to rust, 

 a little nitrate of soda will help them. 



Identical treatment year by year 

 tends to depreciate land. 



Golden-leaved honeysuckle is a valu- 

 able vine for a situation where a plant of 

 moderate growth with pretty foliage is 

 required. 



