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OUR QUESTION AND ANSWER DEPARTMENT 



Readers of The Horticulturist are invited to submit Questions on any phase of Horticultural worK 



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UnKealtHy Pe-waviKee Trees 



I have a young orchard of Pewaukee apple 

 trees just starting to bear. This season some 

 of trees look shaky, the leaves have a white, 

 glazy look, and the apples are water-cored. 

 They have been well cared for, but not sprayed. 

 Will you suggest a remedy? — -H. C. G., March- 

 mont, Ont. 



The Pewaukee tree is not one of the 

 hardiest varieties, although it is com- 

 paratively hardy. In severe winters, 

 this tree is often injured in the colder 

 parts of the country. The white, glazy, 

 or silvery-like appearance which the 

 trees take on is, I beheve, the result 

 of certain forms of winter injury. The 

 Pewaukee apple does not often water- 

 core, but the tree being in an unhealthy 

 condition might induce this. Some 

 varieties of apples are much more sub- 

 ject to water-core than others, and in 

 certain seasons, it is more pronounced 

 than in others. At Ottawa, we no- 

 ticed more of it this year, owing, doubt- 

 less, to the extremely dry weather that 

 we had. — Answered by W. T. Macoun, 

 Horticulturist, C.E.F., Ottawa. 



work, with remedial suggestions, may 

 be found in the 1904 and 1905 reports 

 of Dr. Jas. Fletcher, Dominion Ento- 

 mologist, C. E. F., Ottawa. 



Planting Small Fruits 



Is the month of November too late for trans- 

 planting currant and raspberry bushes? — P. P. 

 W., Toronto. 



Currant and raspberry bushes may 

 be transplanted in November as soon 

 as the foliage is off. A few years ago 

 we set out a large plantation of cur- 

 rants on November 8 and 9, and did 

 not lose a plant. Raspberries are not 

 so hardy, and I doubt if they will stand 

 this late transplanting so well as cur- 

 rants. — Answered bv Prof. H. L. Hutt, 

 O.A.C.. Ouelph. 



The Apple Mag'g'ot 



A pest called the "Railroad Worm" is eat- 

 ing the heart out of my apples. In some 

 orchards it is doing much damage, and appears 

 to be spreading rapidly. What is the nature 

 of the pest, and how can it be combatted? — 

 A Subscriber. 



The Railroad Worm, or more properly 

 the Apple Maggot (Trypeta pomonella), 

 is a serious pest and is becoming numer- 

 ous in orchards, particularly in Quebec. 

 The maggot is the larva of a fly. It 

 burrows through the flesh of the apple, 

 feeding upon the pulp, and making 

 channels in every direction, causing the 

 fruit to rot or become unsaleable. 



The only effectual remedy is the 

 prompt removal and destruction of in- 

 fested fruit. Windfalls should be gath- 

 ered and destroyed at once. A com- 

 plete description of the insect and its 



Scale on Palms 



The leaves of my palms are covered with 

 little round light colored scales. What shall 

 I do for them? The scale collects more in the 

 axils of the leaves than near the ends or tips. — 

 E.G., Port Dover, Ont. 



Dip the plant in strong soap-suds and 

 allow it to remain for about half an hour. 

 Then wipe off the scales with a sponge. 

 When submerging the plant, lay it on its 

 side to avoid having the soap drain into 

 the soil. A method, without dipping, 

 is to rub off the scales with a stiff brush 

 kept moist with soapy water. 



Hercxiles Cl\ib 



What is the Hercules Club? Mention its 

 height, habit of growth, hardiness, culture and 

 value.— C. E. V-D., Grimsby. 



The Angelica Tree, or Hercules Club, 

 Aralia hispida, is a native of the 

 southern and south-eastern states, and 

 becomes a small tree there, the ex- 

 treme height being about 40 feet, al- 

 though the average height is much less 

 than that, probably not more than 20 

 feet. This tree is quite ornamental. It 

 has large compound leaves from two to 

 two and a half feet in length; when the 

 tree is well developed, these give it an 

 umbrella-like appearance. It is a very 

 prickly tree; owing to this peculiarity, 

 it makes an interesting specimen on a 

 lawn. This tree has not proved hardy 

 at Ottawa, but in the warmer parts of 

 western^Ontario it might succeed fairly 

 well, although it would probably kill 

 to the ground from time to time. — 

 Answered by W. T. Macoun, Horticul- 

 turist, C.E.F., Ottawa. 



Not Poisonous 



Recently the Buffalo Express stated that the 

 covering of the Tussock Moth cocoon is a 

 deadly poison, and that bits of it, blown about 

 in the air and lighting on the skin, causes an- 

 noying irritation. Is this so? — Mrs. T. S. P., 

 Yarmouth, N.S. 



I have never experienced any irrita- 

 tion from the Tussock Moth in any of 

 its stages, nor have I heard complaints 

 of the annoyance. I have, however, 

 seen a mention in an entomological work 

 that irritation has been caused to the 

 skin by the hairs of the caterpillars, but 

 no particulars were given. 



The Brown-tail Moth, which is such a 

 grievous pest in Massachusetts, is a 



281 



very serious trouble in this respect. 

 Parts of the body of the caterpillar are 

 clothed with barbed hairs. These are 

 woven into the cocoons, and when thus 

 removed from the body of the living 

 insect become dry and brittle. The 

 barbed particles, dislodged from the 

 cocoons by wind and weather, are blown 

 about, and when they come in contact 

 with the skin, produce extreme irrita- 

 tion and soreness. These effects are 

 entirely mechanical and are not caused 

 by any poison. 



The white covering of the eggs of the 

 Tussock Moth does not becoine loose or 

 blow about in the air. It is an adhesive 

 covering which remains as a protection 

 to the eggs till the larvae are hatched. 

 By no means is it a "deadly poison." 



In Canada there are one or two other 

 caterpillars, not common species, which 

 are armed with barbed spines. If incau- 

 tiously handled, portions of these spines 

 may penetrate the skin and produce an 

 irritation similar to that of the stinging 

 nettle.- -Answered by Dr. C. ]. S. 

 Bethune, O.A.C., Guelph. 



Storing' Beets and Carrots 



How and where should beets and carrots be 

 stored? Does frost hurt them? — A. H., Col- 

 lingwood, Ont. 



It is advisable not to let irost touch 

 the beets. It takes away the color, and 

 an excess of frost will cause them to rot. 

 Store in a cellar that is dry and cool, 

 and where there is no danger of freezing. 

 Beets should keep until the new ones 

 are ready in the spring. 



Treat carrots much the same as beets. 

 If the cellar is not cool, see that the car- 

 rots are not piled too deeply or they will 

 heat and rot. In a good cool cellar they 

 can be piled to a height of three or four 

 feet. If the cellar is at all warm, it is 

 necessary to mix sand or light loam with 

 the carrots in the pile. 



W^interin^ Onions 



Can onions be stored in a shed and allowed to 

 freeze?— N. A. S., Burford, Ont. 



Onions for winter use should be stored 

 in a cool, dry cellar on slatted shelves, 

 where there is plenty of ventilation. 

 They should not be allowed to freeze. 

 A temperature just above 32 degrees 

 suits them best. Onions for spring 

 sales may be stored in a shed or bam, 

 allowed to freeze solid, and then cov- 

 ered with hay or straw to a depth of a 

 foot. Leave them untouched until the 

 frost is entirely drawn out in spring. 



