198 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



June, 



Were it possible to dispose of our products in 

 local and near markets, without the middle man, 

 or if buyers could be induced to come, these 

 methods would prove very satisfactory. We 

 cannot wait for the buyers to come, nor will 

 local and near markets take all our fruit, the 

 alternative is to trust your fruit to the tender 

 mercies of the railroad and the commission man, 

 in fact much of it is all trust and little or no pay. 

 That there are dishonest commission men we all 

 know by experience : this should make us wiser 

 and stick to the true and tried ones. 



Late Experiences With Insects In- 

 jurious to the Orchard and 

 Garden. 



(Extracts from paper by J. A, Lintcr, before the West- 

 em New York Horticultural Society,) 



You will be glad to know that rapid pro- 

 gress is being made throughout the United 

 States in the study of our insect foes and 

 insect friends, and how they are to be met. 

 There is every prospect that within a few 

 years nearly all of our most injurious insects 

 will be brought under control. 



Spraying Operations. Judging from pres- 

 ent indications, the force pump is destined, for 

 the future, to play a prominent part in our oper- 

 ations against. the insects of the orchard and 

 garden. The ease with which the codling moth 

 can be controlled, and the Apples grown of full 

 size (the elements permitting), of perfect form, 

 rich in color, of highest flavor, and of resistance 

 to early decay, are a sulEcient attestation of its 

 value. By its aid we hope soon to control the 

 ravages of almost every insect that feeds upon 

 the foliage of our fruit trees, and of a large num- 

 ber of those that attack the products of our 

 gardens. To do without a force pump is costly 

 neglect. Insecticidal spraying, compared with 

 old methods, as pinching by hand or distributing 

 poisons with a sprinkling pot, is as the Gatling 

 gun in comparison with the old flint-lock musket. 

 Experiments show conclusively that in spraying 

 with the arsenical poisons, much stronger mix- 

 tures have been used than are necessary, and that 

 in no case need they exceed the strength of one 

 pound of the arsenite to two hundred gallons of 

 the water. For Plum trees one pound of the 

 arsenite to 250 or aOO gallons of water should be 

 used, while for the Peach, a dilution of at least 

 aOO gallons is recommended. 



Spraying With Water. This has proved 

 elBcient in arresting the injuries of one of the 

 chief pests of Rose growers— the Kose-slug, Man- 

 ostcgia rosii" (Harris). I have every confidence 

 that a rather coarse spray of water thrown with 

 force will serve to rid us of the injuries of many 

 other pests. It will be efflcient against the little 

 white Rose-leaf hopper— probably the Tettiqonia 

 7'imv of Harris. It should also be equally efflcient 

 against the several species of small leaf hoppei-s, 

 Erythroneura vitis, and othera, that infest the 

 Grape vme, particularly if employed against 

 them in the early larval stages. It should be de- 

 structive to all f)f the plant lice that can be di- 

 rectly reached by the spray. 



Carbolized Plaster Preventative, From 

 some experiments in protecting Plum trees from 

 curculio attack, carbolized plaster, made by 

 combining one pint of crude carbolic acid with 

 50 pounds of plaster, has shown such beneficial 

 results that the method merits additional trials. 

 It may prove a valuable preventative in the dep- 

 redations of the Rose bug, Macrodactylus subs- 

 pinosux, from which, as yet, we know of no sat- 

 isfactory means of protection. 



Coleopbora 8p. A New Pear Insect- On 

 June 8, 1888, Mr. P. Barry reported to me that 

 the newly-set Pears of the Mount Hope Nurseries 

 had been vigorously attacked by a new enemy, a 

 queer-looking worm, which was found with one 

 cud inserted into the fruit. 



Specimens of the fruit submitted showed that 

 the operations of the caterpillar consisted in bor- 

 ing numerous round holes of about the diameter 

 of its body (that of an ordinary pinj to the depth 

 that it could protrude from its case. Withdraw- 

 ing itself, it would remove a distance and again 

 burrow into the fruit. Many of these holes had 

 been made in each Pear. One of the Pears re- 

 ceived, of only one-half inch in diameter, showed 

 by count, 44 of the borings. 



It is quite probaljle that this Coleophora attack 

 will prove to be widespread. The larva^ ceased 

 feeding and fastened their cases on end to the 

 bottom of the box containing them on June 13th. 

 The first moth emerged twelve days thereafter, 

 and the second on July 7th. Should the insect 



appear in injurious numbers hereafter, it could 

 be destroyed by spraying with an arsenite soon 

 after the setting of the young fruit. 



The Pear-bli?ht Beetle. The " Pear-bhght 

 beetle," Xylchorus pyri (Peck) appeared in great 

 abundance in a Peach orchard of Mr. Norman 

 Pomroy, of Lockport, N. Y., in the spring of 

 18^8, where its operations were so severe that the 

 orchard, consisting of young trees, was nearly 

 ruined by it. The attack had assumed a different 

 character from that usually ascribed to it, for 

 instead of the burrows of the insect running up- 

 ward or downward, in this they were mainly 

 horizontal, and carried around the trunks or the 

 limbs of the young nursery stock so as to nearly 

 girdle them and permit of their being easily 

 broken off by riand. All of the trees attacked 

 were killed, and were eitherpulled up when they 

 were seen to be dying, or sawn off below the 

 lowest burrows, which in many cases was near to 

 the ground. 



This "Pear-blight beetle," destructive also at 

 times to Apple, Plum and Apricot stock, was de- 

 scribed and its operations observed as long ago 

 as the year 1817, and has since been frequently 

 written of; but up to the present day it has suc- 

 ceeded in keeping its early stages from us. 



Quince Bloisoma Beetle. From Mr. A. H. 

 Briggs, of Maccdon, examples of a species of 

 snapping'beetlewere received on the 20th of May, 

 188!i, which, during the preceeding four years, 

 had been so abundant, and injurious to the blos- 

 soms of his Quince trees that he had been obliged 

 to go over the trees daily and knock the beetles 

 into a pan of kerosene and water. The same in- 

 sect had made its demonstrations on the trees of 

 Rev. Dr. Jacques; while four years previously 

 residing at Macedon Center, and had been fought 

 by him with Paris green mixed with flour. 



The Peach Bark Borer, This is a well-known 

 pest and formerly supposed to be the cause of 

 "the yellows;"but its only connection with it has 

 frequentl.v been found in trees that have become 

 weakened and sickly through disease. All of 

 these Scolytid bark-borers, from their conceal- 

 ment and habits, are difficult to reach and kill, 

 and we know of no satisfactory methods at pres- 

 ent of dealing with them. Whenever a tree has 

 become badly infested with them, it should be 

 promptly taken up and burned. This insect 

 seems to be increasing in the State of New York. 



The Cherry Tree Slu?. The larvie can be 

 readily destroyed by spraying with hellebore in 

 water— an ounce of the powder to two gallons of 

 water— or dusting foliage with air-slaeked lime. 



The Grape Vine Flea Beetle. An unusual 

 number of intiuirics ha\'e been received during 

 the spring and summer of the Grape vine flea- 

 beetle. Wherever it makes its ajipearance, effort 

 should 1)0 made to destroy the beetles during 

 their hibernation, by burning or removuig their 

 ordiuar.v winter quarters, as in the rubbish of 

 the vineyards, or the loose bark of the posts. In 

 the early spring, when they first make their at- 

 tack on thebudsto which they are so destructive, 

 they should be knocked off daily into a pan of 

 water and kerosene, or jari-ed to the ground and 

 crushed, or a poisonous hquid applied fo the 

 buds. The ravages of the larvic, at a later period. 

 ma.y be controlled by Paris green in water. 



Mr. Snow, of Penn Yan, has detected an insect 

 preying upon the larvie by sucking its juices. 

 They were Hemipterous, belonging to the plant 

 bugs, of which so many are known to be valuable 

 aids to us in the destruction of our insect foes. 



A New Bose Pest. A destructive borer of the 

 tips of Rose bushes has made its appearance at 

 Au Sable Forljs, N. Y., during the past summer. 

 Its form of injury is to commence attheextreme 

 tip and burrow downward several inches, con- 

 suming the entire interior of the stem. 



The lady sending them has written: "About 

 20 years ago, my garden Roses were infested by 

 this same borer. I fought them with knife and 

 fire for four or five years, and rid myself of them 

 entirely, and had never seen one since until this 

 present year. 



A New Enemy of the Currant Worm. A la rge 

 plant-bug was discovered l)y Mr Samuel G. Love, 

 of Jameston, N Y., with its beak inserted into 

 Currant-worms, Nematus I'eiitrico^us, sucking 

 out their juices and killing numbers of them. 

 When received by me, they were m their pupal 

 form. They were fed on Currant-worms until 

 they transformed to the perfect stage, permitting 

 of their identification as Pndisux cyjiiciw (Say), 

 after which they were released to feed at large, 

 in the hope that their progeny through coming 

 years would inherit a special fondness for the 



food of their ancestors, and thus aid in the work 

 of bringing under control that annoying pest. 



London Purple. Dr. Liutner said that it was 

 the waste product of analine dyes, and contained 

 about 4;i per cent of arsenic, while pure Paris 

 green contained about 58 per cent. One pound 

 of London purple to ,500 gallons gave no satisfac- 

 tory results. He advised one pound to 300 gal- 

 lons for Pear trees; and if the London purple be 

 of pure (|uality and put up properly, that will be 

 found sufficient. One pound to 2(10 gallons was 

 also used on Plum trees with marked success. 

 He thinks we shall soon come to the use of one 

 pound of Paris green to 250 or 300 gallons of water. 



Why not Plant a Grove? 



{Adapted from paper by Prof. W.J. Beat, Agrieultu. 

 ral College, P. O. Miih., in the Report of Fruit Orow- 

 ers' Association of Ontario.) 



Generally, of late years, when there is a 

 heavy fall of snow It is soon so unevenly 

 distributed that we have little Idea of how 

 much lias fallen. It piles up along the 

 north and south roads, and blows from 

 some parts of the east and west roads. The 

 Wheat fields have many barespots, while in 

 other places the drifts are deep. The 

 animals at such times eat more grain and 

 fodder than they do wheti there is less cold 

 air in motion. The house, too, gets coldfr 

 in the night than it used to when there 

 were few strong winds. When I came to 

 this neighborhood much of the and was 

 still covered with a dense virgin forest. As 

 one block of woods after another disappear- 

 ed, I noticed the winds becatne more fre- 

 quent and penetrating. 



There is a partial remedy for checking the 

 fierce winds which drift the snows in winter, 

 shake the Apples from the trees in summer and 

 lodge the grain before it is ripe. It is to plant 

 trees. The cost is much less than most persons 

 miagine, and when once started they keep grow- 

 ing year by year, and before you are aware of it, 

 the little trees have grown upwards and spread 

 outwards. Suppose you were to plow a strip a 

 rod wide and ten or fifteen rods long, either in 

 a straight line, in a curve or in an irregular 

 shape. That would not cost much. Then 

 harrow it well as though you were fitting the 

 piece for ( 'orn. 



Of course you must arrange fence so as to 

 keep cattle, sheep and horses away from young 

 trees. Let us see about a plan for a wind-break 

 or for a small grove. You can put in as many 

 kinds of trees as you like, the more the better, 

 if you want to try experiments and think you 

 would like to study them and learn their habits, 

 but .you want trees that will grow fast, that are 

 likely to remain health.v and furnish protection, 

 you need onl.v one, two or three species which 

 are best adapted for the purpose. We can't 

 afford to go to the woods and dig trees. We can 

 buy them cheaper. 



Buy them! Some one will say. Wh.v, a nurse- 

 ryman will charge me twenty-five to fifty cents 

 apiece for his Evergreens. I can't afford that. 



Procure small trees ; they will cost much less ; 

 they can be more easily planted ; will be more 

 likely to live and after a few years they will 

 very likely catch up and overtake trees which 

 were larger at the time of planting. The founda- 

 tion of your screen will consist of Evergreens. 

 If others are added which are not Evergreens, 

 they should not be put in blocks each sort by 

 itself, but mixed more or less in checker-board 

 style with the Evergreens. And the Evergreens 

 may as well be mi.\ed if no others are planted. 

 You will want to set them in rows, straight, 

 curved or crotiked in one way four feet apart, 

 and three or four feet apart in the row, so they 

 can l)e as easily cultivated one way as Corn and 

 Potatoes. There is little risk in setting too thick- 

 ly, and the trees will sooner shade the ground. 



Nurserymen who grow seedlings— advertise 

 in the horticultural journals, will send by mail 

 young plants about as follows : White Pines, 

 three years old,® tl per l00,orS8 per 1,000. Norway 

 Spruces, 3 years old, (g 75 per 100, or $() per 1,000. 



At about the same price, you can procure any 

 or all of the following : European Larch, White 

 Ash, American Elm, Black Cherry, Black Locust 

 and many others, remembering that for good 

 screens half or more of the trees should be 

 Evergreens rather equally distributed over the 

 ground. A single row or two rows will make a 

 good screen, but you will be better pleased with 

 a wider strip of trees. 



