254 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



September 



under a bed of leaves, an old rotten log, or 

 in a fence corner, where decayed leaves and 

 bush accumulate for years. E. A. Riehl 

 some time ago said that there are better wild 

 Blackberries than tame ones, and I am sat- 

 isfied that he was right. 



I have had a number of new ones sent me 

 within the past ten years, that after fruiting 

 a couple of years gave me the trouble of ex- 

 terminating, which was all I could do. This 

 year my folks had but little trouble in pick- 

 ing this fruit, as the neighbors came and 



A CALIFORNIA FRUIT PICKER. 



gathered them on shares. Although the 

 weather was very dry for a month, they were 

 pretty well developed. 



But of the latter half of the crop we got 

 but few, as an apiary of 74 colonies on the 

 ground took possession of the whole ground, 

 and as a berry came up the to mark it was at- 

 tacked and the juice extracted. 



To this I found no objection, although the 

 bees are not mine, for without this big berry 

 patch I didn't see how the bees could have 

 survived, as there! was no a flower to be seen. 



LucRETiA Dewberry. This is the best of 

 the trail berries I have yet tried. Product- 

 ive, of good quality, and the largest of all 

 my Blackberries. Mine are tied to stakes 

 six feet high, and while in bloom they 

 were quite ornamental, as also when the 

 fruit was ripe. 



It comes quite early and lasted nearly to 

 end of season. It is not as sweet as some 

 may like, but it has a very pleasant flavor, 

 and will ship as well as any other I think. 

 At our June meeting I was reported to have 

 said that I would not recommend it for ex- 

 tensive cultivation; but under proper treat- 

 ment I don't see why it may not be as profit- 

 able as the others. 



Serviceable Fruit Pickers. 



The choicest specimens of Apples, Pears 

 and other fruits frequently hang on the 

 ends of the highest or furthest outside limbs, 

 and entirely out of reach by means of lad- 

 ders. A good fruit picker is therefore indis- 

 pensible in any well regulated orchard, and 

 this especially in a year like this, when fruit 

 is scarce, and every specimen should be 

 carefully saved and put to good use. 



Home-made affairs, consisting forinstance 

 of a circular piece of inch board, with a hole 

 in the center for the insertion of along pole, 

 and pegs standing in a circle around the out- 

 side of the circular piece, will answer well 

 enough. A year or two ago we saw a pick- 

 ing device provided with an elongated 

 bag, or tube, through which the fruit could 

 be forwarded down to the ground. 



Our illustration shows a fruit picker now 

 being advertised by a firm in California. It 

 is claimed that with this tool Apples, Apri- 



cots, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Oranges and 

 Lemons can be picked from the tallest trees 

 without damaging the most delicate fruit. 

 In operating it the thumb is pressed on the 

 lower part of the handle, when the steel 

 wire fingers will open and form a basket in 

 which the fruit is received. The price asked 

 for the tool is two dollars. 



Attaching Cards to Exhibits. 



" L'TILITY." WARRE.S CO., OHIO. 



In making some exhibits at the fair in 

 previous years I had been troubled with the 

 entry cards being blo\\'n about or otherwise 

 lost until I hit upon the simple device of 

 which a sketch is enclosed. You may think 

 it is too simple to publish but it has saved 

 me and those who have followed my plan 

 some vexation. It is the plan of attaching 

 the card by means of a stick that is split down 

 a little from one end and into which split 

 the card is inserted, the other end of the 

 stick being pointed to insert into the article 

 exhibited. In case of fruit or Potatoes a 

 large specimen may be chosen to hold the 

 stick that supports the card. 



Dragon Flies and Their Habits. 



CLARENCE M. \VEED. 



One of the pleasantest summer sights in 

 the country is that of the graceful dragon 

 flies skimming over the surface of ponds 

 and lakes. Nearly all of our species are of 

 brilliant and often gaudy colors, and the 

 metallic lustre so common among them 

 adds greatly to their beauty. That few in- 

 sects have received more popular attention 

 than these is shown by the common names 

 they have received. We call them dragon- 

 flies, devil's darning needles, snake-feeders, 

 mosquito-hawks, and various other names. 

 The English sometimes term them horse- 

 stingers, and the Scotch, flying adders. The 

 French speak of them as Demoiselles or 

 ladies, while the Germans have called them 

 "Virgins of the Water." 



These dragon-flies have four net-veined 

 wings, and a long slender body, with large 

 and beautiful compound eyes. One of our 

 commonest species is represented at Fig. 1, 

 Their general make-up admirably adapts 

 them for the swift meteor-like flight which 

 characterizes them. 



Ijike other insects these dragon-flies un- 

 dergo certain changes or transformations 

 during their life. The adults deposit eggs 

 usually just beneath the surface of the water 

 on some reed or rubbish. These eggs soon 

 hatch into small larva?, which live in the 

 water, preying upon various other animals, 

 and gradually growing in size. These larva" 

 are often called water tigers, on account of 

 their voracious and predaceous habits. They 

 are provided with a triangular-shaped jaw, 

 called the mask, which has a sharp pair of 

 " scissors " at the end. This mask is usually 

 concealed beneath the head of the larv*, 

 but when an insect comes within reach it is 

 suddenly thrust out, grasping the victim 

 and returning to its concealed position. 



These water tigers breathe the oxygen in 

 the water much as fishes do, but instead of 

 gills there are several minute tubes in the 

 posterior part of the body, into which the 

 water passes, and its oxygen is taken up by 

 the colorless blood of the insect. The water 

 then passes out to be replaced by a fresh 

 supply, much as air passes in and out of the 

 lungs of one of the higher animals. Upon 

 occasion these tubs may also serve for loco- 

 motion. Ordinarily the insect moves by its 

 six feet, but when it wishes to advance rap- 

 idly it forces the water out of these tubes, 

 and so .shoots ahead. This ciu'ious process 

 may be seen by anyone who will place some 

 of these larva;, which are to be found in 

 nearly every pool or pond, in a glass fruit 

 jar filled with water, and containing one or 

 two aquatic plants. 



When the caterpillar of a butterfiy is full 

 grown it becomes an inactive pupaorchrys- 

 alis: but where one of these dragon-fly larvae 

 becomes a pupa (or nymph as it is more 

 properly called) it remains active, and 

 does not differ much from its larval form 

 (see Fig. 2), moving about as vigorously as 

 before. In a short time after it has become 

 a nymph, however, is ascends some reed or 

 sedge till it is above the water level and its 

 skin splits along the back, the adult dragon 

 fly crawls out, suns itself as its wings ex- 

 pand, and finally flies away. Tennyson, in 

 "The Princess," describes this process as 

 follows: 



" To-day I saw the dragon-fly 

 Come from the well where he did lie— 

 An inner impulse rent the veil 

 Of his old husk; from head to tail 

 Tame forth clear plates of sapphire mail. 

 He dried liis wings; like gauze they grew; 

 O'er crofts and meadows wet with dew, 

 A living flash of light he flew." 

 These dragon-flies rank high among the 

 classes of beneficial insects. Both in their 

 young and adult stages they destroy large 

 numbers of mosquitos and similar pests, 

 and they doubtless render much more ser- 

 vice to man than they are generally given 

 credit for. 



Oregon Fruit Notes. 



E. R. LAKE, OREGON AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 



Oregon has witnessed abnormal seasons 

 this year. Last winter was uncommonly 

 wet, and the winter rains proper histed till 

 well into the spring months, thus making 

 the season of spring from three to four weeks 

 late. The winter rains were followed by 

 drouth; the two conditions working together 

 caused the great dearth in small fruits and 

 vegetables — especially early ones— that has 

 been so common throughout the whole of 

 our state this year. 



Strawberries, much smaller and poorer in 

 flavor than is common, sold for 10 and 1.5 

 cents per quart, and scarce at these figures. 

 Cherries were slightly injured by late 

 showers, but aside from that were not more 

 than two-thirds, and perhaps less, the ord- 

 inary crop. They readily sold for 30 cents 

 per gallon, with a brisk market. Raspber- 

 ries, Blackberries, Dewberries and Currants 



ATTACHING CARDS TO EXHIBITS. 



were a fair crop, and had a good, (juick 

 market at eight cents per quart. In eastern 

 and southern Oregon were these figures 

 raised quite noticeably. 



Pears and Plums are our great reliables, 

 along with Prunes and Peaches for southern 

 Oregon. Peach Plums are selling at .50 to 

 1)0 cents per bushel, and Summer Pears, per- 

 haps Doyenne, at To to 80 cents. Red Astra- 

 chan Apples, good, bad and indifferent, at 

 .50 to HO cents. Generally this fruit is quite 

 free from codling moth this year, owing to 

 the fact that this pest began its work with 

 us very late; only rare instances of their 

 depredations being found earlier than July 

 1st. Apples, Pears, Prunes (and Peaches in 



