84 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[June, 



in the ground diirins; such weather. "We have 

 known corn to be planted on the 10th of June 

 to take a vigorous start from the beghming, 

 and to mature as early, and a far better crop, 

 than that planted on the 20th of May. As 

 this is a matter of a succession of years, there 

 may be a deficiency in the soil of some element 

 that corn especially needs ; or less likely, 

 soniethhig present that is unfriendly to corn. 

 Tills is ii question, however, which involves 

 an experimental knowledge of agricultural 

 chemistry, in order to shed the needed liglit 

 upon it. A Bureau of A(jricuUural Chemistry 

 in every county will be one of the necessities 

 of tlie near future. 



THIN OUT YOUR FRUIT. 



The present time is a trying one to fruit- 

 growers, and calls upon tliem for the exorcise 

 of all their prudence and fortitude. Pear, 

 peach, plum and other fruit trees will again 

 present, as they nearly always do, overladen 

 boughs which will be unable to mature their 

 burdens. To secure the best results the pru- 

 dent fruit-grower must undertake tlie reluc- 

 tant task of i-emoving the surplus in order 

 that the remainder may reach its highest state 

 of perfection and the vigor of the trees remain 

 unimpaired. Who that has had experience 

 in this matter does not know that a more disa- 

 greeable suljject cannot possibly be called np. 

 How many of our readers have favorite fruit 

 trees, which they know require to be thinned 

 out, iHit which they do most reluctantly, if at 

 all. To deliberately pluck half the fruit from 

 a favorite pear or j>each tree seems a direct 

 loss of just that much. Argument is gener- 

 ally in vain, and even with those who are fully 

 alive to the necessity it is an ungracious task. 

 Yet nothing is more necessary. The deed will 

 in the end repay the doer. Larger, better and 

 tiner fruit will lie the reward and an abundant 

 crop in the following year. Thinning out 

 fruit always pays. Fruit-growers understand 

 this and practice it. That is why their fruit 

 is always finer- than that grown by amateurs, 

 and commands higher prices. Even the writer, 

 well aware of tlie pernicious results of forcing 

 a tree to bear beyond its capacity, last year 

 permitted his judgment to be swayed in the 

 case of a choice dwarf pear ; instead of re- 

 moving twenty of the twenty-eight handsome 

 pears that hung upon the little tree, the pretty 

 picture was allowed to remain and gladden 

 the sight until fall. But he has paid dearly 

 for that act of imprudence ; not a flower did 

 it put forth this spring, and its growtli has 

 been stunted in addition, not having advanced 

 a single inch during the present season. He 

 will never commit the same mistake in the 

 future. 



[The foregoing from the editorial columns 

 of the New M-a, is so fully corroliorated by 

 our own experience that we believe we can 

 place no more seasonable dish before our 

 readers at this time than the aliment it con- 

 tains. We mourn the loss of a thrifty and 

 proline young Delaware grapevine, because 

 we disobeyed the admonition of 'a Horticul- 

 tural Father to remove only seventy-tivc clus- 

 ters of grapes out of one hundred and thirty- 

 five. But we were too "stingy," and as a eon- 

 sequence we only ripened a dozen, and the 

 following year had no grapes, and the year 

 after that no vine. We "killed it with kind- 

 ness." Sinners, take heed. — Ed,] 



^^ 



APPLE TREE BORER. 



An article in the Bural for March 23d, en- 

 titled, "To kill the larvte of the apple-tree 

 borer," has attracted my attention. It, I 

 think, greatly magnifies the ditticulty of de- 

 stroying this "worm." Let me hazard an 

 opinion in regard to the arrangement therein 

 described for killing the pest. It is not prac- 

 tical to any extent. It would be of no use 

 unless the nozzle were inserted directly into 

 the chamber he has excavated for liimself and 

 where he is ; for the idea of ever forcing any 

 liquid through the mass of dehris he leaves 

 behind him, would in nine cases out of ten 

 utterly fail ; for it would escape through the 

 prilices iu the bark, which he makes to dispose 



of the surplus dehris, when it is iu his way. 

 Enough for that. 



I have dug out thousands of these pests, 

 having had a large experience among orchards 

 not my own and also among nursery trees. 

 I never found a hole where one had entered 

 closed by the growth of the tree. Having 

 removed the soil around tlie base of tree to 

 expose the presence of the " worm," on clear- 

 ins^ the bark by scraping it with the back of a 

 knife, his presence is Indicated by a little 

 spot, and tlie extrusion of a greater or less 

 amount of chips. If he is a juvenile, hatched 

 the current year, or only one year old, he 

 will be found near and a little below the ori- 

 fice and is easily destroyed ; as he has cut but 

 a small place beneath the tree at all. If two 

 j'cars old, he will be found further down the 

 root, having cut a somewhat tortuous and 

 continually widening path and packed it hard 

 with dehris, involving more and more of the 

 woody structure. This downward path is 

 generally about four inches long, seldom six. 

 lie then turns and cuts his way up, generally 

 keeping near the other path and passes the 

 place of entrance, whereupon he commences 

 to cut deeper, making a path in the sound 

 wood and keeping entirely away from the 

 bark. Ho continues his path upwards to 

 about a foot above the place of entrance, cuts 

 to near the surface, retires to the excavation 

 he has made and goes through his last change, 

 getting his wings ready for an active out-door 

 life. 



I think the injury to the tree is principally 

 done the first two years, while he is cutting 

 between the bark and wood. If there is a 

 hole tlirough the bark in the body of the tree, 

 above the place of entrance, it is too late to 

 look for him. He is gone, but if there is no 

 hole he has not yet got away. In that case 

 cut down after him, remove the dead bark 

 and dehris, and follow his path until you find 

 an open chamber, and then it is not diflicult 

 to dislodge or destroy him with a fine wire. 

 An acquaintance .of mine takes a small bit, 

 and after finding his bearing bores in and fol- 

 lows him u]) that way. It is a benefit to the 

 tree to clear the path made oi^ dehris nud dead 

 material. I have noticed that as long as the 

 dead matter remains no young wood is formed 

 at the edges ; and the healing process does 

 not go on, but as soon as dead matter is re- 

 moved and the edges cut afresh and smooth, 

 a now deposit of wood is made and the scar 

 commences to heal up, and if the wound is 

 not too great it heals over. I have found some 

 trees with so many old fellows that they were 

 entirely girdled and could not be saved. 



The method of prevention mentioned in the 

 article referred to is good, but not infallible — 

 perhaps no method is infallible. The nearest 

 to that is to wrap the bottom of the tree, from 

 an inch or two under to a foot over ground, 

 with cloth or paper, from the first of May till 

 the middle of September, when it should be 

 removed, to enable the bark to harden that it 

 may not be injured by the freezing of winter. 

 Another method of preventing mischief is to 

 bank the trees with earth, four or five inches 

 high, in the early part of the season ; and re- 

 move it in the fall and cut out any borers that 

 may be present, before they have done and 

 harm. Whatever preventive may be employey 

 the trees should be carefully examined once 

 or twice a year. 



Have any of our readers observed that 

 buckwheat sown in an orchard will keep away 

 borers ? I have lately come to take charge of 

 a large orchard, and "find, on examining the 

 trees, that in apart of it wliere buckwheat was 

 raised last year there were none of the young 

 larvae. Was the buckwheat the cause ?— 

 Rural New Yorker. 



THE NEW GAME AND FISH LAW, AS 

 PASSED BY THE LEGISLATURE' 

 OF 1878. 

 The new law passed by the Legislature, at 

 the session just clo.sed entitled, " An act to 

 amend and consolidate the several acts re- 

 lating to game and fish," makes some changes 

 iu the former laws. We uotice the following 



provisions which will be interesting to our 

 readers : 



It iirohibits killing of gray, black or fox 

 squirrels between the 1st of January and the 

 1st of September,under penalty of five dollars. 

 It prohibits the killing of hares or rabbits, 

 between the 1st of January and 15th day of 

 October, under a penalty of five dollars. 



It provides tliat no person shall kill or have 

 in their possession any wild fowl between the 

 15th of May and 1st of September, under a 

 penalty of ten dollars. 



fh-ass plovers cannot be killed between the 

 1st of January and the 15tli of July, under 

 ten dollars penalty. 



Woodcock cannot be killed between the 1st 

 of January and the 4th of July. Penalty, ten 

 dollars. 



Tlie killing or exposing for sale, partridges 

 nr quails, between the 1st of January and the 

 15th of October is prohibited. 



Pheasants cannot be killed between January 

 1st and October 1st. Pheasant hunting at 

 night is also prohiliited. Penalty, ten dollars. 

 J7o person sliall kill at any time (except for 

 scientific investigation) any night hawk, whip- 

 poorwill, sparrow, thrush, lark, finch, martin, 

 chimney swallow, barn swallow, woodpecker, 

 flicker, robin, oriole, red or cardinal bird, 

 cedar bird, tanager, cat-bird, blue bird, or 

 any other insectiverous birds. Penalty, five 

 dollars. 



Pheasants, partridges, woodcock, rail or 

 reed-birds not to be caught with traps, nets, 

 snares or torchlights. Penalty, ten dollars. 



No hunting, sliooting or lishing on Sunday. 

 Penalty, twenty-five dollars. 



Trout fishing, except with rod, hook and 

 line, except for propagation, prohibited. 

 Penalty, twenty-five dollars. Brook trout 

 fishing prohibited, except during the mouths 

 of April, May, June and July. Penalty, teu 

 dollars. 



Fish baskets, gill nets, pond nets, eel wires, 

 kiddles, brush or facine nets, or any other 

 permanently set means of taking fish, pro- 

 hibited. Penalty, twenty-five dollars. 



Fishing with seines prohibited, shad fishing 

 excepted. Penalty, twenty five dollars. 



Fishing with hoop nets, in streams not in- 

 habited by brook trout, witji nets of not less 

 than an inch in size, is allowed. Persons 

 catching any trout, bass, pike or pickerel in 

 such nets, must return them to the water, 

 under twenty-five dollars jienalty. 



Bass fishing prohibited between the 1st of 

 January and the 1st of June. Bass can be 

 taken or killed only with a hook and line, 

 scroll or spear. Penalty, ten dollars. 



Catching bn.ss or trout in nets, by drawing 

 oft' waters, prohibited ; placing poisonous bait, 

 quick lime, giant powder, or substances in the 

 waters of the Common wealth to catch fish, 

 prohibited. Penalty, fifty dollars. 



Bass less than six inches in length not to be 

 caught, or if caught, must be returned to the 

 water. Penalty, ten dollars. 



Actions for penalties under this act to be 

 brought before justices of the peace. In de- 

 fault of payment of fines offenders shall be 

 committed to prison not less than one day for 

 each dollar of line imposed. Mayors, bur- 

 gesses and police officers are to see that the 

 law is observed. 



There are other penalties and provisions of 

 the law, but we have given a synopsis of the 

 more important ones that apply to this part of 

 the State. 



Our readers, as a matter of sport, may feel 

 very little interest in the game laws of the 

 State, but as they may possess premises upon 

 which hunters are likely to trespass or poach, 

 the above synopsis may enlighten them as to 

 the time when the different kinds of game are 

 ill or out of season, and the penalties for the 

 violations of the same. High-toned sporting 

 men respect those seasons, and the laws made 

 in pursuance thereof; but there are many 

 would-be crack 'shots who discard all law on 

 the subject, and are at all times on the lookout 

 for an oppoi'tnnity to wantonly trespass, kill 

 and destroy. It would be well to "go" for 

 these. 



