The Lancaster Farmer. 



Prof. S. S. RATHVON, Editor. 



LANCASTER, PA., JUT.Y, -1878. 



Vol. S. No. 7. 



MONEY! MONEY!! MONEY!!! 



Those wlio know tlioinst'lvcs iiulcbtcd to u.s, 

 for subscriptions or otlu'rwisti, will pU'a.sc 

 kiiull.y ri'iiU'iiibi'r the printer — his nci'ds arc 

 ahviiys prcssiiii;. .'^c(^ tlic little yellow labels 

 and that will reveal tiiu state of the ca.se, so 

 far as regards subscriptions. 



INSECT PESTS. 



In addition to the aphiils, alluded to in an- 

 other article in this number of the Farmer, 

 t heie are other species of insects that are par- 

 ticularly abundant the present season; some 

 of them no doubt uiiavoid.ably so, and others 

 more or less throuiih individual ne^jligence; 

 .sonic ot tliem renicdially accessible, but others 

 virtually unapproachable by a remedy, or near- 

 ly so. Amongst the Coleoptekoits si)ecies 

 (Beetles) we have seldom noticed Macrodaciijl- 

 «i.s xuhsjiuwsus more abundant than it was 

 about the middle of ,Iune. The common 

 names of this liettle are " Cherry-lmg " — 

 "Rosebug," — "June-bug," and sometimes 

 also "Grape-bug," when it happens to de- 

 stroy the grape-bloom ; and we have known it 

 to eirectually do so, and not only the grape, 

 but also the roses and the fruit of the cherry 

 even in large town and villages, as well as the 

 country. It is, however, partial to the elder 

 bloom, and has been so ever since we knew it, 

 and that is fifty years at least. We have sel- 

 dom, as we said before, .seen it more abundant 

 than it has been the present season ; and it 

 has suggested to us the thought that farmers 

 should encourage the growth of a goodly 

 number of elders (i>a»"/ibi(C!(.s ranadctm:i et pu- 

 bens on their farms as attractions for these 

 insects, for their jicriod is limited, and even 

 at this writing (July 4th) many have pas.sed 

 their nuptial season, and by scores are dying. 

 Their larvtr, or "grubs" live under ground 

 and feed on roots, and if it were not that they 

 fall a prey to the jiredaceous species of insects, 

 parasites and small mammals and birds, they 

 would increase beyond calculation and might 

 do an immense amount of injury. 



In Lancaster City — at least along East 

 Orange street — the " Elm leaf-beetle " (Oale- 

 riica xanthoriwletui.) is very numerous, and at 

 the present moment the larvie are coming 

 d<jwu from the leaves, and are pupating, either 

 .around the bases of the trees, or in the crev- 

 ices of the rough bark of the trunks and 

 larger branches, or even between the bricks 

 in the pavements, where the least protection is 

 afforded. Hundreds of people, no doubt, are 

 passing and rejiassing every day who do uot 

 notice them, and yet there they are in vast 

 number.s, and possess the possibilities of being 

 very destructive. Thirty or forty years ago, 

 it is recorded, they became so numerous and 

 destructive in Baltimore, that all the Elm 

 trees in a public park had to be cut down in 

 order to get rid of the insects. This beetle 

 lias been introduced into this country from 

 Europe. As they always come down from 

 the leaves to pupate, they could be prevented 

 going u]) again as beetles'. With astiff hickory 

 brush, sinnlar to those used to clean gutters, 

 they could be easily swept down from the 

 trunks and larger branches, and those on the 

 pavement swept up, and crushed or scalded, 

 sendjbing the same parts with a saliuous or 

 alkalinous solution (iiretty strong) would de- 

 stroy those that cannot be reached by the 

 whisps of the brush. 



From dilVerent parts of the county we 

 learn that the silver niajile trees are seriously 

 infested byaspecies of "wooly-ai)hids," great- 

 ly disliguring and enervating them. This is 

 probably the Eriosmna Imhrkaior of Dr. Fitch 

 of New York, if it is not a new species, and 

 peculiar to the maple. They are so numerous 

 in Martic township, in West Earl, in Manor 



andelsewlirre, that the white llocky and mealy 

 substance that falls fnjm their bodiescovers the 

 ground beneath the trees like a hejivy coating 

 of hoar-frost. They also emit a copious dis- 

 charge of "Iloney-ciew" on the leaves below 

 them and to this the llocky and mealy sub- 

 stance adheres, giving them a very unprepos- 

 sessing apiiearance. When denuih^d of their 

 wooly coating their bodies are ofa light greenish 

 or a honey-yellow color, according to ag(! an<l 

 size. They arc both winged and unwinged, 

 and are capable of a tolerable active Imt sliort 

 flight. This gives them at least the aliility 

 to extend their domain. We liave never no- 

 ticed this insect on the ma|)le trees before the 

 l)re.sent season. Heretofore, the " Basket- 

 worm, "and one or two species of scale ins(«ts, 

 {Ler(iniu)u) were pretty much all that infested 

 the maples epidemically. We have recom- 

 mended coal-tar, tobacco, or sulphur fumiga- 

 tions, freely administered on a calm evening 

 or morning, and continued until the evil is 

 abated. A strong stream, through a garden 

 engine, of an infusion of tobacco, or sumac 

 flowers, or even "soap suds," would be bene- 

 ficial. 



The spring brood of the " Web- worm " or 

 " Cateri>illar " as it is commonly called, (Ilij- 

 jihavtria tcxtor) is also very numerous in some 

 localities, and so far as out c.Kiierience goes, 

 the increase and despoliations of these web- 

 worms are due mainly to neglect. p]arly in 

 the season they may be included in a small 

 cluster covered liy a web, and not as large as 

 a man's fist. If they were then removed and 

 destroyed, the work would be accomplished 

 with very little Labor. But they are permitted 

 to increase in size and extend their domain 

 over a large portion of the trees, and then 

 only do they become formidable and create 

 alarm; another brood of them occurs towards 

 fall. These are claimed by some Entomolo- 

 gists to be a difierent species from those which 

 appear in spring and early summer. It is suf- 

 ficient for the farmer, however, to know that 

 they are both evils that he ought to rid him- 

 self of if he desires good and healthy foliage 

 and fruit. The little spotted "Ermine moth " 

 [Sijilosoma cunea) is of similar habits and 

 character. Clipping oil' the infested leaves 

 and branches and burning them is the best 

 remedy. Fumigations as reconmiended above, 

 or an ignited swab, saturated with coal oil, 

 turpentine, or melted sulphur, at the end ofa 

 long pole and held under them, and not too 

 near to burn the branches, will extinguish 

 them. 



THE CHERRY CROP. 



Early iu the season there were apprehen- 

 sions nianifestred that the cherry crop would 

 be a failure, and it was so reiiorted before a 

 meeting of the Lancaster County Agricultural 

 and Horticultural Society, b}' one or more of 

 its members. Those members may have been 

 mistaken, or they may have reported the true 

 state of the case as it existed on their indi- 

 vidual farms ; but the cherry crop has been 

 by no means a failure in a very large i)ortion 

 of our county, and many persons now express 

 some astonislmient at these reports, for they 

 allege that they have rarely known the cherry 

 crop to be more abimdant or the cherries of a 

 finer quality than they have been the present 

 season. So far as our personal observation 

 extends we must confess that we endorse these 

 views, for we have been unable to .see the ap- 

 prehended failure, either in the town or the 

 country. Indeed the town crop has turned out 

 to be all that any one could reasonably desire, 

 and many from the country have assured us 

 that their cherries were seldom ever more 

 plentifid or better in (piality. 



We have no cherry trees of our own, but we 

 are flanked by two neighbors on the north and 



south wiio hav(!, and judging by their trees, 

 botli ill (luantity and quality, we slioulil record 

 the croi> as "A No. 1." A few robins and 

 other birds visit the trees and devour and 

 carry oft some of the fruit, but they do not 

 seem to murmur at this, for under any cir- 

 cumstances they have enough for theniticlves, 

 their friends and the robins to boot. Wc have 

 specilically mentioned "Cock-Hobin," l*cause 

 recently many complaints have bi^on made 

 against him by very intelligent and inlhicntial 

 parties, but we venture to say that the 

 "Cherry-bird" or "American Wax-wing," de- 

 vours ten cherries to the robin's one, and 

 being more gregarious in its habits, it will 

 "strip" a tree in much less time than the 

 robin. There is one consolation, however, in 

 the fact that these "Cherry-birds" usually 

 only attack the early varieties of cherries. 

 They ajipear suddenly in flocks of from twenty 

 to fifty and make sad havoc with the early 

 cherries, and tlusn as suddenly disjippcar, 

 going apparently farther north or in less fre- 

 quented districts, where they breed and rear 

 their young, and through their absence the 

 late cherries usually escape. But they return 

 again in late summer, when wild cherries, 

 gumberries, cedarberries, &c., are ripe, and 

 then feed on them. 



The robin, as we have often slated, is, per- 

 haps, as much frugivorous as he is insectivor- 

 ous, but he is also ;f good bird for the pot ; 

 and, therefore, under certain game law limits, 

 he .should be protected; but his reasonable 

 destruction and appropriation should not be 

 arbitrarily prohibited ; and as it is desirable 

 that all game birds should increase in num- 

 bers, let him " multiply and replenish"— let 

 him fatten on your fruits, and then at the 

 proper time pot him, just as you feed, fatten 

 and ))ot your chickens and your pigs. That 

 would solve the problem for a time. This is 

 not, however, uiuiualifiedly mtr sentiment, 

 nor yet our recommendation, but is only sug- 

 gested as an alternative, and in deference to 

 the opinions of some very com|>etent authori- 

 ties, who seem to entertain sentiments ad- 

 verse to the robin. We refer our readers to 

 an article entitled " Kobins' Food," in the 

 July No. of the American Naturalist, WTittcn 

 by David Alkx.vnder Lyle, because we 

 are able to corroborate the greater part of it, 

 which we shall transfer to our columns as 

 soon as seems convenient, if not in the present 

 number. 



But to return' again to the cherry crop. It 

 is true, we have not visited many districts in 

 the county, but wherever we hav( visited we 

 have found cherries good and iilentiful. We 

 have had them sent to us from the North, the 

 South, the East and the AVcst, and all to the 

 same effect. Mr. John Grossman, from War- 

 wick, brought us throe branches of cherry, 

 each about twenty inches in length, on Wed- 

 nesday morning, June 2lJth, anil these three 

 branches had forty-five fruit spurs on them, 

 all but two of which had clusters of cherries 

 numbering from live to twenty, Ijesides a 

 good many single or in i)airs distributed along 

 the branches. These branches were from two 

 dill'erent trees, both of which were about 

 three feet in circumference, and well laden 

 with fruit. The fruit of the one was red, 

 rather small in size, but yery sweet, and also 

 very clean and healthful, not an aphid appear- 

 ing on it— a seedling. The fruit of the other 

 was of medium size, blacki.«li iu color, some- 

 what tartish, also full of fruit, but full of 

 ajihids — a grafted variety, and not as much 

 exposed as the foi-mer. 



The first was a slow grower, never failed to 

 bear a good crop, and never was infested with 

 apiiids. The other was a remarkably rapid 

 grower, sometimes failed in an abundant crop 

 and always was more or less infested by 



