134 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ September, 



Is the phylloxera as prolific as is reported ? 

 And what are the conditions favorable to its re- 

 productionf The higlier the temperature, the 

 greater the deposit of eggs. Entomologists 

 estimate that, in a southern climate, a single 

 laying female will, in the course of one spring 

 and summer, make nine deposits, and, by suc- 

 cessive hatchings, attain a product of between 

 twenty-five and twenty-six million phylloxera. 



U2}on what parts of the vine does the phylloxera 

 stay ? On the roots, the bark, the wood and 

 the leaves. 



Upon what part is the winter eggs deposited ? 

 On the bark, both new and old, on the under 

 side of the leaves, and even on clumps of 

 earth. 



Has the winter egg been found in this depart- 

 ment f All search for it has proved fruitless. 



Has this winter egg the importance some have 

 attributed to it f When it was firstdiscovered, 

 scientists asserted that phylloxera when un- 

 dergound could not reproduce for a longer 

 period than one year without the intervention 

 of the others coming from this winter egg; 

 and that consequently, by destroying the lat- 

 ter, tlie destruction of those at the root would 

 follow. It was upon this assurance that tlie 

 idea of washing the vines was adopted. But 

 nnfortunately, it has been demonstrated that 

 phylloxera underground can reproduce for 

 three years without any assistance from those 

 coming from the winter egg, and it takes less 

 time than that to destroy the vine. 



Are there any trench vines that resist the 

 phylloxera ? No, but there are some it takes 

 longer to destroy, such as the " Colombard " 

 and the "Cabernet Sauvignon." 



Are there not some soils on which the phyllox- 

 era does less damage than others ? On land of 

 which ninety-five per cent, is sand, the ine- 

 qualities are so great that the phylloxera can 

 only advance with great difficulty. Upon 

 such soil consequently the vine can resist for 

 a very long time. 



Are not all other kinds of soil overrun ? All 

 without exception, from the poorest to the 

 richest, whether calcareous, silicious, or clay- 

 ey, are overrun by the phylloxera. 



Upon what kind of soil is the phylloxera'' s ad- 

 vance the most rapid, and upon what kind the 

 least so ? All calcareous, light, and surface 

 soils, and those in which the vine is obliged 

 to put forth roots clearly traceable, are very 

 unfavorable to resistance and defense. On tlie 

 other hand, all compact, moist, deep, and 

 rich soils, into which the vine pushes deep, 

 are favorable to resisting the phylloxera. 



Has the age of a vine any influence upon its re- 

 sisting powers'? The younger the vine, the 

 less it resists; the older a vine is, and the 

 better provided with roots, the longer does it 

 resist. 



Is it prudent, in proportion as vines arc in- 

 fected with the phylloxera, to replant in other 

 soil the same stocks as those that have succumbed? 

 Never up to the present time in a region 

 infected witli phylloxera, has a plant- 

 ing of French stocks succeeded; by tlie third 

 or fourth year they are overrun, and theii' 

 destruction is very rapid. 



How long after the vines are pmlled up do the 

 phylloxera remain in the soil ? They maintain 

 themselves three or four years, inasmuch as, 

 when the vines are pulled up, there still 

 remain in the earth a certain number of roots. 

 It is consequently prudent to wait for that 

 length of time before replanting. 



By leaving a wide space between the rows of 

 vines, may not their preservation be hoped for f 

 In setting out the rows from three to six 

 meters apart, the stocks spread out their 

 roots further, and have at command a mote 

 abundant nourishment ; and it in fact results 

 in such cases that their resistance lasts longer, 

 but they none the less succumb in the end to 

 the phylloxera's attacks. 



Is it not possible to oppose the phylloxera, and 

 resist its advance by means of manures ? When 

 a vine has not been attacked, it is very certain 

 that its ssytem of roots can be augmented by 

 means of manures, and that there results 

 therefrom a great vigor, enabling the vine, 

 when the attack does come, to defend itself for 



a longer time. But when a vine has once 

 been "attacked, and when the extremities of 

 its roots, which are necessary to absorption, 

 are partly destroyed, manures In such case 

 will bring about no good results, unless ac- 

 companied by insecticides. 



By what symptoms may persons unaccustomed 

 to the phylloxera detect its presence upon a vine ? 

 In a region where the phylloxera's presence 

 has been announced, it may be detected as 

 soon as there are found to be some groups of 

 stocks the shoots of which are shorter than 

 tliose of others about them. By digging 

 about the roots, if they are the least bit eaten 

 away, there will be seen, in the latter part of 

 April some little yellowish spots, united by 

 plagues, and easily visible without the mag- 

 nifying glass, when one holds the roots up and 

 looks at them with his back to the sun. By 

 the aid of the magnifying glass the insects 

 themselves can be readily distinguished, and, 

 even if one does not find any, let the extrem- 

 ities of the roots but show signs of destruc- 

 tion, or little club-like swellings, and one 

 may be sure the phylloxera is there, or has 

 been. In winter, the insects are of a dark 

 brown, and it requires great difficulty to 

 detect them, but the ravages made at the 

 roots attest their presence or their passage. 



How much time elapses hettveen the appear- 

 ance of external symptons of the phylloxera 

 and its actual invasion ? From one to two 

 years may be counted on ; less time in weak, 

 surface soils than in compact, deep ones, 

 where the external symptoms take longer to 

 declare themselves. 



Are not ivaslwig and stripping of the vines 

 good methods of opposing the phylloxera? 

 Washing with coal-tar, or thick oil, mixed 

 with soap, and diluted with water, has been 

 resorted to to destroy the phylloxera and 

 what is called its winter-egg. But the pene- 

 tration of the fiber of the stock by the impure 

 pheuic acid contained in the oil has often 

 caused the death of the stock, a fact which 

 has necessitated the abandonment of tliis 

 method. The stripping of the stumps and 

 branches with a knife rasp, by freeing the 

 stock of its old bark, upon which are the 

 phylloxera and its eggs (as well as numerous 

 other insects, and especially the pyrale), gives 

 the vine powerful aid in point of healthful- 

 ness. At high points, and those where vines 

 do not usually suffer from frost, the stripping 

 is practicable in November, as the vines are 

 pruned. In localities suliject to frost vines 

 maybe stripped, beginning from January 15. 

 This work costs about 45 "francs per hectare, 

 and only has to be repeated every three years. 



Tlie phylloxera's presence being once estab- 

 lished is there any practicable and effectual 

 means for opposing it? Yes: M.Dumas, the 

 learned Permanent Secretary of the Academy 

 of Sciences, having determined that the 

 quantity of air contained in 1,000 liters (one 

 cubic meter) of earth is about 333 liters, has 

 demonstrated by frequent experiments that 

 five or six grammes of sulphuret of carbon 

 introduced into this cubic meter of earth 

 amply suffices by evaporization to poison the 

 333 liters of air so as to kill all the pliylloxera 

 inhaling it. Sulpliuret of carlion is very 

 powerful, and it can hardly be hoped any 

 better agent will be found. 



Is not some danger incurred in the use of this- 

 substance f It is, like alcohol, very inflamma- 

 ble, and great care should be taken not to 

 bring a lighted match or anything bm-ning, 

 near it ; above all when it is shut up in a room, 

 the latter should be aired before a light is 

 brought in. Tlie best way to keep it is under 

 a shed in the open air and sheltered from the 

 sun. 



Has not an attempt been made to render sul- 

 pihuret of carbon easier to handle and less volatile 

 by mixing it with other substances ? By making 

 a heated solution of five parts black soap and 

 ninety-five parts water, and then, after let- 

 ting it cool, and at the moment when it is 

 to be used, mixing equal parts of this soap- 

 water and sulphuret of carbon in a can while 

 stirring, a non-inflammable and much less 

 volatile mixture is obtained. In tlie warm 



ison, this is a good step to take, but in the 

 cold weathe; it may be dispensed with. 



How many holes per hectare must be made in 

 order to thoroughly poison the soil, and what 

 does it cost? Tlie hectare' containing 10,000 

 meters, about 20,000 holes should be made. 

 As a workman can make from 1,200 to 1,600 

 per diem, the hand-labor costs 36 fr. ; ten 

 grammes of sulphuret of carbon to each hole, 

 200 kilos, at 60 francs, 120 fr. ; total 156 fr. 

 In the warm season, it is prudent to lessen 

 the quantity of sulphuret of carbon by one- 

 third, but not the number of holes. 



Are all the phylloxera killed by this plan ? 

 No, but when the application is well and 

 timely made, a sufficient number of the 

 insects are destroyed to enable the vine to 

 sustain itself, and give a good yield. 



Is it necessary to apply the treatment to an 

 entire hectare when only a portion of it is 

 infected ? From the moment when a spot is 

 discovered, dig around the roots that are 

 infected, inclose them with stakes, and in- 

 cluded in the treatment a certain number of 

 healthy stocks ; for instance, if 25 or 30 

 stocks are attacked, 100 or 150 about them 

 should be treated. The expense for an entire 

 hectare, considering the yield of the vines, 

 and the prices of vines, would evidently be 

 too great, but it should be remarked that the 

 owner of a single hectare would at first only 

 have to treat a twentieth or a tenth of his 

 vines, and that if he can stop the phylloxera's 

 propagation, and keep his vines some years 

 longer, he will be doing well. 



Boes a single application of this remedy 

 suffice? If the vine is but little infected, a 

 single treatment may possibly suffice ; but in 

 cases where the wood of the vine is reduced 

 to 50 or 60 centimeters in length, it is neces- 

 sary to apply the treatment twice, once in the 

 course of the winter after the vintage, and 

 once in the spring. 



Are there soils in which sidphuret of carbon 

 is more or less active, and are there instances in 

 which resistance is apt to prove so difficult that it 

 would be more prudent not to attempt it ? Ex- 

 perience indicates that in light calcareous 

 soils, possessing a vegetal earth of 15 or 20 

 centimeters, with a rocky subsoil, sulphuret 

 of carbon diffuses itself poorly and evaporates 

 in part only, with so much pure loss, and 

 aflbrding no advantage. But in clayey, 

 moist, and deep soils it diffuses itself quite 

 regularly and effects good results, which is all 

 the better, since it is upon such soils that are 

 usually found the heavy-yielding vines, which 

 will bear an outlay that the others would not. 



Has temperature any influence upon the action 

 of this remedy ? Sulphuret acts with all the 

 more certainty in proportion as the tempera- 

 ture is low and the soil moist. 



What happens ivhen insectides are injected 

 upon a pAant in full vegetation ? Usually there 

 is a stoppage of vegetation for several days, 

 and this is the more perceptible in proportion 

 as the vine is severely attacked ; beyond tliis, 

 the good results of the application scarcely 

 make themselves apparent before the follow- 

 ing year, as the stocks have to renew their 

 roots which have been destroyed. 



Hotv far apart shoidd the holes be ? Whether 

 the vines be planted close together, or sepa- 

 rated by passage ways of two or three meters, 

 all the land attacked a,nd a little more should 

 be treated, and holes made for 65 or 70 centi- 

 meters in all directions, which would make 

 about 20,000 to the hectare. 



How deep shoidd these holes be ? From 25 to 

 40 centimeters. 



How far does the vapor of the sulphuret de- 

 posited in the soil extend? Practical results 

 indicate that the vapor does not remain con- 

 fined about the holes ; the scientific experi- 

 ments of the Paris, Lyons and Mediterranean 

 Railway Co., directed by Mr. Maurion, have 

 demonstrated that under the most favorable 

 condition it spreads nearly two meters in a 

 horizontal direction, and downward to a 

 depth at which it reaches nearly all the phyl- 

 loxera. 



Has not srdpho-carbonate of potash also been 

 used against the phylloxera f And what is the 



