98 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[July, 



air, wliich have been made daily diiriug the 

 last four years at Montsouris, seems to show 

 that the best crops have beeu produced in 

 those years when the amount of carbonic au- 

 liydride has been below the average. The 

 carbonic anhydride varies inversely with clear- 

 ness of the sky, and is inftuenced by the oscil- 

 lations of the great equatorial atmospheric 

 currents." Ihkl. • 



As an anhydrous element contains no 

 water, of course the less of it in the atmos- 

 phere the better it will be for those crops at 

 least, wliich reqtiire the most moisture. Inas- 

 much as carbon is so essential to the growth 

 of vegetation, it is a satisfaction to know 

 that the variation is inverse and not adverse, 

 when the sky is clear; or perhaps we might 

 be unduly longing after clouded skies as the 

 greatest stimulant to growth. It is well there 

 is a great equatorial current of atmosphere, 

 which by its oscillations can influence the 

 qriantum of carbonic anhydride in the air; be- 

 cause, it is one of those plienomena in nature, 



that is entirely beyond liuman control. 



^ 



NEW FRUIT. 



We have received (just when we cannot tell, 

 for we were not aware of its presence until 

 this "glorious 4th," (5) when in rummaging a 

 pile of papers, it turned up) an envelope con- 

 taining two cards of beautifully illustrated 

 fruit, and we feel some self reproach that 

 they have not been formally recognized 

 months ago; for, in the very nature of the 

 case it must have been months ago that they 

 were sent to us. If we were entirely oblivous 

 oi the when we cannot be mistaken in the tvho, 

 for they bear the superscription of B. G. 

 CH.4SE & Co, Geneva, N. Y. One is the 

 "Queen of the Market Raspberry'^ — "Plant, a 

 vigorous grower, attaining a height of five or 

 six feet, very productive and perfectly hardy. 

 Berry largest size, red in color, best quality 

 and carries well, keeping in salable condi- 

 tion several days." 



The other is '■'■Kieffer^s Hybrid Pear," be- 

 lieved to be absolutely exempt from blight." 

 "This remarkable pear was raised from the 

 seed of a blight-proof Chinese sand pear, 

 supposed to be crossed with Bartlett. 



The original tree, now twelve years from 

 seed, has not failed to give a good crop each 

 year for some years, yielding over seven bush- 

 els of fine fruit in 1879. It still stands near 

 Philadelphia, "a model for form, beauty, and 

 productiveness.'''' Trees two and three years 

 old from bud have borne specimens weighing 

 from ten to eighteen ounces. The flesh is 

 white, rich, aromatic and juicy. In season 

 October and November. 



Thomas Meehan says: "I regard it one of 

 the most remarkable productions of the age." 



Edwin Satterthwait says: "There is not 

 a doubt in my mind but what it is blight 

 proof 



The American Agriculturist says: "We 

 have not in a long time seen a fruit that ap- 

 pears to unite so many elements of popularity 

 as "Kieffer's Hybrid." 



We personally do not know enough about the 

 fruit to endorse it, but we have no hesitancy 

 in endorsing the men who do endorse it, and 

 can a.ssure our readers, not only of the com- 

 petency of their judgment, but also its righ- 

 teousness — but, try it yourselves, at the proper 



time. 



^ 



THE ELM-LEAF BEETLE. 

 We do not like to sound a false or unneces- 

 sary alarm, but we fear that many of the 

 finest elm trees of the city of Lancaster will 

 have ultimately to fall victims to the pesti- 

 ferous attacks of this persevering and incor- 

 rigible pest, for tliey are present again in 

 greatly increased numbers, and some of our 

 citizens despair of saving their trees. We 

 cannot say exactly that this is their own 

 faults, for when a number of very large trees 

 become seriously infested by them from the 

 lowermost to the topmost branches, it would 

 be a herculean labor to apply a remedy for 

 their destruction, no matter how eflective it 

 might be . wh re they are easily accessible. 

 Spraying f he trees with liquid Paris Green, or 



Loudon Purple, would prove an effectual ex- 

 tinguisher, but it would require a reservoir of 

 it and a steam engine to drench a dozen of 

 trees of from forty to flfty feet in height, and 

 really there would seem to be no other way 

 but to cut them down. The "Elm-leaf 

 Beetle" [Guleruca oinnthomailena) first appear- 

 ed on the trees in Lancaster city in the sum- 

 mer of 1876, and ever since then they have 

 been gradually iucreasiug. In 1878 they were 

 very bad, and in 1879 much worse. It is 

 true, no great vigilance was observed, and 

 very little energy manifested in their destruc- 

 tion. For the most part, people looked on 

 them with a vacant gaze, wondering where in 

 the world they came from, where they would 

 go to, and what would be the end of them. 

 When trees stand where there is no grass or 

 rubbish at the base, but a pavement or hard, 

 smooth earth instead, the great bulk of these 

 insects could be easily destroyed when 

 the larvre come down off the trees to 

 pupate, but they do not all come down, 

 for many of them pupate in the crevices 

 of the rough bark on the trunk and 

 larger branches. But with a stiff brush — such 

 as is used in cleaning out gutters— and a wash 

 of stong whale oil soap, or an alkali, these 

 could be crushed, dislodged and destroyed. 

 In our .walks through the city, in 1878, we 

 saw places where two or three quarts of the 

 pupa; of these insects could have been gathered 

 from the base of a single large tree during the 

 season. Some of them, it is presumable, were 

 swept together and destroyed" about once a 

 day, but many vrere only swept into crevices 

 between the bricks of the pavement, or other 

 safe retreats, where they remained safe from 

 subsequent molestation until they had changed 

 to beetles. The pupee are very conspicuous 

 and also very accessible, for they are then 

 quiescent and of lemon yellow color. The 

 beetles are of a clay color, with a dark stripe 

 on each wing-cover, and about half or three- 

 eighths of an inch in length. These have 

 ample wings and do not remain long where 

 they evolve from the pupse, but fly oil and 

 settle upon the foliage of the trees, to go 

 through the process of another brood. Doubt- 

 less many of the second brood perish simply 

 because the trees have been so denuded by 

 the first brood that they do not find sufficient 

 food for their development, but what do ma- 

 ture pass their winter hibernation in any con- 

 venient place they can find. In the city many 

 get into stables, outhouses, or even into 

 mansions. 



These insects are a foreign importation, and 

 first appeared near Baltimore about sixty 

 years ago, and on that occasion all the elm 

 trees in a park had to be cut down before their 

 progress could arrested. This, it appears, was 

 also the case in a certain locality in Massa- 

 chusetts, and it may be the case here, unless 

 a more systematic efiwrt to destroy them is 

 made than has obtained heretofore, or their 

 career is brought to an end through the inter- 

 vention of some meteorological or climatic 

 phenomenon independent of human effort. 



Queries and Answers. 



W^ATER-BEETLE. 



Ale.xandria, Huntingdon Co., Pa., 

 July 6, 1S80. 

 S. S. Rathvon — Dear Sir: I enclose water-beetle 

 found to-day in the Juniata river. It was fastened to 

 tlio body of a dead fish when caught, and afterward 

 when thrown into a bucket containing minnows it 

 attached to a wounded one, and to all appearances 

 made a meal of it. Will you please drop me a line, 

 giving the name and habits of the animal? Tliis is 

 the second one that has been caught here this sum- 

 mer, and no one can tell what it is. — Yours truly, 

 J. M. Porter. 



Your insect came to hand, and is a noted 

 predaceous " water beetle, " [Cybister fimbri- 

 ahdus, known, both in America and Europe, 

 to be destructive to fish in fish-ponds ; but 

 the larva is still more destructive than the 

 perfect insect. If you are a deciple of Isaac 

 Walton, and delight in piscatorial sports, we 

 would advise you to kill these Beetles and 

 their cogeners wherever you may meet them. 



CHRYSOCHWS AURATUS. 



QuAKRYViLLE, July 6, 1880. 

 Dr. S. S. Rathvon — Sir; I send you a very nice 

 bug that was picked up here this morning. If you 

 think it worth taking care of you can do so ; if not, 

 you can make what disposition of it you please. If 

 not too much trouble please answer through the 

 Intelligeucer . — Yours truly, R. C Ediuarda. 



Your "bug" came duly to hand, and is a 

 most brilliant specimen. It is the Chrysochus 

 Auratus, the "Golden Green Lady-bird," 

 and is a no very remote relative of the Colo- 

 rado potato beetle, belonging to the same 

 family (Chrysomelidce,) but has never oc- 

 curred very al)undantly so far North as this, 

 nor has it any preference for the potato. 



Entomological. 



PROTECTION AGAINST MOTHS. 



It is often said, that "every little helps," 

 and if that little is judiciously applied, the 

 help derived from it would doubtless be greater 

 than if applied without "just judgment." 

 The following batch of remedies which we 

 have culled from various sources we present 

 for what they may be worth to our readers, 

 after they have tested them experimentally. 

 Even after we test a remedy we may be mis- 

 taken as to the effect, mainly on account of 

 having mistaken the cause, or conditions con- 

 tingent to it. But, let our excerpts speak 

 for themselves : 



Some of the newspapers at this season of the year 

 are fond of publishing receipes for protecting cloth- 

 ing from moths. The favorite plans always involve 

 the theory that the moth-fly can be kept away by a 

 bad smell, and persons who have tender noses some- 

 times prefer the chances that the moths will do harm 

 to the certainty that their houses will be filled with 

 an unpleasant odor. There is a simple, cheap and 

 easy plan for defeating the moths, that is eflTective 

 and inofTenslve. The moth-fly was never born that 

 could penetrate a common newspaper. A woolen 

 garment wrapped carefully in a newspaper, so that 

 there will be no openings, is as safe from moths. as 

 if it were buried six feet deep in camphor, tar-paper, 

 and petroleum. — Philadelphia Bulletin. 



"All right" no doubt, provided no moth's 

 eggs have been deposited on the garment 

 before it had been inclosed. A better plan is 

 to make paper hags of different sizes. Bags of 

 manilla paper are kept for sale, and don't cost 

 much. 



Professor A.J. Cook, m Michigan Agricultural 

 College, says he has found "London Purple" very 

 effective as a poison for the potato bug. One pound 

 is sufficient for 100 gallons of water. For such in- 

 sects as canker-worns, leaf-rollers, In fact all leaf- 

 eating insects, it is very efficacious. It is more dif- 

 fusive than Paris green, and so needs less stirring to 

 keep it well mixed with water. 



Carbolic Acid soap is recommended as an excellent 

 preventive for flies. If rubbed on the legs and 

 neck of a horse he will not be troubled with flies. 



These remedies may be good so far as they 

 go, but there is one worm not mentioned (the 

 army-worm (which might not fall under it 

 unless the dose was very strong — strong enough 

 perhaps to kill the leaves or plants. Within 

 the month of June we visited a cornfield near 

 Lancaster, on the farm of Mr. S. S. Spencer, 

 infested by these worms. Mr. S. had admin- 

 istered Paris green, strong enough to burn the 

 plants without any apparent good effect. 

 Thinking the green may not have reached the 

 worms, we took some of them and put them 

 into a tin bucket containing a mixture of Paris 

 green and gypsum, strong enough to kill the 

 Colorado potato beetles, but the army-worms 

 did not S(;em to mind it — indeed, at first they 

 burrowed into it. They, however, did not 

 seem to like it much and made an attempt to 

 get out of the vessel containing it. We pushed 

 them back and btu-ried thgm in the powder, 

 but for a full half hour they returned to the 

 sides of the vessel and tried to get out, but 

 the sides being covered with the granular 

 contents of the bucket, they lest their hold 

 and fell back. They can easily ascend the 

 sides of a board or paper box, but they cannot 

 ascend a loose granular surface, and this in- 

 creased our confidence in a furrow trench 

 with a perpendicular side. 



