1880 



THE LANCASTER FARMER 



181 



back as the two remedies liefore mentioned. 

 Sprayin gthe leaves with liquid poison from be- 

 low as well as from above, in order to destroy 

 the youni; worms just hatched, would b(^ use- 

 ful as far as it goes, hut a close examination 

 of the plants and the removal of the eggs be- 

 fore they are hatched, would obviate the ne- 

 cessity of poisons. These worms arc often 

 perpetuated through negligence. 



I am informed from a reliable source tliat 

 some tobacco growers, when they cut <ilT and 

 hou.se their crops,mercly shake off what worms 

 may be on the planls, without killing them, 

 anil 1 feel jiersuaded that many of those car- 

 ried over ironi one season to another arc 

 among those tlius ''severely left alone" every 

 autumn. This is short-sighted if not selfish. 

 It is practically saying — "I have secured my 

 crop, aud I dont care now what becomes of 

 the'worms. But it is "sowing the wind," only 

 to "reap the whirlwind" at a later day. It is 

 perpetuating an evil that then and tliere 

 might be much abated by prudently killing 

 all the later worms. 



Queries and Answers. 



THE CATALPA. 



I notice that the timber question is .aeitated more 

 or lesf^ over tlie Eastern and central States of tlie 

 Union, and tliat in Illinois the planting and cultiva- 

 tion of tlie Catiilpa is reconmiended as one of the 

 most valuable trees for vigorous and rapid growing. 

 Its timber is said to make excellent and durable 

 railroad ties, fence posts, itc. Will some one please 

 give a description of its growth, aud the quality of 

 its wood, and especially for building and cabinet 

 puri)06es ? I have long had a tree growing on my 

 premises known as the *'Bean Tree," by must people. 

 Others call it the Calulpu. It is an ornamental tree, 

 late in its spring foliage, has large leaves, large 

 clusters of beautiful flowers, and blooms in .July. — 

 L. S. li., Oregon, Pa., Dec. 1.5, 1880. 



The first Catalpatree we had any knowledge 

 of stood in front of ilartin Kendig's drug 

 store, in the borougli of Mar"etta, in w'hat 

 wa.s known as the Main or Market street ; and 

 it was also called, liy the boys at least, the 

 "Bean Tree," and by some of them the ciyar 

 tree. Who jiUtnted it there, we know not — 

 probably ^Ir. Kendig himself, more than sixty 

 years ago — but we believe no one suspected it 

 had any special merit as a timber tree. The 

 wood seemed soft and brittle, but it siill may 

 have been diiraljle. Xeither the trunk nor its 

 branches were very remarkable for their 

 symmetry, but when it was in its summer 

 foliage and bloom, it was "a thiiigof beauty." 

 It was still in its jirime when we removed 

 from the borough, two and thirty years ago. 

 This tree belongs to the Bioxoni.^ce.e, or 

 Bignonia family, (Trumpet fiovvers). There 

 is but one species (Cuidlpa hiijn/mioidrx) but 

 there are said to l)e vnrieties of it. The 

 generic term is the aboriginal name, and is 

 literally interpreted "Indian Bean." We 

 have often noticed it growing wild along the 

 Schuylkill, near West Philadelphia. If it 

 turns out to be a valuable timljer tree, an in- 

 terest will attach to it that had no existence 

 before. The "cotton wood" (Piipuhn^ moni- 

 lifcrei) lielonging to Salicace^, or Willow 

 family, is being i)lanted in the far west, as a 

 rapid growing timber tree. 



CAT LICE. 



HiNKi.ETOWN, Pa., Nov. 27, 1S80! 



Dr. S. S. Ratiivox — Hear .Sic; Enclosed find 

 microscopical drawing of a louse found on a cat. As 

 I have no knowledge of entomological terms I cannot 

 describe it. If you are able to recognize the species 

 from the rude drawing, would you please answer, 

 giving scientitic name, order, etc., and telling how 

 they can be destroyed, as cats which are infested 

 with them do not long survive. I immersed the 

 louse in coal oil, and afterwards in lard, and it still 

 survived. 



As the specimens are so small I do not know how 

 to send you one safely. I trust you will be able to 

 recognize it from the drawing. 



Hoping I may not be intruding, I remain — Yours 

 rexpeclfiiUy , L. J. Miller. 



I regret that I am unable to give you any 

 really specific information on the subject of 

 iice., never having made them a special study. 



When I attended school, about sixty years 

 ago, I had some practic.d knowledgti of Petli- 

 cuhoi cMpitis, and had also seen specimens of 

 P. Vestivitnti, but I knew then nothing about 

 them scientifically. 



It is now generally conceded that lice V)e- 

 long — or ought to belong — to the hetorop- 

 terous IlKMii'TEitA (Bugs), and the family 

 PediculidvE. Peiliajis, in all animals in- 

 fested with lice the species differ, so that their 

 name must be "legion." 



Vour figure agrees very nearly with Dr. 

 Pacard's figure of the "Cat-louse." Your 

 magnifying power being greater than his has 

 brought out more prominently the minor 

 parts, but tlierr is the itentangidar head, the 

 Irilolied antenna^ the cone-shajied abdomen, 

 witli its nine segment il divisions, the three 

 thoracic segments, and the crab-like feet. The 

 bristles, the claws and the lateral spines of 

 the penultimate segment are either .sexual or 

 due to a higher magnifyingpower. Dr. Pacard 

 refers the Cat-louse, and the (Joat-louse to the 

 genus TriclinrJes, without any specific refer- 

 ence, as the species was probably not yet de- 

 termined when he wrote "Our Common In- 

 sects. " Many in.sects in our country, and 

 especially animal parasites, have been intro- 

 duced from foreign countries, and hence 

 American subji-cts must be comjjared with 

 foreign, before the species can be determined. 

 Some foreign naturalists, however, contend 

 that the "bed-l)ug" was introdticed into 

 Europe from America, and i)eiliaps base their 

 opinions on the alleged fact th>it Cimex lectu- 

 leirius is found in the Western States, under 

 the bark of forest trees. 



Denny, in his work on the Lice of Great 

 Britain, says, on the authority of Herodotus 

 and Antiochus Epiphanes, that the Dictator 

 Sylla, the two Ilerods, the Emperor Jlaxi- 

 mian, and Philii) II. died by a disease called 

 by physicians jv/((/(iria.sis, caused by lice. So it 

 is likely that cats may die a similar death, 

 when infested by lice. Chickens and especi- 

 ally sitting hens have been known to die from 

 the same cause. In the case of chickens. Hour 

 of sulphur has been used as a repellent or ex- 

 pellent of lice, and probalily it would have the 

 same eilect upon cats. But if your subjects 

 were invulnerable to coal oil and lard, per- 

 haps nothing short of igniting the fiuids would 

 expel them, but this might be uniileasant to 

 the cat. Sometimes substances comi)aratively 

 harmless to one animal, or class of animals, is 

 a certain remedy for the expulsion or destruc- 

 tion of others. It is now claimed that Pi/re- 

 thrum, achninistered as a i)owder or liquid in- 

 fusion, is a better insecticide than either 

 London purple or Paris green. 



I may say in conclusion, that although cat 

 lice aud goat lice may differ generically from 

 human lice, I am doubtful whether they 

 should be referred to a srenus named Trichode.'i, 

 as that name is preoccupied in the order 

 CoLEOPTEiiA. Tliey seem to be nearer to 

 Geyinocortfs Bunrettii, the louse of the common 

 barn-yard fowl. In fact, the lice of North 

 America are not yet scientifically "worked 

 up," owing perhaps to absence of sullicient 

 material. Naturalists were for a long time 

 uncertair wOiere to place them in systematic 

 classification, and they are not in accord even 

 now, but it seems to be agreed by many that 

 they constitute a degraded family of Hemip- 

 tera, and that they penetrate the skin and 

 suck blood, instead of "biting." as it is usu- 

 ally termed. We don't wonder that they 

 haven't been m u'c thoroughly studied, lor it 

 excites an itching in us, all over, only in 

 writing about them. 



Contributions. 



For The Lancaster Farmer. 

 TO TEST EGGS. 



West Ciiesteh, Nov. 26, 1880. 

 Prof. S. S. RATnvoN.— iStr; I see in The 

 F.VRMER, the way to test egg.s — whether they 

 are good or bad — is to put tliem into water, 

 and if the bigend turns up they are bad. I will 

 here say that all are bad that float in water, 



unless it is made sufficiently strong with salt 

 for pickling beef or pork; this being the mode 

 for testing brine for that purpose, and even 

 then no part of the egg will be above the 

 brine, except the airbuble, and this will show 

 the exact position of said bubble, and also 

 how large it is. It is at the appendis, or 

 point of llie big end of the egg, or a little fur- 

 ther down, and the farther down from the 

 top it is, the better will those eggs lie to sit 

 for good laying lu^ns. The nearer the bubble 

 is to the point the better will such eggs be 

 for vigorous cocks. The yolk is hmig in the 

 middle by two spiral cords, twisted in con- 

 trary direction. By this means the heavy 

 side is always downward, the air bubble being 

 on the biggest side. This is the i)roper way 

 (o test eggs for setting or to pack away for 

 long keeiiing; and, with the heavy side down, 

 as then there will be no strain on the vital 

 parts. I have kept eggs by this i)lan a 

 for a month, iind afterwards hatched 11 out 

 of 13. They had been kept in pickle for 20 

 minutes lx,'fore laying them away, as an ex- 

 periment. Ati egg is hard to spoil from 

 iiathcing, if you do not .shake it endwise, so 

 as to stretch the Sjiiral cords. 



I will here add a receipe for keepin<» eggs. 

 Lay the heavy sides downward (as 1 have 

 above stated) in an earthen vessel — one that 

 is porus or drips water— dissolve two quarts 

 of .salt in sufficient water to slake one peck of 

 lime to a thick whitewash; when cool, pour 

 it on the eggs; .set them in a cool place. The 

 water will drain out, leaving them air tight. 

 They will be fresh twelve months afterwards. 

 Yours truly, 



Wm. J. Py;,e. 



For The Lanoaster Farmer. 

 TOBACCO STEMR vs. FRUIT TREES. 



Editor of The Lancaster Farsier : 

 Many years ago I frequently jiassed by an 

 orchard which I then thought did not look 

 as fioiu'ishing as it ought, as the ground was 

 rich, but a still" sod of grass on the surface. 

 The trees appeared to lack .some nutriment 

 that healthy trees required. Now a few 

 years since I noticed that tobacco stems had 

 been placed around the stems of the trees, 

 probal)ly a wheelbarrow load to each tree. 

 This last summer I particularly noticed these 

 trees, and they had quite a different appear- 

 ance, though the ground was still covered 

 with a stilT sod. The foliage was much 

 darker green, and the ajipearance of the trees 

 more healthy and thrifty. 



Now was this change owing to any manur- 

 ial (piality in the tobacco stems, or was it 

 owing to the mulch, thus keeping the soil 

 around the trees cool atid moi.st or loose ? 

 This appeared to be on the prin<;iple of a no 

 cultivation as advocated by the editor of the 

 Gardtners'' M'mlhhj. Simjily as a mulch, I 

 believe it will greatly benefit the trees, but 

 will these stems thus applied not ahso have a 

 strong tendency to keep the borers away, 

 and it may also be a preventive of the cod- 

 ling moth V 



Nearly all farmers in Lancaster county 

 grow tobacco, and generally spread the stems 

 over the fields, where they soon rot and mix 

 with the soil, poasibly of not much value as a 

 manure, would it not be a better plan to pile 

 these stems around fruit trees, as the gentle- 

 man above noticed had done ? Even as a 

 mulch it would improve the trees, but, as I 

 believe, it would also keep the borers from the 

 roots, and probably the codling moth also. 

 Peach trees especially are very much injured, 

 and frequently killed by borers if neglected, 

 and the borers left to do their work of de- 

 struction. 



It must, however, be remarked that field 

 mice are very apt to take shelter under these 

 piles of tobacco stems, and make sad work on 

 the bark of the trees during the winter if 

 there are any of these pests about, but if the 

 orchard is kept clean of weeds, as it should 

 be, there will not be much danger of field 

 mice. — Ecspeclfidli/, J. B. Qarber, Columbia, 

 Lancaster Co., Pa. 



