162 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[November, 



The above named author etuiraerated 537 

 species of insects injurious to the oal<, and 

 107 obnoxious to tlie elm. (Some of these 

 species, however, may number millions of in- 

 dividuals.) The poplars afford a livelihood 

 to 264 kinds of insects; the willows yield food 

 to 390 species ; the birches harbor 270 species ; 

 the alder, 119; the beech, 154 ; the hazelnut, 

 97; and the thorubcam, or "iron-wood," 88. 

 The junipers supply 33 species, while upon 

 the pines, larch, spruce, and lirs, collectively, 

 prey 299 species of insects. In France, Ferris 

 has observed over one hundred species, either 

 injurious to, or living upon, without being es- 

 pecially injurious to, the maritime pine ; these 

 he describes in an octavo volume of 532 pages 

 with numeious plates." On this same sub- 

 ject, Ratzeburg, of Germany, published three 

 beautifully -illustrated quarto volumes, of 

 about 500 pages each, over thirty years ago, 

 and it is a standing regret to us that we 

 did not secure the work when we could have 

 done so on the most liberal conditions. 



Dr. A. S. Packard, Jr., of the Entomo- 

 logical Commission, has written a work, 

 noticed in our Literary and Personal columns, 

 in which ho brings together a large number of 

 American species destructive to forest and 

 shade trees, and, although little more than 

 the technical names of many of them are 

 given, and extended descriptions to only a 

 few, still the work is a needful one, and 

 comes before the public as the ^probable fore- 

 runner of a more ample work on the subject 

 on some future occasion, when the subject of 

 forestry, and the preservation of trees of all 

 kinds shall have taken a deeper hold upon the 

 minds and the hearts of those who are mate- 

 rially interested therein. Indeed, it is a sub- 

 ject in which all are more or less interested, 

 whether they possess large landed estates, or 

 an acre, or nothing. 



Of course Dr. Packard does not profess to 

 have enumerated all the destructive species of 

 insects that infest fruit, shade and forest 

 trees, but even the few he does describe is sug- 

 gestive of what remains to be described. The 

 Oak is infested by 214 species, only 59 of 

 which have appended descriptions. Although 

 all these insect species live upon the sub- 

 stances of the various oaks, yet, it is not man- 

 ifest that the larger number are injurious — 

 indeed, it is possible that some of them may 

 in some way be even beneficial. Still, there 

 are so many of such a decidedly injurious 

 character, that it would not be wise to permit 

 any of them to increase, if it can possibly be 

 prevented ; insect injury is a matter that 

 depends much on numbers. A little blood 

 taken from an animal being may do no harm, 

 or even be beneficial, but the result would be 

 qvite different if all the blood were tapped. 

 The Elm supports 43 species of insect feeders, 

 21 of which have accompanying descriptions. 

 Oa the hickory, in various ways, 87 species 

 "make their living." The Black Walnut 

 supports 11 species, and the butternut, 18; 

 but singular enough, Ceratocampa regalis, 

 and Dafana niinistra, so destructive to the 

 foliage of these trees in Lancaster county, are 

 not mentioned at all ; and Samia cecropiais 

 most frequently found on the apple, in this 

 county. The (Jheatnut supports 18 species, and 

 the Lociist 20 species. The Maple, 37 species; 

 the Cottonivoud 16, and this is the more to be 



regretted because this tree has been largely 

 relied on to furnish a forestry for the Western 

 prairies. The I'ojjlar is infested by 30 spe- 

 cies, and the Linden, 23; the Birch, 19 ; 

 the Beech, 15, and the Ttdq) tree, 7. The 

 Wild Cherry, 22 ; the Choke-clierrij, 4 ; the 

 BtcZ Wild Plum, ; the June Berry, 4 ; tlie 

 Mountain Aih, 19 ; the Sweet Gum, 5 ; the 

 Persimmnn, 3 ; Gum, 1 ; the Laurel, 19 ; 

 Sa.-isafras, 6 ; Syca^nore, 9 ; Hazel, 8 ; Horn- 

 beam, 12 ; Water Beach, 2, and the Alder, 

 19. The willow has 99 species to feed ; the 

 the Pine, 102 ; the Sjmice, 24, and the Fir, 

 19. The Hemlock, 10 ; the Juniper, 12 ; 

 Larch, fe ; the Cedar, 3 ; the Sequoia yiyan- 

 tea — the great California mammoth, 3, and 

 the Cypress, 1. 



Of course, it is not to be understood that all 

 these insects confine themselves to the particu- 

 la.i kind of tree mentioned in connection with 

 them, for many of them are either indiscrimi- 

 nate, or readily adapt themselves to ditt'erent 

 kinds. Notwithstanding this, there are one 

 thousand species of insects enumerated that 

 are injurious, or may become injurious to for- 

 est and shade trees in the United States, and 

 known to be such at the present day; and 

 this does not include, the many that infest 

 fruit and other species of vegetation. This 

 little work makes no attempt to deal in insect 

 remedies ; that is not its object ; it is merely 

 a synoptic compilation of the knowledge ac- 

 cessible 10 the author in a special department 

 of practical entomology, and partially illus- 

 trates the immensity of the labor yet to be 

 performed in this rapidly developing field. 

 We have hardly more than entered the vesti- 

 bule of practical entomology, and yet it is 

 possible the government may eventually 

 relax its aid, simply because it may be unable 

 to appreciate the progress that has been 

 made, and what yet remains to be accom- 

 plished. 



A PLEA FOR TREES. 



The High Commissioner of Cyprus attri- 

 butes its chief curses, droughts and locusts, to 

 the reckless destruction of the forests. As 

 the woods disappeared, so did the soil that 

 covered the hills ; that soil was washed down 

 to the plains, choked the rivers, and formed 

 marvelous swamps, the hills became bare 

 rocks, incapable of growing a blade of vege- 

 tation, and the locust at once took possession 

 of the barren ground, while the absence of 

 trees deprived the earth of its annually fertili- 

 zing agent — leaf mould. The same process is 

 going on upon the higher hills, and Sir R. 

 Biddulph believes it is no exaggeration to say 

 that Cyprus is in a critical state on this ac- 

 count, from which, however, there is reason 

 to hope that it may yet be recovered. There 

 are districts of this country, too, where these 

 remarks may be pondered over with advan- 

 tage. 



How often do we meet with paragraphs 

 like the foregoing on this subjeet, which 

 threatens to become threadbare or monoto- 

 nous in the multiplicity of its repetition. It 

 seems to be a sort of cause with which we 

 find it convenient to explain a multitude of 

 effects. That the presence or absence of trees 

 exercises a more than ordinary influence 

 over rainfalls, general moisture and produc- 

 tiveness of the soil, has many advocates, and 

 some of them of large experience and observ- 

 ing ability. Indeed, the arguments adduced 

 are so many, and the authority apparently so 

 unexceptionable, that the wonder has been 



that any one whose opinion is entitled to 

 respect, should gainsay thorn. The theory 

 itself constitutes a convenient little species of 

 " thunder," wielded by agricultural writers 

 and speakers, from the township club up to 

 the halls of Congress, or vice versa, if that 

 form of expression would be putting the mat- 

 ter more correctly. In our lifetime of seventy 

 years we have been cognizant of several local 

 changes on the earth's surface, which, if not 

 caused by the removal of the trees that once 

 occupied places made bare and arid appar- 

 ently by their removal, then the phenomena 

 seem absolutely inexplicable ; and yet Prof. 

 Isaac Bassett Choat, of Cambridge, Mass., in 

 a communication to the editor of the New 

 York Tribune, under date of September 30, 

 1882, goes very far towards exploding the 

 theory, the arguments it relies on, and the 

 presumed results. As the subjects of forests, 

 rain-falls, droughts and floods seem now to be 

 eliciting more thanordiirary attention, it may 

 subserve a useful end to to place both sides of 

 the question before the thoughtful reader, 

 and, if be can, enable him to make up his 

 mind thereon ; hence, in another column we 

 insert Prof. Choat's paper, for the edification 

 of our interested readers. It is not to be 

 inferred, however, that it expresses our senti- 

 ments, or that we unqualifiedly endorse it 

 simply because we re-publish it. "It mought 

 be so, but then again it moughtn't." It is 

 just as likely that the con side of the question 

 may be influenced by appearances as much as 

 the pro side is. It would require twenty 

 years of thorough observation and experience, 

 perhai»s, to afiirm or overthrow the theory 

 effectually, and our time seems a little too 

 short to begin such a labor now. We will 

 have to view it from other stand-points for 

 the present. 



THE FARMER'S CREED. 



" Let this be lield the farmer's creed : 

 For stock, seek out the choicest breed ; 

 In peace and plenty let them feed ; 

 Your land sow with the best of seed ; 

 Let it not dung nor dressing need ; 

 Inclose, plough, reap with care and speed ; 

 And jou-will soon be rich indeed." 



THE FAKMER S FIEND. 



A tender young potato bug 



Sat swinging on a vine, 

 And sighed unto a maiden fcug : 



" I pray you will be mine." 

 Then softly spake the maiden bug ; 



"I love you fond and true, 

 But oh my cruel-hearted pa 



Won't let me marry you I " 

 With scorn upon his buggy brow, 



With glances cold and keen, 

 That haughty lover answered her : 



"I think yoar par is-green !" 



THE FAKMEB'S warning. 



" At ten a child, at twenty wild, 

 At thirty strong, if ever ; 



At forty rich, at fifty wies, 

 At sixty good, or never." 



THE farmer's friend. 



" How much to be prized 

 And esteemed Is a friend, 



On whom we can always 

 With safety depend. 



