THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



149 



QUESTION" DRAWER. 



1. What can I do for bark-lice on my 

 trees ; can you give me some remedy ] 

 I have tried whitewash, but I don't 

 think it has any effect. 



2. How can I protect my gooseberry 

 and currant-bushes from being destroyed 

 with snow, for they are badl}? broken 

 down this spring '? 



3. Is salt good to put around tlie 

 trees ; if so how much to a tree, that is 

 around the trees] 



4. What can we do in the case of 

 humbug tree agents travelling about 

 the country imposing on people, selling 

 trees at an enormous cost for their extra 

 qualities, yet I will venture to say that 

 tliere is not one in ten that has been 

 planted in this neighboui'hood that has 

 lived, which I know had the very best 

 of care 'I 



Yours very truly. 



A. C. McDonald. 

 Dunlop P. O., Huron Co , Ont. 



Reply. — 1. Dissolve one pound of 

 potash in two gallons of water. Apply 

 with a brush or swab to the bark of 

 the trunk and lai-ger branches. This 

 is sure death to the bark-louse and all 

 insects and their eggs which are found 

 in the crevices and under the scales of 

 the bark. 



2. Will some of our readers who 

 have had experience in this matter 

 please to reply to this question. We 

 are so seldom troubled in this way in 

 the County of lAucoln that we are un- 

 able to speak contidently of any method. 

 It occurs to us that if the lirst snows 

 were firmly trampled about the plants 

 until a hard bed was made about them 

 as high as the branches, the molting 

 would be so gradual that the branches 



would not be torn off by the settling of 

 the snow. 



3. Salt is thought to be of benefit to 

 plum and quince trees, but not to any 

 other fruit trees. The quantity must 

 be graduated to the size of the tree, from 

 a quart co a peck scattered on the sur- 

 face. 



4. Not all tree agents are humbugs. 

 The fact that the trees did not live is 

 no evidence that the man who sold them 

 was to blame. Many, if not all, of our 

 most reliable Canadian nurseries have 

 agents who take orders travelling 

 through the country. These men can 

 always show you letters of recent date 

 from their employers, and if you find 

 anything unsatisfactory write to the 

 proprietor of the nursery the agent 

 claims to represent, and you will find 

 that every reasonable complaint will 

 receive prompt attention. 



GOLDSMITH BEETLE. 



I send to you at same time as this 

 note two beetles I dug up last week. 

 Will you please name them. Say 

 whether injurious or not, and if scarce, 

 in Horticidturint next month, if you 

 think it is worth the space to do so. 

 Yours respectfully, 



Frank Jones. 

 Hamilton, April 27tli, 1SS5. 



Reply by Wm. Saunders. — The 

 beetles referred to by our correspondent 

 are specimens of the goldsmith beetle 

 {Cotalpa lanigera), a ver}^ handsome in- 

 sect, nearly an inch long, with the wing- 

 cases of a rich yellow color, while the 

 thorax and head gleam witli burnished 

 gold of a brilliant reddisli hue. They 



