88 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



Cicada, except that it is so small that nine of them placed end to end would 

 only measure an inch. The general color is crimson, with broad black bands 

 across the abdomen. The insect hibernates in the adult stage and deposits its 

 eggs in early spring in the creases of the bark and old leaf scars. About the 

 1 8th of May the most of these insects are hatched out. and the minute nymphs 

 soon find a suitable hiding place where they set to work sucking the sap with 

 their short beaks. 



We fruit growers in Ontario must be wide awake this coming spring, for 

 should this insect suddenly swarm in our orchards, it will utterly destroy our 

 prospects of a crop. Fortunately, it has been discovered that the nymphs are 

 exceedingly sensitive to the effects of kerosene emulsion. The formula experi- 

 mented with was one-half pound of hard, or one pint of soft, soap, one gallon of 

 water and two gallons of kerosene. This was diluted with twenty-five gallons of 

 water, and it was found that every nymph was killed soon after its contact with 

 this emulsion. A safe plan will be to spray our trees in the early spring, just 

 after the leaves have expanded, with this preparation ; probably the two weeks 

 succeeding the 15th of May will be the most suitable time. If done faithfully 

 no further danger from the insect need be feared for the season. Our report for 

 1892 contains a carefully prepared article by Dr. D. W. Beadle, descriptive of 

 this insect. 



TREATMENT OF WINTER PEARS. 



Mr. W. C. Strong, of Massachusetts, makes the following remarks on this 

 head in the American Garden : 



" Our treatment of the fruit is simple. The picking is done on a clear, dry 

 day, into bushel boxes, as late in the fall as the weather will admit. The fruit is 

 then stored in a cold, rather moist, cellar. If the temperature can be kept near 

 the freezing point, even the Lawrence may be kept along through January and 

 the Tosephine into May. As the fruit is wanted, either for the table or for 

 market, it should be placed in drawers in a warm room for about tea days 

 before it is used. This will hasten the ripening process, and secure the right 

 flavor in the fruit. 



Winter pears will never be abundant, nor will they be wanted in large 

 quantities, as in summer or autumn. They are a luxury, wanted mainly as a 

 dessert fruit. If the culture and the care are given which will insure highest 

 quality, there is every reason to believe that the demand will fully equal the 

 supply, and at remunerative prices. The very fact that special care is required 

 to prevent the fruit from shriveling and bring it to perfection will so limit the 

 quantity in the market that larger profits will often be realized than with earlier 

 varieties. 



