126 



THE WESTERN POMOLOGIST. 



1871 



on the other side, wetting the trees thoroughly. I 

 found that one application did the work, for every 

 worm was on the sick list within two hours. 

 Within two days I found it difficult to find a single 

 live worm. One gallon of the arsenic water is suf- 

 ficient for a tree fifteen feet through the top, if 

 properly applied. 



It is necessary to he careful about inhaling the 

 steam of the arsenic water when preparing it. 

 Care should also be taken not to get wet with the 

 poisonous water. Have the hose of the pump long 

 enough to reach above the head. The best time to 

 operate is when the largest worms are about two- 

 thirds of an inch in length. At that stage of growth 

 the worms are nearly if not quite all hatched out. 



I believe that arsenic water prepared in the way 

 I have used it can be used successfully in destroy- 

 ing all leaf- eating insects, for with one single ap- 

 plication to my orchard the canker worm was most 

 eflFcctually exterminated. 



Pruningi Spontaneous Generation, and Butcb- 

 er Bird. 



By Wm. p. LirriNCOTT, Vernon, Iowa. 



Ed. Pomologist.— I have been rambling among 

 the trees, fruits and flowers of the last Nos. of the 

 Pomologist, and will venture a few remarks on 

 some of the things I saw. 



Dr. Stayman's article against trimming at the 

 time of transplanting is really pleasant to read, but 

 I cannot agree with his theory. It seems to stand 

 to reason, that if a part of the roots arc destroyed, 

 enough of the top should be taken off to make a 

 balance between the two. Somebody asked, if a 

 man should lose his legs, would you cut off his 

 arms to make him whole ? The article, — " Gleanings 

 on Pomology," page 71, says — "The art of pruning 

 was suggested by observing the more vigorous 

 shooting of a vine after a goat had browsed on it." 

 There is certainly less chance for a tree to live with 

 the air and sun drying up its moisture faster than 

 the scanty roots can supply it; but bring the roots 

 and top to a balance, or thereabouts, so that the 

 surface of evaporation is not greater than the sup- 

 ply, and there is a better chance to live. 



The "Kansas State Agricultural Society" gives us 

 a list of apples for cultivation, and among them is 

 the "Sweet Romanite," an apple about as near 

 worthless as any other apple grown. 



Page 18, "Spontaneous Generation." Last spring 

 my family made soap, and done other work in a 

 big kettle out doors, and of course, in two or three 

 days all life was burnt out of the ground under the 

 kettle; yet, in the summer following, that spot was 

 thickly overgrown with weeds, none of the sort 

 growing near the place. This was pointed out to a 

 neighbor, and he said the same thing had occurred 



where his wife had made soap, and that there were 

 no weeds of the kind near Uie place. Recollect this 

 was in the spring, when there were no weed seeds 

 in a condition to be carried by the wind. It looks 

 like si)ontaneous generation. 



You are mistaken, and Mr. C. V. Riley is correct 

 in regard to the Butcher Bird ; it is tliis bird that 

 impales the frogs and mice, etc., on any sharp point 

 that he can find. Find one of their nests in an 

 Osage hedge after their young arc hatched, and you 

 will find their surplus meat stuck on the hedge 

 thorns all around about the nest. A frog falling in 

 a shower would stick only on vertical thorns, while 

 we find them on those that are horizontal. The 

 butcher is a sagacious bird ; when hauling corn fod- 

 der, in the latter part of winter, he will sit on a 

 shock not far off and watch the operation of load- 

 ing, and woe to the luckless mouse that undertakes 

 to run to another shock ; he is gobbled up in an in- 

 stant. The bird is about the size of a robin, and 

 somewhat the color of a mocking bird, that is, a 

 rather lead color, with some white. 



" Fungi in Timber," page 70. " Following up the 

 idea thus obtained, that this sand found its way to 

 the timber through the roots of the tree, etc. This 

 is a hard thing to believe. Was it not some abnor- 

 mal chemical action of the juices of the tree that 

 formed the sand? Same article says, "A grub was 

 found in the wood of a tree over a quarter of an 

 inch in from the surface, and the wood all around 

 showed no inlet, leaving the conclusion upon the 

 mind that the grub in embryo must have been car- 

 ried to the hatching place by the sap of the tree." 

 Verily, who can believe this? Is it not more likely 

 that the place was stung and then grown over? 



Oregon Horticultural Notes, No. 4. 



Bt a. R. Shipley, Oswego, Okehon. 



Ed. Pomologist : Since the date of my last we 

 have had a little frosty weather, and a good deal of 

 rainy. Just now the weather is delightful, just right 

 for speeding the plow, but not so good for speeding 

 the pen, for one don't feel much like writing after fol- 

 lowing the plow all day. I don't mean to say that 

 I have actually been plowing all day, but I have 

 been at work equally hard. Planting Blackberries 

 and Grapes is not exactly play. People are plant- 

 ing a great many trees this winter, and our nursery- 

 men are kept busy filling orders. We have had a 

 large accession to our rural population during the 

 last year, and most of the new-comers wish to plant 

 a few trees. Many of our old orchards have been 

 neglected and pennitteil to die out. Some of them 

 are being renewed, and all together, it makes quite 

 a demand for trees, vines, etc. Most of us in Ore- 

 gon prefer to plant fruit trees, vines, etc., during the 

 fall and winter, as we have more time then, and we 



