THE CANADIAN HOUTICULTURIST. 159 



THE BENEFITS DERIVED FKOM TPIE USE OF ARSENIC 



wiTER. 



Two or thi'ee weeks siu38 we spent a few Lours in the immense orchards 

 of A. R. Whitnoy, of Lee County, Illinois. He Las recently had his 

 orchards scourged with the canker worm. After trying various remedies 

 the pests wore wholly eradioateil by sprinkling the foliage, by means of a 

 force pump, with water poisoned with London purple. At once on entering 

 the grounds, the unusual health, size, and perfection of each individual leaf 

 attracted our attention. We had recently been over several large orchards 

 in DuPage County, and in the Fox River section, where a perfect leaf was 

 difficult to find. Insect enemies during the past dry season have increased 

 to such extent as to seriously injure the vitality of the trees by injury to the 

 foliage. While Mr. Whitney had aimed mainly to destroy the canker worms, 

 he had evidently about eradicated all the pests injurious to the leaf. This 

 is a subject worthy the attention of our orchardists. Only a day or two 

 prior to this visit to the orchard of Mr. W., at the nurserymen's convention 

 in Chicago, Mr. Woodward, of New York, made the statement that some 

 of his neighbors had destroyed the codling moth by sprinkling the trees 

 with a solution of London Purple at the time when the ai)ples were just 

 forming, .and while the embryo fruit was yet in an upright position. It is 

 true that this statement was received by experienced members with many 

 grains of allowance, yet we have since learned that all orchards treated at 

 this time with the poison were not only ridded of the codling moth, but of 

 noxious insects preying on the foliage. We predict that the use of arsenic 

 water and London Purple will become more general for fighting our insect 

 foes in the very near future in agriculture and all divisions of horticulture. 

 — Iowa College Quarterly. 



PAMPAS GRASS. 



BY JOHN McAINSH, ST. MARYS. 



This is a half-hardy plant, not being able unprotected to withstand 

 the severity of our Canadian winters. I liave successfully wintered it 

 over the past two winters by covering it with a box one foot high 

 without either top or bottom. I fill the inside with pea straw, and 

 bank up the outside with earth. 



This is the finest ornamental grass with whicli I am acquainted. 

 In the autumn it it sends up strong stems eight or ten feet high, on 

 the top of which are borne beautiful plumes of feathery tassels, which 

 when waving in the breeze have a grand effect. After the plumes are 

 cut they can be preserved for a considerable length of time. It is 

 propagated by seed or by division of the roots. 



