236 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



THE BORER OF THE CURRANT BUSPf. 



|HE parent of the now common and widely distributed currant bush 

 borer is a small, slender, dark-blue moth, with transparent wings, but 

 rarely seen except by entomologists who know where to look for such 

 insects, or breed them from the larvae found in the stalks of currant 

 bushes. These moths usually appear in July, and the females deposit their 

 eggs singly at the axils of the leaves and on the vigorous young shoots. When 

 the ethers hatch, the minute grubs bore directly into the stalk until they reach 

 the soft, succulent pith, following this and feeding upon it until they arrive at 

 maturity the following season. This destruction of the pith of the cane so weak- 

 ens it that it is very likely to be either broken off by winds or it dies the next 

 season before the fruit comes to maturity. But sometimes the cane is not killed 

 the first season, especially if the grub bores its way from some lateral twig into 

 an old cane, and the latter may live a year or two after its pith has been com- 

 pletely bored out : usually, however, the presence of the borers may be detected 

 by the feeble growth of the young canes, and their pale-green or yellowish leaves 

 Lite in the summer. By carefully examining the bushes in August and Septem- 

 ber, or very early in the spring, the infested canes can be found, and these 

 should be cut out back enough to reach the sound pith, and the part removed 

 and burned, in order to destroy the grubs within them. No other effectual way 

 of getting rid of this pest has been discovered, but this is not at all difficult or 

 expensive, and it should be repeated annually so long as a grub is to be found 

 in the bushes. — Andrew S. Fuller, in N. V. Trilnme. 



Graft Early. — The reason why many fail in getting a good stand of 

 cherry grafts is that they undertake the work too late. The buds should be in- 

 serted just before the trees burst into leaf. They must be cut early in winter and 

 placed in sand in a cool place to keep them dormant. If the buds start previous 

 to grafting, the unison will not be rapid enough to supply them with sap. 



P.\sturing the Orchard. — This question was fully discussed at the last 

 meeting of the Central Illinois Horticultural Society. One member spoke of 

 turning goats into orchards, but others warned orchardists against them. Mr. 

 Winn says he once turned Angora goats into his orchard but they began to feed 

 upon the trees' foliage at once. Hogs are the only animals that can be pastured 

 in orchards. They will pick up the apples and eat the worms. But perhaps it 

 would be preferable to cultivate rather than to pasture the orchards. The only 

 proper method of pasturing is to drive in the hogs, let them stay in the orchard 

 1 jng enough to pick up the apples, and then turn them out again. '" Pig-power" 

 cultivation for orchards was not universally approved. Professor Morrow said 

 hat whatever harm the hog may do to the orchard, the orchard certainly will do 

 much good to the hog. 



