BOOKS AND 



wilts from the injuries inflicted by the beetle when she 

 lays her eggs. The remedy is to cut out the canes and 

 burn them, and if the work is thoroughly done the in- 

 sect can be kept in check. The 

 Raspberry and snowy tree-cricket is discussed. The 



Blackberry Pests. female makes a long and ragged- 

 edged wound in the cane when she 

 deposits her eggs, and the cane is weak the next year, or it 

 may fail entirely to put forth leaves. Cut out the canes 

 and burn them. 



Bulletin No. ii, Iowa Experiment Station. This 

 bulletin is devoted to several diverse discussions, only 

 three of which, relating to insects, need be mentioned 

 here. Mr. Gillette describes the potato-stalk weevil, and 



believes "that a half million of dollars 

 Another would fall far short of making good the 



Potato Pest. loss that it has occasioned the state this 



year," and yet it has never been reported 

 from Iowa before. The beetle is a very small ash-grey 

 weevil. "The female beetle deposits one egg in a place 

 in a slit made in the stalk of the potato, a little above the 

 surface of the ground. The grub soon hatches and tun- 

 nels its way down deep into the root. It then works its 

 way back again, and when fully grown changes to the 

 pupa state and then to the mature beetle in the stalk just 

 below the surface of the ground. This tunneling of the 

 root and stalk weakens the vines very seriously, the 

 leaves begin to turn brown as if sun-burnt, and soon, 

 especially if the weather be warm and dry, the whole top 

 dies down. The potatoes, in consequence, are small in 

 size and few in number. 



"The only remedy at present known is to pull the 

 vines as soon as they are found wilting and dying and 

 burn them. If the tops are left until time to dig the 

 potatoes many of the beetles will have matured and 

 escaped, and these will live over winter and lay eggs to 

 produce another brood the next year. On examining 

 potato tops as late as October 8, I found many pupae and 

 beetles were still in the roots, so that even late pulling and 

 burning will destroy many of the weevils. When the 

 weevils are found in the vines the latter should always be 

 burned when pulled, and the earlier they are pulled the 

 better." 



Mr. Gillette has observed the ovipositing of the apple 

 curculio, and he describes it in detail. 

 Apple This insect is now injurious in many parts 



Curculio. of the country, yet no longer ago than 1871 

 it had been recorded as feeding only on 

 wild crabs and haws. It has now learned to appreciate a 

 good apple. In central Iowa the beetle lays its eggs aU 

 the way from the first of June till late in July. "Where 

 orchards are regularly treated with the arsenites for the 

 destruction of the codlin moth, it is quite probable that 

 this insect will also be kept in check, otherwise jarring 

 the trees and collecting the beetles on a large sheet, or 

 gathering and destroying infested fruit, will be the most 

 practical remedies. If hogs or sheep are allowed to run 

 in the orchard, they will pick up all wind-falls and do much 

 to keep this insect, and the codlin moth as well, in check. " 



BULLETINS. 127 



A ^borer i^Hypei-platiis aspersits) which is known as 

 attacking the cottonwood is found to in- 

 jure currant canes in Iowa. The Ameri- a new 

 can currant-borer (Fseiioteius sttpeino- Currant Pest. 

 lalus) was found with it. The remedy 

 for all currant borers is to cut out the attacked canes 

 in winter or spring and burn them. 



Bulletin No. 5, Vol. III. Tennessee Experiment 

 Station. Fruit Trees at the Experiment Station. By 

 K. L. I'Fatts. Bp. 2o. This bulletin contains an appeal 

 to the farmers of Tennessee to engage in fruit growing. 

 The climate and location of the state render it admirably 

 adapted to fruit raising, and the plateaus furnish varied 

 conditions for many kinds of fruits. Lists, with brief 

 descriptions, of the fruits now growing upon the station 

 grounds are given, and some provisional lists of such 

 sorts as have been successfully grown in the state are an- 

 nounced. In apples, it is difficult to draw any conclu- 

 sions as to the varieties best adapted 



to all sections of this state. Th ose Fru it- Growl ng 

 that succeed in the mountainous dis- for Tennessee, 

 tricts may frequently fail in middle 

 and west Tennessee. A certain variety may not be 

 adapted to all localities, even in the same section ; the 

 Baldwin, for example, succeeds admirably in the Cumber- 

 land plateau, but is an undesirable sort in this locality. 

 The following varieties of our list have been grown suc- 

 cessfully in various localities of East Tennessee ; Winesap, 

 Yellow Bellflower, Rhode Island Greening, Rome Beauty, 

 Northern Spy, Newtown Pippin, Early Strawberry, 

 Carolina Red June, Ben Davis and Baldwin. Among 

 pears, the following have been grown successfully in 

 Eastern Tennessee : Bartlett, Flemish Beauty, Seckel, 

 Angouleme, Anjou and Le Conte, The greatest diffi- 

 culty in peach culture here, as elsewhere in the south, is 

 the danger from late spring frosts. The grub or borer is 

 also troublesome. In the eastern part of the state the 

 following peaches have done well : Alexander, Early 

 Rivers, Foster, Old Mixon Free, Crawford's Early and 

 Late. Of cherries. Black Tartarian, Napoleon, Early 

 Richard [Richmond and Governor Wood have done 

 well in the state. The Wild Goose appears to be the 

 best plum for Tennessee. Good advice is given concern- 

 ing the harvesting and marketing of fruits. 



Bulletin No. 20, Alabama Experiment Station. 

 Small Fruits, Me/ons and Vegetaliles. By J. S. JS'cwman 

 and James Clayton. Bp.iS. According to the classifica- 

 tion of this bulletin, the melon is neither fruit nor vege- 

 table ; it is simply a melon. The fol- 

 lowing remarks upon tests of water- Watermelons 

 melons may be considered as conclu- in Alabama, 



sions of two season's tests: "Com- 

 parison of varieties discovers many old acquaintances 

 under new names. The Sugar Loaf melon has been 

 growing in Georgia and Alabama for nearly half a cen- 

 tury, and has continuously sustained a high character for 

 productiveness and excellent quality. It came to us from 

 a seedsman three years ago as Jordan's Gray Monarch. 

 Last year it was extensively advertised under the attract- 



