314 



WINDFALLS. 



This borer is easily prevented from killing trees. It 

 never bores deep into the wood as it lives only on the 

 cambium layer and sap wood. It is easily removed 

 when once in the tree with a sharp knife and a good 

 sharp tree scraper. They should be removed in the 

 fall, winter or early spring. It is a good winter job 

 when the weather is mild. After scraping the trees dur- 

 ing the winter, apply a thick paint in May and June, 

 made with ingredients in the following proportion : 

 * one quart soft soap, four ounces sal soda ; apply first 

 coat May i, and second coat on June i. Apply on a 

 clear, drying day and the paint will dry quickly and 

 form a glistening coat. The female appears in the 

 north as early as May 20, and possibly earlier. The 

 first coat will prevent the earliest from depositing their 

 eggs, and as the first coat will gradually wash off, the 

 second coat a month later will replace the first in time to 

 continue the protection through the remainder of the 

 ovipositing period. This wash will also prevent the at- 

 tacks of the flat-headed and round-headed apple tree 

 borers which often attack the peach tree, and also will 

 destroy lichens and protococus that live on the body and 

 branches. 



If the above wash is persistently used every spring, 

 smooth healthy bodies and branches of the trees will be 

 the pleasurable result. Wood-ashes makes a good sub- 

 stitute for the sal soda.— Thos. L. Brunk, Maryland Ag- 

 ricultKral College. 



Four Palms for Everyone's Use. — First on the 

 list of palms for general purposes comes Latauia Bor- 

 boniia, commonly known as the fan palm. This plant 

 will stand more rough usage than any other palm, and 

 can be used as a vase plant in summer if not exposed to 

 the full sun ; and to keep it looking well it must not be 

 allowed to get too dry at the root. It is a rapid grower 

 and soon makes a large plant ; it should be grown in a 

 rich fibrous loam, lightened with a little sand The 

 drainage should be good, for although it enjoys a liberal 

 supply of water, the soil must not be allowed to stag- 

 nate. It prefers a warm greenhouse, but will do well 

 anywhere the glass does not fall below 45°. They are 

 multiplied by seed. The latanias are characterized by 

 the male and female flowers being produced on seoarate 

 plants, the former being .produced in abundance upon 

 the spikes, whilst the females are less plentiful. The 

 fruits are three-seeded, each inclosed in a hard shell. 



The kentias are amongst the most useful greenhouse 

 palms and make splendid house plants. They are hand- 

 some robust plants, with graceful pinnate leaves. They 

 are very useful for decorative purposes, and are easily 

 grown in an ordinary greenhouse, giving them the same 

 treatment as the Latania Borhonica . They are increased 

 from seeds. The varieties which are the best for gen- 

 eral use are K. Behnoreana and K. Forsteriana . 



Areca lutescens is an exceedingly beautiful palm, with 

 pinnate, arching leaves, the stem perfectly smooth, yel- 

 low in~color, and mottled black. It is of a very graceful 

 habit, and one of the best palms for table decoration. 

 They do better with more heat than the latania or 



kentia, therefore should be kept in the warmest part of 

 the conservatory. Care should be taken not to allow the 

 direct rays of the sun to strike this palm, as its foliage 

 burns very easily. If your greenhouse is cool, water 

 sparingly in winter, of course, not allowing it to get 

 dust dry. If the house is cool and the areca gets too 

 wet, the foliage turns yellow. Use light rich loam with 

 a little peat mixed in it, and give plenty of drainage. 



The phoenix or date palms are very useful greenhouse 

 palms. They are elegant and compact growing palms, 

 with long pinnate leaves, the pinnae long, and in some 

 species reduced to spines at base of leaf stalk. They are 

 rapid growers and soon make large specimens. They 

 make splendid plants for vases, as they stand the sun 

 well. They like^a rich loam with abundant drainage. 

 P. reclinaia is one of the best of the species ; it is a fine 

 greenhouse plant and will stand the sun and wind in the 

 open air better than most palms. — J. S. Taplin. 



Notes on Flower Culture — Old Sorts. — Plants of 

 difficult cultivation, or new, oiten costly, varieties, are 

 not, in the main, the best for general cultivation, how- 

 ever beautiful and admirable they may be ; nor are the 

 old varieties always eclipsed by them. A perfect forest 

 of old-fashioned and hardy flowers, with excessively 

 bright and variegated hues and sweet fragrance profusely 

 blended together, may be had about the humblest cot- 

 tage ; for it may be said of such that they are not re- 

 specters of persons or things, nor hesitate to ask for 

 whom they are to grow and exhibit their charms. 



However, with some knowledge of the business and 

 proper care, most of the less'hardy plants, or those of 

 difficult management, may be successfully cultivated. 

 The essential points with all are proper soil, moisturei 

 warmth, air and light. 



A room without sufficient ventilation, or a window too 

 much exposed to the glaring sun, often prove injurious, 

 especially to the less hardy plants. The air in a close 

 room is soon exhausted of its vitalizing principles by 

 plants placed therein, and they suffer in consequence as 

 animals do similarly situated. To place tender plants, 

 especially, in a window exposed to the meridian rays of 

 the sun. closed within, as is often done, with bright cur- 

 tains, is to place them, as it were, in the focus of the 

 heat reflected from all the sunlit surface around them, 

 and without free circulation of fresh air to lower the 

 temperature, they can but perish. Both for the room 

 and the window, therefore, a free circulation of fresh 

 air must be had if well developed flowers are produced. 

 □ The soil for flowering plants should be suited to their 

 requirements as nearly as possible. Rich loam is, how- 

 ever, amost universally adaptable, while well-rotted 

 stable manure, in the main, is the best fertilizer. An 

 excellent soil may be obtained by composting or mixing 

 loam, leaf-mould, peat (or in lieu of it, turf) and sand ; 

 these should be well intermixed and frequently moistened 

 with liquid drawn from manure. Leaves and turf with 

 manure, or the liquid of it used, may be piled every fall 

 and left to rot, and thus a supply of soil be kept up. — 

 James I. Baird, N. V. 



