1883.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



225 



THE WILSON JUNIOR BLACKBERRY. 



Kittatinny, New Rochelle. Wilson's Early, < 

 and all our cultivated Blackberries, so far, j 

 have been chance seedlings found growing 

 wild in some out-of-the-way place, favorable 

 to their development. The advent of a seed- 

 ling Blackberry, raised from "pedigree" | 

 seed notes, therefore, a not unimportant | 

 epoch in Blackberry culture. 



Up to the present time Wilson's Early j 

 held undisputed sway as the best and most 

 profitable market variety south of the lati- 

 tude of New-York ; within the last few years, | 

 however, it has shown signs of "running 

 out," weakened constitution and the highly 

 objectionable tendency to produce double 

 flowers resulting in consequent barrenness, j 

 Desiring to perpetuate and improve, 

 if possible, its good qualities, Mr. Wm. 

 Parry, of Parry, N. J., has, during a 

 series of years, raised a large number 

 of seedlings from selected berries of 

 this variety ; and, among those pro- 

 duced in 1875 from berries measur- 

 ing three inches in circumference, 

 the Wilson Junior was selected as 

 possessing more good points than any 

 other Blackberry hitherto known. 



We have not yet seen or grown the 

 Wilson Junior Blackberry, and give, 

 therefore, the description as received 

 from Judge Parry : 



" The fruit is large and early, is 

 luscious and sweet as soon as black, 

 holds its bright color, and bears car- 

 riage well. The plants are hardy and 

 productive ; canes round, long, slen- 

 der, entirely free from rust ; bend 

 over and strike root at the tips ; 

 sends up but few suckers ; spines 

 small and recurved ; foliage large 

 and thumb of mitten-shaped, and 

 generally has about the same appear- 

 ance asits parent (the Wilson's Early), 

 and is substantially a reproduction 

 of the excellent qualities of that good 

 old variety in a new berry, ripening 

 early, more productive, and more than 

 one-quarter of a century younger than 

 the Old Wilson, from which it grew." 



THE BORERS OF THE APPLE TREE. 



The Apple-tree borers have been 

 unusually abundant in some local- 

 ities this year, and a few notes on 

 these pests, with most approved 

 remedies, may not be amiss. 



There are at least two destructive borers 

 of the Apple-tree. The first one which we will 

 mention is the Plat-headed borer ( Chryso- 

 bothris femorata). This is a native of the 

 United States, and is the larval state of a 

 very active beetle, which, as Prof. Saunders 

 says in his recent work on " Insects Injuri- 

 ous to Fruits," delights to bask in the hot 

 sunshine, running up and down the bark of 

 a tree with great rapidity, but instantly 

 taking wing if an attempt be made to cap- 

 ture it. 



The beetle is of au oblong form, nearly 

 half an inch in length, and shining greenish 

 black in color. The under side and the legs 

 are copper-colored, while the feet are green. 

 This pest is abundant in all parts of the 

 country, and does not confine its attentions 

 to the Apple-tree — attacking the Pear, Plum, 

 and sometimes the Peach. The beetle may 



be found from May on through the summer 

 months. The female deposits the small, 

 yellow, irregularly-ribbed eggs with a glut- 

 inous material under the loose bark, either 

 singly or in groups. 



The larva? soon hatch, and eat their way 

 through the bark into the soft or sap wood 

 of the infested tree. As the larva grows 

 older it bores deeper and works upward, 

 making irregular channels in the substance 

 of the base of the tree. The mature la.rva 

 is a footless grub, of a pale yellow color, with 

 the head large and flattened in a peculiar 

 manner. When the borer is about to pass 

 into the inactive or pupa state it cuts its way 

 nearly to the surface. It is not known 

 whether it requires more than one season 

 for the larva? to reach the chrysalis state. 



THE WILSON JUNIOR BLACKBERRY. 



j In less than a month after pupation the per- 

 i feet insect eats its way through the bark at 

 the end of the burrow. 



Under the head of remedies, it may be 

 first stated that all Apple-trees should be care- 

 fully examined in the fall, and if borers are 

 ; detected, either by a discoloration of the 

 bark, or by the sawdust-like castings, the 

 affected parts should be opened with a knife 

 and the grub destroyed. Those which are 

 j not near the surface can be reached by a 

 stout wire thrust up to the ends of the bur- 

 rows, where they are punched and killed. 

 Great care needs to be taken in cutting away 

 the bark to reach the borer, that the tree be 

 as little girdled as possible. A careless 

 hand with the knife can do more damage 

 than the insect pest which he is trying to find. 



There are a number of substances used 

 upon the surface of the tree to prevent the 



female beetles from depositing their eggs. 

 Alkaline washes are the leading substances 

 thus employed. Soft soap, mixed with wash- 

 ing soda, and then applied to the bark with 

 a large brush will, if spread on a hot day, 

 form a tough coating not easily removed by 

 rains. The first application of this alkaline 

 mixture should be made before the beetles 

 begin to deposit their eggs, which is often in 

 May. 



There are several natural enemies of the 

 Apple-borers, as the woodpeckers and para- 

 sitic insects. Among the latter are some 

 species of Ichneumon flies. 



A second kind of Apple-tree borer is known 

 as the Round-headed Borer (Saperda Can- 

 dida). This is also a native pest, and is 

 widely known throughout the United States, 

 inhabiting the June-berry, Pear, 

 Quince, Mountain Ash, etc., besides 

 the Apple-tree. The beetle is a 

 showy one, three-fourths of an inch 

 long, with cream-colored stripes on 

 a, brown back-ground, running the 

 whole length of the body. It makes 

 its appearance in early summer, and 

 the eggs are deposited on the bark, 

 near the base of the tree to be bored, 

 in a manner similar to the Flat- 

 headed Borer. 



The young larva? bore into the foot 

 of the tree, as above described, when 

 they eat out flat cavities an inch or 

 so across. The castings maybe seen 

 at the opening of the burrows. The 

 a rs live three years before reach- 

 ing maturity, and on the approach of 

 winter they descend to the lower end 

 of the channels and remain dormant 

 until spring. 



The burrowing during the second 

 year is extensive, at the end of which 

 time the larva closes up the channels 

 already cut, and with provision made 

 for the easy escape of the beetle 

 elsewhere, it pupates, and the per- 

 fect insect appears in the following 

 June or July. The larva is whitish, 

 with a large, round, brown head and 

 black jaws. It is legless, and moves 

 in the manner of an earth worm. 



The remedies which have been 

 given for the Flat-headed borer ap- 

 ply with equal force to the round- 

 headed species. If possible, keep 

 the larva? out of the trunks of the 

 trees by the use of some repulsive 

 substance spread on the trunk where 

 the females deposit their eggs. When the 

 borers are once within the tree the only suc- 

 cessful method thus far discovered is to 

 reach them either with a knife or a probe. 

 Use all care in this work, and remove as 

 little bark and wood as possible. 



Dr. D. B. Halsted. 



CALIFORNIA PRUNES. 



In some parts of California Prunes appear 

 to succeed remarkably well. Two hundred 

 trees, occupying an acre and a half, in Car- 

 pentaria, are reported to have yielded enough 

 fruit to produce four tons of dried Prunes. 

 As California Prunes are fully equal in 

 quality to imported ones, and demand for 

 them is rapidly increasing, this industry 

 should soon develop into large dimensions. 



