CRANE FLIES AND DADDY-LONG-LEGS. 



graph taken by the writer upon the estate of the 

 Duke of Westminster, Chester, England. 



In espaher training, some sort of trellis is substi- 

 tuted for the wall. This trellis is often a cheap 

 affair made of stakes driven into the ground, and 

 held in place by cross-slats. But a wire trellis is 

 usually better and is in common use. This trellis 

 is not unlike an ordinary grape trellis, except that 

 it is usually more strongly built. Fig. 2, taken at 

 Gartenbau Hochschule, near Berlin, is a g(jod 

 illustration of a pear-tree trained upon wires. 



It is a simple matter, in principle, to train a tree 

 to a wall or espalier. The only difficulty is the 

 disposition to slight the work. The form which 

 the tree is to a take must first be decided upon. 



and then operations must be begun upon the tree 

 the first or second year after it is set. A single 

 trunk may be allowed to grow, from which arms 

 are taken at various heights, as in Fig. 2, or the 

 tree may be trained fan-shaped, all the branches 

 starting from nearly a common point, as in P^ig i. 

 The fan-shaped method is the most popular for 

 walls, and is easily managed. It is often a 

 good practice, in this method, to allow the tree 

 to grow at will the first year, and then cut it 

 down to within a few inches of the ground the 

 second year. This insures a strong root, and 

 good branches and rapid ensuing growth may be 

 had for the training process. 



L. H. B. 



CRANE FLIES AND 



To the average American gardener the insect 

 shown in its three stages in the accompanying illus- 

 tration is of no special interest, because as yet it 

 here does very little damage ; but in England the 

 case is different, for these crane flies are there 



\ / 



among the very worst of garden pests — attacking a 

 great variety of crops, and often inflicting great in 

 jury. In some, localities in this country the insect 

 has occasionally been destructive, and it is probable 

 that in the future it will become one of the most 



DADDY-LONG-LEGS. 



serious of our already numerous insect pests. 



In England these crane flies are commonly called 

 " Daddy Long-legs," but in America an entirely dif- 

 ferent creature goes by this name — the long-legged 

 spiders. The latter are never injurious, but on the 

 contrary are, like most spiders, beneficial to man by 

 feeding upon various injurious insects. 



The life-history of these crane flies is something 

 as follows : The adult flies [c] appear in spring, 

 often in great numbers, and deposit numerous eggs 

 in grass lands. In a short time these eggs hatch 

 into small blackish grubs that feed upon the roots 

 of grasses and other plants. They continue feeding 

 for about a year, when they are an inch or more in 

 length, black in color, having no legs, and looking 

 like a of the accompanying illustration. They work 

 either beneath the surface of the soil or beneath 

 rubbish on the surface, and probably devour a great 

 variety of food, consuming dead as well as living 

 vegetation. When fully grown they change to the 

 pupa state, represented at and about a fortnight 

 later the adult fly emerges with its long legs and 

 slender wings. It is a fragile creature, the legs 

 easily breaking off, so that it is the despair of the 

 entomologist who attempts to preserve it for his cab- 

 inet of specimens. 



There is a large number of species of crane flies, 

 and they vary much in size. The figure represents 

 one of the largest American forms. In England, 

 about the only remedy which has been found effec- 

 tive is the hand-picking of the grubs. 



Oliio Experiment Station. C. M. Weed. 



