COMMONPLACE NOTES. 



703 



As will be seen from the following table, not only the acreage under 

 small fruits, but also that under orchards, show a most satisfactory 

 expansion, and we trust that the Report of the Departmental Committee 

 of the Board of Agriculture on Fruit will still further stimulate and 

 encourage the planting of fruit-trees and bushes in this country. 



TABLE V.— SHOWING THE ACREAGE UNDER SMALL FRUIT AND 

 UNDER ORCHARD CULTIVATION, 1902-1901. 





Small Fruits 



Orchards * 



Year 



1902 ' 



1903 



1904 



1902 



1903 



1904 





acres 

 68,263 



5,912 



acres 

 68,968 

 1,230 

 5,954 



acres 

 70,612 

 1,263 

 6,072 



acres 

 230,673 

 3,767 

 2,416 



acres 

 233,286 

 3,748 

 2,449 



acres 

 236,705 

 3,813 

 2,490 





75,378 



76,152 



77,947 



236,856 



239,483 



243,008 



Isle of Man and Channel Islands 



698 



525 



521 



1,697 



1,997 



1,691 



* The acreage under orchards is that of arable or grass land used for fruit trees of any kind. 



American Blight. 



Numberless correspondents complain of woolly aphis, and many and 

 various are the remedies recommended — and of these it must depend on 

 the time of year as to which we should chocse. In the winter, the best 

 mode of dealing with woolly aphis is to obtain a good powerful garden- 

 engine-pump and spray all the trees from top to toe with a wash made of 

 one pound of caustic soda and one pound of crude potash dissolved in ten 

 gallons of hot water. A still day should be chosen for the work, and the 

 operator should always wear stout leather gloves and his oldest clothes, 

 as the mixture burns both the skin and the clothes. It is well also to 

 wear good big spectacles of plain glass, and to spray as far as possible in 

 the same direction as the wind (if there is any) blows. This wash will 

 not in the least injure the trees whilst they are dormant, but it will kill 

 all the woolly aphis it comes in contact with, and will also cleanse the 

 trees from all lichen and mossy growths. 



In the growing season of the trees, an emulsion of paraffin and soft 

 soap applied by hand with a brush is an excellent remedy, though of 

 course it is both difficult and slow in applying it to large and old trees ; 

 and when we say it is difficult and slow, that is tantamount to saying it is 

 a somewhat expensive method. The expense, however, can be reduced to a 

 minimum by employing a boy, who will rather enjoy the work, and pro- 

 viding him with a light ladder, a high pair of steps, a pailful of emulsion, 

 a small paint-pot to hold a little of it at a time, and an old scrubbing- 

 brush or stiff paint-brush, and set him to scrub the tree all over wher- 

 ever he sees the white woolly patches. It is important to have a big 

 stick in the pail and keep it well stirred up every time before the little 

 paint-pot is filled. 



Lawns. 



A Fellow inquires how to rid a lawn of coarse weeds. If the lawn is 

 very bad the best plan is to dig it all up and re-sow early in April with 



