160 
September, 1891. 
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ORCHARD 
GARDEN 
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Among the best known varieties of this 
eminently wine-producing species may be 
mentioned the Lenoir. Herbemont, Deve- 
reaux. Alvey, Cynthiana, and Norton’s Vir- 
ginia Seedling. These varieties yield wines 
of very high excellence and of varied quali- 
ties. But they can only be grown to per- 
fection in certain locations in the States of 
North Carolina. Virginia, and other States 
having similar climates. 
It therefore appears probable that in the 
further improvement of hardy grapes these 
peculiarities of species and the purposes for 
which they are best adapted must receive 
more attention than has hitherto been given 
them. — Wm. Saunders, Horticulturist, De- 
partment of Agriculture. 
Shipping Grapes. 
When shipped from distant points the 
best packages for grapes are cases contain- 
ing eighteen three-pound boxes and covered 
baskets holding ten to twelve pounds. The 
boxes should be well filled and weigh full 
three pounds. All packages should be filled 
so full that the cover will draw down tight- 
ly on the contents, holding them firmly in 
place, but not so as to bruise the fruit. 
Near-by shippers also largely use the cover- 
ed baskets, and they are generally consid- 
ered to be the most desirable package. 
Many shippers to not far distant points use 
flat, wooden boxes, with hinged cover, 
measuring about 21 inches long, 12 inches 
wide and 5 inches deep, and holding 25 to 
30 lbs. These boxes have to be returned to 
the seller, and many buyers object to them 
for that reason. 
A Profitable Market Grape. 
The Moyer grape is being largely planted 
for market in western New York where it 
succeeds admirably. This is beyond doubt 
a valuable grape for the purpose. It was 
formerly known as the Jordan grape and 
was introduced by Allen Moyer, of Ontario, 
Canada. It may be said to be a dark-colored 
Delaware but with a larger berry and 
bunch and ripening much earlier than that 
popular sort. It is equal in flvor to Dela- 
ware, and the vine is a stronger grower 
with a better leaf; perfectly hardy in 
Canada. 
Marketing. 
The consumption of grapes has increased 
enormously of late years and yet there is 
many a country town where they are usu- 
ally scarce. Local markets should be hunted 
up and supplied. There is little fear of 
overproduction in this direction if only good 
fruit is marketed and neighboring inland 
towns chosen rather than the large city 
markets. Much also may be done to make 
sales more satisfactory by seeking quality 
rather than quantity. Appearance and 
quality will give better satisfaction to pur- 
chasers, sales will be more readily made, 
and the general tone of the market im- 
proved. 
The Walnut Caterpillar. 
In the recent report of the Ohio Experi- 
ment Station, Prof. Clarence M. Weed, 
speaks of the depredations of the Walnut 
Caterpillar ( Datana angusii) which has de- 
foliated the walnut trees over a large section 
of Ohio, and the habits of the pest. This 
insect is the larva or caterpillar of a good 
sized moth that makes its appearance from 
the middle of June to the first of July, and 
deposits its eggs, seventy or a hundred in a 
place, on the under surface of the leaves. 
In a short time larvae hatch from these 
eggs, and feed upon the leaves. They 
rapidly increase in size, and in a few weeks 
attract attention on account of the defoli- 
ated twigs where they have been at work. 
They are gregarious in habit and at the 
times of moulting or casting of the skin, 
they migrate in a body to the trunk of the 
tree, frequently descending to its base, and 
piling themselves one upon another remain in 
a solid mass until the process is completed. 
Then they crawl back to the twigs and 
begin feeding again. When full grown as 
caterpillars they go to the ground and 
change to the pupa state just beneath the 
soil surface. Here they remain until early 
the following summer, when they change 
again to moths. Fortunately the Walnut 
Caterpillar has many enemies. There are 
a number of species of predaceous and 
parasitic insects that prey upon it, and it 
also serves as food for certain birds. So far 
as Prof. Weed’s observations go the Blue 
Jay is the most important of these. 
Midsummer Musicians. 
Prof. Weed gives the following very 
interesting account, in The Philadelphia 
Weekly Press, of some of the leading per- 
formers in nature’s insect orchestra. 
The loudest of the diurnal musicians are 
the cicadas, or harvest-flies, the dog-day 
cicada being ordinarily the commonest. 
This creature is a four-winged insect about 
an inch and a half long, with a wing ex- 
panse of three inches. Its body is black 
above, except a portion of the head and 
thorax, which are marked with olive green 
lines. A large part of the under side of the 
body is covered with white; the legs are 
olive green, as are the eyes. The head is 
almost square and the thorax very robust; 
the wings are transparent, except the veins 
which are olive green near the body, and 
brown a short distance away. 
The female cicadas deposit their eggs in 
the twigs of various fruit and shade trees. 
They hatch in a short time into larva: which 
are said to drop to the ground, where they 
burrow down and feed upon the roots of 
trees and shrubs. When they have attained 
their growth they change to pupae. A short 
time afterward they emerge from the earth, 
and climb the trunk of some tree for a few 
feet, then the pupa skin splits open along 
the back, and the fully developed cicada 
emerges, leaving its cast-off skin adhering 
to the bark. The adult lives only a few 
weeks. 
The loud whirr of this insect is made by 
means of a pair of kettle drums situated be- 
hind the wings, one on each side of the 
body. These drums, according to Dr. 
Harris, “are formed of convex pieces of 
parchment, gathered into numerous fine 
pleats, lodged in the cavities of the body be- 
hind the thorax. They are played upon by 
muscles or cords fastened to the insides of 
the drums. When these muscles contract 
and relax, which they do wdth great rapid- 
ity, the drum-heads are alternately tight- 
ened and loosened, recovering their natural 
convexity by their own elasticity. The 
effect of this alternate tension and relaxa- 
tion is the production of a rattling sound, 
like that caused by a succession of quick 
pressures upon a slightly convex and elastic 
piece of tin plate.” The effect of the noise 
thus produced by these rapid vibrations is 
increased and intensified by certain large 
cavities within the body of the insect. The 
drums, and consequently the ability to 
make a noise, are confined to the males, on 
which account we have the old couplet : — 
Happy the cicade, 
For they all have voiceless wives. 
The katydids form another prominent 
part of nature’s summer orchestra. Ac- 
cording to an old saying they begin singing 
six weeks before frost. The adults are large 
green grasshopper-like insects that conceal 
themselves among the foliage upon which 
they feed. They produce sound by rubbing 
the wings rapidly together, so that the 
rough veins grate upon each other. Natu- 
ralists account for the song of the katydid 
just as they account for the songs of the 
birds, it being the natural way for the crea- 
ture to express his loves and fears and the 
various other feelings that pass through his 
diminutive brain. 
The crickets form another important ele- 
ment of the midsummer concerts, and their 
shrill notes are perhaps the most persistent 
and pervading of them all. 
THE GRANGER EVAPORATOR 
Fruit dfc Vegetable ulnl VMIfl I WII 
For family use and small fruitgrowers. The Beet ami 
Cheapest in the Market. Price $3.50, $6 and fill. Circulars 
free. EASTERN MFG. CO., 257 8. 5th St., Phila., Pa. 
APPLE SEEDLINGS. 
We offer for the fall trade a large lot of very line 
Apple Seedlings In large and small quantities, first, 
second and third class; warranted as good as any in 
the country, and as cheap. 
L,. KAUFFMAN A CO, Iowa City, Iowa. 
NUTTREES. 
CHEST NUTS- JAPAN MAIH- 
UMOTII and GIANT, Parry’s! 
Japan Walnuts, J A PAN GO I. DEN 
RUSSET, IDAHO and Kieller 
Pears, EUEAGNUS I.ONGIPES. 
HARDY ORANGES, and other 
valuable novelties. Small Fruits, 
_ GRAPES, &c. Fruit, Shade and 
Nut Trees, Ornamental Shruhn, Vines, Ac. Illustrated Des- 
criptive Catalogue Free. WM.PAKEY, Parry, N. J. 
