1882.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
39T 
number to select from, and the chances are much 
greater of being able to get the better sorts, the 
supply of which may not exceed the demand. The 
common method of heeling-in, is to open a trench, 
and lay the trees down in a slanting position, and 
afterwards till in with earth. No unfilled places 
should be left around the roots. If the trees are 
set upright, they are much exposed to the weather. 
Keep the labels carefully in place on the trees. 
Blancliing the Celery. 
We last month described the manner of bring¬ 
ing the leaves of the celery into an upright posi¬ 
tion, or “ handling,” as the gardeners term it. The 
stalks are still green, and not fit for use until they 
have been whitened or “ blanched.” This is done 
by the complete exclusion of light, which is usual¬ 
ly effected by a banking up of earth. Any other 
method that will completely shut out the light 
will answer. The banking up is done with a spade, 
one person on each side, taking the soil from be¬ 
tween the rows and forming a steep bank against 
the plants, covering all except a few inches of the 
longest leaves; this bank is 10 or 12 inches wide 
at the bottom, and should be compact and smooth. 
In three or four weeks after banking the celery 
may be used. Only that which is needed early 
requires to be banked ; the stock for winter use is 
blanched, in trenches, or in boxes, and needs only 
the handling to bring the plants into the proper 
shape. A ti'ench is dug in a dry place, 10 inches 
wide, and deep enough to contain the whole plant, 
so that the top will be level with the surface. The 
celery is then placed in the trench, packing it as 
closely as possible, in an erect position. When 
cold weather- comes the celery, which is not in¬ 
jured by a moderate frost, must be covered with 
straw or leaves, the thickness of which must be 
increased as the weather becomes colder For 
family use, celery is often stored in boxes in the 
cellar, but the cellar must be cool. Boxes are 
made nine or ten inches wide, of any convenient 
length, and of a hight a little less than that of 
the plants ; the bottom is covered with an inch or 
two of sand or soil, and the celery placed in ir. as 
in the trenches. The taking up and storing of the 
main crop, in the latitude of New York, is left 
until the middle of next month, but in more 
northern localities it must always be done earlier. 
Tlie Corn Smut. 
The smut in Indian corn, so noticeable at this 
season, is a fungus, or minute plant of a very low 
order, that feeds upon the juices of the corn and 
finally makes itself conspicuous by the formation 
of a vast number of small, dust-like bodies in 
masses, upon the ears and other parts of the com 
plant. This dark, purple dust is the congregated 
spores or seeds of the smut plant, and it is this 
which carries the fungus through the winter. It 
is difficult to determine just how or where the minute 
spores effect an entrance into the young grow¬ 
ing corn; nevertheless it is important that they 
should be destroyed. This can be best done by 
picking off the smutted parts before the com is 
cut. If this work is neglected, care should be 
taken to separate all the smut at the time of husk¬ 
ing, and burn it; otherwise the spores will germinate 
the following year, and continue the pest. Cora | 
smut is injurious to animals, acting both as a 
poison and mechanical irritant. For this reason 
the smut should be kept from the feeding stalls. 
Pickiiig Apples. 
The proper picking and packing of apples is of 
great importance. The best keeping sorts will not 
be preserved well unless the fruit is uninjured in 
gathering,and packed securely. The most approved 
method of picking is by hand, with ladders, the 
fruit being put into a grain sack. The bottom and 
top of the sack are brought together and tied, and 
then hung upon the shoulder. A short stick may 
be used to keep the mouth of the sack open. The 
6ack is quickly and easily emptied by lowering the 
mouth end and lifting upon the bottom. The sack 
can be lowered into the barrel and the apples will 
run out without being bruised as when they are 
poured in from a basket from the top. Many ap¬ 
ple growers prefer to put the fruit in heaps for a 
few days that the skin may toughen before barrel¬ 
ing. In short the aim in picking should be to not 
bruise the fruit, and in this way enhance its 
keeping quality. The fruit should not move about 
in the barrels during shipment, and to this end the 
apples must be shaken down when the barrel is 
half full and again when full, after which the head 
is put on and pressed into place with considerable 
force. It is much better to have the upper apples 
somewhat flattened than to leave the fruit so it will 
stir in the package. The opposite head should be 
marked as the one to be opened. The mistake is 
sometimes made of not sorting the fruit. Make 
at least two qualities or grades, and mark each 
package with its grade. This will secure uniform¬ 
ity in the fruit in each barrel, and a better price. 
There is much to be gained in the way of a repu¬ 
tation for careful picking, honest assorting and the 
proper packing of all kinds of fruit. 
Tlie I»ea Weevil. 
The most destructive insect enemy of the pea, 
is the Pea Weevil (Bmchus pisi). This beetle is 
about V 5 -inch in length, with a rusty black color, 
mixed with more or less white on the wing covers. 
A back view of the insect is shown many times en¬ 
larged, at a, in figure 1, with outlines of the natural 
Fig. 1.— PEA WEEVIL. 
size at the left. This weevil was first observed near 
Philadelphia several years ago, from which place 
it is supposed to have spread, until at the present 
time it is found in most of the. States where peas 
are grown. The beetle appears when the peas are 
in bloom, and while the pods are growing rapidly, 
the females deposit their eggs upon any part of the 
surface, making no attempt to insert them within 
the young peas. The eggs are of a yellow color, 
Fig. 2 .— LARVA AND PUPA OF PEA WEEVIL. 
and fastened to the pod by means of a viscid fluid, 
which when dried is white, and glistens like silk. 
Pods will often be found to have from ten to twen¬ 
ty such eggs deposited upon them, and later the 
young larvae may be seen through the thin transpar¬ 
ent shells. The larva soon makes its way through 
the pod into the nearest young pea, the place of 
entrance being a small spot, like the puncture of a 
pin. The larva or “ worm,” figure 2, c, feeds upon 
the substance of the pea, avoiding the germ, and 
with a wonderful knowledge of its future needs, 
eats a circular hole on one side of the pea (fig. 1 &,) 
leaving only the hull as the covering. After this it 
passes into the inactive, or pupa state (fig. 2 d,) 
and finally becomes a beetle. When ready to come 
out, the mature insect has simply to cut the thin 
hull, when it is free. The natural size of the larva, 
pupa, and imago, are all shown in figure 2, with an 
enlarged side view of the last or perfect state. The 
time of issuing depends somewhat upon the season. 
If the summer has been hot and dry , like the past, 
many will come out in the fall, but as a rule, 
they remain in the pea until spring. Many are 
sown with the seed, especially with the early varie¬ 
ties, and this becomes a very ready means of intro¬ 
ducing the weevil into districts formerly free from 
the pest. All seed peas should be carefully exam¬ 
ined, and all “ buggy ” ones rejected ; they can be 
easily 7 detected by the discolored eye spot. There 
is very little danger, however, of planting peas 
when the hull is gone, as this shows that the beetle 
has already made its exit. The quickest way to 
separate the sound from the unsound peas, is to 
throw- them into water, when the infested ones will 
swim, and can be quickly removed. There is 
another and more certain remedy, requiring a unity 
of action among farmers of any region, that can 
not be expected in the present state of imperfect 
organization among them. It is evident that a 
mutual agreement, to not grow any peas for a year, 
would go far towards the extermination of the 
weevil. Such action should be followed by a most 
careful selection of seed for the following seasons. 
At present, the practicable and profitable method 
to pursue, is to sow only good sound seed. 
Weeds Along- tlie Itoad Sides. 
Some farmers appear to forget that their land 
extends to the middle of the roadway, and that 
they have rights and duties in connection with the 
road sides. At this season it is common to find 
by the way side the largest weeds in the neighbor¬ 
hood. They have had it all their own way and 
this has been to ripen a large crop of seeds. Such 
neglect of the road side is a great mistake, as it not 
only gives a neglected appearance to the street, but 
is a means of propagating weeds that do much 
damage to the crops in the adjoining fields. It 
does not matter how clean the cultivated crop may 
be kept, if weeds are left to g.^w just over the 
fence. It is too late now to do more than collect 
and burn these, but in doing this, the seeds should 
all be killed, to make the work of subduing these 
pests less burdensome in the future, beside® 
adding to the attractiveness of the street. 
Preparing- Plants for Wittier. 
It is a great mistake to delay the work of prepa¬ 
ration for winter until it is suggested by cool 
nights or a warning given by blighting frosts. 
When a plant has been taken from a pot and plant¬ 
ed in open ground it usually out-grows its former 
place and is too large for any vessel of convenient 
size. The root should be cut away to a considerable 
extent and likewise the top or foliage must be 
correspondingly reduced. Novices often fail at 
this point, for they dislike to part with any of the 
new growth, and set the plant in a pot unpruned 
and expect, what is not possible, that it will flour¬ 
ish. Cut back root system and branch system 
equally is the rule. Plants when thus transplanted 
need to be favored by being kept in the shade and 
sneltered from the drying winds until they have 
made a good start in the pots. Many of the house 
plants are kept in their pots during the summer 
and they will need repotting, or the pot washed 
and the surface soil replaced by fresh, rich earth. A 
larger pot is needed by those plants whose 
roots have formed a mat along the inner surface. 
The ball of earth can be examined quickly by 
spreading the left hand on the vessel—the stem 
passing between the fingers, and with the other 
hand on the bottom invert the pot and give the 
edge a downward tap against some object. If this 
does not succeed, pour some water around the edge, 
and after a short time repeat the operation. All old 
pots should be clean, and if new ones are used 
soak them in water until the pores are filled. A 
piece of broken vessel is placed over the bottom 
hole before filling in the potting earth. All the 
necessary pots, soil, etc., should be obtained now, 
that they may be at hand when needed at any time 
during the winter. 
