JULY S3 
grows vigorously, and the berries are large 
and fine. 
The Sharpless. —For three years past I 
have been trying to verify the extravagant 
claims put forward for this berry, and at this 
time I can only testify to large size, vigor of 
plant and moderate productiveness. In flavor 
it surely is the most insipid, coarse berry I 
ever tasted. It inclines to be hollow inside, 
is quicker to rot than to color, and is soft and 
perishable. My soil is low and rich. 
Lenntq's White is beautiful and excel¬ 
lent and certainly should be in every private 
garden. 
President Lincoln is still my standard 
for flavor, a id were it a little more produc¬ 
tive I should call it the very best straw¬ 
berry we have. In beauty, firmness and 
size it cannot be excelled, and on good soil it 
bears heavily. 
Captain Jack has attracted much atten¬ 
tion. It ripens late, grows vigorously, and 
bears abundantly. 
Black Defiance is also a splendid berry 
with me, 
Seth Bovden would be exceedingly desira¬ 
ble if it would ripen at the tip—it is so large 
and vigorous. Obviously there is yet room 
for a variety of strawberry that shall com¬ 
bine all the desirable qualities, and have none 
of the defects. Who will produce it ? 
Raspberries are beginning to ripen and 
these lower river towns of Ulster County,- 
so peculiarly adapted to this fruit, will be 
shipping it by the thousand crates in a few 
days. The new canes are growing vigorously 
and now is the time to pinch off the tops 
when about four feet high, which is better 
than to cut them when two or three feet 
longer, as the growth ot' short side shoots 
for next year’s fruiting should be induced. 
Some of the new Black Caps are promising. 
Cuthbert, Caroline and Herstine are all look¬ 
ing well. 
Currants are a partial failure here. It has 
been a nip aud-tuck fight with the worm 
for over a month. Where hellebore has not 
been applied vigorously and frequently the 
crop is gone. The insect is doggedly persistent, 
but hellebore is “ too much" for it. The green 
villains never seem to be able to cultivate a 
relish for the drug and yet why is it that so 
many growers will not take the trouble to 
apply this infallible rempdy ! I still incline to 
believe that La Versaillai.se and the Cherry 
Currants are identical. If somebody will fur¬ 
nish a variety of currants without the hard 
seeds, and with a few shades less acidity in 
flavor. I’ll guarantee him a big medal of 
honor and the cross of the legion—of fruit 
growers and consumers. 
drapes are not very pro nising in this lo¬ 
cality. Vines were late to grow, an 1 fruit 
set slowly. The bunches are becoming thin 
and straggling already and there is no indi¬ 
cation of a fine yield. My own limited ex¬ 
perience with some of the new white grapes or 
rather grape vines, would not benefit the en¬ 
thusiastic originators to any great extent, if 
given to the public. But I ain full of hope yet. 
I’ll cut the little vines back again next Win¬ 
ter, and again watch for results and grapes. 
Of course, there will be no peaches in this 
section. The large growers are trying to 
make the best of the situation, which is bad 
enough for them. The worst of it is the trees 
are dying in large numbers, and all orchards 
are impaired in vigor. It is as natural for a 
peach tree to bear fruit as to grow; and it 
would seeui when nature says to it "You 
sha’n’t bear fruit this year, you must wait;’’ 
the tree gets mad about it, and says "I’ll die 
first." 
Plums are pretty well fruited, and the eur- 
culio has not been as vigilant or destructive 
as in the past. But the black-knot is making 
fearful ravages in some places. I have a 
large Washington tree always healthy and 
vigorous heretofore, which during the past few 
weeks has become completely' covered with 
this disease; and now fresh young sprouts 
are growing directly from the black excres¬ 
cences everywhere. The tree is partially 
shaded and grows in low' 6oil. 
Apples will be less abundant than indicated 
at first. The fruit is dropping very fast. 
Perhaps a more moderate crop this year will 
leave the trees in better 3hape for fruiting 
next season. H. Hendricks. 
Kiugston, N. Y. 
- ♦♦♦ - • 
THE BIDWELL STRAWBERRY. 
In the Roral of July 8th, I find the words 
" Mr. Roe has done more to popularize the 
Bidwell than all Others put together." Please 
let me suggest that this variety has done moie 
to popularize itstdf than all other agencies put 
together. In the catalogue which I inclose 
you will see that 1 have invited to it the atten¬ 
tion of many horticulturists, both eminent 
and impartial. My aim has not been to give 
this variety celebrity on the grounds of my 
own commendation, but rather to invite as 
many people as possible to see it fruiting 
under different conditions, and you will re¬ 
member that I have cordially invited you to 
do the same. [That is true. Eds.] I state 
the simple fact when I say that it has again 
surpassed everything upon my place; and it 
also took the lead at other places that I have 
visited. I am hearing enthusiastic accounts 
of it from many'parts of the country. One 
writes from Baltimore Co., Md.; "Although 
the potted Bidwells I obtained from you last 
August arrived late and in a very dry season, 
they have far exceeded my expectations. I 
let the runners grow and potted a few hundred 
plants and set them out in September and am 
now carrying to market some of the finest 
berries that it has been my pleasure to see, 
both from the plants I obtained from you and 
those I potted. I shall plant largely this 
season, as I find they bear transportation 
splendidly, while the flavor and color are all 
that can be desired.” Another in Florida 
says, “ The Bidwell excelled all the varieties 
on my place not only in bearing, but the fruit 
was larger than that of any other variety 
excepting the Sharpless, and the carrying 
qualities of the Bidwell are equal to those of 
any other variety on my place. I certainly 
believe that of all sorts the Bidwell is the 
variety for Florida. My belief in this is so 
strong that I shall plow up most of the other 
kinds and next Fall set out entirely Bidwell. 
I must also state that the Bidwell seems to 
stand the hot sun and drought better than the 
other varieties.” 
I think the Bidwell has been so well tested 
now that I shall be greatly surprised and dis¬ 
appointed if it doe- not prove one of the lead¬ 
ing varities for the country at large. 
Cornwall-on Hudson, N. Y. E. P. Roe. 
Tea Plants. 
I wish to put in a word for tea plant-, urg¬ 
ing their growth in all the South, for I believe 
they will flourish in every State south of 
Maryland. My large plants were in full 
bloom in October and November, 1880, and 
they had fruit buds half grown when the in¬ 
tensely cold night of the 20th of December, 1880, 
(when the thermometer marked only four de¬ 
grees above zero) froze them solid; but in the 
Spring they showed not a leaf or a bud in¬ 
jured, and the crop of tea-nut seeds in the 
Fall of 1881 was very heavy and full, showing 
no injury from the intense cold the plants bad 
passed through. They have with me proved 
very hardy, and fine, strong, growers; and 
with their thick, dark-green, rich, shining 
leaves they form one of the most ornamen¬ 
tal evergf ecu shrubs within my knowledge, 
and the best for evergreen hedges. Every 
Southern family should have tea plants, and 
cultivate them for hedges about their houses 
and gardens. Easily grown and hardy, with 
dark green leaves, they bear trimming well, 
and in every way are the most desirable orna¬ 
mental hedge plants for the South. There is 
nothing more ornamental or attractive as 
well as useful. Picking the leaves and 
making the real Ooloug tea is a simple 
process, and thus all can raise tea for them¬ 
selves. S. Ott. 
Aiken, S. C. 
HOG FEEDING AT CHEESE FACTORIES 
X. A. WILLARD, 
Hogs are kept extensively at cheese factor¬ 
ies to consume the surplus whey made at these 
establishments. Sometimes the whey Is a per¬ 
quisite of the manufacturer, and in that case 
he buys his stock of swine in the Spring or 
at the commencement of the cheese making 
season, feeding t hem mostly on whey which is 
run from the factory to the pens, or into a 
tank near the pens where it is pumped into the 
troughs as needed. In many instances patrons 
bring their hogs to the factory to be fed during 
Summer, using a little ground grain or sbip- 
stuffs, but not unfrequeutly the whey is made 
almost the entire food. Whey, it may be re¬ 
marked in this connection, when used as a sole 
food for swine, does not contain the elements 
of uutritiou in the right proportion to make 
good wholesome meat. It may support life, 
but hogs that get nothing but whey soon be¬ 
come more or less diseased and their meat is 
watery and not such as should be used for 
human consumption. I am glad to say how¬ 
ever, that this fact is more generally recog¬ 
nized now than formerly, and that the major¬ 
ity of factories use a certain proportion of dry 
food, usually bran or shipstuff, in connection 
with whey for their hogs. 
The main objection to keeping bogs at fac¬ 
tories is the proximity of the pens or yards to 
the buildings. Even when these animals are 
located a considerable distance from the fac¬ 
tory the winds waft the odor aud stench of 
the pens to the milk room and curing bouse f 
and thus great damage is often done in taint¬ 
ing the products of the dairy. When a large 
drove of hogs is kept in the immediate vicin¬ 
ity of the factory it will be impossible to make 
a clean-flavored, first-class cheese; and the 
hog nuisance should be banished from every 
well-regulated factory. 
The best place for feeding hogs in connec¬ 
tion with cheese factories is that which has 
been adopted by Mr. Losee of Canada. He 
takes several acres of ground situated a long 
distance from bis factory, and so far that no 
odors from the hogs will reach it. Here a 
number of movable feeding troughs are 
arranged, and whey is daily carted from the 
factory in a large hogshead (similar to the 
arrangement for watering streets) and from 
this receptacle it is spouted into the troughs. 
The troughs are frequently moved from place 
to place in the field by hitching a chain to one 
end and hauling with a horse. Shelled corn 
is fre ueutly scattered over the ground to in¬ 
duce the hogs to root and work the soil. This 
they do very effectually, covering up their ex¬ 
crement and mingling it in the earth, thus 
keeping the premises clean and sweet and at 
the same time preparing the land in the best 
manner for puttingin a crop of Winter grain. 
The hogs get a due proportion of shipstuff* or 
other dry food with their whey, aud when 
they are sold in the Fall they are in high 
health and condition, bringing in a very hand¬ 
some profit. Another very considerable profit 
is realized from the enriching and preparing 
of the land for a crop—the frequent working 
of the soil eradicating every weed, root or 
living spark of vegetation. Others have fol¬ 
lowed Mr. Losee’s plan and find it effectual in 
ridding the factory of the “hog nuisance ,’’ 
while a much larger profit is realized, with 
more comfort and pleasure to all concerned, 
than by any other system of hog feeding at 
factories which has been adopted. 
(Jrntomo logical. 
INSECTS IN HICKORY AND LOCUST. 
DR. JOHN A. WARDER. 
It is a well known fact that if hickory trees 
be cut at certain seasons, the wood will be at¬ 
tacked by scavenger insects that destroy its 
value or more or less impair its usefulness. 
Long observation has enabled us to obviate 
this difficulty empirically, but we have 
much yet to learn, which can only be acquired 
by observation, guided by science and espe¬ 
cially by the close scrutiny of the entomolo 
gist. From such source we find that there are 
great numbers of insects which feed upon the 
leaves, bark and wood of the hickory: some 
of these will be here cited from Dr. A. S. 
Packard’s Bulletin No. 7, of the U. S. Ento¬ 
mological Commission, describing the insects 
injurious to forest and shade trees. 
The common hickory borer (Goes tigrinus), 
a long-horned, brown beetle, appearing in 
Summer. 
The Beautiful Hickory Borer (Goespulcher), 
found on the Sbell-bark and Pig-nut in June 
and July, scarce. The Belted Cbion (Chion 
cinctus), and the Drseoidal Saperda (Saperda 
diseoidea), belong to the same group of Ce- 
rambycidm. Their season for depositing the 
eggs is not given. 
The Common Hickory Borer, or the Locust 
Borer (Cyllene picta) is a well-known insect 
that is very destructive of locust trees— 
thought by some to be the same species in 
both trees, though Walsh of Illinois says the 
insect was abundant in hickory for many 
years, while the locusts at Davenport and 
Rock Island were not attacked until 1868; 
hence he thought there must be two distinct 
species, which view was supported by a differ¬ 
ence in the males, although the females of 
each were alike. This is not now sustained 
by Packard, who considers them the same. 
The Diceca lurida, Soenosphenus notarus, Nee¬ 
dy tus erythroeephalua and Doraschema ni¬ 
grum are all beetles that have been found in 
hickory wood, but enough is not known 
as to their habits and seasons of attack 
to enable us to fight them. The TwigGirdler, 
(Oncideres ciugulatus) is troublesome ou the 
smaller branches or twigs of hickory and other 
trees by completely girdling them after de¬ 
positing its eggs, so that the wind breaks 
them off These do not seriously affect the 
lumber, however. The Sinoxylon basilare 
bores deeply into the wood, affecting the cen¬ 
tral portions. 
The Apate basilavis bores small, straight 
hole? to the heart of the tree, entirely killing 
it. The Soolytus 4-spinosus undermines the 
bark, making long, slender tracks radiating 
from a primary vertical chamber. T his very 
destructive bark-borer affects the butternut 
aud other hickories. Riley says the beetle 
emerges in June and early in July. Both 
sexes bore into the trees to feed and to lay 
eggs. The larvae remain torpid during the 
winter and transform to pupae in May. The 
eggs are deposited in August and September. 
Mr. Le Conte mentions some twenty other 
beetles that affect the wood of hickory. 
Pure scientists may laugh as they please at 
our Western admiration for " practical ento¬ 
mology,” which has rendered most dear to us 
the names of the lamented Walsh and the ad¬ 
mired Riley, Packard and Thomas, of the U. 
S. Commission, and others who have given 
tbeir study such a practical bearing as to ren¬ 
der the study of entomology of very eminent 
service to the agriculturist by their studies of 
the times and manners of our insect foes, 
which enables us to contend successfully with 
them. Such studies, however, require years 
of close observation, aud, as will be seen by the 
quotations from the practical essay above 
mentioned, in the case of several of the insects 
named, thiir full history has not yet been re¬ 
corded so as to enable us to contend successfully 
against their ravages, and we must rely upon 
their natural enemies, especially upon their 
parasites, to keep them in check. Meanwhile 
we fall back upon empirical methods as the 
best we can do. The forester and woodman 
will tell you never to cut hickory in the Win¬ 
ter season, but always in the early Summer, 
and, if possible, to remove the bark, which can 
then easily be done. If cut later the eggs 
may have been deposited and the larvie will 
continue their depredations upon the valuahle 
wood. 
As for the Locust borer (Cyllene picta; for¬ 
merly Clytus pictus) the beautiful green beetle 
with golden bands, some of which form a W 
across the shoulders, may be gathered while 
feeding upon the flowers of the Golden Rod in 
September, or running up and down upon the 
sunny sides of the trunks of the trees prepar¬ 
ing for ovipositing. A few trees may be pro¬ 
tected by oovering the bark with soap or 
grease that is obnoxious to insects. A coating 
of whitewash has also been recommended, but 
these remedies how' efficient soever, are in¬ 
applicable in the forest; and here observation 
of the habits of this sun-worshipper or light- 
loving insect comes to our aid. In its natural 
habitat the False Acacia (Robinia pseud- 
acacia) is usually scattered among other trees 
and shaded by them there few are troul led 
by this borer. In open fields, on roadsides 
and in scattered groves the exposed trees are 
often sadly injured by the borer. A word to 
the wise may enable them to succeed in plant¬ 
ing this valuable ti ee. 
-*-*-•- 
Persian or Dalmatian Insect Fowder a 
Dead Failure. 
Encouraged by the glowing accounts I 
have seen of the Persian or Dalmatian Insect 
Powder, I have invested in some to experi¬ 
ment with. I saw some one said in a recent 
issue of the Rural that if thrown on a hot 
stove the vapor would kill flies, so I shut up 
our kitchen, which was the 1 full of them, 
and sprinkled the powder liberally on a hot 
cooking stove. The strong, sweet smelling 
amoke drove me out, but did not have the 
slightest effect on the flies that were still gaily 
buzzing when the doors were opened ten 
minutes afterwards. Not one was killed or 
affected, though I had my folks ready to 
sweep them up, as I had expected to see the 
floor covered with dead and dying as per 
advertisement. 
I now got desperate and caught one or two 
and held them in the powder and fairly rubbed 
it into them, but wheu released they lit on the 
wall, and brushed their legs together as though 
nothing had happened. It had no effect on 
potato beetles except that it disgusted the 
worms and drove them off temporarily. It 
would probably be useful to keep bugs away, 
but as far as killing anything it is a dead 
failure with me. At one dollar a pound I 
shall use none. But at five cents a pound cr 
less I would use it to dust over cabbages to 
keep the cabbage-worm miller from depositing 
her eggs. I only imagine it might be useful 
in that way, not having seen any yet this 
year. I desire to say that the powder was 
purchased at a wholesale druggist’s In New 
York City, at $1. a pound, and as far as any 
one can tell it was fresh. amateur. 
Insect Pests. 
Potato bugs and cabbage worms being very 
few, are doing no damage. Army-worn s 
have not reached us, and the soaking rain of 
July 2d, has most likely made an end of this 
pest in places where they had commenced 
their ravages. No rose-bugs, but the worms 
that eat the leaves are quite plentiful and a 
new pest which I have never before seen is 
the currant worm. This has this seasou for 
the first time commenced its ravages on our 
gooseberry and currant bushes, eatiug off the 
leaves, thus making the bushes full of fruit 
without leaves. No insects or mildew on 
grape-vines, the vines look very healthy, aud 
all the troubl y with this fruit will be due to 
the depredations of the Italian honey bee. 
Choice or new kinds, of course, can be pro¬ 
tected by putting paper bags over the bunches, 
but it is too much trouble to put Dags over all, 
where we have a hundred or more varieties. 
Columbia, Pa. L B. G. 
