FEB47 
planters report that they have commenced 
thinning their walnuts with a profitable re¬ 
turn of posts, and leaving 300 trees t' the acre 
to grow to manufacturing size. White Wil¬ 
low maintains Its popularity for wind-breaks 
which can be grown to 12 feet in three years 
and with one wire attached form a perfect 
fence and protection from storms. 
Twig blight and all its theories down to elec¬ 
trical influence were discussed, but no one could 
give either cause or remedy. Hedges, which are 
prospering, received proper attention. The 
introduction of Rocky Mountain evergreen®, 
which have succeeded well here, was recom¬ 
mended. One exhibitor showed several quarts 
of persimmons. He has quite a number of 
trees which bear full crops every year. He 
also exhibited a quart of hard-shelled almonds 
grown from trees grafted on the peach. Both 
these were from the southern part of the 
State. The Treasurer’s report showed a 
healthy condition of finances, and the fruit¬ 
growers reported the trees full of buds for a 
coming crop, and these two conditions prom¬ 
ise a great exhibition in 1883. 
Hou James Barnard, of Table Rock, who 
is oue of the m >st successful fruit-growers in 
the State, was elected President, and J. F. 
Allan, who has been prominent for years in 
forestry. Secretary. 
A NEW PLANT LOUSE. 
During the past Summer and Autumn, I 
have referred several times, in the Bee Jour¬ 
nals, to a large plant louse which, so far as I 
can learn, is uudescribed. This louse attacks 
the sycamore. It secretes an abundance of 
nectar which attracts the bees and other 
hymenopteroos and sweet loving insects in 
great numbers. This sweet substance becomes 
the seat of a fungus which blackens the 
leaves, branches and trunk. ThiB fungus is 
often observed on other trees similarly at¬ 
tacked, as the beech, tulip, linden, etc. The 
remarkable thing about this insect i'b the fact 
that it has sprung up all over the country the 
past season, though previously so scarce as to 
attract little or no attention. This peculiarity 
which seems so strange and inexplicable is 
not confined, however, to this insect. 
Louse With Wings—Fig. 72. 
The male (Fig. 72) expands more than one- 
half inch (14 m m) and is one-fifth of an inch (5 
m m) long. The egg-producing female (Fig, 
73) is one-third of an inch (8 m m) long. The 
eggs are orange in color, and about one- 
twelfth of an inch (2 m m) in length. These 
Wingless Louse—Fig. 73. 
eggs were deposited in immense numbers. The 
color of the lice is dark gray. The nectaries 
are short, as is true of all the lice of this 
genus, Lachnus. 
Our larches aud willows are seriously 
attacked (a certain years by species of Lach- 
nns, and very likely the next year very few 
of the lioe will bo found. It is more than 
probable that this Sycamore Lachnus will not 
be so very common next year. In Indiana 
and Ohio it furnished the past Autumn to the 
bees no slight amount of stores. A. J. Cook. 
Ag. College, Lansing, Mich. 
—-- 
ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES. 
C. V. RILEY. 
Phylloxera Laws. —Belgium has lately 
entered the list of States which have adopted 
the rules of the International Convention of 
Herne, relative to the prevention of phyllox 
era ravages. These rules prohibit the im¬ 
portation and transit through Belgium of 
vines, cuttings, etc. from infested districts, 
but allow their transportation from non-in- 
fested districts, subject to special authoriza¬ 
tion from the Minister of the Interior. Im¬ 
portation of garden produce, cereals, fruit 
and cat flowers is not affected by these rules, 
but all other plants, shrubs and vegetables 
can only bo admitted through the custom¬ 
houses and upon very stringent specified 
conditions. 
Diseases of the Chinch Bug.— Professor 
Forbes, in a recent communication to a Wes¬ 
tern agricultural paper, gives some particu¬ 
lars in regard to the two fungus parasites 
which be and Professor Popenoe observed In¬ 
festing the chinch bug. The white, cottony 
substance which fastens the chinch bugs to 
leaves and stalks, proved, upon investigation, 
to be similar in character to that which so 
commonly efestroys house flies, and Professor 
Burrill declared it to belong to the same genus 
(Entomophtbora or Empasa) but probably 
cons ituting a different species. The bac¬ 
terium parasite was successfully cultivated 
by Professor Forbes in beef broth and lately 
described by Professor Burrill as Micrococcus 
iusectorum. It is allied to the Microccus 
which Pasteur found to be the cau®e of the 
destructive disease of silkworms in France. I 
look forward with great interest to the re¬ 
sults of the practical experiments which Pro¬ 
fessor Forbbs promises to make this season 
with this parasite. 
Fostering the Study of Economic En¬ 
tomology —France does more for the pro¬ 
motion of economic entomology than any 
other country in Europe, as might be ex¬ 
pected from a country whose main source of 
revenue, the grape-vine, is so dangerously 
threatened by the phylloxera, and which de¬ 
rives so much wealth from the cultivation of 
the silkworm. The latest step is, as we learn, 
the donation of a plot of land by the city 
authorities of Paris for a school of “insect¬ 
ology” (to literally translate the bastard term 
that has of late come into nse there) to be 
founded by the 8iciet£ Centrale d’Agricul- 
ture et d’Insectologie. An experimental 
apiary, a silk nursery and a mulberry plan¬ 
tation have already been or are to be con¬ 
structed in connection with this school, while 
a museum of useful and noxious insects, of 
insectivorous animals etc., will help to illus¬ 
trate the lectures to be held in the new school. 
Smplntttnls, &c. 
THE BEST IMPLEMENTS. 
I MUST sympathize with Mr. D. E. Stevens, 
of Kansas, who in the Rural of December 
80, asks why the names of the sulky plows 
mentioned by correspondents of the Rural 
were not permitted to appear in its columns, 
and I admitthat his striclures, which apply to 
all respectable agricultural papers, are per¬ 
fectly legitimate How comes it that the best 
agricultural papers in the land cannot— 
honestly and usefully—advise as to the real 
comparative value of agricultural implements 
offered in the market, every day and every¬ 
where l Who, to save his life, could honestly 
and conscientiously say which is the best 
sulky plow offered for sale I Who has, or 
have, made the necessary comparative tests, 
scientific and practical, in order to solve such 
problems I It strikes me that the agricul¬ 
tural interests of North America—throwing 
in Canada—are of snch importance that lend¬ 
ing agricultural journalists should have at 
their command some authoritative and satis¬ 
factory answer to Mr. Btevens’s query, and 
to all questions of a similar nature. 
We have, yearly, innumerable fairs—Inter¬ 
national Fairs, National Fairs. State Fairs, 
District, County or Township Fairs—where, 
generally, any number of prizes are offered 
for agricultural implements, and yet, where 
or when have we, in America, thoroughly 
scientific and practical tests of such imple¬ 
ments as should be in daily use by farmers 
all over the land f 
One of the most important features of the 
Royal Agricultural 8ociety of England’s in¬ 
valuable work has been, for many years, 
the thorough teat of agricultural implements. 
These tests, when necessary, are continued 
from year to year under the very best author¬ 
ity in Europe, and the decisions bear such 
weight that they are accepted, generally, on 
all sides. The subdivision of labor is such 
that, in about five years, all classes of useful 
implements have been tested thoroughly and 
publicly reported upon. 
Why should we not unite in America and 
organize a thorough, national test of agri¬ 
cultural implements, under the best possible 
management ? Why should we not, without 
further loss of time, work with a will towards 
the solution of such problems as every farmer 
iu the land is directly interested In having 
solved 1 Might not agricultural writers in 
America take up this subject of thorough 
tests for all useful implements, and keep it 
stirring until some proper solution be obtai ned ? 
Montreal, Canada. Ed. A. Barnard. 
[We have tested many agricultural imple¬ 
ments and have presented our reports. It is 
not just that any one who has tested a plow 
or so should praise it as the best of all.—E ds.] 
ifctiscfllanttms. 
Paint for Roofs. 
Here in the West people have been using 
for this purpose what we call paint, that has 
given the very best satisfaction. It is made 
as follows: One barrel or 42 gallons of coal 
tar, 20 pounds of water lime, commonly called 
hydraulic cement; 15 pounds of alabastine 
and 10 pounds of yellow ochre. The above is 
one of the very best roof paints that is in ex¬ 
istence; it i3 cl eap and durable. I have 
known it to be put on to shingle roofs when 
the shingles were all curled up by the hot sun- 
and in 24 hours after it had been applied the 
shingles were all straightened out as nicely as 
if they were new. The process of putting it 
on is very simple. We make a rope ladder 
with steps made of inch pine boards, strips 
12 inches long, two inches wide, with holes in 
the ends to pass the rope through, knots being 
made on both sides of the strips to h' Id the 
ladder the proper distance apart. Put small 
loops on the end of the ropes to hook under 
the shingles at the opposite side of the roof; 
then take a large whitewash brush, stand on 
the ladder and put on the paint. The bucket 
that holds the paint has two legs at one side to 
hold it level on the roof. w. H. L. 
Stonington, Ill. 
-- ♦♦♦ - 
Boys vs. Thermometers. 
What a difference a thermometer makes 
with a boy’s feelings on a cold morning! 
My hired boy said, after milking, “Pretty 
cold this morning t” “ Yes, middling,” said 
I, and that seemed to satisfy him. After he 
came in from doing the chores, I remarked 
that the mercury was 16 degrees below zero. 
“ By Jinks,” said he, “ it’s the coldest morn¬ 
ing I ever see' 1 and he shook enough to make 
the windows rattle. Had I told him it was 
several degrees above zero he would have 
finished his chores without his overcoat, but 
as it was bis overcoat stuck close by him till 
he had finished. D. D. 
Why not, indeed 1— Why cannot farmers 
grow 269 bushels of shelled corn to the acre 
as well as smaller amounts? Have the rows 
two feet apart, and the seed one foot in the 
row I Let each stalk average one ear and 
each ear one pound and the thing is done, as 
easily as—whistling with a mouth full of meal. 
That Iowa first-prize winner should try a | 
whole acre next season. It is a poor rule that 
won’t work on a large as well as a small scale. 
Granville, Ohio. w. r. h. 
American Land for American Farmers 
—What Gen. Le Due savs ahout it in the 
Rural of September 30: “The small re¬ 
mainder of arable public lands is needed for 
our own children and grandchildren, and we 
hav« no right to disregard their interests by 
permitting the public domain to be divided 
among foreigners,” is true «nd timely. I 
have talked with a large number of farmers 
and every one of them indorses all that Gen. 
Ls Due savs about it. This question should 
be kept before the farmers. “ Farmer.” 
CATALOGUES, ETC., RECEIVED. 
Report of the Commissioner of Agri¬ 
culture for 1SS1 and 1882.—Instead of the 
usual lapsus of a year or two between the 
Commissioner’s annual report and its publi¬ 
cation, weave this vear favored with the com¬ 
bined report of 1S81-’S2 in one volume, thus 
early in the new year. Nothing but the report 
of the Commissioner appears, however, in this 
volume, the detailed reports of the ento¬ 
mologist, botanist, chemist and statistician for 
1882 being reserved for later publication. 
The reoort for 1881-83, now before us, com¬ 
prises 704 pages, and contains numerous valu¬ 
able plates illustrating injurious insects, as 
well as the bacteria, etc., that cause the va¬ 
rious diseases known as Swine Plague, Fowl 
Cholera and Southern cat tie fever. There are 
also 25 fine plates of grasses and clovers From 
the Commissioner’s report to the President for 
1882 we learn that the Departmental work has 
been vigorously prosecuted for the past year. 
A new building is nearly completed for stor¬ 
ing the seeds annually distributed. During 
the year the grand total of seed packages sent 
out was 3.396,476. In the microscopical divis¬ 
ion investigations have been carried on con¬ 
cerning the primary cause of pear-tree blight, 
and the chemical division has been engaged 
largely in investigating the sugar-producing 
qualities of sorghum, beets and other plants. 
From the Commissioner’s remarks on the en¬ 
tomological division we learn that the chief 
staples have suffered comparatively little 
from destructive insects, though the aggre¬ 
gate damage to all products, fruit, vegetables, 
etc., by injurious insects was very large. Con¬ 
cerning injurious insects, some 2,500 letters of 
inquiry were received by the Department last 
year. Drs. Mi’ler, Salmon and Detmers have 
been engaged in investigating the diseases of 
domestic animals ; detailed reports will be 
submitted later. The Statistician reports that 
the aggregate production of cereals was 2,692,- 
000,000 bushels, against 2.066,029,570 for 1881. 
We shall have occasion to refer to these reports 
from time to time during the present year. 
B K. Bliss & Sons, 34 Barclay St., New 
York. This is one of the handsomest cata¬ 
logues published anywhere. A colored plate, 
“New Perpetual-flowering Carnations,” is pre¬ 
sented, extremely true to life as we know from 
having seen the flowers from which the plate 
was drawn. It is alive with novelties—first 
and foremost of which are the two kinds of 
prize corn (Thoroughbred Flint and Heavy 
Dent)sent out in the Rural’s last Free Seed 
Distribution. Several kinds of new wheats, 
oats, potatoes, tomatoes and many flowers are 
also announced. 
NOTES FROM WESTERN ARKANSAS. 
We have a very fine country noted for its 
rich, productive soils, of which we have a 
variety. The red sandy lands are quite 
fertile with seasonable weather; but if a 
four weeks’ drought visits us in July and 
August, short crops are inevitable. Our best 
lands for the growing of cotton, corn, wheat, 
oats, potatoes, melons and vegetables are the 
black and gray sandy lands. A good crop 
can always be counted on, if properly plowed, 
and if we have a really good season the yield is 
enormous. About threo-fourths of this part 
of the State is tillable,the remnant being rocky, 
of the sand-rock grit formation, and very 
suitable for building and fencing purposes. 
We have the foliowiog varieties of timber: 
Black, Red and White Willow, Overcnp 
White Oak and Post Oak, hickory, ash, 
pecan, walnut, elm. Chinquapin, Hackberry, 
cottonwood, mulberry, maple aud pine. 
Wheat yields from 10 to 30 bushels; corn, 
from 25 to 100; oats, from 30 to 90; cotton, 
from one to one and-a-half bale per acre. All 
field and garden vegetables are produced m 
abundance, and f rnits, such as apples, peaches, 
pears, plums, grapes aud berries, grow to per¬ 
fection here. This is said to be the healthiest 
portion of the Mississippi Valley, as our great 
elevation on the Ozirk Mountains give# us 
those healthful breezes that blow all the 
malaria right from os. As to water, there is 
an abundance during the year for stock and 
all purposes, there being clear running 
streams and some excellent springs of pure, 
cold, soft water, besides quite a number 
having medicinal properties, which have 
more than a local reputation. Horses, cattle, 
sheep and goats thrive on the range, without 
being fed, from April to December. This year 
hogs are getting thoroughly fat on the mast. 
Among the oldest farmers there is a prevail¬ 
ing opinion that it will not pay to raise corn 
and feed it to hogs. Corn is fed to nothing 
but stock in actual U9e. Each farmer plants 
just sufficient corn for bread and work-stock 
while he makes another crop. The fault is in 
the farmer, and not in the country. Land is 
worth from 50 cents to $20 per acre, according 
to location. Taere is abundant room for 
more good farmers here. They could buy 
l improved farms for less than the improve¬ 
ments cost, or land could be rented on their 
own terms. Some farms rent from $3 to $6 
per acre for improved land, while on others 
everything 19 furnished for making a crop 
except, rations, and the tenants receive one- 
half the crop. Wages on the farm are from 
$10 to $15 per month and board, according to 
the amount of industry shown by the laborer. 
Carpenters, blacksmiths, overseers, clerks, 
etc , get good wages, and can always get em¬ 
ployment. All this country needs is a little 
I scientific farming and a diversity of crops. 
Silk culture could be made a profitable busi¬ 
ness here, as this country is admirably 
adapted to the growth of the mulberry-tree. 
It is an established fact that Western Arkan¬ 
sas cannot be excelled by any other section. 
Those born aud raised here do not know how 
to appreciate It like those who come here 
from the older States. Men with $300 or 
more could satisfy themselves here and bet¬ 
ter their condition and circumstances by 
making a good, comfortable living more 
easily than anywnere else. The country is 
settled by people from the Middle and South¬ 
ern States; therefore the society wouldprove 
congenial to others coming from those States. 
Ozark, Franklin Co. R. B. 
