198 
THE RURAL NEV/-YORKER. 
March 18 
the trees themselves. Shallow rooting and deep root¬ 
ing are, in fact, determined by the soil, and not by 
the character of the tree. 
It is a common but very erroneous belief among 
many orchardists, that the spread of the roots of a 
tree is about the same as that of the tops. But all 
the observations thus far made, go to show that, or¬ 
dinarily, the roots far outspread the tops. Thus 
Bailey, in 1898, dug out two roots of a Howell standard 
pear tree, set in 1889, on a hard clay knoll. The full 
spread of the tree was seven feet; but the roots ran 
21 feet in one direction on their hunt for plant food. 
If they ran as far on the other side, here is a spread 
of 42 feet, or six times the spread of the top. Even at 
their shallowest point, they were eight inches below 
the surface, out of the reach of the plow, while at a 
distance of 21 feet, they were only 2>£ feet down. In 
a rich, well-tilled soil, and set in the same year as the 
other, a Fall Orange apple spread its roots eight feet 
on each side of the tree, while the branches spread 
but four feet on each side. Its roots, too, were below 
the reach of the plow. The soil about these trees had 
been well-tilled. But another tree growing on sod 
land, was found to have its roots close under the sur- 
f a ce where t illage would destroy them, where drought 
would kill them, and where they had to fight for their 
food with lusty grass roots. 
They Hunt Plant Food.— These facts, with a 
multitude of other observations, show clearly that, 
by our orchard management, begun before thetrees 
are set, and continued without any intermission, we 
can put the main mass of the roots where we want 
them, and keep them there ; also that, under ordinary 
conditions, the whole soil of an orchard is full of 
roots, and that fertilizers broadcasted will as certainly, 
probably more certainly, be quickly available to the 
trees than if spread only under each particular tree. 
Another thing worth remembering is that the roots 
of any plant will search for food as well as for air and 
water. If you set a plant in a tub or pot of rather 
poor soil, the roots will spread pretty evenly through 
it. If you enrich the soil with some fertilizer well 
mixed all through it, the spread of roots will be even, 
but perhaps not as extensive. If, on the other hand, 
you use the same amount of fertilizer in a third pot, 
but mix it with the three inches of soil next the bot¬ 
tom, you will find this layer filled with fine rootlets, 
which are the effective part of the root, while the 
root system is very sparsely spread elsewhere in the 
pot. If the fertilizer is mixed with the three inches 
of soil next the surface, or is put in a section of soil 
on one side, the result is the same. Just so surely as 
a hungry cat follows the milk pan, just so surely the 
roots of any plant follow after the plant food in the 
soil, and when they find it, the feeding roots go all 
through it, and stop hunting elsewhere. 
New Roots Made.— One other thing. The main 
roots of any perennial plant are, of course, fixed and 
immovable in the soil from year to year. Such roots 
have, for the most part, lost all power of taking up 
plant food. They are woody, and covered with a dead 
bark, somewhat like the trunk of the tree. The real 
work of imbibing food and drink is done by the slender 
rootlets and by the root hairs, and these are constantly 
making new growth. Besides this, at certain times, 
whole new roots start. Whenever clover, for instance, 
is cut, a sudden new growth of roots takes place be¬ 
fore any growth appears above ground, and it is quite 
certain that, with each renewal of tree growth above 
ground, or before such growth, there is a new growth 
of fibrous roots below; that is, a fruit tree occupies 
new tracts of soil as well as pushes fresh roots into 
the old root pastures. These tender roots lay hold of 
particles of soil so strongly that they cannot be pulled 
apart, the acid plant juice can gnaw the rock frag¬ 
ments so as to etch them where it has taken out plant 
food, and all the gathered material is passed on 
through the young sapwood chiefly to the leaves, 
where it is used for building up the plant, also for 
laying by a reserve of food in the stem or root to be 
used for the early Spring growth or for perfecting 
fruit. Experiments have shown that a fruit tree may 
lay up a reserve of food in its trunk and root, which 
may be carried there for more than one season to sup¬ 
ply, perhaps, the extra draft made on the tree in a 
great bearing year. [prof ] e. h. jenkins. 
Connecticut Experiment Station. 
(To be continued.) 
Spinach may be sown early, as soon as cherry trees are in 
bloom. When sown in drills, six ounces of seed are required for 
100 yards of row; if broadcast, the same amount -will sow a patch 
30 feet square. Spinach is also sown in late Autumn. 
Onion sets may be put out now. Three quarts of sets are re¬ 
quired to 100 yards of row; 8 to 10 bushels to the acre. South of 
central Virginia, the sets are planted in the Fall, during October 
and November, thus obtaining bulbs of marketable size very 
early. It is not wise to grow onions of an ungainly size. When 
growing vigorously, early ripening may be hastened, when the 
bulbs are near the desired size, by running a scuffle hoe under 
the onions at one side, so as to cut off half the roots. 
INJURIOUS INSECTS OF THE HUDSON 
RIVER \/ALLEY. 
The Hudson River Valley is interesting to entomol¬ 
ogists because a slender arm of what is known as the 
upper austral life zone extends along its banks from 
New York City to near Mechanicsville. This exten¬ 
sion of favoring climatic conditions and the unrivaled 
transportation facilities afforded by boat and train, 
make this river a natural pathway for imported and 
southern insects entering the State. The progress up 
the river of the Elm-leaf beetle can easily be traced. 
In the same way, the Asparagus beetle has become 
established along its banks. While the San Jos6 scale 
has been shipped with nursery stock without regard 
to faunal lines, the fact remains that to my know¬ 
ledge it has not been found in numbers in any locality 
outside of the area lying within the upper austral life 
zone, except in one or two instances, and these are 
probably on the border line of this life zone. New 
York State is specially interesting because three life 
zones are represented within her borders, thus offer¬ 
ing a grand opportunity of determining the effect of 
climate upon insect life. In order to facilitate this 
investigation, and to bring these facts together and 
render them accessible to the public, a corps of volun¬ 
tary observers is being organized. This will consist 
of persons willing to send during the growing season 
short weekly reports on the insects coming under 
their notice. This service is designed to interest the 
public in the practical study of insects, to produce re¬ 
sults that will not only be of great value to those un¬ 
dertaking the work, but will prove a lasting benefit 
to the State at large. 
The need an orchard has of close attention from its 
owner is strikingly shown by the many insects known 
Station Pea. Fig. 75. Gregort’s Surprise. Fig. 76. 
AS LIKE AS TWO PEAS. 
See Ruralisms, Page 200. 
to attack the apple tree or its fruit. In 1882, Dr. 
Lintner published a list of 176 ; it was increased in 
1894 to 280 by Prof. Bruner; in 1895, Dr. Lintner’s 
original list was extended to 360, and subsequent ad¬ 
ditions have brought the total up to 371. In a similar 
manner, Prof. Bruner has compiled a list of 148 
species depredating on the grape vine. While by no 
means all of these can be considered injurious, many 
under favoring conditions might prove quite destruct¬ 
ive. In a similar manner, the great importance of 
spraying trees about the period of blooming, though 
not while in bloom, is shown by the pests that begin 
their work at this time. Among these may be named 
the tent caterpillars, those of the White-marked tus¬ 
sock moth, a number of climbing cut- worms, and prob¬ 
ably, green fruit worms also, the canker worms, the 
White Eugonia (a measuring worm related to canker 
worms), the Oblique-banded leaf-roller, the Leaf 
crumpler, the Eye-spotted bud-moth, the Apple-bud 
worm, the Cigar and Pistol case-bearers and the Plum 
curculio. The man who has none of these pests in his 
orchard is very fortunate, but as a rule, he will suffer 
more or less from some of them, and thorough spray¬ 
ing just after the blossoms have fallen may well be 
considered a very desirable form of insurance against 
loss through insect activities, though where cate- 
bearers, bud moths and others occur in numbers, it 
may be necessary to spray when the buds begin to 
open in order to prevent injury to the trees. 
Though a well-known insect, the tent caterpillar was 
exceedingly destructive in 1898. Many orchards were 
completely defoliated, a result of not taking due pre¬ 
cautions earlier in the season. At Schenectady and 
along the Mohawk Valley, there was a remarkable 
outbreak of Xylina antennata, an insect more familiar 
to farmers as a green worm eating into apples. 
Hundreds of Silver maples were defoliated, and the 
abundance of the larvae reminded one of an army 
worm attack. e. p. felt. 
New York State Entomologist. 
TREATMENT OF FROZEN TREES. 
"When to Prune.— The Ohio Experiment Station 
has issued a timely bulletin on the pruning of frozen 
fruit trees. It is advised that pruning be deferred 
until it is possible to tell how much injury has been 
done; but as the frozen wood seems to have a dele¬ 
terious effect upon the sound parts, such pruning 
should not be deferred until growth commences. The 
pruning should be done in March, or in some cases, 
as late as April. In most cases, the amount of wood 
removed should be determined by the extent of the in¬ 
jury. Peaches and some varieties of plums, however, 
are an exception, requiring more severe pruning. A 
peach tree three to five years old, which has never 
had much pruning, even where injury by freezing has 
not extended beyond the small twigs, would better 
have all the branches cut off within one to three feet 
of the body of the tree. A tree with long, slender 
branches, having most of the bearing wood near the 
extremities, needs topping, even though a crop must 
be sacrificed to get the trees into proper shape In 
the case of young trees, one or two years planted, the 
injury may extend to the trunk, and possibly, nearly 
to the ground. If there is life above the bud, the 
best thing is to cut the injured top entirely away, and 
start a new top. The stump should be covered with 
wax, to prevent cracking. American and Japan plums 
should be treated the same as peach trees, and possi¬ 
bly, sweet cherries. Apple and pear trees are less 
likely to need this pruning. 
The February Freeze in Missouri.— Secretary 
Goodman, of the Missouri State Horticultural Society, 
says that no preceding Winter has ever produced such 
serious results to the fruit crop as the great freeze of 
last February. Peach trees are badly injured, and 
must be cut back severely. If the bark has loosened 
all around the tree, or so far around that it cannot 
recover, cut the tree off at the ground, and allow a 
sprout to form a new tree. Japan plums are badly 
injured, and must be treated like the peaches. Plums 
of the Wild Goose type did not suffer, neither'did 
Morello cherries. Duke and Heart varieties are in¬ 
jured. In many localities, apple trees have been badly 
damaged by the rupture of the bark, and sometimes, 
of the tree itself. If the bark is loose all around the 
tree, it would better be cut down to the ground, or 
the snow line, and a sprout trained for a new tree. If 
the bark is only slightly loosened, it should be re¬ 
moved, the scar covered with grafting wax, and the 
top cut back, but not so severely as in the case of the 
peach. 
d When Improved Chestnuts Bear.— They vary with the soil and 
climate. Paragon will often bear fruit the second year after 
planting; Rldgely and Numbo the third and fourth. 
“The Birds and I” is the title of a leaflet issued from Cornell 
University intended to interest boys and girls in Summer 
boarders. These boarders are birds like the bluebird, martin 
and wren, that will come to spend the Summer on the farm. The 
boys and girls are requested to try to make these boarders feel at 
home. 
The Early Ohio Grape.—How does the Early Ohio grape com¬ 
pare in flavor with the Concord ? x. E. B. 
Minnesota. 
Ans.—T he quality of the Ohio grape is more like that of the 
Champion than it is like that of the Concord. In other words, it 
is inferior to that of the Concord. 
Every now and then some one comes forward with an account 
of a “ hybrid ” apple-pear, which is said to be blight-proof, and 
has other remarkable qualities. It is safe to say that this “ hy¬ 
brid ’’ exists chiefly in the imagination of the author of the arti¬ 
cle, and no one should ever spend a dollar for a so-called “ hy¬ 
brid ” tree. 
Salsify or oyster plant is sown when cherries bloom, in drills 
18 inches apart. The ground must be deeply worked and well 
enriched. When the plants are two or three inches high, thin 
them to four inches apart. Cultivate like carrots, and store 
similarly. Sandwich Island is a good variety. Scorzonera, or 
Black salsify, is treated in the same way. Four ounces of seed 
will sow 100 yards of row. 
During March, see that the manure is properly cared for, if 
further hotbeds are desired. Chop and turn the compost heap, 
if work is to be done under glass. If no hotbeds or frames are 
used, cabbage may be sown in a sheltered place, where the 
ground is mellow. Locality must govern the time of beginning 
outdoor occupatic ns quite as much as latitude. Delay is needed 
where the soil is heavy. 
My Japan plum orchard, set in 1892, has made a fine growth of 
wood, but has not produced a dozen plums yet. The trees bloom 
very lull, but come out so early that they get caught by the 
Spring frosts. We have had a crop of peaches two years in suc¬ 
cession on trees set in the same field, some of them among the 
plum trees. j. m. r. 
Erie, Pa. 
Sage and Thyme are two of our commonest kitchen herbs, yet 
they are often absent from the farmer’s garden. Sow when the 
cherry trees are in bloom, in rows 12 inches apart, thinning the 
plants in the rows afterwards. The thyme is a perennial, and 
when once started, may be kept for years. Golden-leaved thyme 
is pretty enough for the flower garden, while quite as savory as 
the plain leaf for flavoring purposes. 
