1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
3oi 
Brunette, Parker Earle, Saunders and Woolverton: and 
Of the imperfect-flowering kinds, Bubach, Greenville, 
Mary and Carrie. 2. The list of pears now grown by 
Ft. D. L. comprises some of the best kinds, but the 
Bartlett is generally known at home and in the 
English market, and esteemed by all as about the 
best pear in existence. There are others of higher 
quality, but none that is better, taking all things to¬ 
gether. Lawrence is a very choice Winter pear, and 
so is Winter Nelis. The fact that the trees came from 
west of Nova Scotia is no reason why they should not 
do well there. 3. A suitable fertilizer for fruit 
trees should have large proportions of potash and 
phosphoric acid, and not very much nitrogen—200 
pounds of muriate of potash, 600 pounds of dissolved 
phosphate rock, and 100 pounds of nitrate of soda 
niake a good fertilizer. If clover or rich stable man¬ 
ure be plowed under, there will be no need of the 
nitrate of soda, and humus will be added to the soil, 
which is very necessary. 
Facts About Plant Lice. 
T: It.. Kansas .—About how many distinct kinds of plant lice 
injurious to the farm and garden are described by entomologists? 
How do they propagate—by eggs or like aiiimals? I And two 
quite distinct kinds on Chrysanthemums, the one a light green, 
with pink eyes, the other a mahogany color, with darker eyes and 
legs. I And large and small, of both kinds, but most off the green 
ones. I have been picking them off for more than a month, but 
more come every day. A Ane artist brush wet with soap suds or 
very thin mucilage is the best thing I have found for catching 
them. Last Spring, much alarm was caused by Anding thou¬ 
sands on the fruit buds of the apple trees a few weeks before 
blooming, but fortunately they did but little harm. I think our 
entomologists should devote more time to the study of these pests. 
ANSWERED BY M. V. 8LINOERLAND. 
Enough has already been written about plant lice to 
make a moderate-sized library ; there is a work upon 
the British aphids alone which occupies four volumes 
of several hundred pages each, and it is filled with 
colored figures of the different kinds. Yet, in 
spite of all this, these little creatures are so small, so 
variable, so hard to preserve, present so many differ¬ 
ent forms in the same species, and have such varied 
and interesting life histories that what we now know 
about them is but a drop in the bucket as compared 
to what is yet to be learned. It would take a volume 
to include the interesting stories which might be told 
of the lives of some of the commonest of these plant 
lice. I believe that no other group of insects presents 
so many curious, varied, interesting and wonderful 
problems of life as do the plant lice. I know of no 
other group about which there is need of more defin¬ 
ite knowledge, and where even an amateur could soon 
be delving into the realm of the unknown, which fact 
lends a great stimulus to the study of anything. 
As to how many kinds of these plant lice have been 
described as injurious to farm and garden crops, I can¬ 
not say definitely. About 700 different kinds of plant 
lice have been described in the world, and nearly 250 
have been identified in the United States. Thirty- 
seven different kinds have been listed as working upon 
plants in greenhouses. Nearly every farm or garden 
crop has its special plant-louse enemy. The earlier en¬ 
tomologists thought that there were as many kinds of 
plant lice as there were different kinds of plants, that 
is, each kind of plant had a special plant louse which 
fed upon it. We now know that a plant may be at¬ 
tacked by three or four or more different kinds of 
aphids, and that the same aphid may attack a half 
dozen or more different kinds of plants; some plant 
lice spend part of their lives on a tree and the remain¬ 
der on some kind of grass, perhaps. 
Many kinds of plant lice lay eggs in the Fall, and 
these eggs winter over. The same kind of a plant 
louse which laid these eggs may bear its young alive 
during the Spring and Summer, for generation after 
generation. I have reared one plant louse common in 
greenhouses for about four years, producing nearly 
100 generations during that time, and with no indica¬ 
tions of any egg stage or the appearance of any male 
forms. Doubtless some of these greenhouse species 
may thus breed indefinitely, their young being born 
alive, and no males appearing. In the case of other 
plant lice, there is always an egg stage in each gene¬ 
ration. 
The Apple aphis has a curious life-story to tell. 
Briefly stated, as worked out here at the insectary a 
few years ago, it is as follows : It winters as a small, 
black egg, on the bark of the apple tree. The wing¬ 
less stem mother, hatching from the eggs in the Spring, 
rears a brood of winged females which fly to grasses, 
like the June grass, where 13 generations (alternating 
broods of winged and wingless females, smaller and 
quite unlike those born on the apple tree) may be pro¬ 
duced during the Summer, and may continue to breed 
in Winter wheat in the Fall. In the Fall, winged 
females, born on the grasses, fly to the apple trees, 
and there rear a brood of true wingless females which 
are soon fertilized by winge 1 males, also born on the 
grasses; the true females then lay the eggs which 
hibernate. Thus the fact that the insect soon leaves 
the apple tree in the Spring accounts for their usually 
doing but little damage thereon. 
Yes, there are two very distinct kinds of plant lice 
working upon the Chrysanthemum in greenhouses. 
Entomologists have bestowed upon these little crea¬ 
tures the following names, which would seem to be big 
enough to overwhelm the lice : the green species bears 
the name of Aphis ehrysanthemicola, and the brown 
or black one, Siphonophora chrysanthemicolens. 
Whale-oil soap, kerosene emulsion, and tobacco in 
various ways (as a decoction, dry as a dust, or the 
“ Rose-leaf” compound) are successfully used to de¬ 
stroy plant lice in all situations. 1897 was remarkable 
as a “ plant louse year ”. It seemed as though almost 
every plant, whether garden vegetable, shade tree, or 
a worthless weed, swarmed with the little sucking 
creatures; the honey-dew they secreted covered the 
leaves and walks with a Varnish-like coating. 
A Disease of Apple Trees. 
IF. F., Castle Shannon, Pa. —I inclose a piece of apple-tree 
wood, badly affected with some kind of scale. The whole tree is 
affected, and this tree, so far as we can see, is the only one in 
tlie orchard that is affected. What is the cause and nature of 
tliis disease or whatever it may be ? 
A ns. —The bark on the piece of apple branch looked 
as though it had been blistered ; little elevated areas 
were thickly scattered all over it. The blister-like 
elevations remind one of scale insects, but a little 
careful cutting with a sharp knife would show 
that the elevations were swollen places in the bark, 
and no animal life would be found connected with 
them. The cause of this peculiar blistering of the 
bark is of a physiological nature, and is thus due 
neither to insect, bacterial or fungous enemies. It is 
known as the (edema of apple trees. It is a sort of a 
dropsical swelling of the tissues of the bark, induced 
by the unequal operation of the physiological princi¬ 
ples which govern plant growth. The cause will, 
doubtless, be found in some condition of the soil, cul¬ 
tivation or pruning of the trees, which would favor 
root absorption, and hinder transpiration, or growth at 
a sufficient number of points in the tree to take charge 
of all the water which the roots absorbed. In one case 
which was brought to the attention of the Cornell Ex¬ 
periment Station, the fact was developed that the soil 
in the young orchard was very fertile and well worked, 
and that the conditions, so far as soil was concerned, 
were very favorable for rapid root absorption and 
growth. In fact, the trees grew very luxuriantly, and 
were the marvel of the neighborhood. But during the 
Winter and early Spring, they were very severely 
pruned, so close, in fact, that only the main limbs and 
twigs remained, and the new growth was cut back one- 
third. This left but few growing points. When root 
absorption and growth began in the Spring, there 
being no leaves to discharge the excess of water 
through transpiration, the few growing points could 
not dispose of the excess. The result was that the 
tissues of the bark could not stand the strain, and the 
blister-like spots were formed. Thus the remedy 
which suggests itself is to guard against too vigorous 
growth, and one should not indulge in too vigorous 
pruning. M. V. s. 
What is Paradise Stock ? 
E. F. C., Water diet, Mich. —What is the Paradise stock ? 
Ans.—T he Paradise stock is imported, and is propa¬ 
gated from the Paradise apple, a sort growing but lit¬ 
tle larger than a currant bush. This stock dwarfs 
any variety that may be worked upon it. 
What Grasses for an Illinois Woods Pasture ? 
One of our readers who lives in western Illinois says that he 
has a woods pasture from which the grass has been rooted up. 
He wishes to know what he can sow to make a good pasture for 
bogs, cattle and horses. He has read somethiug about rape, and 
thinks that the crop might answer in this pasture for the purpose 
named. What do you think about this? Is it likely that this 
crop will succeed in that part of the country, and can he work it 
into the soil early, without too much cultivation, in such a loca¬ 
tion as an ordinary woods pasture ? 
ANSWERED BY PROF. THOS. SIIAW. 
The value of rape in a woods pasture under the con¬ 
ditions described above, is problematical. Its value 
would depend first, upon the character of the soil. 
Rape does not grow rapidly on stiff clay soil, neither 
does it attain a strong maximum growth on that class 
of land. It would depend, second, upon the amount 
of shade in the pasture. Rape does not flourish where 
the shade is dense. So far as climatic conditions are 
concerned, rape will grow well in Illinois, except dur¬ 
ing the greatest heat of summer. It may be sown as 
early as grain crops are ordinarily sown. In provid¬ 
ing a pasture for the classes of animals named, it 
would be well to sow a mixture of oats, barley, rape 
and grass seeds. The ground should first be cut up as 
with a disk harrow, for instance. It should then be 
smoothed somewhat with a harrow. Then one bushel 
each of oats and barley per acre could be sown upon 
it by that method that would best suit the conditions. 
This done, Red clover, Timothy and rape seed could 
be sown upon it at the rate of say eight, three and 
four pounds respectively. Orchard grass or Blue grass 
could be substituted for the Timothy urder some con¬ 
ditions, or added to the mixture. These should be 
covered with a light stroke of the harrow. The 
pasturing may begin when the grain is, say six inches 
high, and it may be continued, but not too late, in the 
Fall, that the clover may have a chance to get sufficient 
top to enable it to withstand the vicissitudes of Winter. 
If the soil is prairie, this plan should prove eminently 
satisfactory in a normal season. If the soil is stilt' 
clay, it would not likely prove satisfactory. 
White and Black Hulless Barley. 
E. 71. II., Owasco Lake, N. Y. —Cau you give me any information 
as to the white and black hulless barley? What is the yield, and 
how much does it weigh to the bushel ? 
Ans. —About 40 years ago, a man in eentral New 
York widely advertised hulless barley, and I invested 
in a little, and sowed it in the garden. It grew finely, 
and produced a fair crop, but nothing seemed to like 
it; even the hens appeared to think themselves in¬ 
sulted if it was offered to them. Since that time, once 
in about 10 or 12 years, and lately oftener than that, 
some one comes out with a glowing advertisement of 
a new kind of barley, “ A very prolific variety, and 
entirely hulless, superior to all other kinds as a stock 
food ”, and once in a while, some advertiser is so eco¬ 
nomical of the truth as to claim for it superior malting 
qualities. It is possible that there may be more than 
one variety of hulless barley, but, if so, they are only 
variations of the old Nepaul, and all of them are 
worthless. No one grows the second crop unless he 
intends to sell it to “ suckers ” for seed. It is a good 
thing to let alone, only as a curiosity. 
j. s. WOODWARD. 
Kitchen Drain for Slops. 
L. II. T., Eagle Mills, N. F. -I have just bought a small place, 
and there is no drain for the waste water and slops from the 
house. The slops have always been thrown out on the ground, 
and allowed to soak away into the soil. There is no sewer to run 
a drain into. This waste must be disposed of on the lot. With an 
open drain, or spout, lean lead the wa er to the garden, about 50 
feet to the rear. Is there a better way ? Would it do to make a 
covered vault for the drain to enter into, allowing the water to 
soak away ? Will it affect a well near the house? 
Ans. —Put in drain pipes from the house to the gar¬ 
den, and conduct all the water there, letting it be de¬ 
posited on the surface of the ground. The great mis¬ 
take made at many farm homes in disposing of sewage 
is the attempt to hide it in cesspools which soon be¬ 
come so foul that they are a nuisance, and a most fruit¬ 
ful source of disease. If all sewage matter from the 
house could be deposited on the surface of the ground 
where it would be exposed to the action of sunlight, 
it would not readily become a source of trouble. A 
drain which would carry the water 50 feet from the 
house, and deposit it, is one of the best ways you can 
dispose of it. Where sewage is disposed of in this 
way, it is best so to arrange the outlet that the water 
can be turned to different parts of the garden, allow¬ 
ing the ground to become, dry at intervals. In this 
way, there will be no odor, the sewage may be used 
for irrigation, and be made a benefit instead of a 
curse. One man who wished to dispose of the house 
sewage and did not care to put it on his garden, 
planted willows near the outlet of the drain pipe. The 
willows grew so rapidly and used up so much mois¬ 
ture that the sewage water was entirely disposed of, 
and the ground kept sweet and wholesome. 
L. A. CLINTON. 
Behavior of Bees in the Tropics. 
Do bees hibernate in Winter in tropical countries, or do they 
take a period of rest? Most of the human beings we have ob¬ 
served in the tropics work just as little as they can, and we would 
really like to know whether the bees in those countries have 
acquired “that tired feeling”, or whether they work harder than 
ever to set a good example for their human companions. 
Ans. —Strictly speaking, bees do not hibernate at all 
anywhere. It is true, however, that, whenever the 
weather is cold enough in any climate, they huddle 
together in a compact cluster, and do very little mov¬ 
ing about. Through long periods of cold weather, 
they are sometimes on the outside of the cluster, so 
motionless as to appear as if they were really hiber¬ 
nating. In countries where there is no Winter, they 
may gather honey every month in the year ; but my 
impression is that they do not, as a rule, have the vim 
and vigor that bees do in the Spring time, after a long 
Winter ; yet there seem to be exceptions to this rule. 
A few years ago, Florida gave us about the largest 
yield per colony ever made in any State in the Union. 
A year or two later, Arizona followed suit, making a 
record of something over 200 pounds per colony right 
through apiaries containing 200 or more stands of 
bees. A good deal depends on the way they are 
handled. I hardly believe that the bees are afflicted 
with “that tired feeling”, even in the tropics; but 
when their owner gets it, somehow his bees Seem to 
act, sooner or later, a good deal as though they ex¬ 
pected him to “ set the pace ” for them to work by. 
Ohio. A. I. ROOT. 
