1009. 
THE RURAb NEW-YORKEH 
737 
POTATO BUG DESTROYERS. 
A dozen times during the season some 
one comes forward with a short cut for 
exterminating insects by means of some 
disease or some parasite. This idea of 
setting “bug against bug’’ is a popular 
one, but in most cases it fails to. work. 
The following note appeared in a New 
Hampshire local paper, and one of our 
readers sent it to us: 
R. F. D. Carrier Rhodes, of Route 5, ran 
across a very practical illustration of the 
effectiveness of the mite, as a Tot at o bug 
parasite, while on his route, and brought 
a specimen to The Union office which has 
been the subject of much interesting dis¬ 
cussion. He brought four beetles, literally 
covered, on their under sides, by the mites, 
and being gradually eaten to death. The 
mites, it seems, have been gradually ac¬ 
quiring a taste for Potato bugs and have 
at last become a formidably effective para¬ 
site, swarming upon the slow-moving 
beetles and destroying them. In this case 
there were hundreds of the tiny insects at 
work on the beetles. 
The mite referred to is doubtless the 
species described as Uropoda Ameri¬ 
cana by C. V. Riley over 30 years ago. 
He observed them many times cling- 
ijig in great numbers to the adult Col¬ 
orado Potato beetles, and conclud d that 
they were parasites feeding on their 
host. Since that time this conclusion 
has been questioned by some of our 
closest students of these mites, and it 
is now an open question whether thev 
ever feed on the beetle at all. Riley 
himself noted that they were attached 
to the beetle, not by the mouth parts, as 
we would expect were they obtaining 
nourishment from their host, hut bv a 
delicate pedicel secreted from the poste¬ 
rior end of the mite’s body Further¬ 
more, it is well known that many of the 
near relatives of this mite feed on de¬ 
caying vegetable and animal matter, 
and attach themselves to various in¬ 
sects for transportation only. They 
“catch a ride,” as it were. In the pres¬ 
ent case the beetles are attacked when 
in the adult state, a time when it is 
most difficult to kill them. They are, 
moreover, nearly ready to lay their 
eggs, and probably succeed in doing 
so in spite of the presence of the mites. 
Considering all these points it does not 
seem that we can expect very effi¬ 
cient aid from these mites, and we cer¬ 
tainly cannot afford to neglect the use 
of Paris green or arsenate of lead un¬ 
til they have more clearly demonstrated 
their value as beetle-destroyers. 
SUMMER PRUNING FOR YOUNG TREES. 
8. I!'. P., Markcsnn, Wifs. —I have been 
much interested reading Hope Farm Notes 
fin page 659, and especially what Mr. 
Newell, of Oregon, lias to say about trim¬ 
ming trees in July for early fruiting. He 
says cut back to about one-half of last 
year’s growth all around the top. Does 
he means the current year's growth or the 
growth of 1908, which would include all 
the growth of 1909? I am tending 5.000 
apple trees set in Spring of 190”. Last 
year was a good year and I estimated that 
an average of 16 inches of growth ex¬ 
tension was obtained during the season. 
This year, although the season was very 
late, no leaves appearing until May 25, 
I have a growth averaging 16 inches length 
at the present time, some extensions of 
main limbs. I cut yesterday two feet of 
this season’s growth. I’lums and cherries 
have done even better than the apples, 
and with their heavier growth of leaves 
some of them are too weak to lipid them¬ 
selves upright. It is the teaching of our 
horticultural society not to trim (but if at 
all sparingly), fruit trees in their younger 
days of growth- as the balance between 
root and top is greatly disturbed by prun¬ 
ing. In fact, with us the cutting off the 
branches even for grafting timber or 
scions causes an apple tree to become a 
veritable brush heap froth the number of 
sprouts that are sent out from every bud. 
I am growing this young orchard on ground 
sown to peas for canning factory; crop just 
cut off. I cultivate the ground three feet 
on each side (one way) along each row 
of trees, and have finished going through 
them the eighth time already : soil is clean 
and mellow as one would wish. I have 
several hundred frees growing in sod that 
make good growth when mulched, but lose 
some by mice. 
Ans.—I will give first briefly the 
method followed by our best growers. 
The western orchardist plants invariably 
a one-year-old tree, and heads it 18 to 
20 inches from the ground. The year¬ 
ling is, of course, a straight stalk with¬ 
out branches, and this enables the top to 
be started just where it is wanted, 
which cannot be done with a two-year- 
old that has already been headed high 
in the nursery. Either the year’s 
growth must be cut off and wasted or 
the high top endured. Usually every bud 
will start on these stalks, and as soon 
as well started they are all rubbed ex¬ 
cept the top four or five; then during 
the next Winter these are cut back 
about two-thirds of their length, usually 
trimming to a bud that will give an up¬ 
right growth for the next season, the 
aim being to grow a vase-shaped tree 
with an open top. During this second 
Summer, if too many sprouts are 
started, they are thinned put in June or 
July, and during the Winter again 
headed back and thinned" as necessary. 
This is continued until about the fourth 
year, when no heading back is done in 
the Winter, but the thinning as usual 
Then during that fifth Summer in early 
July they are cut back to about where 
they would have been had it been done 
in Winter, or all of the current sea¬ 
son’s growth and as much of the pre¬ 
vious one as is necessary to give a good 
stiff limb, one that will carry a load of 
fruit when it bears. 
We want good growth the first five 
years, but we want good stiff trunks 
and main branches, something that can 
hold up a load of apples and not be 
drooping under their own weight as 
S. W. P. speaks of his doing. Then by 
the change from the Winter to the Sum¬ 
mer pruning, we can check the wood 
growth and encourage the fruit buds. I 
realize that perhaps this is much easier 
done in our climate with dry Summers, 
but still I believe it can be done with 
you. It may require more Summer 
thinning (not cutting back) of sprouts 
the first four years. I look upon this 
idea of letting the tree go until it comes 
into bearing and then trying to shape it 
up. as much the same as letting the colt 
go without any training until you want 
to work him and then “breaking” him 
all at once. A little judicious training 
as he grows up and he never needs 
breaking. So with the tree; it is easier 
to grow it into the right shape while 
small and you are forcing wood growth 
than it is after it comes into bearing, 
and you can quicker get a tree that will 
bear a heavy crop of fruit. It does 
not require much time to prune the 
small trees. 
We encourage a fairly upright growth 
until the tree begins bearing, when with 
the open center pruning it will unfold 
with the first load of fruit almost like 
the petals of a rose, allowing the sun¬ 
light to reach all the. fruit. With those 
trees of the inquirer’s I should head 
them back now instead of waiting for 
them to come into bearing; the proper 
time to do this is just as nearly as pos¬ 
sible the time when terminal growth 
ceases for the season. Observation has 
shown that this is about July 15 with 
us. The. flow of sap for the remainder 
of the season would have gone into ma¬ 
turing the growth of new wood, but 
when this is removed the tendency is to 
throw this energy into developing fruit 
buds. Should this cutting back be done 
too early it will merely start an enor¬ 
mous number of sprouts. 
Oregon. w. h. newell. 
“You've been courting me now for a 
number of years, George,” remarked a 
girl to a young man, “and I want to 
make a little leap-year proposal.” “I—I 
am not in a position to m-marry just 
yet,” stammered the youth, “but-” 
“Who said anything about marriage?” 
interrupted the girl. “I was going to 
propose that you stop coming here and 
give somebody else a chance.”—Phila¬ 
delphia Inquirer. 
Nature’s way of heating 
You cannot improve on nature’s way. The most 
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A No. 3015 IDEAL Boiler and 175 
ft. of 38 -in. AMERICAN Radiators, 
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Write 11 s kind 
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SEA GREEN & PURPLE SLATE 
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Boston Salesroom, 77 Oliver Street 
