5FHEJ R TJR-A.lv NEW-YORKER 
123 
1908. 
WESTERN NEW YORK HORTICULTURAL 
SOCIETY. 
Part II. 
The evening session was given up to two 
illustrated lectures, “Some Observations on 
Fruit Insects,” by Prof. Parrott, and “Re¬ 
lation of Birds to Horticulture,” by Prof. 
Howard E. Eaton, of Canandaigua. Prof. 
Parrott, said great advancement had been 
made in our knowledge of destructive in¬ 
sects and methods of combating them. 
Bordeaux Mixture, the leading fungicide, 
was first used in 1885. New mixtures and 
combinations of mixtures are constantly 
being experimented with, the latter so 
that various pests and diseases can be 
fought with the same application. The 
Pear psylla is successfully checked by the 
application of oil sprays for the San Jos6 
scale. Leaf-curl is held in check at the 
same time as the scale by the lime-sulphur 
wash. Aphids and leaf-blister mites are 
controlled by oil or oil emulsion sprays, ap¬ 
plied for best results early in Spring be¬ 
fore the buds are fully open. The scale 
has made less progress the past year than 
usual, and no one should let up on it,, but 
fight it more thoroughly than ever. As 
many western New York growers are also 
interested in growing cabbage and are 
troubled with the Cabbage maggot in their 
seed beds, he gave the results of some ex¬ 
periments in controlling this pest. Tight 
frames covered with cheesecloth were used, 
and in this way fine plants free from mag¬ 
gots were produced at a cost somewhat 
greater than in the open when not troubled 
with the maggot, but cheaper than they 
could be purchased at a distance, as has 
been the practice of many growers in the 
infected districts. These plants are some¬ 
what tender when the cheesecloth is first 
removed, and should be uncovered some 
time previous to setting in the field, so 
that they may harden. The Gypsy and 
Brown-tail moths have not received nearly 
as much attention in the meetings this 
Winter as they did a year ago, but the 
fight against them in Massachusetts is being 
waged relentlessly. 
Prof. Eaton then gave an interesting talk 
on birds with some very good photographic 
slides. He spoke of the great benefit the 
birds were to the horticulturist and 
farmer, and especially the birds that stayed 
all Winter and those that return very 
early in the Spring. He emphasized very 
strongly that an insect destroyed early in 
the season was equivalent to many killed 
later. Most birds that take fruit and grain 
occasionally have a balance of good deeds 
in their favor, and those most destructive 
to fruit can be kept away from valuable 
fruit generally by planting such trees and 
shrubs as shad berry, bird cherry, sweet 
Viburnum and mulberries. Most of them 
prefer these fruits to the cultivated, and 
they can be set set in out-of-the-way places, 
along fences, etc. Among birds whose bad 
deeds overbalance their good he mentioned 
the sap-sucker, crow, cow-bird, English 
sparrow and some of the hawks and owls. 
Crows he condemned, not because of their 
destruction of crops and occasional raids 
on chickens, but on account of the large 
number of smaller and useful birds that 
they destroyed, and some of the others fall 
under the ban of his disapproval for the 
same reason. He urged the encouragement 
of martins, wrens and bluebirds by the 
building of suitable houses, and then keep¬ 
ing these houses free from English spar¬ 
rows so they may be used by the birds 
for which they were intended. Leave a 
window open in the barn ^or the swallow, 
and if their dirt is objectionable erect a 
frame of canvas under their nest. In¬ 
stead of driving the pheebes away on ac¬ 
count of their parasites put insect powder 
in their nests and paint around the nests 
with oil. A. question was asked if spray¬ 
ing did not destroy many birds, but the 
general opinion seemed to be that few 
birds were killed by spraying or the eat¬ 
ing of poisoned Insects. 
Dr. Van Slyke read a paper on “At¬ 
mospheric Nitrogen as a Future Source of 
Plant Food.” An English scientist has pre¬ 
dicted that the available supply of nitro¬ 
gen would be exhausted in 30 years, and 
that consequently a world famine would 
result. However, these threatened catas¬ 
trophes .have always been met and averted 
heretofore, ,and he believes this problem 
will be satisfactorily solved before the ni- 
Jrate bods are exhausted. One million tons 
of nitrate of soda are put on the market 
annually, and four-fifths of this amount is 
used for agriculture. The annual wheat 
crop of the United States uses five times 
the total amount of nitrogen contained in 
the annual output of nitrate of soda. The 
nitrate beds are expected to last only 16 
years, cutting short by several years the 
predicted famine. Only 60,000 tons of sul¬ 
phate of ammonia are produced annually 
and this is almost too small an amount to 
be of much importance to agriculture. There 
are four methods of obtaining nitrogen from 
the air: one bacterial and three chemical. 
Two of these methods are in commercial 
operation. The first gives a product known 
as calcium cyanide and Is produced at a 
cost of from .$54 to $f>3 per ton. It is 
richer in nitrogen than nitrate of soda 
and the available nitrogen at. the above 
prices costs a little less per pound than in 
nitrate of soda. It has some disadvantages, 
especially in handling and applying, but 
the manufacturers are in hopes of improv¬ 
ing it in this respect The other method 
gives a product known as calcium nitrate, 
which costs about $30 per ton, but 
is lower in nitrogen content, which 
gives a disadvantage of extra bulk. 
Nitrogen in this form, however, .costs about 
10 cents per pound, and it is believed lit 
can soon lie produced for 7% cents per 
pound. The residue of this being prin¬ 
cipally lime is preferable to the soda 
residue of nitrate of soda. Improved methods 
of production will no doubt soon put these 
products on the market in large quan¬ 
tities. but thorough experiments are neces¬ 
sary to prove their exact value, g. k. s. . 
PRINCIPLES OF TREE PRUNING. 
It is my impression from observation that 
where orchards bear well without pruning 
or care it is not because of this policy or 
condition, but in spite of it, and that they 
do so at a great sacrifice of the trees and 
a shortening of their ultimate usefulness 
and longevity. I think the teaching on the 
p'art of some of the growers that so much 
depends on habit, variety of trees, condi¬ 
tion of soil, climate, etc., is wrong, and 
leaves the novice or amateur in the dark. 
Does it depend upon variety, character of 
soil, condition of climate, etc., whether or 
not the farmer should thoroughly prepare 
the soil before planting his corn, potatoes 
or other crops and then is it a question of 
said conditions whether or not he will thor¬ 
oughly till and care for those? I think the 
question resolves itself on these points; 
should there be a free circulation of air 
and an unrestricted admission of sunlight 
among the fruit? That can be answered by 
yes or no without ‘any qualification. As¬ 
suming the affirmative answer then we must 
prepare to met those requirements; which 
establishes the necessity of frequent and 
thorough pruning, and in some varieties like 
the Russet a cutting away of nearly one- 
lialf the bearing wood in neglected trees. 
Here I concede variety makes a difference, 
but it does not ch'nnge the principle any 
more than we would say that a field of 
corn does not need hoeing because in it 
are some rows or even lands that are com¬ 
paratively free from weeds. Briefly, my 
policy would be, first cut away all bad 
or decaying limbs or branches, m'aking clean 
cuts; cut out all crowding limbs, selecting 
the least desirable to be cut, always giving 
preference to strong limbs and such as do 
not grow from under side of another limb; 
remove, and leave enough fruit spurs along 
the limb to its extremity to accomplish the 
aforesaid objects, remembering that due ‘al¬ 
lowance must be made for the closing up 
and crowding by the foliage. If pruning is 
done when trees are dormant many twigs 
and small branches must be taken off at 
the ends of branches. Where there is no 
surplus there is nothing to remove just as in 
hoeing corn; when we come to a' hill with¬ 
out weeds we remove no weeds. 
Orleans Co., N. Y. c. f. b. 
Farmer Bentover : “I’ve just heerd 
that the widder Diggs has married her 
hired man.” Farmer Hornbeak: “Then, 
by jolly, he’ll have to climb down from 
the fence and go to work.”—Puck. 
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