1912. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1071 
LAYING DOWN PEACH TREES. 
O. L. II., Mayfield, Mich .—Could I lay 
a peach tree down for Winter protection? 
I only have one tree, which kills every 
Winter. This season's growth will exceed 
five feet, and at this writing is still grow¬ 
ing. Tree is three years set, vigorous, has 
been heavily fertilized this season. Tree 
is in an exposed location where the snow 
blows off the ground. The ground seldom 
freezes under the snow where it lies. 
When and how is it best to lay the tree 
down ? 
Ans.— Several years ago TheR. N.-Y. 
printed an article by Prof. Paddock, of 
PEACH TREES LAID DOWN. Fig. 442. 
the Colorado station, showing the prac¬ 
tice of a commercial orchardist in that 
State. Yearling trees were set in the 
Spring and laid down the first Winter, 
the process being reflected every Winter 
during the life of the trees. The first 
step was to remove part of the earth 
within a radius of two feet from the 
tree trunk. These holes were filled 
with water, and after the ground was 
thoroughly softened the trees were 
worked back and forth until loose enough 
to push over on one side. Then the 
branches were tied together, a burlap 
covering put on and a light layer of 
earth thrown over this. Close watch must 
UNCOVERING THE TREES. Fig. 443. 
be kept in Spring to avoid forcing the 
buds into tender white growth. The 
trees are exposed to sun and air gradu¬ 
ally, and about the middle of May raised 
and propped until ready to lay down 
again. Orchards treated thus have lived 
10 years. Of course, old trees could not 
be handled in this way unless the laying 
down was begun when young. Figs. 442 
and 443 were drawn from scenes in one 
of these Colorado orchards. 
CONTROLLING WHITE GRUBS. 
Many inquiries have come to us from 
various parts of the country during the 
past season relative to white grubs and 
the ways and means of controlling them 
and preventing their ravages. From the 
widespread interest in these insects, it is 
•evident that, as a pest, they are on the 
increase, and are more widely destructive 
than ever before. Perhaps this can be 
partly explained by the fact that as popu¬ 
lation increases and the cultivation of the 
soil becomes more extensive, the areas of 
grass lands—the principal food areas of 
white grubs—which have been gradually 
increasiug and occupying the denuded for¬ 
est lands, are now being gradually brought 
into cultivation. As a result the grasses, 
the more normal food plants of the grubs, 
are being destroyed and replaced by cul¬ 
tivated plants. Unfortunately, the culti¬ 
vated plants are grown much more sparsely 
on the land than are the grasses. This 
means that the great numbers of grubs in a 
field of sod suddenly find themselves de¬ 
prived of a superabundance of grass roots 
and confined to a few scattering hills of 
corn, potatoes, strawberries, or other 
plants. Hence it is, that when cofrn, 
strawberries or potatoes follow sod land 
there is often very serious and widespread 
injury by white grubs. 
Story of the Life of a White Grub.— 
White grubs are the larvae of what we know 
as May beetles, or June bugs—those beetles 
that come buzzing in through our open 
windows in the Springtime, bump up 
against the wall and then fall with a 
"bang” to the floor. The life history of a 
June bug is longer than that of most in¬ 
sects and a large part of it is spent in 
the ground. Really we know very little 
about the lives of our different May beetles, 
but in the case of one or two of which we 
do know something their white eggs are 
laid in June and July in balls of earth 
from one to six inches below the surface 
of the soil. In these situations, each egg 
hatches into a small white grub that lives 
in the soil for two years, eating the tender 
roots of grasses and waxing fat and 
strong. In the early Summer of the sec¬ 
ond year the grub, now large and full- 
grown, changes to a pupa which in turn, 
in August and September of the same 
Summer, transforms to the May beetle. The 
beetle, however, lies quietly in its earthen 
cell until the following Spring, not daring 
to brave the snows and frosts of the chill¬ 
ing Winter. In April and May, if the 
weather has been propitious, the beetles 
come forth in large numbers from their 
snug Winter homes. Thus we see that one 
of these insects spends nearly, if not quite, 
three years underground, and very likely 
some of our species spend a longer time 
than this in preparation for their short 
life in the air. 
Means of Control.- —We now see why, 
when an old field of pasture or meadow 
land is plowed and planted in corn or 
potatoes, very serious injury from white 
grubs may follow, in fact, it is not ad¬ 
visable to' follow sod land with either of 
these crops. It is a much safer method to 
practice a rotation of crops. For ex¬ 
ample, if meadow land is to be broken, 
cut the hay early, turn the sod under and 
grow a crop of buckwheat. Buckwheat is 
a great pulverizer of the soil, and by de¬ 
stroying the grass roots and by plowing 
we kill many of the grubs. Then, in the 
Fall, after the buckwheat is out of the 
way, plow the land again and turn out as 
many grubs as possible to the action of 
the frosts and snows of Winter. In the 
following Spring potatoes or corn may be 
planted on this land, although some in¬ 
juries may result even after the above 
treatment. Another method is to plow 
our sod land in the Fall, sow it to rye 
and in the Spring turn this rye under for 
potatoes. This is a good method of 
preparation for potatoes, aside from any 
question of white grubs. The main way 
of lighting grubs is Fall plowing, followed 
by a rotation of crops. One of the bpst 
potato growers in New York practices the 
following rotation, partly as a protection 
against white grubs. He plows his sod 
land in the Fall and the following Spring 
plants potatoes, but suffers from grubs 
that year. He follows his potatoes with 
Winter wheat seeded to clover with some 
Timothy. After saving his hay crop, he 
plows the land in the Fall and follows the 
next Spring with potatoes again. This 
gives him a three-year rotation that gets 
rid of the white grubs and maintains the 
fertility of his soil. A careful rotation 
similar to the one outlined with as much 
Fall plowing as possible will eventually 
eliminate the white grubs. 
A similar plan for the preparation of 
land -for planting strawberries should be 
followed. It is quite certain that straw¬ 
berries should not follow sod land directly, 
but that one or more crops with Fall plow- 
ings, if possible, should intervene between 
tbo sod and the berries. It is sometimes 
feasible and profitable to dig out the grubs 
by hand along the rows of strawberries. 
Usually the grubs will attack the plants in 
limited areas in the higher and drier parts 
of the field, and it is often possible to 
save the plants in the way suggested. 
Pigs as Destroyers of White Grubs.— 
Dr. S. A. Forbes tried an experiment of 
turning 100 pigs averaging 75 pounds each, 
together with eight sows, into a 10-acre 
corn field badly infested with the grubs. 
Before the pigs were turned in. it was 
found, by digging up the soil and search¬ 
ing it to the depth of 20 inches over an 
area equivalent to 60 hills of corn, that 
there was an average of a little more than 
£4 grubs to the hill. After the pigs had 
been rooting in the field 20 days an area 
equivalent to 20 hills to the depth of 20 
Inches was examined and a little less than 
five grubs to the hill were found. In 
seven days more another examination was 
made and an average of only two grubs 
for 10 hills were found, thus showing that 
the pigs destroyed over 99 per cent of 
the grubs in 27 days. Unfortunately, the 
giant thorn-headed worm, a parasite of 
pigs, passes one stage of its life history 
in the white grubs, and pigs become in¬ 
fested with the worm by eating infested 
grubs. But pigs that have never been 
from the parasite, and 
a field that has never 
free from the parasite, 
of non-infested pigs in 
such fields would be without danger. 
After all, so far as our present knowledge 
of the control of white grubs goes, we shall 
have to rely largely on an intelligent 
method of crop management and farm 
practice. Fortunately, the methods that 
produce the best crops maintain most ef¬ 
fectively the fertility of the soil, and pro¬ 
duce the best agricultural results, are also 
the most unfavorable to the increase and 
injury of white grubs. 
GLENN W. HERRICK. 
pastured are free 
grubs growing in 
had pigs in it are 
Therefore, the use 
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ELECTRIC 
Steel Wheels 
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Shu D, ELYRIA, OHIO 
Going to Build ? 
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4 Light Storm Sash 
12 x 26, Glazed, $0.98 
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2 ft. 8 In. X 6 ft. 8 In., glazed, 81.95. 
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House windows with glass, 58c up. 
Wbite Pine. 
Window and Door Frames 
$1.10 and Up 
Frames for Windows 
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DATE 
Supply Co., 
1426 W. 37th St., 
Chicago, III. 
Gentlemen—Please send your 
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and mailing.) 
1426 W. 37TH STREET, CHICAGO 
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Address. 
