The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
1421 
“Starts 
every  time 
Hot 
or 
Cold" 
Cracking  of  Peaches 
Can  you  give  me  some  information  in 
regard  to  preventing  peaches  from  crack¬ 
ing  before  they  fully  mature  on  trees?  I 
have  a  number  of  seedling  trees  that  bear 
fruit  every  year.  They  range  from  three 
to  eight  years.  The  peaches  are  not  quite 
as  large  as  the  Elberta,  although  very 
near,  and  are  of  excellent  flavor.  I  find 
that  fully  90  per  cent  crack  open  on  one 
side,  whereas  trees  bearing  fruit  on  my 
nursery  stock  never  crack  ;  however,  they 
are  more  apt  to  be  caught  by  a  late  frost, 
and  we  only  have  a  crop  every  second  or 
third  year  on  these  grafted  trees.  Can 
this  be  controlled  by  any  special  fertilizer 
or  nitrate  of  soda?  H.  p.  F. 
Asheville.  N.  C. 
The  cracking  of  the  fruit  of  the  peach 
is  usually  caused  by  a  slowing  down  of 
the  growth  of  the  peach,  due  to  drought 
or  some  other  factor.  The  skin  loses 
some  of  its  elasticity,  and  when  moisture 
is  taken  in  rapidly  later,  the  skin  cracks 
to  allow  for  the  expansion.  Peaches  that 
are  well  tilled  and  receive  plenty  of  mois¬ 
ture  seldom  crack  unless  they  are  affected 
with  scab,  which  may  also  cause  the  skin 
to  lose  its  elasticity.  In  general,  tillage 
and  thorough  spraying  with  sufficient  fer¬ 
tilization  to  encourage  a  normal  growth, 
should  overcome  the  trouble. 
M.  A.  BLAKE. 
New  Jersey  Experiment  Station. 
Fairbanks  'Morse 
engine 
C.  E.  Sumner,  Nettleton,  Miss.,  toys:  .  .  . 
"Three  years  ago  I  bought  a  *Z’.  I  have  not  spent 
one  penny  for  repairs.  It  starts  every  time  you 
call  on  it;  makes  no  difference,  hot  or  cold.  Uses 
less  fuel  for  power  developed  than  any  other  I 
ever  ran."  .  ...  R.  H.  Kingsbury,  Fort  Worth, 
Texas,  says:  .  .  .  "I  have  been  using  a ‘Z*  engine 
for  about  three  years  for  irrigation.  I  have  never 
suffered  a  loss  due  to  insufficient  water.” 
Over  350,000  users  have  approved  the  “Z” 
Engine.  No  matter  what  your  power  requirements, 
there  is  a  "Z”  Engine  to  exactly  suit  your  needs. 
Over  5,000  dealers  carry  these  engines  in  stock 
and  will  save  you  money  on  freight. 
Ilf  H.  P.  "Z”  (Battery  Equipt)  $  54.00 
iyi  H.  P.  “Z”  (Magneto  Equipt)  74.00 
3  H.  P."Z”  (Battery  Equipt)  90.00 
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6  H.  P.  "Z”  (Magneto  Equipt)  170.00 
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folding  Sawing  Machine  Co.,  1005  E.  75th  St,  Chicago,  Illinois 
Injured  Maple  Tree 
A  Japanese  maple  has  been  one  of 
the  attractive  features  of  my  yard,  es¬ 
pecially  while  in  bloom  during  the  Spring 
season.  During  the  past  Summer  I  dis¬ 
covered  a  crevice  in  the  side  and  a 
swarm  of  ants.  These  I  killed  with  in¬ 
secticide  and  I  do  not  see  any  ants  now. 
About  the  time  I  discovered  the  ants  I 
also  saw  a  fungus  growth  near  the 
ground.  This  has  increased,  and  there 
are  dead  shoots  from  the  branches  of 
the  tree.  What  can  I  do  to  save  it?  Be¬ 
fore  calling  in  a  "tree  doctor”  I  am  ask¬ 
ing  your  opinion.  H. 
Westchester  Co.,  N.  Y. 
Your  description  of  the  trouble  sounds 
very  much  like  Winter  injury.  The  ants 
probably  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
crevice  other  than  an  endeavor  to  find 
food  there.  The  danger  is.  as  always 
in  a  case  of  this  kind,  in  the  possibly 
entry  of  some  fungus  into  the  wound. 
Therefore  your  treatment  should  be  to 
clean  the  crevice  thoroughly,  cutting  away 
any  dead  or  diseased  wood  or  bark,  and 
to  disinfect  the  area  with  bichloride 
of  mercury  or  carbolic  acid.  A  Cover¬ 
ing  of  paint  will  be  good  insurance 
against  further  inroads  of  disease  organ¬ 
isms.  You  can  do  this  job  just  as  well 
as  a  "tree  doctor.”  H.  B.  T. 
The  Shot-hole  Borer 
I  have  a  small  orchard  of  cherry  trees 
which  are  infested  by  some  pest  which 
stings  the  limbs  of  the  tree,  leaving  a 
black  spot  and  causing  the  sap  to  run 
out,  and  the  limb  or  tree  dies.  Can  you 
tell  me  what  causes  this,  and  what  can  I 
do  for  it?  A.  B. 
From  the  description  given  it  seems 
probable  that  the  cherry  trees  are  infest¬ 
ed  by  the  shot-hole  borer,  although  A.  B. 
does  not  mention  the  round,  shot-like 
holes  which  appear  in  the  branches  later 
in  the  course  of  the  injury.  The  shot- 
hole  borer  attacks  the  branches  of  the 
trees,  and  where  the  injury  is  made  a 
mass  of  gummy  material  oozes  out  of  the 
bark.  Probably  this  material  in  many 
instances  serves  to  repel  the  beetles  and 
stops  further  injury  at  that  place.  As 
the  beetles  persist  in  their  attacks,  how¬ 
ever,  the  branches  and  perhaps  the  whole 
tree  eventually  dies,  and  the  bark  be¬ 
comes  filled  with  circular,  shot-like  holes. 
This  insect  is  one  of  the  most  serious 
pests  of  peaches,  plums  and  cherries,  and 
is  very  difficult  to  control. 
In  the  first  place,  the  trees  should  be 
cultivated  and  fertilized  in  order  to  keep 
them  thrifty  and  able  to  ward  off  the  at¬ 
tacks  of  the  beetles.  All  dead  branches 
should  be  cut  off  and  burned  in  order  to 
destroy  the  grubs  working  in  them.  If  a 
tree  becomes  so  badly  injured  that  it  is 
beyond  hope,  it  should  also  be  cut  down 
and  burned.  Hedgerows  growing  along 
the  sides  of  the  orchard  should  be  de¬ 
stroyed  and  cleaned  up  in  order  to  pre¬ 
vent  the  beetles  from  finding  congenial 
places  in  which  to  pass  the  Winter. 
Finally,  a  thick  coat  of  whitewash  ap¬ 
plied  to  the  trees  during  the  last  of' 
March,  first  part  of  July  and  the  first  of 
October  will  serve  to  protect  them  from 
the  attacks  of  this  pernicious  pest. 
GLENN  W.  HERRICK. 
TOP  NOTCH-4  Buckle  Corn  Belt 
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