June i, 1905 
jured or removed; therefore, chains, 
whiffletrees, ploughs, and harrows musé 
not be'allowed te strike the trees. Loose 
cattle, rabkits, and mice are objectionable 
in an erchard. 
Prepared fertilisers or manure of some 
kind sheuld be used in sufficient quantity 
to produce an annual growth of from 6 tc 
18 in. If the growth is above this stand- 
ard the trees will make soft wood, be un- 
productive, and short lived. If the growth 
is much less the trees will be too leng in 
fciming heads and too weak to bear full 
crops of fine fruit. We fertilise individual 
trees according to their growth. <A tree 
that makes too much or too little growth 
is much more likely to suffer from insect 
enemies than one of normal growth. 
ENEMIES OF THE APPLE TREE. 
By Monsimur Cuaries Barer, of Troyes. 
The apple tree is one of our most popu- 
lar of all fruit trees. In France one meets 
with it nearly everywhere—in gardens, in 
the open orchard, on uncultivated land, or 
by the roadside, from the plains of Flan- 
ders to the mountains of Auvergne, on the 
hillsides of Vigan and under the shadow 
of the Alpine heights, or within the in- 
fluence of the sea breezes of Normandy or 
Brittany, to say nothing of the highly cul- 
tivated and lucrative espaliers in the neigh- 
borhood of Paris. 
And to what an extent its fruit is sought 
for, either for direct consumption or for 
industrial uses! Carts, wagons, and ships 
convey it to the markets, to the cider press, 
to the manufactory, to the stove of the 
fruit-drier, to the ovens of the confectioner, 
to the pan of the jam-maker. In all forms 
the apple is wholesome; and its culture and 
sale form the object of a very consider- 
able and paying enterprise. 
However, the watchfulness of the culti- 
vator must be kept constantly on the alert 
if he means to safeguard his property from 
the attacks of its numerous enemies, and to 
fight against the unfavorable influences 
which frequently beset the conditions 
under which it has to grow. 
The diseases of the apple are, in’ tact, 
often the result of badly made plantations, 
of unsuitable positions, or of neglected cul- 
tivation ; ‘above all, one ought to find out 
what is defective in the nature of the scil 
and supply the want. Forexample, en- 
deavor first to provide coolness for the roots 
of trees that wither in a dry soil; and, 
secondly, to drain away excess of moisture 
from’ soils and subsoils which’ are always 
wet. These are conditions which weaken 
the growth and, in consequence, the bear- 
ing of the trees. The leaf, losing its 
strength, gets spotted, or bleaches, withers 
away, and falls prematurely. 
‘Yellow Leaf.—tIn the first place, remove 
the earth round the trunk down, to the 
roots, and to a sufficiently wide radius, re- 
placing it by a mixture of fresh’ materials, 
sandy loam, peat, river dredgings, rotted 
turf, and waste animal or vegetable matter, 
the whole being watered with manure 
water or dirty water from the house. When 
the hole is filled up, cover it with a layer of 
rough grass, farmyard litter, or marsh cut- 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER, 
tings, which will permit the rain to ilter 
slowly through, being enriched at the same 
time by passing through them. 
Scorching.—the blackening and drying 
_up of the young shoots and leaves, caused 
by excess of moisture in the soil, necessi- 
tates the removal or draining away of the 
water by means of drains made of pipes of 
alder wood or burnt clay, trenches filled 
with broken stones or green fagots, the 
ground round the tree at the same time 
being repeatedly dug. If the tree is still 
young it should be dug up, and replanted 
‘sufficiently high, or even on a mound, then 
staked, and moderately pruned. Good may 
be done also by incorporating with the sei): 
any light sandy substance, such as read- 
scrapings, cinders, and even clinkers. 
Canker.—Canker arises from many 
causes—too much shade, cold, positicn, 
pruning the branches too short, without 
reckoning the invisible bacilli, fungus 
spores, split bark, &c. As soon ag ever it is 
noticed the whole of the wound, with all 
the canker already formed and in the pro- 
cess of formation, should be cut out with a- 
sharp knife and the healthy parts left bare, 
covered with some greasy substance. Stock- 
holm tar, grafting wax, and such like are 
also effectual, so also is hydrochloric acid. 
Leave the branches unpruned, and’ enrich 
the soil close to the fine roots by introdic- 
ing phosphates and powdered sulphate of 
iron. Paint the stem and larger branches 
with a mixture of clay, cowdung, and glue 
or milk, which will protect the bark against 
the action, of cold, and also ward off the 
direct rays of the sun, both of which are 
causes of canker. 
Frost Glaze—Floods or heavy falls of 
rain followed by frost, causing ica and frost 
glazo on the stems of the trees, are liabie 
to cause cracks in the bark at the time of 
thawing. 
Exposed plantations will require the 
stems of the trees to be surrounded, to the 
height of from one-half to one metre, with 
straw bands or wisps of hay, which wiil at 
the same time preserve them: from the at- 
tacks of hares or rabbits. These pests 
should also be kept at a distance by sur- 
rounding the trunk with galvanised ivon 
netting. Traps or poisoned baits are used 
for tho destruction of harmful animals, 
such as rabbits, moles, rats, fieldmice, der- 
mice, &e. 
Mosses and Lichens.-To remove old 
bark, mosses, and lichens, which, on the 
stems and branches, prevent the respiratory 
functions of the tree or serve as a harbor 
for insects, a seraper, a metallic brush, or 
a glove made of steel links maiy be used, and 
that most effectively immediately after a 
heavy rain. j 
Afterwards paint the trunks with a solu- 
tion. of sulphate of copper or of iron. Burn 
all infected waste. This cleaning of the 
wood is a health-preserving operation at 
all times, and should be done at each age 
of the tree, even. from: the very beginning 
of the plantation. This system of scraping 
—followed by a wash of nicotine or lime,’ 
either by itself or with the addition of sul-, 
phate of iron—is also adopted against the 
little Chermes aspidiotus, a kind: of scale 
13 
which fixes itself to the bark of apple trecs 
grown too much in the shade or as espaliers. 
“American Blight.—Fight without ceas- 
ing against this terrible foe to our orchards, 
whicn, by its rapid spread, would otherwise 
scon end ‘by destroying them utterly. 
Apple trees with widespread branches are 
most subject to it, because this style of 
growth allows the pest to grow on the 
underside of the branches. in the case‘af 
quite young trees, in the nursery or or- 
chard, scrub the parts affected with a <olu- 
tion of ammonia, alcohol, urine, manure 
water, potash water, refuse oil, or a mixture 
of soft scap and infusion cf nicotine. A. 
hard brush which will penetrate into the 
roughness and cracks where the insects har- 
bor must be used. Repeat the operation a 
week or fortnight afterwards, and whenever 
the pest reappears. Do not forget that iv 
is wise to cut off and burn any young 
branches that are badly attacked. 
Large apple trees should be submitted 
to a liming at the roots. As soon as the 
leaves have fallen, remove the earth around 
the bole and surface roots and replace it 
with lime or soot. The colonies of the 
aphis attack the young shoots while they 
pest will then not be able to hibernate. 
Green or Black Aphis.—Several kinds of 
are still in a soft state, and hinder the 
flow of the sap. To remove these, cither 
crush them with the hand, or sprinkle them | 
with nicotine or pyrethrum powder, or 
syringe them with a solution of soft soap, 
and then wash them with ordinary water. 
Young nursery trees being particularly 
liable to these attacks, it is well to tho- 
roughly syringe and moisten with water 
any buds or leafed branches that may be 
cither strongly or even only moderately at- 
tacked, and to repeat it if necessary. 
Hyponomeuta Padellus (the Small Er- 
mine Moth).—To destroy this insect, which 
appears te be becoming commoner every 
year, the web containing a brood of cater- 
pillars, which is not unlike a mass of cob- 
webs, should be either crushed or burnt. 
Bombyx dispar (the Gipsy Moth) may be 
destroyed by scraping off and burning the 
patches of eggs which resemble small 
patches of amadou. They are laid on the 
shoots and branches in places where they 
will be sheltered from the rain. Any shoots 
which show by their leaves curling up and 
withering that they are attacked by the 
caterpillars of Bombyx chnysorrkea (the 
Brown-tailed Moth) should be cut off, plac- 
ed in a basket and burnt, and shoots en- 
circled by the rows of eggs laid by Bombyx’ 
neustria (the Lackey Moth) should be 
treated in the same manner. 
Cockchafers and their Larve.—The 
vigorous killing of cockchafers in all places 
is the first stage of the struggle. 
The preliminary cultivation of the soil 
of the nursery or orchard, carefully carried 
out with a fork, will assist in the destruc- 
tion of the larve in their underground 
haunts. Strawberry plants or salad 
plants planted here and there in — 
the infested field attract the | 
grubs. As soon as a plant fades, 
dig it up with, a spade, which will remove 
it from the soil, with the enemy still at 
