Mr. N. Atwell, one of the Michigan commissioners, whose duty it is to look after the peach districts of that State and check if possible the ravages of the destructive disease known as "yellows," claims that there is no known remedy, and that the only safe plan is to uproot and burn the trees upon the first appearance of the disease. If you are going to set a new orchard this spring, remember that it is an excellent thing to prepare a plan of the orchard, showing the position of each tree, its variety, etc. If a tree dies it can be replaced by one of the same sort. Some fruit-raisers keep a book in which they register the age and variety of every tree in the orchard, together with any items in regard to their grafting, productiveness, treatment, etc., which are thought to be desirable. Cor. California Rural Press: The first generation of codling moth begins to fly about the first of May. To make sure gather some in the chrysalis state in March or April, put in a jar, and set the jar in a place where you will see it every day. When they begin to have wings, prepare your traps thus: The half of a kerosene can with the tin bent in at the top an inch; a half inch of kerosene in the can, a little flat lamp near the oil. The light reflected from the bright tin will draw the moth five rods at least. If your orchard is forty rods square, sixteen traps will do the work. The moth will fly about the light until it touches the oil. This will end it. The Industrial South has the following in relation to Albemarle and Nelson (Virginia) apple orchards in the space of fifteen square miles: "What would you think of an orchard planted, if not since the war, as I think it was, a very short time before, and away up on the side of the Blue Ridge, that to look from below you would think of insuring your neck before setting out to it, producing eighteen hundred barrels? This was the produce of picked fruit, to say nothing of the fallen—enough to keep a big drying establishment running for months. These are true figures—and it is the property of a worthy citizen of Richmond, who, in its management, has cause to exclaim "ab imo pectore," save me from my friends. Then there is another from which the owner, with a dryer of his own, has sold five thousand dollars of the proceeds besides cider, vinegar, and brandy. There is yet another, that the lady-owner sold as the fruit hung in the orchard, for forty-five hundred dollars. The fruit in the area referred to brought over fifty thousand dollars, bought by the agent of a New York house, and doubtless much of it will reach Europe." Prof. Cook in the New York Tribune: The Rev. W. W. Meech writes that he has seen in several papers of high standing "the beetle Saperdabivitati, parent of the borer," described as a "a miller"—"a mistake very misleading to those who are seeking knowledge of insect pests." He adds that among hundreds of quince trees growing he has had but three touched by this enemy in eight years. He simply takes the precaution to keep grass and weeds away from the collar of the tree, "so that there is no convenient harbor for the beetle to hide in while at the secret work of egg-laying." He thinks a wrap of "petroleum paper around the collar" would be found a preventive, as it is not only disagreeable but hinders access to the place where the eggs are deposited. It is an unfortunate error to refer to a beetle as a moth. It would be better if all would recognize the distinction between "bug" and "beetle," and between "worms" and "larva," in writing popular articles. I notice that some of the editors of medical journals are referring to bacteria as "bugs." Surely reform is needed. I am not so sure of Mr. Meech's remedy. I imagine that fortune, not his pains, is to be thanked for his grubless trees. I have known this borer to do very serious mischief where the most perfect culture was practised. The caustic wash is much safer than a petroleum wrap. The eggs are often laid high up on the trunk or even on the branches. Nothing is better for the borers than the soap and carbolic acid mixture. |