<^. v^ > t^t< IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^ m 1.0 I.I 11.25 |50 ^^~ H;^ 1^ 12.0 la In 2.2 1.4 I' IJ4 V] o^ /] / V'^ r '/ HiotografJiic Sciences Corporation 33 WIST MAIN STRUT WMSTIR, i4.Y. MSM (716) •73-4S03 I. CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CiHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Micoreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques ! Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes tochniquas at bibliographiquc to Tha Instituta has attamptad to obtain tha bast original copy availabia for filming. Foaturas of this copy which may ba bibliographically uniqua, which may alter any of tha images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checlted below. 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Las diagrammas sulvants lllustrant la mithoda. rata alura, A 3 nx 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vr'^'a y . . . i3u['teiiii of I§o Dcpaclincnt of ^^I'i^^uCturo, Practical advice V FOR 1 HE J -1. .J, Ti;.T.r.-rTTr. ■r- -I" •'■• '7- .'["^ .;^ -[;■ ^T. ^|, ^1, ^jv. -^1 ■ I • • I • - 1 ' " I • ■ • ' 1 ■ • !- -1- •:-■ -I- <-" -i- Management of Fruit Trees . . IN THE ORCHARD iSV THE REVD. FATHER TRAPPISTES DE NOTRE DAME DU LAC, OKA. .«.*^ ■ '•^rpr — « — ♦ " t Gi TJ E B E C 1898 wmmfmm^ i ( '. i" j^i^. yjA'^j'j ."irs s.ft'i?7 PRACTICAL ADVICE FOR THE Maqaggment of Ymi Im^ BY Till;; REVD TRAPPISTES FATHERS DE NOTRE DAME DU LAC, OKA, P. Q. #"' — f)0-^»O.'^..^\o^ ^. _ MONTREAL IMPRIMERIE DU " CULTIVATEUR," L. J. TARTE & FRERE, PROP. 33 db 35 St. Gabriel St. fal» PRACTICAL ADVICE FOR THE Management of Fruit Trees IN THE ORCHARD BY TIIK RRVD. FATHKRS TRAl'I'ISTES DK NOTRF. DAMK m; LAC, OKA, P. Q. (From the French) The Rt^vd Father Trappists, of Oka, in this Province, have loug been known for their practical achievements in fruit culture, and the essay they have written is so plain and useful that the merest tyro, if he would study and adopt the rules it contains faithfully, could scarcely fail of success : I therefore take pleasure in translating and reprinting it for the benefit of my English readers. Practical advice etc, 1st Provide good, healthy and vigorous plants. 2nd Prepare the soil properly. 8rd Plant wuth great care. 4th Give intelligent attention to culture subsequently. 5th G-ather, pack and preserve the fruit very carefully. Choice of the plant.— k great part of the disappointment suffered by our farmers is caused by misrepresentation of dishonest a- gents, who have not the interest of the pur- chaser sufficiently at heart to give him a profitable orchard, nor even to supply him with whatever he wants. These miscarriag- es have taught some to judge for themselves what are the best varieties for their locality. The careful nursery man, who makes a specialty of fruit culture and understands the fluctuations of the market, is the proper guide to the purchaser in the choice oi varie- ties ; let him apply to a well established and trustworthy house, and follow its advice as to the sorts he should plant. Evils of p/anling old trees. — Some persons think that there is an advantage in planting a large tree, and hope to have a crop of fruit sooner. This is a grave error : old trees not only yield poor fruit, but become stunted, subject to disease and decay, and in a few years perish for the following reasons, they have a system of large roots which suffer by being cut off in replanting the tree, while those which remain are insufficient to nou- rish the branches. Again, the bark is har- dened and covered with lichens and knots, and becomes the prey and nesting place of insects. Ag'e of the trees to be planted. — Trees, when planted should be three, or at the most, four years old from the graft, such trees have their roots but comparatively little developed, suffer very little by being transplanted and present all the conditions necessary to insure healthy growth. Height of trees to plant. — Too low trees should not be planted, generally, for when they grow, culture under them becomes im- possible, and when they are fully developed i they have fruit only at the summit : the shorter' Mie stem the more vigorous the lower branches, and they will soon produce a crowd of gluttons v;hich must be speedily cut away : while to do this, much extra work is required, and wounds, which should always be avoided as much as possible, are made. Notwith- standing, there is no doubt but that low trees present some advantages ; they are easier to work at, when young, the treatment of disease in them is easier, and they protect each other against high winds. As for trees with too high stems, tht» difficulty of pruning them, of attending to them in case of disease, and of gathering the fruit with the care -vyhich is indispensable, should suffice to proscribe them. Between the two extremes, trees which are four to six feet high in the stem, which have a diameter of | to 1| inches should be chosen : it would be bad economy to plant trees of any other dimensions with the idea that they are cheaper ; in this line of articles, the cheapest are always costly in the long run. Care to be taken on the arrival of the trees — A s soon as received, the package should be opened very carefully and the trees planted immediately, if possible. If all is not ready for planting, they must be put into a trench ; for this purpose a trench must be made suffi- ciently deep, and wide enough to receive all the roots ; piace the trees in these trenches one by one, and not in bundles, and see that the roots are covered with earth in such a manner that all shall be in immediate con- tact with the soil. If the trees are received in the autumn, they must bo placed in a celhir, sheltered from frost, and the roots buried in fresh sand, neither too dry nor too moist. Nevertheless, we do not recommend purchasing in the fall ; those who have sui- table cellars to keep the trees in, may do so, and they will then have the ad^'^antage of having them on hand, and so be able to plant them as soon ss the land is dry enough in the spring. It may happen that, in the autumn, the frost may have injured the trees during transportation, in that case, as soon as they are received they must be sheltered from the cold, and a few days must be allowed to elapse before they are unpacked. II. Selection and preparation of the soil. — Frn it- trees may be cultivated on all kinds of land. Not that they are all equally suitable in a natural state ; but they may be made suitable by the industry and intelligence of mar. Clai/s, with the addition ot materials cal- culated to render them more friable, such as sand, ashes, etc., are especially fit lor orchard- ing. Trenching, followed by a ploughing, before planting, and thorough drainage, are indispensable requisites in the improvement of such soils. One great advantage of clay soils is that they are not easily exhausted. Apples and plums grown on them are of better flavour than those fruits grown on other soils. Siliceous soils, those in which sand is the chief feature, are inferior ; though when the subsoil is clay, they may be improved by (if possible) ploughing up some of it ,• thus creating a new soil, so to speak, of the very best quality. In the absence of'snch a sub- soil, the cleanings of ditches, h»'uvy dress- ings of dung, the ploughing-in of green crops, or of any kind of unctuous materials capa- ble of increasing the consistency of the soil, should be practised. Calcareous soils are those in which lime predominates; they are of a whitish hue, harden quickly and crack under the influ- ence of the sun (1) The addition to such land of humus and nitrogenous matters, turf and all dark coloured stuff, might benefit it. It is the favourite home of the cherry. {'1) Further on, we will point out, in a few lines devoted to each description of fruit, the soils that are especially favourable to their growth. The thing of all others that fruit-trees dread is excess of moisture. In cold damp soils, the roots rot away. Some sort of drain- age in such land is indispensable. In low lands, the easiest mode of draining is, gene- rally, the digging of pretty deep ditches ail round the plantation. (3) In soils of this sort, fruit may be grown successfully if the trees are set out on raised mounds. "We do not advise planting in a low-lying valley subject to much humidity ; for fogs and late frosts would hinder the fecundatioa of the flowers. (1) Not the chalk-soil of the Engliph Downs. — Ed. (2) See the great cherry-orchards of the lovely district of Canterbury, in Kent. (3) Drain-pipes would be choked by the roots in a very short time. r Exposure.— An'exposvirQ to the'South [can, as a rule, be only recommendedTor the vine ; because, in spring, the sun would be too powerful in its efl'ects on the orchard, since severe fios^s, sometimes occurring at that season, might, when the sap is in circulation, damage the roots and ends of the stems (pieds des tiges). Select such an exposure as is indicated by the direction of the dominant winds and the lie ol the land. No need of enlarging on the damage done to an orchard " when the stor- my winds do blow," to excuse impressing on the planter's mind the need of choosiig a site protected from the prevailing winds of the locality, or. at the very least, of setting out one or two rows of trees as a wind-break. Manures. — If trees are to be vigorous, to yield largely, and to be long-lived, they must be well fed. As long as they are young, the dressings that are necessarily given in pre- paring the land for iheir reception, may be suificient to keep them in good condition ; but, when they are beginning to bear, and no other crop can be grown on the interve- ning spaces, a fresh supply of manure must be afforded. No imperfectly rotted horse, or cow, dung must be allowed to enter the or- chard ; for, the decomposition of such dung, taking place in the soil, will cause root-rot. Even thoroughly rotted dung has still one de^^ect : its action is not lasting enough. The best of all is liquid manure, on account of its facility of application. Urine, or the leakage of dung-heaps, diluted with four time its bulk of water, with a pound of sulphate of 9 iron to 25 gallons to disinfect it, is a useful application. Action of the air. — The air should b3 allowed to circulate freely through every part of an orchard, and the soil ehould be kept constant- ly pulverised, to allow the air'to penetrate as deep as the roots and thereby to strengthen them. The horse or hand-hoe, kept frequently at work, will secure this. It must be remem- bered that absence of air in the'soil'is another cauGe of root-rot. Action of light. — Lij^ht promotes vegetation and invigorates the tissues. When a tree is too much in the shade, the only branches it puts forth are long and slender, and never bear fruit. It is light alone that imparts to the fiuit flavour and colour ; so, it is clear, that the spot choxen for an orchard or fri^it- garden should nevei be affected by too much shade. III. Many of the drawbacks in fruit-culture are the result of careles.-^ planting. Autumn planting may succeed in certain cases, but, as a rule, planting in the spring offers the greater chance of success. Division of the land. — Divide the land so that the long lines shall run in the same direction as the prevailing wind. Show, by means of stakes, the place which each tree is to occupy. There should be 8()^feet space between each two trees, and the same" be- tween the ro\vs. In the intervals between the apple-trees a plum-tree should be planted. The latter will not live so long as the former, but will bear abundant crops of fruit before 10 the apple trees are large enough to require all the space. Finally, between each fruit tree currant and gooseberry bushes should be planted, which, having roots that plunge much less deeply into the soil than the apples and plums, occupy space which would otherwise be lost, and produce a crop with- out interfering at all with the growth of the others. When the orcbard is in full bearing, these bushes must be taken away, because they would not yield satisfactorily when over-shadow^ed. It is easy to calculate what we can put on an acre. Apple trees 25 costing $10.00 Plum trees 20 costing 1,5,00 Currants and gooseberries.. 50 costing 10.00 Thus for $35 we can furnish an acre. The approximate profit will be as follows : Apples $125 Plums 120 Currants and Gooseberries 15 $260 The place having been marked for each tree or bush, holes must be made of a size pro- portionate to the roots. Supposing the land of an orchard has been trench-ploughed and mellowed, it is not necessary to make the holes very large, only large enough for the roots to have plenty of room so that they can be spread out. The top earth, which is the richest, should be set apart and mixed with well rotted manure Another heap should be made with the poor earth from the bottom of the hole. In stony soils, the large stones must be taken out. In heavy land, the holes may be II made in the autumn, to allow tho frost to enter the soil and thus make it more friable. The depth of the hole should be regulated by the length of the roots so that the trees may stand at the same height out of ground as in the nursery. To plant too deep will certainly cause a check, the roots not having air w^ill infallibly perish ; while if not planted deep enough, they will be exposed to the direct action of the solar heat and dry up rapidly. Besides, the tree will not stand so firmly in its place. Certain nurserymen, careful to deliver their plants in good con- dition, plunge the roots of the young trees and bushes into a puddle of clay, which keeps them fresh during transportation. This layer of clay gives the roots a grey appearance, but it would be a grave error to take the upper line of this colouring as indi- cation of the right depth at which the young tree should be planted. Planting. — The hole finished, planting should now be proceeded with. The young tree will require a v'ery important operation which consists in re-establishing the equili- brium of growth between the roots and the branches which have been disturbed by the digging up. All the ends of the broken and bruised roots should be cut off clean, with a sharp knife, and the branches of the head shortened in one half Now, place in the bottom of the hole the soil wliich has been mixed with manure, and with it form a little mound on which the roots should be spread. The roots should now be covered with the same soil, and the planter should 12 phake the tree up and down to cause the jrood earth to penetrate amonj^st the roots. Then, press lightly, so that the soil shall adhere to them, and cover entirely with the earth taken from the bottom of the hole — The plantinc: done, the earth should form at the foot of the tree a little mound, which will disappear as the earth settles. ^lakinhly esteemed, skin pale, but a deep red in the sun, flesh white, n litthj acid, llavor a«»'reeable The tree is vig-orous and hardy. Fametise. — The most popular apple in the vicinity of Montreal, fruit medium, red and pale green, ilesh white, tree vigorous and hardy. The apple spots easily and should be treated with Ijordeaux mixture. Haas. — Fruit medium, red and pale yellow, Hesh white, tender and juicy, a little acid. Tree exceedingly vigorous and hardy, ripens from September to November. Winter apples Wealthy. — I'ruit about medium size, bril- liant red, principally on the side exposed to the sun, sometimes a little greenish in the shade, it will keep until February, and is the fruit;' par excellence " for exportation, The .tree is vigorous, hardy, and produces abund- antly Canada Baldwin. — Fruit medium large, skin smooth, yellow, striped with carmine and crimson, s})rinkled with large dots, flesh white, frequently tinted with deep rose, tirm, juicy and sub-acid, having a slightly astrin- gent taste, peculiar but not disagreeable. Season mid- winter and latiu*. Tree vigorous and hardy, succeeds w-ell in clay loams. Ben Davis. — Fruit large, round, sometimes a little conical, pale yellow, strongly marked with red in the sun, flesh, white, juicy, and 22 ..1' snb-aeidr cpnaUty mLdiura. Ii% specialty of keeping until the spring, and its beautiful appearance make it a favourite in the English market where it fetches a high price. The tree is vigorous and very hardy. Golden Russet. — Fruit medium, of a beau- tiful color, golden yellow with the skin sometimes reddish brown, juicy, and of an exquisite flavor, will keep until spring. Tree vigorous, hardy, and prolific, ripens from November to April. Longjleld. — A Russian variety very much to be recommended, fruit small, yellow and red, of an agreable flavor, and keeps well until March. The tree is vigorous and hardy. Mann. — Fruit about medium size, green, sprinkled with black dots when gathered, but changing to deep yellow when perfectly ripe ; its exquisite flavor and perfume make it a great fivorite. The tree is vigorous and hardy ; keeps until April. Macintosh Red. — J\bout medium size, round, slightly flattened, deep red all over ; flesh white, juicy, flavor and perfume exqui- site. Tree vigorous, hardy and an abundant bearer. Keeps from November to February. Northern Spt/ — Fruit large, slighly conical in form ; pale yellow streaked with crimson on the side exposed to the sun, ripens in January ; it succeeds best in the neighbour- hood of Montreal and towards the south. Pemavkee. — In size medium, ribbed and slightly conical in shape ; skin, a clear yellow, perfume exquisite, these qualities make it a first-class fruit for exportation. The tree is 23 vigorous and succeeds everywhere. It begins to bear late, but gives excellent crops. Pomme grise. — Fruit small, grayish red, flesh tender and aromatic. The tree is vigor- ous, but it only succeeds well in the South and "West. Quebec Winter. — Fruit medium size, color yellow, w^ith stains of red next the sun ; flavor agreable ; this variety is highly re- commended. Tree vigorous and hardy. Roxbury Busset. — In size about medium ; dark-green sprinkled with obtains of a yellow- ish brown, llesh greenish white, not V3ry juicy, flavor agreeable. Tree vigorous. Salome. — Fruit average size, round and conical; yellow with reddish tint next the sun ; flesh, pale yellow% juicy and with a dleasant flavor. The fruit will keep easily until June. Tree vigorous and hardy. Scott's Winter. — Fruit in size medium ; colour varieL^ from bright red to reddit-hbrown; flesh, pale yellow, slightly tinted with red near the skin, its flavour and perfume render it an apple of the first quality ; the tree is very vigorous and very hardy, bears abund- antly, and the fruit keeps till June. Smith's cider. — Fruit larger than medium, yellow flushed with red ; flesh tender, juicy and rich, ripens September to March. Tree vigorous. Babbit. — Fruit very large, almost entirely red ; flesh juicy i.nd rich. October to spring. Tree hardy and vigorous. Wolf Elver. — Fruit very large, pale green with sometimes a little crimson ; flesh, white 24 I*? tender, and juicy ; January and February. Tree hardy and vigorous. John Richardson. — Fruit very large, red all over but sometimes greenish in the shade. Tree hardy and vigorous. Reinetie du Canada. — Fruit very large, a dull yellow ; flesh white, firm, rich and of the first quality, November to March. Tree vigorous and hardy. Craha Hyslops. — A crab highly esteemed for its size, brilliant color and keeping qualities : the tree is hardy, vigoi'ous and a very abund- ant bearer. Transcendent. — Fruit medium, red and yellow. The tree is hardy, vigorous and yields abundant crops. Whitney's Seeding No. 2. — Very large, an excellent dessert fruit ; still better when cooked, and makes capital cider. The tree is beautiful in shape, and produces abundantly. Early Stravjberry — A variety highly re- commended, hardy and vigorous. Drying Apples The drying of fruit is an industry taken up to a considerable extent during the last few years, and especially in the United States. Co-operative drying houses are established to which the orchardist can take his fruit, as the dairy man tak^s his milk to the creamery; but any one can evaporate his own fruit by means of a special apparatus which is cheap and easily obtained. The preparation of apples for drying in an evaporator consists in it the core, and cut- peelinj taking ting them in slices ; this is rapidly done by 25 ingenious machinery that can h^i brought for a small sum. It is now the custom to submit peeledapples, before or after being sliced, to the fumes of sulphur. This operation is called bleach- ing, and gives a better appearance to the fruit causing it to retain its colour. The sul- phur is placed in a vessel over a fire and the vapor passes through the fruit, which is placed in trays above, the fumes escaping by the top ; the time necessary for this oper- ation is about 2") minutes. After the bleach- ing, the fruit is placed on wire trays, fitted to the inside of the drying chamber of the evaporator, where it remains until sufficiently dry, which takes from 2| to 4 hours. The fruit must be removed before it becomes brittle, while it is still tender though a little tough. For the drying of ai:>ples there will be re- quired : 1st, portable evaporators, varying in capacity from 5 to 150 bushels a day, '2nd, evaporating ovens that are not costly. Packing dried fruit. — The fruit must not be packed till 24 hours after drying. It is then put into paper-lin;^d boxes holding from 25 to 50, or 7o lbs. A box for 50 lbs., i^hould be 12 X 12 X 24 inches. Evaporated apples should be packed in the same manner as the green fruit, that is to say, beginning at the top of the case ; nail on the cover, and then turn the case upside down, then place a sheet of paper in the case, and arrange the layers of fruit regularly in lines ; letting each layer corner the preced- ing one. When the c*\se is full, nail th«* ij r i 26 bottom, brand it and it will be ready for market. Varieties to evaporate. — Summer apples are not fit for the purpose. The following table gives the best winter varieties for evaporating : lbs. oz. 1 Northern Spy 50 lbs will give when dry 9 2 Golden Rushet a 3 Ben Davis it 4 Pewankee « 5 Pomme Grise a 6 Canada Baldwin i( 7 Fameuse it 8 Gedeon t( 9 Haas t( 10 Longfield a 31 Scott's Winter « 12 Wealthy le <( 9 (t 9 tc 8.7 t< 8.2 <( 7.13 tt 6.14 (t 6.4 « 6.4 tt 5.15 tt 5.5 tt 4.8 (Extract from report oj Experimental farm, Ottawa.) Making Cider The culture of apples for cider is destined to increase enormously in the Province of Quebec ; and for many reasons : 1st The soil is eminently suited to their culture, and it is proved that the Canadian apple is super- ior for the purpose to the Norman apple. 2nd. Without doubt, cid^r is a wholesome and agreeable drink, and its manufacture should be more general in this country To make really good cider the apples must be quite ripe. (1) A very simple and cheap way of making good cider consists in having three hogs- heads, open at one end. Place in one, 100 lbs of apples, cut into small pieces, on these pour 3 1 gallons of Vvater for the first time. Tc prevent the fruit from floating, place in the hogshead, on the surface of the fruit and (I) And should he piled in heaps for two or thr«e weeks hefore crushing. i 27 must water, a cover of boards, held toji'ether by a transverse board. After 1"2 hours of immer- sion, draw off 3^ gallons of water, by means of a faucet placed at the bottom of the barrel, and pour into this hogshead which we will call No 1, 3 J gallons of pure water ; the first juice taken from it ponr into No 2 hogshead, having previously placed in it another 100 lbs of crushed apples. After another 12 hours of immersion, draw off the juice from the two hogsheads ; the juice of No 2 pour into No 8, another 100 lbs of apples having been previously added, then the juice of No 1 is put into No 2 and 3| gallons more of pure water is poured into No 1, which is the last. At the end of 12 hours the same work is repeated, the juice No 3 is collected and the juice ot the other two is added success- ively. After they have passed No 3, the crushed apples are thrown away. There should now be about 12 gallons of apple juice, and when this is fermented it makes a verv good family cider. The juice should be placed in a barrel, left open at the bung-hole. Before long, a bub- bling sound will be heard, produced by the liberation of carbonic acid. This working usually lasts three or four weeks. The cider should be kept in a temperature of not less than 46*^, and no sudden variations of tem- perature should be allowed in the fermenting room. Care must be taken that the cask be kept constantly filled up, so as to allow the foreign matter, brought to the surface by the fermen- tation, to run off. The addition of sugar to - 28 the juice increases the alcohol, when, at the same time, tannin and tartaric acid are added. For the quantity of juice above mentioned, suf?ar 1 lb 12 ounces, 2 grammes tannin, and J ounce of tartaric acid should be added for each degree of alcohol desired. When fermentation ceases cork up tightly, and to be sure that no accident happens it is well to bore a gimblet hole at the side of the bung, in which place a straw for a few days; finally, make it air-tight — with a wooden plug. Diseases of the apple. Slrangling of the trunk. — To remedy this, make three or four longitudinal incisions in the trunk, penetrating into the inner bark or alburnum. Canker. — Canker is a point on the road to disorganisation in the midst of a living tissue. It is said to be open when the central portion, in full disorganisation, is surrounded by a round swelling of healthy tissue, and it is said to be close when the lips of the swelling are greatly developed and have a tendency to come together. Apples planted in moist soils are often affected with this disease, and it also develops when the cir- culation of the sap is suddenly checked by cutting off branches when it is in full acti- vity, in April and May. To avoid canker, we must 1st. not make rents or scratches, but only clean cuts. 2nd. Not plant apple trees in too moist places. To cure canker : with a very sharp knife. , at the i added, itioned, ain, and ded for tightly, ens it is [e of the w days; wooden dy this, sions in er bark road to living central ounded ?, and it of the have a planted ith this the cir- sked by ill acti- ut only moi&t > knife, 29 cut away the damagfnl tissue, so as to remove the germs of decay, then rub the clean wounds with sorrel; when the wound is dry, cover it with grafting wax. Rust. — The stems and branches which present cavities resulting from destruction of the tissues, are said to bo rusted. To stop the ravages of the disease and preserve the infected parts, the coming of the corrupt- ing germs and the elements necassary for their developement must be arrested. For this purpose, the walls of the cavity must be sheltered from the air and moisture by filling them with mortar and excluding the air by covering the opening with grafting wax. Mosses and lichens. — Scrape the old bark with a scraper to take off the mosses and lichens and cover the cleansed parts with milk of lime. Caterpillars. — In March, while the trees are still leafless, take off all the rings of cater- pillar's eggs round the branches. Destroy their nest as fast as they appear, and crush the caterpillars, smear a portion of the stem with linseed or olive oil, to prevent their ascent. Green s^ruh or plant louse. — These feed on the green matter contained in the leaves and the soft extremities of the young shoots : coal-oil emulsion will kill them. Dissolve \ lb. strong soap in one gallon of boiling water ; when the soap is thoroughly dissolved pour in 2 gallons of coal-oil, stir or churn and thoroughly mix until the mixture has a creaming appearence ; then 30 add nine times its volume of water, that is to say, 27 gallons. Apply with a sprayer when the trees are young, and later, by means of a watering barrel mounted on wheels. Be careful that the emulsion is properly made ; one drop of pure coal, oil will imme- diately burn the part of the tree on which it fails. Woolly grub. — This insect is reddish brown covered with white down, and does great injury to the apple-tree. The waxy down with which it is covered protects it from most insecticides. When a young tree has its stem and branches covered with cankerous knots, it is often better to eradicate it planting a good one in its place, than to treat it with insecti- cides. Insecticides should dissolve the coton- ny matter that covers the grub, and kill it, without destroying the tissues of the tree. Alcohol, raw fish-oil, phenic acid, with much water, urine, tobacco juice with plenty of water, alcohol and petroleum, are the insecticides recommended, and may be used at all times successfully ; most of these should be used only before the developement of the leaves. In the spring, before the opening uf the flowers, spray the entire tree, particularly any part affected, with a mixture | water and I tobacco juice, with a weak addition of alcohol. The Borer, — Sometimes a tree perishes suddenly without any apparent cause ; this is mostly due to this insect, which being furnished with very strong mandibles, digs 3* or bores into the heart ot the tree and makes large galleries which ramify in great num- bers. The base of the trees should be care- fully inspected in August and washed with soft soap. If the worm has already done its work, it should be extracted with a needle or small piece of wire, the hole closed up with mortar or cement, and sprinkled over with phenic water. Bark louse. — These are always to be found on trees which are in bad condition, from neglect, worn out or decrepid from age. The remedy is good culture, and proper pruning to stimulate vegetation and give the tree back its lost vigor. Then, the bark should be scraped and washed with a couch grass whisk, dipped in soapy water. A good preventive of ihis kind of insects is to apply lime to the tree in the autumn. Apple- gnawing worm. — The ravages of this insect can be prevented by the application of Paris green when the fruit is begining to be formed ; and a second time, when it is partly grown. Nature has given us, in the birds, powerful auxiliaries in the battle with the legions of insects which infest our or- chards. We must be careful not to destroy the birds completely, and count for little the few cherries they may eat or the apples they may damage, in comparison with the mil- lions of insects which they annually des- troy (1). Spot or scab. — We often see the leaves and the extremities of the young shoots being 1. But utterly exterminate that predaceous scoundrel, the sparrow. 3^ struck suddenl)'^ yellow, next, the base of the branch becomes yellow in its turn, and then tli^j entire branch. Jf we observe closely, we !W^^ «■■■« •;;.* ■»A1 ■ vi '*1 ii^f^^ '^iki'l-jbit'^l ■ '<. :«?