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Original eopiaa in printad papar eovars are fllmad baginning with tha frant covar and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or iliuatratad impraa- iion, or tha back covar whan appropriata. All othar original eopiaa ara fllmad baginning on tha first paga with a printad or iliuatratad impraa- sion. and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or iliuatratad impraaaion. Tha iaat racordad frama on aach microficha •hall contain tha symbol — ^ (maaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha symbol V (maaning "END"), whichavar appliaa. Mapa. plataa. charts, ate., may ba fllmad at diffarant raduction ratioa. Thoaa too larga to b« antiraiy includad in ono axpoaura ara fllmad baginning in tha uppar laft hand comar, laft to right and top to bottom, aa many framaa aa raquirad. Tha following diagrama illuctrata tha mathod: L'axamplaira film4 fut raproduit grica A la ginArosit* da: Biblicthiqua Agricultura Canada Laa imagaa suh/antaa ont it* raproduitaa avac la plua grand soin. compta tanu da la condition at da la nattat* da I'Miamplaira film«, at an eonformit* avac laa condltiona du contrat da filmaga. Laa axantplairaa origlnaux dont la eouvartura an paplar aat imprimia sont fllm«a an eommanpant par la pramiar plat at wn tarminant soit par la damiira paga qui compoita una amprainta d'Impraaaion ou d'illustration, soit par la sacond plat, salon la eaa. Toua lea autraa sxamplairas originaux sont fllmis wn commanqant par la pramlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'Impraaaion ou d'illuatration at sn tarminant par la damMra paga qui comporta una taila amprainta. Un daa symbolaa suivanta apparaltra sur la damiAra imaga da chaqua microficha, salon la caa: la symbols — ^ signifia "A SUIVRE", la symbola ▼ signifia "FIN". Laa cartaa. plarchaa. tablaaux, stc, pauvant Atra fllmia i daa taux da rMuction diffirants. Loraqua la document ast trop grand pour «tra raproduit an un saul clichi. il aat film* A partir do I'anglo supiriaur gaucha. da gaucha i droita. at da haut ti baa. tt pranant la nombra d'Imagaa nicassaira. Laa diaqrammaa suivants illuatrant la mithoda. 1 2 3 1 32 X I IM2 EVIDENCE nt MR JAMES FI.ETCHER ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST HKKtIRK TMK SBLBOT STANDING OOMMITTBB OP THE HOUSB OP COMMON ON AGRICULTURE AND COLONIZATION SESSION OF 1892 (PRINTBU HYOHDKH OF PAHUAMe.VT) J J J 1 I I I 'J 1 A I F P C G 1892 CONTENTS. Economic value and progress of Kntotnological science ''""5 Reliable remedies against insect pests Proper methods for application of remedies 7 Injurious insects of the season a False impressions corrected Mischievous quack remedies \ A successful remedy for Pea-weevil Recipe for preparing kerosene emulsion 1, The Oyster Shell Bark-Louse ,, The Pear Tree Slug !...*""!"........ [t A popular fallacy corrected The Apple Maggot ..."".3!....."! ...........7'.".' Jf Fungous diseases of plants !!..!"!.!!..!.!..."..!! Potato rot and its remedy Cultivation of fodder grasses, adaptable to Canada !!.!!!!!!....!.!." 18 Grasses unsuitable toCanada ,« H 1892 EVIDENCE or Mr. JAMBS FLBTOHBR ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST nKKtIHK TIIK SBLBOT STANDING OOMMITTBE OP THE HOUSE OP COMMONS (IN AGRICULTURE AND COLONIZATION SESSION OP 1802 Committee Room 4G, House of Commonh, Wednesday, i;uh April, 18!»2. ,r w,'^*'® Commiltee on Agriculture and CoIonJziition mot at 1(» o'clocit. Dr. Spicule M.P., 111 the chair. ^ ' The Chairman: Mr. Fietchor, the Entomolo^'ift and Botanist of the Experi- mental Farms, is with us this morning. I think we had better continue the course we have hitherto followed, and allow Mr. Fletcher to deliver bin address, and after- wards anj^ hon. member can ask any question ho may desire Mr. Fletcher: Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen,— I have no v had the pleasure and honour of appearing before this Committee on several occasions, but there are some members of the Committee who may not be familiar with the work that I am intrusted with at the Kxporimentai P'arm. It is the study of insects and plants. riie importance of these different branches of work is not yet thoroughly appreci- ated by farmers, but I tind that they only require to be brought to their notice to convince them of their value. The different methods of publication in reports and bulletins from the Experimental Farm give us opportunities of bringing before the public- such parts of the work as have been completed, and also of making sugges- tions which may be of use to agriculturists throughout the country. ECONOMIC value AND PB0ORE83 OK ENTOMOLOGICAL SCIENCE. The newspaper press has also very materially assisted in this work by giving publicity to many minor experiments on matters which required immediate attention and upon which it is not advisable or possible to publish official documents. My own thanks are particularly due to the agricultural press, especially to the Parmer's Advocate, of London, the Nor'-West Farmer, our own local papers here, the Weekly u- i^u ^^'^"^**' ""'^ *••« PritK^e Edward Island Farmer. I mention these as papers which have been of use to me in my department, not by comparison with any other papers at all. They have applied for infori. ition concerning injurious insects, fungous diseases, or weeds, and have made it public when it was furnished them. Ill tiie iTsorih-west also there are some newspapers which have on different occasions made use of the department as a source of useful knowledge and have published the information so obtained for the good of the farmers in their circulation. These inquiries have been for the most part concerning insects, and, as I explained last MH. .lAMKH ri.KTCIIKR. rear, T conHidor the work of entomology in which I uin engaged U Mcond to nono in importitnco, to all ItmnchoN nrii^rirulturu. Tlie Htiuly of economic «Mitomology — ihitt in, that branch of the Ncienco whifh dealH pni'ticuhirly with the diucovery of rvmodioH for injurioH caUMeil by in»ectH — haH been developed during the IftHt decade phenomenally. It may alm'oHt be Nuid to have tliiring that time bcrttmo a new Htiidy. That itH value in now generally rocognir.ed by farmerM in apparent from the tact that lant year over 2,t>00 h'tters were written fi'tn mv branch to farniera throughout the eountrv who had applied for information. TMh recognition of the value of thcHc xtudieH 1 Iteliove Ih to ne due to the fact that the information given haH Itoon found UHcful. I am, therefore, |«rticularly pleaHe*! to huvethoopportunity of again appearing before thiM Committee, comj)OHed of membern of I'arliament coming from difl'ercnt partH of the Dominion, ho that, if poHHible, I may uain their confidence and sympathy, and convince them that the work Ih of value. Tney will then, rfhould an outbreak of injuriouH inHccti* or fungoun dineaHe occur, bo enabled to give their constituentH advice to apply for any information they may require at the Central Kx|)oriiiiontal Farm, or at a himilar iuHtitution where these HtudicH are being carried on. It very frequently happenr* that largo percentageM of any given crop are doHtroyed by fungouH (liHeaHeH or inHoct enemicH, and fro4|uently, inttlead of Heeking help, farmers give up in doBpair, as they do very often in the cane of thiHtIc-, or "q-tuck grasH." " There jh no use in trying to get it out," they nay, " it nimply cannot be done." ThiH is not at all the caHo, and it in to-day just an abHurd aHtomiy that iuHoct enomioM cannot be treated. There ih not one of the more important fungous or insect enemien, concerning which useful advice cannot be given, which will at any rate give the applicant means to mitigate or reduce very materially the amount of injury that is being done; this being the case, it is indeed most valuable advice to the farmers of any district to tell them where they can get this useful information, and induce them to apply for it. The work curried on at the Experimental Farm in those two branches is, I believe, so important, that it is worth while any member remembering this fact, and bringing it before his conntituents whenever the opportunity occurs. I shall, this morning, Mr. Chairman, in the time nt my disposal, lay before you a few facts concerning the lines of work that have been curried on during the past year, and also, perhaps, shall allude to some of the experiments which I hope to carry out during the coming season. RKLIAHI.K KEMEUIES AUAINHT INSECT PESTi. I spoke of the great advance that had taken place in the study of economic entomology during the last five or ton years. This advance is due to the increased number of workers engaged in the study, but particularly to two discoveries of new remedien und the best way to apply them for different kinds of insects. I will allude to one or two of these discoveries. Amongst the most important of them is the S raying of ursenites, that is, with chemical compounds containing arsenic such as iris green for foliage-eating insects, and kerosene emulsion for such insects as live by suction. This latter is an emulsion made of soap-suds and coal oil. Pure coal oil or kerosene is injurious to vegetation; therefore, before it can be sprayed on vegetation it must be diluted ; but coal oil, being so like an oil in nature, will not mix with water. Soap-suds, however, will mix with the coal oil and also with water; therefore, this emulsion, when diluted, can housed upon vegetation without doing the same injury that pure kerosene would. This is a very valuable discovery for many forms, as the scale insects, which could not be injured by the usual methods, can now bo easily destroyed. Another remedy for these insects, which we have not tried in Canada so fur, but which is very successfully used in California, is known as the "gas" treatment. This is a method by which the tree to be treated is inclosed in a tent and then the whole tree is subjected to the fumes of hydrocyanic acid. There is no doubt that, but for the discovery of these methods of treating scale insects and the insecticides, kerosene KniVuMlf KMT0Mnl,04iV .\SU IIOTANV. 1832 to non<' in lice which innectH — Ht 1)0 Hllid f^uiivi'ully ttOTH WOl'O |i|)li«Hl for I 00 ilue tu itppitaring 1 (ii tier f lit lymptttby, outbreak IIIBtillll'lltH )oritiioiital . It very troyed by p, t'unnera ick graBM." bo done." it oiiomieH stonomieH, I give the II ry that iH ['armers of ind induce tho8o two (ivmboi-iiig ' occuiB. before you g thu pnHt I liope to economic ) increased •ies of new will allude em in the ic such as )cts ttH live Pure coal ip rayed on e, will not rith water ; lout doing covery for I methods, BO far, but nent. This I the whole lat, but for 8, kerosene liC, tho cultivation <»f all ritrutt fruitn, Huch an orungUH and ble, iKith in Kloridn and California. emulrtion, gaH, ronin, fi lemoiiH, would tiMJay b«> qiiito itnpoHHi I'Hoi'RR m:;tiioi)m ioh ai-i-mcatiox ity krmbiukh. Another diHCovory of groal iinportHnc«> in this Htudy was the invention of u proper uomIo. Thoro in, pt-rhapH, nothing that leads ho much l<. titiluru in the treat- ment of inJHiiouK inHects as improper nor.zlos, and the improper ux© of the name Cyclone No7-/,le. The latter is a small instrument inventeio mixture should bo used with such an incfofinite measure as a spoonful ; cvovy ingredient should be measured by weight. Those who try those remedies are liable to (• more harm than good, even when they carrv out strictly the instructions given Jv those who recommend remedies in siich a f/mlish manner. The true Cyclone Nozzle or Jtiley Nozzle is made at Washington. A very important modification of the Cyclone Nozzle was made by a Frenchman named Vermorel, by the addition of a little noodle which is forced through the orifice by means of a spring attached to the handle of the instrument. Anysmall obstruction which may have stopped up the orifice of the nozzle is easily removed by simply presHing tho spring. This, to one who is used to working with spray nozzles, will at once bo recognizeilas a very groat advantage, for there is nothing so annoying, when you have got all your apparatus ready and in working order, as to have to stop, take It down, unscrew the nozzle to clean it cut. and set to work again. Although HO small, and producing such a fine spray, the use of these nozzles is applicable to evon large trees. By mounting this very small nozzle— which in some forms does not measure more than half an inch in diameter across the front, and in which tho orifice is only a tiny pin-hole in the middle -on a very light rubber tube, such as is usctl here for the gas pipe, and attaching that to a light polo, such us a bamboo fishing rod— you can raise it to any height you require in practical work. You can spray very easily all over trees thirty or even forty and fifty feet high, by tying a small tube to a light pole in the way described, and by that means raising tho nozzle to the reniiirnil hoicrht Tt>o liraiiKl u..«r;..'* K«n., -!.a,,~—\ *_ p-- -!- very far from the nozzle. It is therefore necessary to spray the trees on the side from which the wind blows, and it will be sometimes necessary to go through an orchard and si)ray the trees twice, so as to get them thoroughly sprayed. MH. JAMIM rLKTCIIKR. Tbeae iliHCoverioH and iiivuntionM to which I havo briefly rof'erreti, hnvo Iwon moMtly mutle within the last fow yeiirit, and it in not too iniich to Htty that it ia now perfectly |HWHible to wage wiir HuocosHfully ngainnt nearly all tho leaf-eating inseote which iittuck cropii, Thtwu aro very many, iNith in numl>er« and kind*, hut theinloU ligeiit friiii-grower now rocognizoH that thoao very injurioiiH inHoota which doHtroy ho many of our cropa are u bietiHing in diHguiMc, for not only do they injuio tho crop* and tho truoa of the negligent iHrniera moat , but oonaidering the small amount of lalxMir he expondn in treating them, he necn that he gotn very large relurna for hia time and money. Tho ininrovemontH in lalHtur-aaving machinery are now advancing rapidly in all lincH, and thiH ia aimply a recognition oi tho imp«>rtance of machinery in a apeoial linenf agriculture which, up to the preaentlime, haM hardly been recognixed aH agriculture at all. The uaoof inauclicidufi Ih now aoneceiiMary th:it it may l>oaaid, without exaggeration, it ia juMt aa neccHxary na the cultivation ami the manuring of croprt ) bccauHc, with the gradual incroaNe of the area under cultivation of any given orop, the iuHeotH which prey upon that crop have gradually increaaed, until now we muHl take apooial cognixance of their pretience,nna adopt moiiHuroa to combat them. I!<.rUBIOU8 INaKCTB Ol^' TIIR 8IAHON. 1 will nov.' refer to aorae of tho ditfurciit innectH which have roquii-ed attention during the paat year. Orchard pcHtt* of Hcvoral kindn were abundant. Tho moHl important waaoiio known an tho " Kyo-apottod Hud-moth," a amall inHect not expanding much more than half an inch ucrosa the winga. A Hmall fact, which has beon learned during the past aeaaon concerning thiH insect, well illualratea the value of knowing the lifediiatory of an injurious inetect, ko aa to learn the most practical remedy. It' you know the way ami seasona when an innoct puscos through its ditferent stages, you then have some means of finding out its mot«t vulnerable |K)int. The Kye-s})otted Hud-moth paascs the winter upon the twigs of fruit trooH as a half-grown caterpillar. There is onl}' r hia u;, wrote to tne that many ..I the l»o«l Nhmie trei«« in tho part of that city when- he livo>* ha few thero. «"••■«• In Vancouver Island two ymtn ag<» the oak Iroon all arr.unil Victoria wore stripped by another caterpillar of the samo tamily. Those caterpillars aro known I-om their manner of walking, as goomolers or I.M»pers. They ntiippwl tho tree entirely <.f over v vestige <.f foliage. Those also could have bi.on destroyed just lis have Hpoken of alM»ve. easily as these The Canker Worm" attacks many kinds of tioos, but it is particular! v injurious to apple trees. Along the Montreal road, near Ottawa, -luring the po>t Moason it occurred in such large numbers in some orchanis that many ..t the trees appoarml us irt often stated, as if they ha.l Ikjoii burned over with tiro. With the (Junker Worms wore also found two kinds of Leuf-ndiers, and the caterpillar of tho Kyo- spotted Bud-moth. Those caterpillars aro hidden Ir-.m sight. Thoy roll up or gather together one or more of the loaves of an apple tree and then food fr.)m within on the leaves, so enclosed. The same poison, Paris green, destroys them all. An intorcsting and new attack, studied last season, was t hat of a coleophora or Casob»uirer so ca led trom tho little cigar-shapod case which it carries about with it, and insi(ie which It lives whilst in tho caterpillar stale. Tt makes a small hole through tho siirtace ot the e:»f and eats out the green cellular matter bolween tho siirfucos. It has proved rather ditBeull to flght because of this habit ; but after e.xicnsivo o,xperi. mont It was found that it could bo most successfully combatiod by throwing a Paris green spray on tho foliage. This insect also passes tho winter, li/df-grown, up«m tho branches of the infested trees. This fact led me to try spraying trees during tho winter with kerosene emulsion, to see if the lurvio could not Ik) «loHtroved inside their Wises in a wholesale manner. • .k^'V^" ^""."«' '^!' Adolphustown. Out., has carried out very careful experiments in this lino during the past winter; but on tho whole tho results have not boon satis- factory, borne of tho larva" were killed ; but many o'hors, as well as larva' of the r^o-spottod Hud-moth, wore found on tho twigs tliroo weeks afterwards uninjured although the twigs had a strong odour of tho coal oil still perceptible "upon tliem Ihis immunity from injury was of course largely duo to their being pro- tected by their cases; but also to the fact that insects which pass tho winter in a torpid state are then less susceptible to injury than they are during the summer time when they are active. Cut-worms of several kinds have boon, as usual, complained ot all over the country, from the North-west Territories down to tho Alantic coast. Ut tho remedies suggested, tho best results have been obtained from two which 1 have mentioned when before this Committee on a previous occasion, which consist of laying poisoned bundles of green food through the crop before and just after i is planted, and also of placing a strip of tin, or wrapping a small piece of paper, around the stems of plants liable to attack at tho time of planting out. An old enemy the Peasveevii, has developed in large numbers dunng the past two years. In the County of Prince Edward, so celebrated for the production of seed pease, it has increased verv much, F am. soij-v to say I havo to^t'M unmt- of the old remedies in which reliance was placed, an"d found' they were useless. "Much of the work ot the entomologist now is complicated by the fact that the popularity of tfiis work has induced many to enter upon and undertake it who aro not i.roporly prepared to do so, and the consequence is that they write about many things they 10 MK. .lAMKH KI.KTt'IIKK. have never tCHted for themselvets, bo that the newspaporu are teeming with aaelens receipts, MIBrlilEVOUS QUACK REMEDIES. Three-fourths of the newfpupor entomology in inaccurate, and it does more harm than good, from the fact that so many people who read about ihese inaccurate and useleas remedies try them and fail. Perhaps there is no remedy more written up in the newHpapers than putting salt on fields attaci it is quite igerous and )n will take 3t pease by • farmers to ibers where ' pease were because the ou'.d be free most of the etropolis or area where heir seed to is probable re, I think, nci'oaee and 1, and I was write to the 1692 ECONOMIC KNTOMOLOGV AND BOTANV. 11 fn^ f K T P"P''?' f 'n'°» *"? "?''"""' ^f ^''^ *"8«''''' ^^^^ advise as to the best course for the farmers o follow who had bought seed. Under the existing ci^crmMa u es he farmers having bought their seed, and got their land ready for sow SrdVsrovl ing the weevils in the seed was the only practicable remedy. ^' ^ A SUCCESSFUL REMEDY FOR PEA-WEEVIL. receSirS^f5rH'*w"rrf"''^7"' "''l^ ^t^ poaso wore poured out into a large receptacle half filled with hot-water— wash-tubs were used generally cold water S«H ,n^?K ^''" ^t """^^^ beforehand, was then thrown ofe, them 'and the tub filled to the top Directly the pease were thoroughly wetted the cold wate, was Croyed": '"'' '""'^ ""'' '**'" ^''' ^° ^^"^"^ ^^' ^f hoVs, and the belrier were alt By Mr. McNeil! : loft ,•?■ i^l^u^/^^ ^°* T*'^*"' *»■««*'"«"' '"Ju'o the p^ase ?-A. Not if they were onlv left in the hot waer for a few seconds. The instructions required that the cold water should be all ready and standir by, and then poured i.i at once rpko.. ^"^ longwoud the pease allowed to remain in thfe hot water ?-A They are poured right into the hot water from the .^ack, and then the tubs are filled bXr r-^ ""•'^ ""'''' ""^ ^'^^, ^^'- ^* ^"'"'•«- The poase can then be part afy dr^ before sowing so as to run easily through the spouts of the seed-drill.' The inaccu- rate statement is frequently made that pease injured by the Pea-weevil ai^Zt as good for seed as those that are not. This vsas siafed positive^ fo me to betide case at a Farmers' Institute meeting by a farmer who professed to havo tested the matter and mX o'th'l? o? ''''^- ?'' ^"""^r^"' ^ ^«'^«^«' ' '^'^^'^ fVom tbetct that peasl JlLe^l 1 ^'-P' r^" ^!;«q»«"tly sown too thiokiy, and that the plants which grew from the uninjured seed sown tilled out and hid the deficiency of the weevi ed seeds which did not germinate. It is contrary to reason that a peaf the subslmice of which has been diminished nearly one-half by an insect, should be as good fo! seed Jln/LTf «"™P'^«'rd had the same amount of nourishment to fled the young plant as nature placed there originally. .>"">'K RECIPE FOR PREPARINQ KEROSENE EMULSION. By a Member : it ? ^A ^iTX^A ""i^^^^T^ emulsion. What are the proportions used in making rhe";;fonm.fnn^f /^ making a mechanical mixture of kerosene and soap-suds if work^edTo«^Jh«.^^ ''"■°''"" '?• ^'^l ^^ soap-suds. These two materials are Ltt«rlK5H « H .k"- ^•^^««-P»'°P. *0'- about five minutes, when a thick creamy w1 h Um iT^' ''"i? *^'' *"*° ^^ '■e^"«*'^ "^^«'" t*> »"y weakness or state of dilutioJ with cold water. Pans green is about the cheapest good remedy for insects where It can be applied; but it cannot be applied with 111 insects and this ken,sen« emulsion covers all classes. Directly ft^ouches the ^"sit it^J^eads all ovSTts teh ln««cts, as most people know, do not breathe through th?ir mouths. Thev breathe through little pores which are situated along thfir sides, and any oil? r« T^'k '^^ kerosene, when it touches their bodies, suffocates them, by spJLin J over the body and stopping up the breathing pores. As to the exact prJpoSs o^f soap.8ud8 and coa oil, they are easily remembered, but I havralSravZed when possible, giving exact formulae of remedies when speaking in pubfic because they are all published, and it is so easy to make a mistakJin tafing dCn a remedy given by word of mouth. I hnvA .riven concisely with fnl! h-tvf.n^', ,.'^®'"®V »nnii<»ntmi. oil ♦!,« «,^- • ~'\ ' ° i.u.i„!sejy, wun lut! ihatructions for their application all the more important remedies for insects in Bulletin No. 11 of the Bxperunental Farm series of^the pamphlet, " Eecommendations for the Prevent on sL« Kn^^ '"T ^°T-™°"u ^"T'« ""^ **»« ^^'••«. tbe Orchard and the Garden.'' onT^h^Tpplt'^br r '"'"'"*'' *'""«' *'* ^"""*^^' '^"^ '' '^'' ^« g<>' by any 12 Mn. JAMES FIiETCIIKR. The pioportions ure a» follows: — One half of a pound of onlinar^ soap in dis- Bolved by boiling in one ^{allon of water, and when it i» boiling hot it la poured into two gallons of coal oil (kerosene), and churned with a syringe or a force pump, and in about five minutes it becomes thick and creamy; when this cools it consolidates into a jelly-like mai^s, which can be diluted with cold water. Kerosene emulsion has been found particularly useful during the past reason for (ho treatment of one of the worst enemies we huva in the orchard. THE OYSTER-SHELL BAaKLOUSE. This pest is injuriously abundant in every part of Canada, but owing to its inconspicuous appearance it is seldom noticed until it hns completed its work of destruction and killed the tree. It attacks many kinds of trees and shrubs, but is particularly troublesome on apple treos and black currant hushes. I have also found it on mountain ash, birch and ash trees. At this time of the year it may be found on trees in the shape of a small elongated scale like a miniature oyster shell. This is really the dried up body of the female insect, beneath which will be found a large number of white eggs. In the month of May the young emerge from beneath the scales in countless numbers. The}' are minute creatures, hardly visible to the naked eye. They then climb up to the young wood, where the bark is tender, and through it they insert their little tube-like beaks, and never move again, but remain fixed bv their beaks, sucking the sap out of the tree. They gradually secrete a waxy fluid, which covers and protects them. This covering resembles in appearance an oyster shell. There are probably more orchards killed and there is more loss to fruit from this one cause, than from all other causes put together. Farmers and fruit-growers frequently do not fight it, because they do not letognize it as an enemy that can do them harm. But if they do recognize it, and apply kerosene emulsion, they can destroy it as effectually as all other insects. By Mr. McNeill : Q. Do you wash the bark? — A. Yes; and the emulsion can be sprayed over the trees at the time the young are hatching, when all will be killed. When reducing the emulsion for this purpose, it can be diluted with nine times its volume of- water. Q. Would that be strong enough for these insects ? — A. Yes, sir. A great many insects can be got rid of by using a mixture of even half this strength. By Mr. Eoovie : Q. Would it not injure the tree if put on too strong ?— A. If it were put on stronger it might be injurious, but as a matter of fact you could not put it on much stronger without difficulty , for that is about the consistency you can use easily through a spray nozzle. Where the bark-lice are very numerous, the emulsion can be used early in the spring in the way of a wash or swab, to be put on either with a sponge, cloth or mop. THE PEAB TREE SLDQ. The pear tree slug is another insect, which, during the past year, developed in injurious numbers. It is a slimy creature, that lives on cherry and pear leaves, and should be treated at once when observed with a weak Paris green spray of 1 lb. of the poison to 300 gallons of watter. In the North-west Territories, during the past year, a native insect has occurred in very large and injurious numbers. It is a conspicuous red and bla6k beetle, not quite so large as the Colorado potato beetle, which is found in this part of the country, but it feeds on plants of the cress family, such as turnips, radishes and cabbages. This did so much injury that I received in July and August some thirty or forty letters from settlers in the North-west. The insect was treated with Paris green successfully. It is called the Red Turnip Beetle. ^;coNOMIc entomolo(jy and botany. 1892 13 soap 18 dia- i poured into 10 pump, and consolidatea emulsion has of one of the owing to its its work of I rubs, but is ive also found lay be found shell. This found a largo beneath the to the naked and through nain fixed bv a waxy fluid, ice an oj'ster to fruit from Fruitrgrowers r that can do ion, they can lyed over the len reducing ime of' water. A. gi-eat many were put on it it on much asily through can be used 'ith a sponge. developed in tr leaves, and ray of 1 lb. of has occurred fck beetle, not I part of the radishes and t some thirty ad with Paris A POPULAR FALLACY CORRECTED. The subject of spraying with arsenites is one that has gained very much importance lately through the ridiculous and utterly absurd statomente made thioughout the world in newspapers. It was first stated by an obscure London horticultural journal— but when you read the artides you saw at once that the object was to get a litUe cheap advertising-that afl American apples wore saturated with arsenic. This statement was reproduced in many newspapers and f }l o«-«f >nal paper which started the falsehood, in a later issue, gloat^ over the fact that these articles were copied all over the world, the paper thus showed its hand ; it wanted to get cheap advertising. The statement is absurd that any apple or other living vegetable tissue can be saturated with arsenic, from the fact that tlie poison is so exceedingly corrosive that before any vegetable tissue could become saturated, ev^n if this were possible, it would be destroyed befo.-e the poison could penetrate. The only suggestion of truth in regard to this statement is that we do spray our orchards with Paris green, which is an aceto-arsenite of copper But that IS not arsenic. It is an arsenical compound containing about 45 per cent of arsenic; but it must be remembered that "this is not the same by any means as arsenic which is soluble, while Paris green is almost insoluble; so it is not at all like putting on our trees a mixture containing 45 per cent of soluble arsenic It is only an insoluble compound which, by the special treatment recommended, never can and never does get inio the fruit. Then, besides this, it is applied at the small rate of 1 lb. to 200 gallons or more of water. This quantity of water is sufficient to spray a great many trees— a tree of the ordinary size takes from one to three gaJlons— and these trees bear many hundreds of apples, and thousands of leaves 80 that there would be only a very minute quantity of poison on each fruit Even supposing solube arsenic were used and every apple were covered with it, none could get into the apples. At the time apple trees are sprayed the fruit is very small, indeed hardly fornied, and is then protected from anything falling on it by a thick covering of down and the spreading lobes of the calyx. In spraying, the liquid is applied as a very fane mist; naost of this falls on the foliage; but some— a minute quantity— falls into the open calyx, where the eggs of the codling moth are laid. It is an infinitesimal quantity, yet is sufficient to destroy the insect if it be there, as frequent experi- ments have shown us. I cannot imagine anything more absurd, however, than the Idea that there could be any arsenic in apples, which had been sprayed, as soon as the flowers had dropped, with Paris green. In the first place, the quantity of poison 18 so small it is practically insoluble, and above all, it is not at all adhesive, so that directly the small amount of moisture in it which is sprayed on to the trees has evaporated it is a dry powder. Even supposing you put it on as thickly as you could all over tho fruit, the natural expansion of the apple in growth would disseminate It and force it ofl' the surface; the frequent rains we get durinff the summer, and the frequent winds, all help to remove it, and we know that it is entirely gone, as proved by experiment, long before the harvesting of the fruit takes place. Yet these articles appeared, and our own papers copied them and commented upon them. Now, this is where the injury comes in; spraying with arsenites is the remedy we have been trying for years to persuade farmers to adopt in order to protect themselves against a great and unnecessary loss. I claim by the application of this one remedy for the apple worm, that a saving of at least 76 per cent can be made in the quantity and quality of the fruit. Such articles raise a doubt as to the advisability of using what is a good and safe remedy. We are told • • Paris green is^ poison, and therefore is dangerous." Of course it is poison, otherwise it would not uo tao work we hfo it for ; but the statement as to the danger of poison getting into the apples is absurd, because impossible. The quantity used is so small that the elements to which it is exposed would destroy or remove it long before it could penetrate a growing apple. Through the kindness of Mr. Woolverton, the editor of lhetamdianMorticulturi8t,l procured some apples that had been sprayed twice and had them analysed most carefully by the Chemist of the Farm, who took very 14 MR. JAMK8 FnETCIIER. ; i i great care to analyse them all by a process by which, if there had been even one fifty-thousandth part of a jraiii of arsenic in them, it could have been detected. Ho found there was not a trace of arsenic. Yet these people write such nonsense and spread it all over the world, and some foolish people, without taking the trouble to think, believe them. If we did not know the reason why this was done it would be inexplicable, but we do. We know to-day that our Canadinn apples are batter than any appleH in the market. We know that Americans come here and buy them because they are much better than theirs. To show that conclusively, you have only to go to a horticul- tural exhibition in the United States, or to see the difference most plainly, go to the Pacific coast. Bu apples in San Francisco and go up the coast, through the Pacific States, and you wih know with your ey.is shut which apples are best. They improve perceptibly in both colour and taste as you go north. It is due to the climate that fruit grown in the south is not as good as our northern-grown fruit. Our apples are better than any others, and are taking the first place in the market. They are fetching a higher price in England than the native apples, or any that can be im- ported. Our apples, too, are perfectly safe as food. They have been tested by a chemical analysis that cannot fail, and this analysis is backed up by the common sense of any one who examines the matter. Many analyses have been done with care, and show there is not the slightest danger in the use of Paris green, as directed by entomologists. It is important for all to kno\n^ this and understand why it is so, when people say they won't use Piiris green, because they injure the crop. That is all nonsense. The only injury spraying could do would be by destroying the leaves, if it were unod too strong. If the leaves of a tree are destroyed, it cannot produce any fruit. J occasionally meet people still, even in Canada, who say they do not put Paris green on their potatoes, because it may injure the tubers. There is no fear, whatever, of Paris green getting into Ihe tubers, for those are merely receptacles for storing up starch for a special purpose, and are not roots, but enlarged buds at the extremities of underground stems. Their contents are manufactured by the plant from gases taken in through the leaves from the atmosphere and from water taken up by the roots. Thus, the starch in the tubers is a compound material, an impor- tant p rt of which must come from the air through the leaves, and the tubers, not being roots, take up themselves nothing from the soil, but are merely receptacles, as just explained, for the preservation of a special product, which is to insure the per- petuation of the plant over the winter. Again, the form that this arsenic absorption scare took some years ago was that the poison could be absorbed by the pistils of flowers upon trees which had been sprajed. This was equally absurd with the present contention, for not only are trees sprayed after the petals have fallen and when the pistils have performed their office, and in most cases dried up, but even if they were sprayed with Paris green while the flowers were in blossom and their essential parts in their prime, it must be remembered that the stigma of a flower is without any epidermis, and is, therefore, exceedingly delicate, so that any corrosive poison like arsenic, in even a very weak solution, would be much more likely to injure the stigma than to be absorbed ; and further than this: even in the natural operation of fertilization, the stigma is a pas- sive organ, and absorbs nothing. The activity is on the part of the pollen, which pushes out its fovilla-bearing tubes imd protrudes them through the tissues of the stigma down into the ovary. This susceptibility of the pistil to injury has been taken advantage of in the Slate of New York in the treatment of a local but very injurious insect. THE APPLE MAGGOT. It was deemed necessary to resort to the extreme measure of destroying the whole crop of fruit so as to reduce by that amount the food supply of the insect for a year, and it was suggested that this could easiest bo done by spraying some cor- rosive material over the trees while in blossom. This remedy, however, leads us to a difficulty which has lately been considered by the Ontario Government. Apiarists i'b92 ECONOMIC ENTOMOLO(JV AND BOTANV. 16 een even ono >oen detected, luch nonsense ng the ti-oable xplicable, but apples in the hey ure much to a horticul- nly, go to the «'•« they germinate, an.l peno- J^nliofn^i "^T »"d eventually destroy the potato. Now, if one of the kno^yn tungicidal mixtures bo spraved over the potato tops as they grow in the field beginning at the time the white frosty appearance first shows itself, the spores will be destroyed and the crop saved. ' • '^!'u ^P'"«^'^"g Y''' y^V'"'?. *" ^® repeated at least twice. The mixture which has given the best results is the Bordeaux mixture. Tins is made as follows : Dissolve P0""d8 of copper sulphate in 10 gallons of water; throw this into a barrel which will hold 45 gallons I,, Hnother tub slake 4 pounds of perfectly fresh lime in 6 gallons of wa er. When all the lime is slaked pour it slowly through a strainer into the copper solution; a coarse gunny sack tied over the head of the barrel answers well for this purpose. Afterwards fill the harrel up to the top with water, which will make 45 gallons; stir thoroughly, and all is ready for use. It is best to use powdered copper sulphate, ind the lime must be quite fresh. Made as above, the mixture costs about one cent a gallon, and a barrel will be sufficient to spray a very large area. This last point of course will be .emulated bv the kind of nozzle used. ^ - ^ "j I regret to say that so far, although the efficacy of this remedy has been thoroughly proved, very few of our Canadian farmers have been persuaded to trv it It IS a now remed} , and they seem to prefer old methods, with their attendant dangers to trying anything new, no matter how great the advantage may be What makes this remedy particularly convenient is that it may be used at the same time and with the one application as Paris green, which all good furraeis now know that they must use to protect their potato crop from the Colorado poUito beetle; one- fourth of Pans green in the above quantity is sufficient. I am in hopes, however during the ensuing season, to carry out some experiments which will prove conclu- sively the great advantage of this easy and cheap remedy. As the potato blight does not occur every year, if dareful watch wore kept, so as to detect the first appearance of the mildew upon the leaves, probably the cheapest way to treat potatoes would be not to apply the fungicidal mixture until iinninT^ '''°'^^ ''?f '^i. ""^^^ then at once, as soon as its noticed, the potatoes shou d be sprayeo Prof. Jones, of Vermont, records, a successful experience on this line, by which a large proportion of a crop was saved by a single spraying while the product of two contiguous plots that were not treated was badly diseased! By Mr. McNeill : c«..„ ?• ^°^ '^ 'I " ^ !r^' By spraying. In applying this it is best to use proper spia/ing apparatus, c*nd particularly a good nozzle. Thus the work is done much more thoroughly and also mor<, easily. We have two different kinds of spraying pumps on the Experimental Farm. One is a knapsack sprayer, which holds about four gallons, and is carried on the back. This I found a very useful and convenient instrument. By Mr. Roome : Q. Do I understand these spores attack the tubers when growing?— A In July and August spores are produced on the diseased tops, and, some time after they fall get into the ground, and produce the same disease, manifestfid in s, different form' viz., the rot ot the tuber. Although spoken of, and usually seen as a wet putrescent decay of the tuber, as a matter of fact potato rot is really a dry rot. The wet i-otten condition 18 simply the decaying of dead tissue, and a similar condition is produced when potatoes are killed by freezing; when attacked by the dry rot the life of the potato is destroyed and it then decays. ' I 18 MR. JAMKH Ft^lTIIRR. i..tt Q. The diseaso must be owing to soino kind of poinon in the tuber. Supposing you remove the tops altogether?— A. That is dono when the diseune developos hite in the season, but if done early the potatoes would not form. When the top is injured the tubers are not produced. Q. Does it strike the tuber itself ?— A. Yes, the spores flrst from on the tops, and then, being washed into the soil, attack the forming potatoes. By Senator Per ley : Q. How does it got into potatoes in the cellar?— A. The dry rot was in the potatoes when carted from the field ; some of them, however, might not show any disease until you cut them. By Mr. Roome : Q. I suppose the disease matures there ?— A. Yes. It either keeps growing and throwing out its branches through the tissues, when the tuber rots, or it lies dormant until the next year as a dry rot. By Mr. Rosamond : Q. Where can you get those spray pumps?— A. You can import them from the United Slates. I can give you several addresses. I am afraid I do not know of a Canadian maker yet. There was a maker, I believe, at Picton, and another at Leam- ington, but 1 haVe not seen their pumps. There are several makers in the United States. By Mr. McNeill : Q. You often find potatoes put away that appear quite sound, but are not sound ?— A. Yes, the disease is hidden inside the potato. Directly the spore reaches the growing tuber it germinates, and shoots out microscopical tubes, which pene- trate the tissues. . Q. I understand the best way to treat this is to have a man going through the field with a knapsack sprayer ?— A. Yes, a man can walk quickly and keep the spray going all the lime. By Senator Perley : Q. How many rows at a time?— A. That will largely depend upon the wind. Last spring I sprayed three acres of pease walking through them as fast as I could. I was able to spray a strip 20 feet in breadth because of a gentle breeze blowing at the time. There was an attack of a kind of marching cut-worm. They appeared in great numbers, and swept three and a-half acres of our pease before the attack was noticed. Directly it was observed, I had a field sprayed with a very strong mixture of Paris green and water. We stopped the cut-worms at the line where they were when the spraying was done, and the pease grew up again and bore just as heavy a crop as those which had not been eaten off. The mildew of the grape may be very satisfactorily treated with the carbonate of copper mixture, recom- mended by Mr. John Craig, our Horticulturist, in his Bulletin 10. Mr. John Lowe, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, has a vineyard with several hundreds of vines. Last year he probably lost half of his grapes, many hundred weight. This year he did not lose 20 pounds, a saving which I attribute entirely to two careful applica- tions of the caiDonate of copper treatment. CULTIVATION OP FODDER QBASSBS ADAPTABLE TO CANADA. jg^fQPQ />|(u;if)n' X should like just to refer to another subject upon which I have been engaged, and which I brought before you last year : the cultivation of fodder grasses. We find from experiment that many permanent pasture mixtures which are offered for sale contain grasses not suitable to this climate. We have in this country a great many grasses suitable for cultivation which would produce valuable fodder plants and which can be grown successftilly; they are being grown and care- 189 KCONOMIO ENTOMOLOGY AND BOTANV. 19 Supposing )vc]opos lute 1 tbo top is on tho tope, >t wnfl in the )t show any growing and tioH dormant lera from the )t know of a ler at Leam- i the United but are not pore reaches which pene- th rough the ep the spray on the wind. 3t as I could. ;e blowing at ley appeared le attack was very strong e line where jnd bore just )f the grape :ture, recom- John Lowe, eds of vines. This year he eful applica- these will be attondell to in fhe order h.w1,ch the an^Hn^n?- ^' °'" '' *''«"^'>' '^"^ the supply to be distributed is exhausted If nil m ?PP''«"t»0"« "ro received, until would iiL to try those new ffrLses I shall h« ^^7^'" ^''^^"^ '^'^"^ ^^^ '°«''« who sending out small packages, SSinJoiden^Ll ? ^'' '^'''- ''T'"' ^ ""^ °°'y iength. This will give tL grower" a^maU ouZit^ nf 'T ^"".^^ '^"'^ ^0 feet ii grasses will succeed in the diflron diS package, and 1 believe it will be an exVe^f^n^of ^rt^Z^^^^^^^^ rnt;'*' '''' QBASSES UNSUITABLE IN CANADA. gr.™ « .,d™..,„ed „, ,,, „ baZrUi.oZ;Zt°l\ll^-e^ P™«»- S^t Venal By Mr. McGregor : 9^^^%^X^lo::\S:^^^^^^^^ in western Ontano the Peren- it will do as well as some oZr ffmse'es Fn i f ' ^^'' "?' **^'"'^ ^^"^ >» Canada Pi-oducos enormous crops, ol^o? tho chief ?r^°^^ ^^? ^"^«""t« grass, and grass seeds is that they are S on theh Fn^H vf ^^S?™?^*^'"* f'om purchasers of no one has tried them in this countrv Our «S ^^^"'•"P^^n reputation, because but they take tho character g^on t^em ^v EnrZZ ^"^ T ^"'^^ S"'"" themselves, into consideration the fact that they are to be ."l3 seedsmen They do not take .. .ny «„o „L 0..P, i °Z° X^Z-ilo^ r&^" bTii'eSC^* By Mr. McNeill : ^ ' thele\^s^Te':l::uTa'^^^^^^^^ twice afterwards at intervals of three weeks ' ® ^°''''*'^ are open, and Having read the preceding transcript of my evidence, I find it correct JAMES FLETOHEE Entomologist and Botanist, Dominion Experimental Farms. which I have ion of fodder ctures which I have in this luce valuable >wn and care-