HORTICULTURAL GOSSIP. III.
BY L. WOOLVERTON, M.A., GRIMSBY.
The Fruit Grower should read up on science, especially in the subjects of Botany and Entomology. A knowledge of these will help his prosperity very materially, and give weight to his opinions. He should know the principles that underlie his methods, so that he may have independence of action, and not be swayed about by every opinion and superstitious notion of another.
A short time ago a neighbor came to me in great consternation, a large species of Hemiptera, (Belostoma Americana,) such as he had never seen before, flew into his window one night. He was terribly frightened, and brought it me, saying, “it was surely an omen of some great calamity!” The same man thought he had made a great discovery. One day, seeing countless numbers of Aphides upon his cherry trees, and many ants visiting them to suck their sweet juices, he at once concluded that the ants brought the lice, and exultingly told us he had found a method of keeping the ants from climbing his trees! Such men in their ignorance of science, will be very likely to mistake friends for foes; and the Lady Beetle or the Calosoma are as much in danger of destruction at their hands as the Aphis, or the Doryphora.
A Common Mistake in Pruning.—We notice those trees need most pruning that have had most of it. Vigorous shoots in the crotches of apple trees, in most cases indicate injudicious pruning. Some people try to make their trees grow dish-shaped, and cut out the central limbs; but nature rebels against such abuse. A little attention to botany shows that every tree has its normal shape, and that all the pruner should attempt is to thin out weak and superfluous limbs, or shorten in long and slender ones. Several young orchards here show much feebleness resulting from abusive pruning.
The Early Season.—Blossoms were out three weeks sooner this spring than usual, as is seen by the following comparative memoranda: apple blossoms, May 25th, 1874; May 27th, 1875; May 26th, 1876; May 20th, 1877; May 3rd, 1878. Peach blossoms were out this year on the 24th of April, on which date in 1875, the ground was still frozen up and covered with snow.
The May Frost has done considerable damage. Cherries have suffered worse than any other fruit, for the connection not yet being severed between the corolla and the receptacle, the frosting of the flower destroyed the fruit also. The peach suffered very little, being protected by the corolla, which was loosened, but not yet cast. Other causes, however, combine to destroy our hopes of a very abundant crop. The apple is intact, with the exception of the Greening and the Russet, which have been somewhat thinned.
The Curl is a malady which has this year attacked the peach orchards about Grimsby to an extent hitherto quite unknown. It made its appearance toward the end of May, and was a source of great anxiety to some who mistook it for that terrible scourge, the yellows. The leaves curled up, became much thickened with reddish swellings on the upper side. Then they took a yellowish hue, and began to drop, and about the first of June our orchards presented an almost deathly appearance. Fortunately the experience of the past shows us that it does no material injury to the tree, and that we may expect a new crop of healthy foliage. The variety that has suffered most from the Curl with us is the Early Beatrice, from which not only the leaves, but most of the fruit has fallen.
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