EEPORT

OF THE

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OF THE

PROVINCE OF ONTARIO

FOR THE YEAR

1878.

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PRINTED BY HUNTER, ROSE & CO, 25 WELLINGTON ST. WEST.

1878.

INDEX.

PAGE

A plate of Pears 46

Abbott, A. H., Report 35

Anisopteryx vemata 17

Anisopteryx pometaria 17

Annual Meeting 2

PAGE

Annual Address 4

Apple-tree Borer 18

Auditors' Report 4

Autumn Meeting 30

Autumn Pears 48

Barry, W. C, Paper on Weeping Trees. ... 54

Best Trees for Protection - 22

Best Fertilizer 22

Betula alba pendula 55

Borer in the Peach 32

Botanical Society 11

Brant Grape 44

Bridge, A. , Report 36

Bucke, P. , on Irrigation 18

Burnet, R., on Phylloxera ... 38

Bujots Weeping Honey Locust 57

Canker Worm , 16

Codlin Moth 18

Crab Apple from A . H ood 42

Cranberry culture 52

Cultivation of small fruits 27

Curculio remedies 32

Cutleaved Birch 55

Directors' Report 2 1 Dickson's A., Report.

Directors, The, for 1879 3 |

36

Ellwanger, Geo. H. , paper on Pears 46 | Exhibition of Fruit 9

European Weeping Ash 56 j

F.

Fertilizer for Fruit Trees 22 I Fruit Crop in 1878 4, 25

Fountain Willow 56 Fruit Committee's Report ... 23

Frosts in May, 1878 4 j Fruit on Lake Huron 31

Gott's, B., paper 23

Gott's, B., notes 39

Gohn's, W., report 37

Grape Growing 8

Grape, The Brant 44

II

Haskin's Seedling Grapes 41

Hedges and Shelter 33

Horticulturist, The 7

Hoskin's, Alfred, Report 38

Hoover's, D. B., Report 37

Impositions of certain Tree-Brokers 44 | Irrigation, by P. E. B

18

H.

Kilmarnock Weeping Willow 55

IV

L,.

Lake H\iron Fruit 31 | Letter to Commissioner of Agriculture 1

n

Mallory's B. , Report 37

Mansell's, W. J., Reporl 35

Melntyre's, John, Report 35

Meeting, Annual 2

Meeting, Winter 13

Meeting, Summer 25

Meeting, Autumn 30

Milne's, A. , Report 35

IV

NefFs, Jonas, Report 36

New York State Fair 12

New American Willow 56

New Varieties Strawberries 26

Notes of the Year 39

Officers for 1879

Paper from B. Gott 23

Peach Yellows 5, 22

Peach-tree Borer . 32

Peach from N. Wakeling 42

Peach from W. Loughrey 43

Pears 46

Pear-blight 30

Phylloxera 8, 38, 53

Plums from J. McGill 41

Plums from J. Reid 41

Plums from Jas. Dougall 42

Plums from Dr. Edward 42

Plums from J. Bartlett 43

Plums from S. Greenfield 43

Plums raised by W. B. Hamilton ... . . 46

President's Address. . 4

Promising new Strawberries 26

Protection to Peach Orchards 22

Raspberries 28

Ramsay's, A. , Report 35

Remedies for the Curculio 32

Report of Directors 2

Report of Treasurer 3

Report of Auditors 4

Report on W. N. Y. Horticultural Society.. 14

Report of Fruit Committee 23, 29

Report on Seedling Fruits 23, 34, 41

Report on Trees received from the Associa-
tion 35

Report on Haskin's Seedling Grapes 41

Report on Fruits received 41

Ross', W., Report 36

S.

Scraping Fruit Trees t . t 34

Seedling Fruit Report 23, 34

Select Drooping Trees 57

Small Fruits, Cultivation of 27

St. Clair River, Fruit on 31

Statistics of Fruit Culture 15

Strawberries, New Sorts 26

Summer Meeting 25

Summer Pears 47

Taylor's, W. P., Report 37

Treasurer's Report 3

Trees for Hedges and Shelter 33

W.

Weeping Trees 54

Weeping Beech 56

Weeping Linden 56

Weeping Elms > 56

Weeping Mountain Ash 57

Weeping Poplars 57

Weeping Cherries 57

Western N. Y. Horticultural Society 14

White's, S. , Report 37

Wilder, Hon. M. P 50

Winter Meeting 13

Winslow's, George, Report 38

Winter Pears 49

Yellows in the Peach

, 5, 22 | Young's Weeping Birch 55

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

FRUIT GROWERS' ASSOCIATION

OF THE

PROVINCE OF ONTARIO,

FOE THE YEAR 1878.

To the Honourable the Commissioner of Agriculture.

Sir. — I have the honour to transmit herewith the Report of the Fruit Growers' Associa-
tion of Ontario for the current year.

You will be gratified to perceive that the Association continues its work with unabated
zeal, and that it is improving every means within its power for the gathering and dissemina-
ting of useful information concerning the cultivation, gathering, preserving and marketing of
the Fruits of Ontario.

The Directors have this year ventured to carry out a long contemplated and much cher-
ished purpose which they have been fully persuaded would be most conducive, nay, absolutely
necessary, to the highest efficiency of this Association, namely, the issuing of a monthly, which
would bring interesting intelligence or instructive hints more promptly to the knowledge
of our fruit growers and horticulturists, and serve as a medium of communication between
the members. There is reason to believe that this action has been very acceptable, and that
the Little Monthly, which has been designated by the title of The Canadian Horticulturist,
has been most heartily welcomed.

It has been found that the system adopted by the Legislature enjoining the election of a
Director from among the members resident within each Agricultural division, has very ma-
terially increased the expense of holding the Directors' meetings, and that in consequence of
this and of the expense incurred in publishing the Horticulturist, the Association has ex-
hausted its revenues and is very considerably in debt. The Directors therefore hope that
you will request Government to recommend to the Legislature at its present Session to grant
a further sum in aid of the objects of this Association.

The past year has not been on the whole an unfavourable one to the fruit interests of this
Province. The crops of small fruits, though somewhat injured by the late spring frosts,
proved to be bountiful, and the apple* sufficiently abundant and of excellent quality. Cana-
dian apples have compared favourably in the home markets with those from the United
States, and have brought renumerative prices to shippers who have made careful selections

and put up strictly first-class samples. Orchards that have come into bearing have generallv
yielded such satisfactory returns that more trees have been planted, and such has been the
increased planting of orchards for commercial purposes that it is apparent our fruits will soon
become an important part of our products, a source of wealth to the Province, and a valuable
item of export.

Thanking you for the interest you have ever manifested in the welfare of this Associa-
tion and the liberal and enlightened encouragement given to all its efforts to promote the fruit
growing interests of Ontario.

I have the honour to be,

Your most obedient servant,

D. W. Beadle,
Secretary of the Fruit' Growers' Association of Ontario.

PROCEEDINGS AT THE ANNUAL MEETING-

The Annual Meeting was held in the Agricultural Hall, Yonge Street, Toronto, on the
Evening of the 23rd day of September, 1878.

The President took the Chair and called the meeting to order. The Secretary read the
minutes of the last annual meeting.

The Directors submitted their annual Report.

DIRECTORS' REPORT.

Your Directors take much pleasure in being able to state that during the past year there
has been continued interest manifested in the operations of the Association by the members,
and that the meetings have been very interesting and, we believe, productive of good results.
The winter meeting was held at Hamilton, in February, the summer meeting at St. Cath-
arines, and the autumn meeting at Sarnia.

This year has been marked by a new feature in the work of the Association. It has for
a long time seemed to be very desirable that we should have some medium of intercourse between
the members on horticultural subjects, more frequent than the annual Report, something that
would present as often as once a month topics of interest to our membership, and become a
record of our progress. After careful deliberation your Directors decided to issue a monthly
serial of sixteen pages, devoted to the interests of this Association. The ninth number is
already in your hands, and we hope you have found this publication a welcome visitor at
your homes. It is not intended to supply fully the place of the annual Report, but to place
more promptly before you information that has hitherto been obliged to remain until theolose
of the year.

k. In the spring we caused the Burnet Grape to be sent to all the members, and have reason
to ^believe that the plants were carefully put up and mailed, and trust that this variety will
prove a decided acquisition to our list of grapes.

This has been the first year of our history under the provisions of the Act confoming
our representation in the directorship to that of the Agricultural Association. As was to be
expected this change has added to the expense of attendance upon the meetings of the board,
and this, together with the increased expenditure incident to the publication of our monthly,
has more than absorbed the means at our command. (We trust that in as much as this in-
creased expense is largely due to the passage of the new Act our Lgislators will see the propri-
ety of soon adding to our annual grant.)

We have to lament the death of one of the members of the board. Francis Hansford
Hora, died at his residence, near Kingston, on the 4th of May last. Deeply interested in
promoting the objects of this Association, it was a pleasure to him to do all that he could to
help on the work of gathering and disseminating information on the subject of fruit culture.

His seat at the board became thus vacant before the expiration of his term, and his colleagues
have been compellled to finish the year without his excellent counsel and assistance.

Another prominent member and former Director, Mr. John Freed, of Hamilton, has
been called away by death. Of his many services in the cause of Pomology and Horticulture
there is not time to speak. His works live after him. We can only close up our broken
ranks 'and press on ; time flies, " and soon the night cometh in which no man can work."
All of which is respectfully submitted,

R. Burnet,

President.

The Treasurer submitted his Report which was received and it having been duly audited,
was referred to the Directors.

The President then read his annual address, which, like its predecessors, is replete with
useful information. It was received with thanks, and ordered to be printed in the annual
Report.

The meeting then proceeded to the election of Officers for the year. On motion of P. C.
Dempsey, seconded by W. McKenzie Ross, Rev. R. Burnet was unanimously chosen Presi-
dent.

On motion of W. Saunders, seconded by P. E. Bucke, Wm. Roy, Esq., of Owen Sound,
was unanimously elected Vice-President.

A Committee having been struck to nominate a Director from each Agricultural Divis-
ion, on the bringing in of their report the meeting proceeded to consider it by divisions, and
elected the following gentlemen to serve as Directors for the year, namely : —

No. 1. John Croil, Aultsville ; No. 2, P. E. Bucke, Ottawa; No. 3, R. J. Cartwright,
Kingston ; No. 4, P. C. Dempsey, Albury ; No. 5, Thos. Beal, Lindsay ; No. 6, Geo. Leslie,
Jr. , Leslie ; No. 7, Wm. Haskins, Hamilton j No. 8, A. M. Smith, Drummondville ; No. 9,
Chas. Arnold, Paris; No. 10, A. McD. Allan, Goderich ; No. 11, W. Saunders, London;
No. 12, Joshua Adams, Sarnia ; No. 13, Henry Robertson, Collingwood.

On motion of W. Holton, seconded by Col. John McGill, Robert Roy and Angus Suth-
erland, of Hamilton, were appointed Auditors.

TREASURER'S REPORTJ

Receipts.

Balance from last year $ 332 56

Members fees from London, less commission, in 1877.... 8 10

Members fees in 1878 1,497 00

Advertising in Canadian Horticulturist 20 00

Government Grant 1,000 00

Total If 2,857 66

Disbursements.

Auditors $ 20 00

Directors and|Committees 628 00

Postage 70 79

Prizes 165 00

Printing 252 08

Binding and mailing 196 00

Grape vine distribution 515 75

Paper 199 36

Advertising 120 70

Commissions 45 25

Duties 5 30

Coloured Lithograph 150 00

Caretaker of rooms . 4 00

Guarantee premium $20 00

Clerk 83 00

Freight and Express 9 01

Secretary and Treasurer 200 00

Editor, Canadian Horticulturist 300 00

$2,984 24
Balance due Treasurer 126 58

Total $2,857 66

September 23rd, 1878.

The balance due Treasurer $ 126 58

Due on account Burnet Grape 530 00

Total $ 656 58

AUDITORS' REPORT.

We have examined the foregoing receipts and disbursements and found them correct,
which shows a balance due the Treasurer of $126.58.

(Signed) Robert Roy, ) Auditor,

Angus Sutherland, J AudUon'
Dated Hamilton, 23rd September, 1878.

ANNUAL ADDRESS.

Gentlemen : — To me, in the capacity of President of your Association, the great event
of the year has again come round, and I find myself in the position of again addressing
you on the fruit interests.

The subject is a wide and attractive one, and I wish that I could do it justice. Had I
the ability and the practical knowledge of many now hearing me, the picture would be
better, because better painted. Your indulgence, however, has been so long extended to
me, and to my efforts, that I am emboldened to pass in review before you matters deeply
affecting fruit-growers, and fruit interests in the Province.

Like all other commercial interests in the country, fruit interests have been passing
through a time of trial. Season has succeeded season, and the hopes of the husbandman
have been deferred, if not disappointed. As a rule, the present is a poor fruit year,
though here and there, owing to local causes, and the great extent of our country, several
varieties have succeeded, and made a good return. The great staple — apples — is every-
where almost a poor crop, the samples, however, being singularly fine.

After the most abundant promise of fruit ever witnessed in Ontario, three nights of
frost well nigh annihilated the entire yield. This event occurred just at the most critical
period, from the 12th to the 15th of May. The apple, pear, and cherry buds were just
developing the pollen — the first, and finest berries on the strawberry — the whole of the
cherry crop, and the early shoots of the vine were cut down as if they had never appeared.
Currants, black and red, though the latter were more severely handled than the former,
were entirely despoiled.

The feelings of the amateur and professional can be better imagined than portrayed.
One gardener, in the neighbourhood of London, estimated his loss alone on his small fruits
at $1,000. The fruit which was not wholly destroyed was severely injured. Those
blotches on many specimens of fruits have doubtless been caused by the frost.

Strawberries were gnarled, apples, in many cases, were covered with rough, russetted
patches, indicative of the severity of the frost, and even plums had an injured side, thick-
ened and blackened, where the early varieties had made sufficient progress to be exposed
to the visitation.

With all said and done, however, some fine samples have been produced. Sparse crops
have enabled the trees and vines to put forth greater efforts in wood production, and the
remaining fruit is fine and largely developed.

Late grapes have done well. There are sections in which nothing in the shape of
grapes have been left. Plums are about half a crop, in some places abundant, and realiz-
ing good prices. Mr. Woolverton, Grimsby, says that in his district, the apples are not
much touched. Peaches largely escaped, but owing to another evil, not less terrible than
the frost — the Yellows — are but an indifferent crop, and of very poor quality where this
disease has prevailed.

The difficulties attending fruit-growing are steadily on the increase. We had supposed
that, as the country progressed in its material advancement, as clearances became more
numerous, and the land better cultivated, our culture would make correspondingly
rapid strides. This, however, in our experience is not found to be the case. Innumerable
evils and trials beset the path of the horticulturist. Last year, in my address, I directed
attention to the drawbacks to our cultivation, caused by the terrible depredations of insect
pests. Their name is legion, and many of them unpronounceable. Thoughtful individu-
als amongst us have begun to consider what are the best means for lessening, if not for the
removal of these evils. It will be a happy day for the fruit-grower when adequate methods
are devised, and universally carried out, for the total destruction of all noxious insects, or
at least their being brought under the control of the fruit-grower.

In the case of frosts, even much can be done to alleviate, if not obviate its sad ravages.
One man of my acquintance had a large number of chip piles through his orchard, and on
the appearance of a clear sky, indicative of frost, fired them. Whether a sheltered lo-
cality, or the means he employed, favoured him, true it is, that his orchard is loaded with
fruit.

We are persuaded that insect pests can only be got rid of by legislation. It is not until
the whole country is aroused to the loss entailed on the community by the attacks of insect
pests, not until a well enforced law to destroy fallen and stung fruit be carried out, will
our fruit-growers reap the full reward of their labours.

Surely it is a matter of regret that year after year passes, annual meetings of the F. G.
A. of Ontario come and go, without active and practical plans being broached and executed
for the protection of our own members.

Perhaps the habit of lecturing is so engrained in the nature of your presiding officer,
that his address would be scarcely sui generis unless it contained an earnest inculcation
to immediate action. There are so many drags on the wheels of action, that there is no
fear of any sudden catastrophe from our stepping down and out.

Why should we not appoint an active committee to draft such a bill for the protection
of fruit interests as would meet with favour in the eyes of our legislators at Ottawa, who
might pass it into a permanent enactment 1 Such a bill might embrace two or three para-
graphs on statistics.

The importance and advantage of such immediate action can scarcely be denied. I
have sometimes thought, that an Executive Committee formed from our direction would
effect great results, if armed with the necessary power to originate and carry out plans for
the better working of our associational efforts.

Another subject, and pressing, demanding the immediate and prompt attention of our
members, is, the ravages of " the Yellows " in our peach orchards Mr. A. M. Smith, nur-
seryman, Drummondville, deserves well of our Association in that he has been sounding the
trumpet of warning in reference to this destructive agent. In a recent communication to me,
he says : " The peach-growers of Grimsby, and, I might say, of Ontario, are in trouble, and
are in danger of a great calamity, and not only peach-growers, but all lovers of this delicious
fruit as well." It is spreading with fearful rapidity in Western New York, nearly all the
orchards, in what was formerly the best peach section being more or less affected. Some
orchards are entirely ruined by it. Mr. Smith further says, that he and others, have been
examining the orchards in and around Grimsby, and traces of the disease are found in sev-
eral places. "The Committee of investigation found out this fact, that in all the orchards
where there were symptoms of the disease, there were more or less trees which had been im-
ported from the States, and where the trees were all home grown, there was not one as yet
affected. The disease is no doubt disseminated in diseased pips, buds, and young trees,
and fruit of the present year. There have been hundreds of baskets of diseased peaches,
shipped from Western New York to Canada, and you will hear the universal verdict wherev-
er it has been sold, that it is tasteless and almost worthless."

The cry is for the proper remedy. We must help ourselves. We must be up and do-
ing. We must get the means to aid us in our beneficent projects.

I am old-fogy enough to think that good laws, well executed, are the characteristics of
good government, and the instrumentalities of great benefits. When the Short-horn class of
cattle, and other breeds, were threatened with Pleuro-pneumonia, what did the Government
do ? Why, they at once, on the advice of leading agriculturists, issued an order in Council
to stop the importation of cattle. What was necessary in the case of cattle, seems to me
equally urgent in the case of importation of diseased fruit and fruit trees. We must protect
ourselves and our interests. Representation should at once be made to the Privy Council,
consultation held, and action urged.

To us, in conclave, as we are, interesting queries arise in regard to u the Yellows." I
am persuaded the disease is not new. I cultivated peaches some years ago, before I fell into
the pear fancy. The facts noted by me then, may be of some service now. I found in all
cases of* Yellows, that the pith had been injured. In examining peach buds hurt by the
frost, one can always tell the degree of cold that has been endured. If the core be green,
then the intensity of cold has been under 12° Fahrenheit. If brown, the evil has been ac-
complished, but by a degree of cold not less than 14° or 16° Fahrenheit. Trees affected with
Yellows have the pith as brown as a nut, which has led me to conclude after a deal of obser-
vation and thought, that the root of these, and kindred evils is to be found io the injury done
by cold, and in being allowed to overbear. Tender shoots of the peach, especially those in
shade are first to show symptoms of Yellows. In late fall these shoots are found growing vig-
orously— they cannot resist the cold — the sap vessels are burst, the sap becomes frozen,
the due elaboration of the juices is prevented, and disease is the consequence. Trees propa-
gated from these diseased stocks propagate the disease. Fruit grown from such diseased trees
bear marks, as Mr. Smith says, of the ravages of the evil, in its tastelessness, and worth-
lessness.

Let our future Executive Committee take another note for another paragraph in their
incipient bill to form the basis of future legislation.

It might justly be noted here that premature and diseased fruit from Ohio, and other
States, anticipates our Canadian markets. These introductions lower the price of our Cana-
dian horticultural products. Our fruit-growers are thus deprived of the benefit accruing from
being first in the market. Buyers will not give, a fortnight after the season has begun, the
prices obtained easily at the opening. Our horticulturists are thus placed in the position of
being unable, in some instances, to meet their rents when due, in other, not able to meet their
liabilities, and general depression is the consequence. You are well aware, gentlemen, that
this is no imaginary picture.

Elemental nature, insect pests, and disease, while they rank among the most potent evils
with which we have to contend, are by no means the only obstructions to successful fruit-
growing. We have to contend against the thievish propensities of men and boys, who, per-
haps, destroy more by the damage they do to the trees and vines, than by the amount they
steal. It is provocative of bad thoughts, words, and actions, to find, after all our care, that
our trees are sufferers as well as we ourselves. A better and a finer feeling prevails on the
other side of the lines. We have been in different parts of the States, where without fences,
or guards of any kind, the fruit was respected, and perfectly safe from passers-by. To remedy
the wonderfully natural propensity for fruit stealing, which is a very old story, I suggest,
that our efforts be put forth to make fruit-growing universal. Remove the temptation to steal
by having everyone cultivate his own fruit, and such a plan once carried out will do more
to preserve fruit, and your equanimity of mind, than the best coercive means that could be
devised.

Perhaps, however, there is no greater drawback to our culture than the want of appre-
ciation of the advantages of fruit-culture among our own people. Notwithstanding all that
has been said, written, and done, by our Association, much remains to be done, to enlighten,
and urge our people to cultivate fruits. In the past, there has been, probably, some excuse
for our yeomanry. 1 feel, however, that the time is past for excuse making. In how many
districts of our Province of Ontario, do we find most miserably stunted and ill-cared-for orch-
ards ? It's cheaper to grow good trees than bad, just as it is as cheap to have cattle in good
than in poor condition. Local Associations are greatly needed to give an impetus to fruit-
growing. Last year at the Northern Fair at Walkerton, 1 found, that a certaiu pippin had

borne a wrong name for seventeen or eighteen years. Would it be believed, that the grower,
who had annually carried off prizes for his apple bearing a wrong name, was greatly annoyed,
that it wag ruled out of competition, because it was wrongly named, and entered for compe-
tition in the wrong section. Local efforts to raise our culture into its proper place, and to
the enjoyment of its true dignity, must be made in every quarter, and then, and then only,
shall the want of due appreciation for fruit-growing bo exploded, from our townships and
towns.

The ennobling pleasures of fruit-growing are yet to be commended to our artisans and
tradesmen. Once an individual has been launched upon the Pacific ocean of tree culture
and fruit-growing, he forsakes and considers mean, former debasing attractions. Elevating
delights are to be found around the family circle at the first exhibition of the first dish of
plums, peaches or pears. How the commendations of the approving wife, and the expressed
appreciation of the younger children over some toothsome grapes, gratifies, and is ample re-
ward for the time spent, and the labour bestowed in the cultivation.

An esteemed correspondent, Mr. Adamson, of Hamilton, has been urging me to give
greater attention to the enlisting of the hard-working villagers, townspeople, and citizens in
fruit-culture. Amateur fruit and flower-growing associations affiliated to our Provincial
Association would have a beneficial effect in developing fruit tastes, and bringing out the de-
sire to cultivate fruits and flowers.

I wonder, if I should provoke hostile criticism, if I extended my remarks on the want of
appreciation of the benefits accruing from fruit culture, to the individual members of our As-
sociation 1 How much of the labour is undertaken by a very few ? Let the contributors to
our periodical, the Horticulturist, testify to the truthfulness of this remark. It is where
all, or, at least, a large proportion of the membership of any society lend a helping hand in
forwarding its interests, that success attends the efforts. We need a long pull, a strong pull
and a pull altogether, and there is no fear of failure. What we want is more concentrated
and united purposes among fruit-growers professionally. Earnest discussions on the best
fruit markets — on the best methods of preserving our markets from being over-glutted, either
by the home or the American producer. We have powerful rivals across the lines, men possessed
of brains, as well as abundance of pecuniary means, who are continually scheming in the good
sense, and carrying out almost invariably their plans to successful issues. A barrier to the
difficulty we have for years had in accomplishing these results has been lately removed by the
establishing of the Horticulturist. I must say, however, candidly and truthfully, that ad-
vantage has not been taken of this mode of ventilating the remedies for our difficulties. That
great difficulties do exist is undeniable. How best are they to be removed 1 They are not
likely to rectify themselves. Determination and action are necessary and pressing. I am cer-
tain our editor, Mr. Beadle, would open his pages to a temperate and full discussion of these
and kindred topics.

When the best, however, has been devised and done, and the fruit raised, we have still
difficulties to contend with. From our peculiar position, a few degrees further north than
our more southern neighbours, our markets are permanently flooded with foreign fruit before
ours is ready. The problem how best to meet this state ot things is arduous and almost
embarrassing. The American grower ought not, and cannot be excluded from our markets.
How then are we to be protected 1 I suggest that reciprocity in fruits become the order of
the day. If our energetic neighbours and cousins anticipate our fruits in our own markets,
what hinders that we lengthen out theirs by carrying the war into Africa ? Our own supine-
ness alone prevents our supplying Buffalo, Detroit, Rochester, and Ogdensburgh with our
late small fruits. If separating tariff views and notions hurtful to commerce prevail, as we
believe they do prevail, let us by all means urge on a better state of things. We require,
we need reciprocity in fruit interests. What is true in regard to fruit is equally true with
regard to fruit trees. It is a fact that any quantity of nursery produce can be introduced
into Canada from New York State and Ohio, but that similar Canadian productions have to
pay a differential duty !

Then let politics be laid aside, and let us demand equal advantages. Let us have a fair
field and no favour. Our manhood will enable us to hold our own. What we need is ade-
quate legal protection. Place Canadian and American growers on the same platform. Should
climate and skill and go-aheadativeness favour our rivals, then let the patient, steady industry
of our people, act as a counterweight. Nil desperandum. Our F. Gr. A. of Ontario must

become the vanguard of the host that leads to victory. It must become more intensely
Provincial, 'and assume the reins of direction. Perhaps, I ought to have said, it must be-
come national. Fruit-raising must characterize all our districts. Our climate is, on the
whole, favourable to fruit-raising— our soil in several large sections of the Province is singu-
larly adapted for the purpose. Yet, alas ! what stagnation reigns from Amherstburg to Fort
Erie. A district capable of supplying half a continent with delicious fruit given up to a
hand-to-mouth way of doing things. These capabilities are admitted, nay proved. Should any
doubt remain on the mind of any man, let the fruit shown at the Guelph Central Fair last
week by James McCrone, Normandale; G. J. Miller, Virgil; D. N. Broderick, and Jno.
McLaren, St. Catharines, and on exhibition here to-day, demonstrate the fruit producing
power of our soil and climate. We greatly need determined and united action. Give us,
get us laws for the suppression of pests — enactments for the enfranchisement of the commerce
in fruits and fruit trees — Agricultural and Arts' Acts for the better encouragement of agricul-
tural and horticultural pursuits.

In looking over the governmental estimates for the encouragement of various industries,
I find horticulture enriched and overburdened with the munificent sum of a thousand dollars.
Think of the amount! A thousand dollars! What can the direction of the F. G. A.
do with such a large sum 1 1 was told at the time of the increase of the last grant — an
increase of $250 — that the members of our Legislative Assembly were all alive to the
importance of so large an increase. Little do many of our legislators think of the
straits to which we are put. Straits to meet the demands for the publication of our
infantile periodical, the Horticulturist — the expense connected with the important illus-
trations of the annual Report to the Government — difficulties in meeting the ordinary
outlay in the shape of paying for practical essays on agricultural and horticultural pursuits
and subjects — the money needed to call forth to public notice new seedlings of all varieties
of fruits — our tree dissemination — our advertisements, postage, papaterie, and the needful
travelling expenses of the Directors — all these have to be met from the members' fees and
from the munificent contribution of a thousand dollars.

When the public are made aware that the amended Agricultural and Arts' Act makes
provision for thirteen Directors from the thirteen agricultural electoral divisions, and that a
resident Director must be chosen from each of these, it will be seen how economical and care-
ful our outlay must of necessity be. We question if $5,000 annually were too large a sum
to be judiciously, spent on the fruit interests in the Province of Ontario. In fact, I know I
am only uttering the opinion of every member of this Association, when I say that our means
of usefulness in advancing fruit interests are only limited by our scanty means — with more
means we might become the instrumentality of much good.

Indications at present point to the propriety of fostering grape culture in Canada. In
France, Spain, and Portugal, and also in Germany, the Philloxera is working immense havoc
among the vines. Nor are the ravages of this insect confined to the old and settled countries
of Europe. Through the kindness of Mr. John McLean, of Owen Sound, I have been fa-
voured with the Fruit Report of the Government of South Australia. The Philloxera is
making equally dreadful inroads upon the vines in that, and in the neighbouring Australian
Colonies, as well as in America. On the principle that it is a bad wind that blows nobody
good, I would have our Canadian fruit-growers prosecute with unflagging assiduity the culti-
vation of the grape. With hardy grapes so adapted to our soil and climate, there is no suf-
ficient reason why our grapes and wines should not become the staple of the world. Mr.
Peter C. Dempsey may live long enough to see what a mighty impulse he has given to vine
culture by the introduction of "the Burnet " grape to the notice of fruit-growers. We are
satisfied that it is destined to work a mighty revolution in Canadian grape-growing. We
long to see his other hybrids, and as some say varieties superior to " the Burnet," especially
his No. 18, disseminated. Might I be pardoned in saying, that I would like to remain in
good company, and that Mr. Dempsey could not do better than name his 18 after Beadle, our
worthy Secretary ; his 22 after Arnold ; 25 after Saunders ; another after Roy ; and signal-
ize another member by giving to the world " a Bucke," to roam on the rich pastures of
another " Leslie."

Mr. B. Gott, our eminent horticulturist and nurseryman, at Arkona, writes me in re-
ference to grape-growing, and says, that it will prove an important lesson if we profit by the
j ast spring's fiost, and learn " to select and to plant for profit only those vines that are " iron

clad." How true is it that necessity is the mother of invention. Practical men of judgment
and discernment are the authors of profitable ideas. We must encourage the production of
hardy varieties, the rigour of our climate demands, as Mr. Gott says, the ironclad among
apples, pears, peaches, and grapes. All success to the pioneers in this desirable field for the
aggrandisement of human happiness and human comfort.

To those of you, who anticipate evils to our own grape-growing from the Philloxera,and
its introduction and propagation, by the means taken to induce the planting of a larger acre-
age, and that by the very suggestions made in this paper, I would merely say, that there is a
margin for the cultivation of the grape in Canada. Our summers are shorter than those in
more southern climes, and in the countries named, — less time is therefore allowed for its
ravages, — the temperature is cooler, — and hence its exertions are less active. Our very po-
sition may yet give us the command of one of the most profitable of the commercial interests
of the world — the fruit market. Ontario is yet destined to take a foremost place in fruit-
growing, and if her cultivators are true to themselves, they may yet derive the profit and ad-
vantages connected with the most extensive fruit operations.

I'll run the risk of being thought an annexationist, and urge upon our people, the study
of the Americans at home. What push and dexterity they show in caarrying on their com-
mercial operations. What did not Longworth do for Cincinnati 1 What are not speculators
doing for the vine-growing islands in Lake Erie ? We want a few of such men, men of push.
There is no reason why we should not go and do likewise. Grape-growing encounters no
difficulties in Canada, that have not been equally prevalent in the States.

At the risk of repetition, I would again urge upon our Association to secure and dissem-
inate the white raisin grape raised by Mr. Reid, of Port Dalhousie. It is, and has been to
me, a subject of wonder, that a berry so promising should have been allowed to remain under a
bushel, or a bed for that matter, for the last ten years. I fear something is wrong either
with the producer, Mr. Reid, or with the Association, or with both. What is true of Mr Reid's
grape is equally true of the Fellenberg plum. Mr. William Roy, of Owen Sound, has again
and again called attention to this important fruit, so admirably adapted for drying, but the
call has fallen on inattentive ears, and the merits of the plum are left to do honour to the few
who appreciate it themselves, but who find it exceedingly difficult to innoculate others with
their furor. I do wish that somebody would fire a thirty ton gun on these and kindred mat-
ters from that good piece of ordinance the Horticulturist, and awaken our members and out-
siders to the importance of giving a lift forward, and upward, to those fruits, that are of first-
class merit and value. We do require a few strong men — weaklings are no avail.

It were unpardonable were I to omit mention of the improvements recently made in ex-
hibiting our fruits. We have long submitted to the incubus of ft this is how it has been,"
and " this is how it is to be. " It is impossible satisfactorily to view and judge of
fruit packed as close as peas on our show tables, with scarcely a space separating ^he individ-
ual's specimens, and, if separated, parted with apiece of dirty " Globe," or " Mail."

Through the intelligent action of Colonel Shanly, and the admirable executive ability
of Aldermen Withrow, Close, and their able colleagues, we have a Hall, for our purposes, con-
taining fruits and flowers alone.

I am vain of this triumph. For years I have striven to attain this consummation* When
at Ottawa, the mere mention of the propriety of such an arrangement to Col. Shanly was
enough to secure its accomplishment. To him, gentlemen, you are indebted for your fruit
and flower Hall at this Exhibition at Toronto. We only trust, that other places seeing and
appreciating the advantages, will go and do likewise. In speaking of this Exhibition, it
seems befitting that I should notice how admirably things have been appointed. The means
of classification which have been afforded us, and our agricultural confreres, have tended to
give a prominence to exhibits, which never before has been the case in our Provincial Show.

Let me say that what has been done in your department in your fruit Exhibition is very
marked in other departments.

Stoves have been separated from the Babel generally found in all central buildings —
cheese with its wholesome flavours, and living freight, has been relegated to a house appropri-
ated for the sole purpose of its exhibition. Elsewhere we had it in close proximity to our
beautiful grapes. This is a mighty improvement on the delightfully blended smells of cab-
bage leaves, turnips, beets and onions, with those of butter and cheese. Thanks to the un-
gtinted liberality of the Corporation of Toronto led by the broad and popular views of a Mor-

10

rison, and by the enlightened and 19th century views of Mr. Withrow, Chairman, and the
members of the Exhibition Committee.

Now that we stand on our own bottom, the question may with propriety be asked, how
can we best improve our longed for pleasant circumstances 1

We must look for the display of increased taste. Better arrangement must become the
order of the day. Attention must be called to the finer exhibition of fruits and flowers, and,
if possible photographs should appear in the Horticulturist of the fruit exhibits that have
taken the leading prizes.

What a happy day would that be for our present and future exhibitors, if our Judges
would transfer to paper, thence to the publisher, the facts and reasons for their preferences.
What a curious record it would be, and how instructive. Many a tyro would rejoice in the
information, and be encouraged to enter the competition with old stagers distinguished for
their triumphs and astuteness.

As yet, little is definitely known as to the criteria that guide different Judges in their
different decisions as to fruit excellencies. We see no reason why these criteria should not
be reduced to the niceties marking the exact sciences. Values ought invariably to be given
to different varieties, which should be known as A 1, A 2, A 3, &c:, &c, and then the value
given according to size, shape, and colour.

It is admitted, I think, that all that might be is not made of our Exhibitions. Why
papers should not be prepared and read on the different products in the different classes baffles
my comprehension. It is not sufficient to say, that everybody is busy, and too tired in the
discharge of duty on such occasions. Parties not thus engaged should be enlisted to do the
work, and publication made of their views. Even wrong views might be made the vehicle of
right ones, if only known, and disseminated.

A felt want among many fruit-growers is the absence of discussion on kindred subjects.
If our Association is to fill the place of a thorough Provincial guide to Horticulture, and
allied topics, then flowers and forestry, must be added to our plans and efforts. These two
branches, in particular, are so closely allied to our cherished culture, that their omission in
our discussions gives rise to reflections suggestive of additions to our contemplated objects.
Our worthy Secretary has given us a touch of his poetical fancies and cultivated taste in re-
cent articles on roses and their culture. His lucubrations have only to be implemented by a
perusal of the Rev. Mr. Hole's Book on Roses, and a domestic Rosarium at every residence
would start into existence at once.

A truce, however, to these pencillings, important considerations yet demand our atten-
tion. A little digression on lighter subjects may only whet our appetites for the severer.

It would be an oversight, on such an occasion as the present, were I to omit due and par-
ticular mention and give that meed of praise which Alderman Withrow and his noble Exhibition
Committee so justly deserve for their admirable arrangements in the uew Exhibition Build-
ings, erected at such expense on the Garrison Common. The City of Toronto has acted in
no niggardly fashion, but in a way worthy of itself. Every requirement has been met, and
the plans for the exhibition all but perfectly carried out. Nothing is more noticeable in this
respect, we have already said, than the facilities for classification. The Province, and Toronto
in particular, will be vast gainers by it. The example, so nobly set, will soon be followed.
Exhibitions are so multiplied all over, that the excellencies of one sooner or later become the
excellencies of others. Nor will this improved classification alone mark the Provincial, West-
ern, Central, Hamilton and Northern Fairs, it will find its way down into the regular grada-
tion of shows, through the village, township and county exhibitions.

The interest in these exhibitions is certainly gaining ground every year. Under the
healthy and stimulating efforts of the annual Provincial competition, there has been, it is true,
a gradual, but steady improvement of the quality of the articles placed on exhibition. People
are beginning to enquire how results so interesting and beneficial, are brought about, and how
best to be realized. Enquiry leads to experiment, and experiment to greater enterprise.
This desire to excel is marvellously shown in the production of new and superior articles,
both in agricultural, horticultural and manufactured goods. This has been especially the
case in late years. P. C. Dempsey, of Albury, for instance, has several hybrids equal, if
not superior, to "the Burnet" grape, though there be a difficulty in supposing that "the
Burnet " could be beat. Mr. W. H. Mills, of Hamilton, follows at no great distance with his
highly flavoured varieties, which, in the opinion of many, have as piquant a flavour as any

11

variety grown under glass. This line of discovery is being prosecuted with increased ardour
in the United States.

We are indebted to the gentlemanly head of the firm of Ellwanger & Barry, Rochester,
George Ellwanger, Esq., for specimen plants of " the Sharpless strawberry." A brief des-
cription of this new plant may be acceptable to at least a number of the members of our As-
sociation, who, not being in the trade, are not in the way of hearing of recent novelties in fruits
Size, large to very large, an average specimen measuring one and a half inches in diameter
either way. A specimen exhibited at the Nurserymen's Convention, held in Rochester, June
20, 1878, weighed one and a half ounces, and measured seven inches in circumference. The
Stump apple and the Red Bietigheimer are new, of rare excellence and high flavour. The
Lady Washington grape of J. H. Ricketts, of Newburgh, N. Y., and similar productions of
his, may be instanced as examples of what is doing, and what can be done, in the production
of first-class fruits. The like may be said of Andre Desportes and Bonne Du Puits Ansault
pears, the latter of which I have fruited. The Hon. Marshall Pinckney Wilder speaks in
equally laudatory terms of the Frederick Clapp, a pear of first excellence.

It is true, too true, that often worthless varieties have been presented for the reception
of the public. Thes3 annual exhibitions soon try their merit, and a season or two, at the
utmost, tests their estimation in public opinion, and, as a consequence, their position in the
well-considered catalogue of the improving nurseryman. Ill effects have not been invariably the
consequence of premature issues. Failure in such cases has only stimulated to greater suc-
cess in others. Pre-eminent in recording valuable and successful varieties newly introduced
stands the firm of Ellwanger & Barry. We may implicitly rely on the catalogue descriptions
of fruits r resented by these professional men. In few, or no cases, do they issue to the public
fruit trees which have not been thoroughly tested in their experimental nurseries. Progress and
the benefits resulting from our exhibitions are marked and distinctive. What progress horti-
culture has made within the last few years ! Nothing that industry and skill can accomplish
has been left untried, and it is more than likely that, in the light of future exhibitions at our
Provincial fairs, the record of horticultural progress will appear more fascinating and romantic
than the most advanced horticulturist now present could dream of.

This is particularly shown by the advances made in grape-growing by Mr. Henry Paf-
fard, of Niagara. A strong impression exists on the other side of the Atlantic in regard to
our Canadian winters, that their severity is well calculated to stagger the intending emigrant
from seeking a home upon our shores. Mr. Paffard can, and has practically demonstrated
that we are not living within the Arctic Circle, and that however severe our climate may be,
it does not injure vegetation. As a proof of the average mildness of our climate, reference
may be made to the experiment of growing and ripening many of the exotic grapes hereto-
fore only cultivated under glass.

Mr. Paffard, on a recent visit which I made to Niagara, showed me in his garden several
exotic varieties, and among them a vine of Black Hamburgs, which has been in full bearing
for six years, and produces yearly a heavy crop. It may not be generally known that Mr.
Paffard secured a bronze medal for these grapes at the Centennial. The bunch weighed
16? ounces. An esteemed correspondent writes of these grape vines, and says : "The
protection in winter consists merely in laying down the vine and covering it with a little
garden mould, and the growth is as rapid and vigorous, and the bearing as full as any of
the hardier kinds, while the shape, size, colour and flavour of the clusters and fruit will
compare favourably with the best specimens produced under glass."

Demonstation of our favourable climate has thus been made, and the continuance of
effort and experiment will aid in the work of national development and human refinement
until these beneficial triumphs of human genius receive encouragement from all classes of
the community.

In the contemplation of this advancement, we have sometimes thought that the ob-
jects of our society are rather limited. Nor are we singular in this view. In a communi-
cation of a recent date from Geo. Mill, a veteran and accomplished horticulturist of War-
wick Township, he asks : " By the way, do you think that we have enough of the right
kind of material in Canada to form a botanical society V Such a society might be well
affiliated to our Fruit Growers' Association. It seems to me that the time is not distant
when trees, flowers and fruits ought to form the objects of our associational efforts. The
needs of the country seem to demand it, and parties interested in all rural matters feel it

12

a necessity. Our Horticulturist also seems to have made a strike on this line. The rose has
received a memorable notice, why not the pine 1 The lettuce and other vegetables have
come in for attention, why not the osage, thorn and maple 1

Who is to give the initiative in the new departure? What strong man to stand forth
and take the lead 1 Who is to gather up the threads of all these requirements for our
country's good ? I look to the members of our Fruit Growers' Association. They have
done much in the past, and they may do much in the time to come.

I have just returned from fulfilling an invitation to the New York State Fair at El-
mira. The Horticultural Society of Western New York take all kindred subjects under
their wing. I may say that the members of this Society greatly bulk at this Annual State
Fair. The courtesies of Mr. Ellwanger, Mr. Barry, Mr. Hoffman, President, of Mr. Har-
rison, the efficient Secretary, to your President will not be soon forgotten.

The machinery, which facilitates the working of the New York State Fair, runs very
smoothly. Every thing is well appointed. We were much struck at the entrance fee
being til ty cents. The usual amount of agricultural and horticultural implements were on
exhibition — Syracuse chilled ploughs — reapers, which are self-binders with string — potato
diggers— separators, and a countless host of nostrums for facilitating the labours of the
husbandman. The samples of fruit and flowers were good. Ellwanger & Barry, of the
Mount Hope Nurseries, Rochester, exhibited a fine collection of apples, grapes, pears and
quinces. Mr. Vick was there, as he is here, with his grand display of flowers. J. H.
Ricketts, and his splendid hybrids, was conspicuous — in a recherche collection like that of
the Newburg exhibitor, it was difficult to distinguish his best varieties. To our taste and
that of my well-known colleague, Mr. Fuller, of New York, Rickett's Lady Washington
was facile princeps. A- seedling peach shown by a Mrs. Bliss was greatly superior in
flesh and quality to the Crawford Early, and is a peach which, we are satisfied, will yet
make a noise in the world.

A horticulturist of Elmira showed a dozen samples of Tompkin's County King. They
were the king of apples. One was 23 ounces weight and measured 14J inches in circum-
ference any way. The twelve together weighed 13 pounds 13 ounces.

Cattle — Short-horns, Ayrshires and Jerseys — sheep and pigs made a good show, and
Mr. Joe Jardine, of our Province, did not come off second best with his Ayrshires. Horses,
however, are the grand staple at the New York State Fair, and they were splendid.

But I digress. There is a mighty difference between horses, sheep and pigs, and apples,
pears and grapes.

I would suggest to the F. G. Association, as I have already suggested to the Board of
Agriculture, that we would be doing ourselves infinite credit by inviting a limited number
of the foremost fruit-growers in the Northern States of the Union, such as those of New
York, Ohio and Michigan, to come over and be our judges of fruit at one of our Provincial
shows. Much benefit would result to us and them. Ellwanger, Barry ; Robert J. Swan, of
Geneva, Fuller, of New York j Thomas, of Union Springs ; Quinn, of New Jersey ; Bateham
and Campbell, of Ohio, are each and all eminent in their profession in their own country, and
would lend a lustre to ours if they came amongst us as invited guests to judge of our Provin-
cial fruit productions. Such a suggestion is well worthy of the best consideration of our As-
sociation, and I have little fear, if recommended by you to the enlightened Board of
Agriculture and Arts, they would at once see and appreciate the propriety and advantage,
of the step.

I am nearly done. I have merely to say further in reference to the means to be em-
ployed for the furtherance of the interests of our Association in the future, that, whenever
the funds permit of it, we should diligently add to our appliances, a technical library on
horticulture, floriculture and forestry. I trust our members are not forgetful of the dona-
tion which we received a number of years ago from Sir William Young, of Nova Scotia,
of his late father's work on agriculture, issued to the world under the nom de plume of
" Agricola ;" of the liberal contribution of the Hon. Marshall Pinckney Wilder of the trans-
actions, in eight volumes, of the American Pomological Society. I would further take the lib-
erty of suggesting to you, gentlemen, on this occasion, that the Secretary be impowered to
collect and bind all periodicals, either received in exchange or bought, illustrative of our
chosen culture.

In conclusion, should some effort not be made by us to occupy Manitoba, and British

13

Columbia with the best products of Pomona. Former members of our Association now reside
in Manitoba, and our Pacific Province, and would it not be well to stir them up to the propriety
of advancing fruit interests in their respective Provinces? The least we can do is to see that
the leaders of the public in horticultural matters are furnished with our Reports to our own
Government. In trying to benefit them, we would certainly be doing no injury to ourselves.

What is true of the Provinces now named is equally true of the Maritime Provinces. A
closer correspondence than has yet existed between us, might be of advantage to them and to
us. I am well satisfied, that Dr. C. C. Hamilton, of Wolfville, would cordially enter into
such arrangement, and would be ably seconded by such enthusiastic horticulturists as J. H.
Starr, and Mr. Brown of Yarmouth, N. S.

Gentlemen, our present Exhibition will be long remembered in connection with the name
of His Excellency, Earl Dufferin. Before there is occasion again to erect new buildings for
holding the Provincial Fair at Toronto, most of the present actors will have passed from this
scene of mortal interests. Let us strive as diligent workers to leave behind us a record,
somewhat of the nature of that which will remain in the history of our country, of the bene-
ficent Government, and the thoughtful patronage of every good work of the retiring Govern-
or-General of Canada, of whom it may be justly and truly said, that he never madea wrong
step, and always said and did, in his official intercourse with us3 the right and true, at the
proper time and place.

We are sowers, and others are the reapers. This is our sowing season — let us sow
well — in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. With so much to encourage and reward
faithful labourers, let us strive each in his sphere, and as he has opportunity, so to acquit
himself in the great struggle of life, that the plaudits of our fellow creatures — the approvings
of our consciences, and at last, the " well done " of the Great Master may reward all our
toil.

One of our Directors, the late Mr. Hora, of Kingston, has since our last annual gather-
ing: entered into the fruition of his labours. Our harvest-time, like his, will soon be over.
The sun is fading now; the ripened fruits of the earth remind us of God's glorious promises;
the fall is gradually tinging the scene ; grey hairs begin here and there to appear upon us ;
nature looks more sterile and sombre every day after the golden tints of autumn ; the air is
getting chilly ; the winter is coming, — freezing, furious, bleak winter is coming — we, while
others are taken, are left to the burden and heat of the day — when our day is finished, and
the winter of death has come, may those who survive us, utter with joy, he has finished his
work.

" While man is growing, life is in decrease ;
And cradles rock us nearer to the tomb,
Our birth is nothing but our death begun
As tapers in that instant they take fire."

Robert Burnet,

President

REPORTS OF DISCUSSIONS,

WINTER MEETING.

The Winter Meeting was held in the Council Chamber, City Hall, Hamilton, on
Wednesday, February 6th, 1878.

President Burnet took the chair, and, after the reading and adoption of the minutes,
introduced to the meeting John R. Craig, Esq., Secretary ot the Agricultural and Arts
Association, and heartily welcomed him to our discussions. Mr. Craig responded to the
effect that it was a great pleasure to him to be present, to make the acquaintance of the
members, and become familiar with the working and work of the Association. The

14

President also introduced to the meeting Mr. Jones, of Rochester, a member of the Wes-
tern New York Horticultural Society, and delegate from that body. Mr. Jones thanked
the President for his very complimentary introduction, and presented his credentials,
which were read to the meeting by the Secretary.

Charles Arnold, of Paris, read his report of the meeting of the Western New York
Horticultural Society, to which he had been sent as our delegate, which was received with
thanks to Mr. Arnold, and ordered to be printed in the annual Report.

REPORT OP DELEGATION TO WESTERN NEW YORK HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY, JANUARY 23rd AND 24th, 1878.

Your delegate appointed to attend the Winter Meeting of the Western New York
Horticultural Society begs to report that he met that Society at Rochester, on the 23rd
and 24th of January.

The meeting was held in the new Common Council Chamber, a room capable of
holding some 500 people. The average attendance during the 23rd and 24th was about
150 intelligent fruit growers from all parts of New York and adjoining States, Mr. A. M.
Smith, of Drummondville, and your humble servant beingjthe only persons observed from
Ontario.

The following are some of the subjects discussed : —

1st. The Quince. — On what soils and by what treatment does the orchard culture of
the quince prove most profitable, and what variety is best for general cultivation for
market purposes.

But little information was elicited ; no two persons seemed to be of the same opinion
as to the best kinds, or the best mode of cultivation.

2nd. Insect Enemies. — What discoveries or improvements have been made during the
past year in the manner of exterminating the codlin moth worm, and what methods have
proved most effective in preventing the depredations of the canker worm, etc.

Nearly the whole of the evening session of 23rd was occupied in discussing the cod-
lin moth and the best means of destroying it. One person spoke for nearly two hours in
advocating the claims of what he called his invention, and for which he had applied for a
patent. This contrivance consisted only of a piece of water-proof paper or pasteboard,
lined with cotton batting, forming a band of from two to three inches wide around the
trunk of each tree, the cotton batting to be put next to the tree, and occasionally taken
off and the larva found lodged therein destroyed.

Another person had applied for a patent for the same thing, only in this case the
cardboard was punched full of holes, and the cotton batting pressed into the holes.

Other persons had used several folds of common paper with good results.

All parties agreed that war ought to be at once declared against this pest, and that
every person who owned an apple or pear tree should be enlisted into this service.

Scraping the rough bark from the trunk of the tree in the spring and washing the
tree with good strong soapsuds, thus destroying the larva and softening the bark was re-
commended.

Thursday morning's session was# occupied in reading the following essays, some of
them containing much valuable information ;

J. J. Thomas — Our Public Roads.

Prof. Lazenby — Gathering, Marketing and Preserving Apples.

Charles A. Green — Small Fruits.

Geo. Ellwanger — Spring Flowering Shrubs.

P. C. Reynolds — The Kitchen Garden.

Geo. T. Fish — Horticultural Botany.

H. B. Ellwanger — On Roses.

W. C. Barry — Weeping or Drooping Trees.

A short essay, read by Prof. C. H. Dann, on Chemistry, containing the statement
that 95 per cent, of the fruit and wood of the apple tree was supplied by the air, some-
what taxed the credulity of your delegate.

3rd. The Peach Tree Worm — Is the worm that destroys the young shoots of the

15

peach, a new enemy, and is there any way of preventing its attack ] How are the Yel-
lows introduced and how exterminated ?

The debate on this subject was very brief and but little information gained.

4th. Timber Protection for Peach Orchards. — Is timber protection for peachorchards
more important than elevated sites or northern slopes ]

The opinions expressed on this subject were almost as various as the persons who
took part in the discussion.

5th. Irrigation. — Is irrigation for gardens and fruits practicable 1 What are its uses
and methods ?

No person spoke from experience and the subject was soon dismissed.

There were but very few fruits on exhibition ; the following is a list of the pears : —
Columbia, Princess St. Germain, Beurre Gris d'Hiver, Doyenne Goubault, Haddington,
Herricart de Thury, Beurre Langlier.

A plate of the Columbia pears was the finest plate of winter pears I ever saw, as far
as appearance goes, of the flavour I had no means of judging.

A few plates of the well-known old varieties of apples completed the list of fruit on
exhibition.

Reports from different parts of the State, as to the quantity of apples grown and
shipped last year, showed an immense revenue to the State and profit to the growers :
$300,000 worth were reported from Niagara County alone. Other counties reported as
high as $500,000 worth, besides a large amount for pears and other fruits.

Before closing his report, your delegate would beg to remark, that when these statements
were made as to the large amount of money realized from so comparatively small quantity of
ground, that he inwardly expressed the hope, that the day was not far distant, when through
the enterprise and far seeing policy of some of our intelligent land owners, aided by the well
directed efforts of this Association, reports similar to those just mentioned will come from
numerous counties in Ontario, where soil and climate are certainly equal to any portion of
New York State.

And when we consider that Our Ontario is the best fruit-growing section of this great
Dominion ; and remember the large number of our people,and people from lessTavoured lands,
who are emigrating to the rich fertile plains of the " Great North Land " of Manitoba, who
must always cherish a desire for our delicious red and golden cheeked apples ; and when we
take into account also, the yearly increasing facilities for shipping in every direction, surely
it is quite safe to predict, that growing first-class fruit in Ontario must be profitable for many
years to come.

All of which is respectfully submitted by

Your humble servant,

Charles Arnold,

After the reading of this report a discussion arose on the subject of statistics of fruit cul-
ture.

Mr. Jones, of Rochester, N. Y., stated that their method of collecting statistics is to ap-
point a committee from each county, consisting of one person, who corresponds with the ship-
pers of fruit and ascertains the amount each has shipped during the season.

President Burnet suggested that we need authority from the proper source to ask for
and procure these statistics, and that it be made obligatory on parties to give this information :
many shippers do not care to have it known how mueh they handle.

Mr. Jones suggested that the railways will willingly give information of the quantity of
fruit shipped from their several stations.

A. M. Smith moved, seconded by E. Morden, that a Committee be appointed by this
meeting to interview the Government and devise means for obtaining reliable statistics in re-
gard to the amount and value of the fruit annually raised and exported from this Province,
and that the Committee consist of Messrs. Burnet, Beadle and Bucke, which resolution was
carried unanimously.

It was also moved by Mr. Leslie, seconded by Mr. Bucke, that the Grand Trunk, Great
Western and the other railways be requested to include in their annual reports on the crops
he condition of the apple crop.

16

It appeared from the reports made to the Western New York Horticultural Society that
the quantity of fruit shipped and worked up in Niagara County was : —

Apples, 100,000 barrels sold and in store in the county at an average

of$2.75 per bbl $ 275 000

Apples, 55,000 bushels at 20c 11 000

Pears, 5,000 bbls at $4.00 per bbl 20 000

Quinces, 2,000 bbls at $4.00 per bbl 8 000

Cherries, 160,000 pounds at 3c per lb 4 800

Peaches, 85,000 cases at 75c per case, 65 750

Plums, 1,800 bushels at $1.75 per bushel 3 150

Grapes, 300,000 pounds, at an average of 4c per lb 12 000

Making a total of $399 700

In Genesee County the report stated that the number of bbls of apples

purchased in Batavia was 20 449

Number of bbls of apples purchased in Leroy was 18 500

Do do do Corfu do ,... 4 800

Do do do Other points 1 600

Making a total aggregate of barrels shipped from the county 45 349

A low estimat* of quantity yet held by growers , 5 000

Making the total quantity marketed outside the county 50 349bbli.

which as the average price paid per bbl was $2.30, makes the apple crop net the county the
sum of $115,702.70,

The total quantity of pears shipped from the county is 5,640 bbls, costing $3.50 per
bbl. , or a total sum of $16,240.

The total sale of quinces was 800 bbls. , at $4.50 per bbl. , equal to a total of $3,600.

Thus the total income to this county from these fruits was the significant sum of $135,-
542.70.

In Erie County it was stated the amount of apples of No. 1 quality was equal to 500,-
000 bbls. , and that the average price per bbl was $2.00, equal $ 1,000,000

Pears, first quality, 50,000 bbls. , average price $3.50 per bbl. ,

equal to 165,000

Making a total of $1,165,000

Besides what has been received for cherries, which brought an average price of $2.50
per bushel, and from grapes which brought an average of 3|c per lb.

It was stated also that the total shipments of apples from Chautaque County had
amounted to about 200,000 barrels.

The meeting proceeded to the discussion of the

CANKER WORM.

The insect has made its appearance in some places in great numbers, doing great dam-
age to the orchards by eating the leaves, often stripping the trees entirely, so that they are as
destitute of foliage as in the winter.

A. M. Smith, Drummondville, had no experience.

J. J. Bowman, Hamilton, had quite too much experience, having suffered severely from
their depredations. The female moth is wingless, comes out of the ground in November,
crawls up the trunk of the tree and lays her eggs. From these eggs the worms hatch out in
the spring, devour the leaves, and disappear about the middle of June, going into the ground,
wheu they undergo their transformations and come forth again as moths in the autumn. He
had tried Paris green in wattr, sprinkkd upon the leaves and it had killed them,

17

The followingdescription of these insects is taken from the Entomological Report of 1875,
page 25, it having been ascertained that there are two species of this insect. The one is called
Anisopteryx Vernata, The egg of this species is not unlike in form a miniature hen's egg,
but is of a very delicate texture and pearly lustre, with irregular impressions on its surface.
The eggs are laid in masses without any regularity or order in their arrangement, often as
many as a hundred together, and secreted in the crevices of the bark of the trees. The eggs
are usually hatched between the first and middle of May, about the time when the
young leaves of the apple tree begin to push from the bud. The little canker-worms, on
making their escape from the egg, cluster upon and consume the tender leaves, and on the
approach of cold or wet weather creep for shelter into the bosom of the expanding bud, or
into the opening flowers. The newly hatched caterpillar is of a dark olive green or brown
colour, with a black, shining head, and a horny plate of the same colour, on the second seg-
ment. When full grown they measure about an inch in length. The colour of the body
varies from greenish yellow to dusky or even dark brown. The head is mottled and spotted,
and has two pale transverse lines in front ; the body is longitudinally striped with many
narrow pale lines ; along the sides the body becomes deeper in colour, and down the middle of
the back are some blackish spots. When not eating they remain stretched out at full length,
and resting on their fore and hind legs under the leaves. When full grown they leave the
trees, either by creeping down the trunk or by letting themselves down by silken threads from
the branches. When thus suspended in great numbers, as is frequently the case, under the
limbs of trees overhanging roads and sidewalks, they become a great annoyance. Having
reached the ground, they soon begin to burrow into it, and having penetrated from two to
six inches, a simple earthen cell is formed by compressing the earth, and lining it with a few
silken threads ; this makes but a fragile home for the chrysalis, and is easily broken to
pieces. The chrysalis, which is about five lines long, and one and a half in diameter, is of a
pale grayish brown colour, with a greenish tint on the wing-sheaths in the male • that of the
female is more robust than the male, and both are sparingly fitted with shallow dots over
their surface. Sometimes the chrysalis produces the perfect insect late in the autumn, in
other cases it remains quiescent during the fall and winter months, emerging during the first
warm days of early spring. The female moths of both species of canker-worm are wingless,
and present a very odd, spider-like appearance. With a body distended with eggs, she drags
her weary way along in a most ungainly manner, until she reaches the base of a suitable tree,
up which she climbs, and there awaits the arrival of the male. The male is active, although
a delicate and slender looking creature. Its fore wings are ash-coloured, or brownish-grey, of
a silky, semi-transparent appearance, with a broken whitish band crossing the wings near the
outer margin, and three interrupted brownish lines between that and the base. There is an
oblique black dash near the tip of the fore wings, and a nearly continuous black line before
the fringe. The hind wings are plain pale ash-coloured, or very light gray with a dusky dot
about the middle of each.

The other is called Anisopteryx pometaria. This species, although closely resembling
the preceding, has many points of difference. The eggs are flattened above, have a central
puncture and a brown circle near the border, and are laid side by side in regular and compact
masses, and are usually deposited in exposed situations. The newly hatched caterpillar is
pale olive green, with the head and horny covering of the upper part of the second segment
of a very pale hue. The full-grown caterpillar is also differently marked, the longitudinal
lines being fewer in number, but broader and more distinct. The chrysalis is much tougher
than that of the former species, being formed of densely spun silk of a buff colour ; interwoven
on the outside with particles of earth. In the male moth the antennae have a greater number
of joints, there being fifty or more in this species, whereas in Vernata there are not quite
forty. The wings are less transparent but more glossy, the fore wings brownish gray, but of
a darker hue than on the other species, and are crossed by two more regular whitish bands,
the outer one enlarging near the apex, where it forms a large pale spot. The hind wings are
greyish-brown, with a faint central blackish dot, and usually a more or less distinct white band
crossing them. Both of these species are very destructive, when numerous, to apple and
other trees.

Linus Woolverton, Grimsby, had considerable experience with these canker-worms, and
tried three ways of combatting tbem. Had found the use of bandages, smeared with tar,
pitch tar, not coal tar, the easiest and very successful. After a few days the tar hardens and
2

18

it becomes necessary to make a fresh application. Had also used Paris-green mixed with
water, applying it with a garden pump. This must be put on very early in the season, as
soon as the buds burst, else the mischief will have been done. Had also tried fall ploughing,
say in the end of October, with a view of breaking up and exposing the chrysalids, and
thought this had a beneficial effect.

Mr. Smith, of Glanford, said that a very sticky substance was made from a mixture of
castor-oil and resin, which is the material which was used in the manufacture of the sticky
Fly-paper ; though in cold weather it might become too hard. Molasses mixed with tar will
make it keep soft longer, unless there should be rain, which would wash the tar out.

D. W. Beadle, St. Catharines, stated that in the City of New Haven, Connecticut,
he had seen the elm trees, which are the beauty and glory of the place, encircled with a
leaden trough, made to fit so snugly to the tree that nothing can creep up between the
trough and the tree, and the trough filled with cheap fish oil. These trees were visited
every day or two, the troughs cleaned out if found, as they often were, filled with the
bodies of these wingless moths, and a fresh supply of oil put in.

The meeting next proceeded to the consideration of the

CODLIN MOTH.

This moth is destructive to our apples, feeding on the pulp of the fruit, making un-
sightly caverns and galleries, and causing the affected specimens to ripen prematurely.
Every one that eats apples has sometimes found this insect in the larva state within the
fruit. The great question with fruit-growers is to find some convenient method of de-
stroying them, or, at least, of so lessening their numbers as to diminish considerably the
present quantity of wormy fruit.

A. M. Smith, Drummondville, recommends tying strips of cotton or flannel around
the trunks of the trees, into which the larvae may crawl to pass into the chrysalis state.
They seem to prefer the soft bit of cotton or woollen to the paper.

P. C. Dempsey, Albury, had noticed that those orchards which were thoroughly
tilled every season were comparatively exempt from these insects, while those that were
not tilled had them in abundance.

S. T. Carver, Peterboro, writes to the Secretary that he and one of his neighbours,
Mr. Allum, put strips of cloth around the trunks of their apple trees last spring and caught
several hundred of the larvae of some kinds of moths ; they seemed to be of two kinds,
one all brown, the other yellow and green. He thinks they thinned out the codlin moth
some, but says that all the neighbours must do the same or it will be of no use.

THE APPLE TREE BORER.

P, C. Dempsey, Albury, said that when this grub has once obtained a lodgment in
the tree, the only way is to cut it out or punch it to death with a wire thrust into its bur-
rows, which it makes into the wood. If lye or soap be painted on to the trunk of the
tree the first week in June it will destroy the eggs. There is also a borer that infests the
peach tree, which he keeps out by tying a rag around the tree at the collar early in spring.

Mr. Jones, of Rochester, N. Y., said that he heaped coal ashes around the tree at the
collar, and had found this useful in preventing the borer from attacking the trees. Also
that Mr. R J. Swan spread coal ashes under his currant and gooseberry bushes, and be-
lieved that the application saved them from the attacks of the sawfly.

P. E. Bucke, Ottawa, applied coal ashes which had been used as an absorbent of
night-soil to the surface of the ground under his currant and gooseberry bushes and had
not been troubled with the sawfly.

P. C. Dempsey, Albury, put a barrel of coal ashes under his gooseberry bushes, but
the sawfly remained and was as troublesome as ever.

P. E. Bucke read a paper on irrigation, as follows : —

Mr. President and Gentlemen, — Last year at this time I read a paper on water
as applied to land for the purpose of increasing its productiveness, which excited so many
enquiries from a variety of correspondents (who, I presume, read it after it appeared in the
press), that I make no apology for taking the same text for a few remarks to-day. Permit

19

me first to say that my last address was principally theoretical, or rather as showing what
other countries had done in this direction, and how, from the remotest ages of which we
had any records, this branch of agriculture has been practised with marked success, not in
one quarter of the globe only, but in all the four corners of the world ; I propose now to
give a few practical methods of applying water, and the general result of such application.
From my own experience I find that however expensive it may be for individuals to pro-
vide themselves with their own source of supply, I am quite convinced with regard to the
utility of irrigation for the fruit and vegetable garden, and that no garden in this climate
can be considered perfect without a good quantity of water laid on in iron pipes. I have
never yet known a season when water is not required, and it is often a question in this
country, of either watering or having no crops at all, especially in those gardens where
the soil is sandy or gravelly. To irrigate small gardens in cities or towns of from two to
four lots, where the water-works are available, is a very simple matter, the water should
be brought from the street, and a turn-off cock placed below the frost line, which may be
opened and closed through a wooden tube by raising and lowering a handle. Beyond this
shut-off a lead pipe should be brought to within a foot of the surface, and connected there
with an iron one, which may be let down below the cut of a spade, having suitable
branches coming to the surface for attaching a fifty feet rubber hose at one hundred feet
intervals. It will thus be seen that for watering a strip of ground 66 by 198 feet, the
first hydrant would be fifty feet from the street, and the next one hundred feet farther up
the pipe, which should be so laid as to drain down to the shut-off tap, thereby emptying
itself into the ground so as to avoid all danger of freezing and bursting it. An iron pipe
of three-quarters of an inch aperture would cost six cents per foot, or $9 for 150 feet, and
fifty feet of rubber hose and couplings, $6 more. I find it a good plan to have raised sup-
ports from three to four feet high to run the hose over, so that it can be moved here and
there without dragging it over bushes, plants and vegetables. Of course, for watering
lawns this arrangement is not wanted. The fruits requiring water the most are raspber-
ries and strawberries. The former revel in moist soil, which swells the berries and pro-
longs the season of ripening ; the latter are benefited in the same way, and the setting
out of runners may be indulged in at any time during the hottest weather if a liberal sup-
ply of water is at hand to give the plants a start. From present experience I believe,
with an abundance of water, it will pay to set out plants in the early part of July, take
one crop off them next spring, turn the plants under and plant again in the same place so
soon as runners can be obtained from the old plants for their reproduction. This method
would give plants eleven months' growth to the fruiting season, and would completely
euchre the May beetle where he is most destructive, as I have found, so far as I am con-
cerned, that he only attacks the old plants. With regard to transplanting currant bushes,
they may be moved from, one part of the garden to the other at any time after the fruit is
gathered. Young plants not yet in bearing may be moved at any time, even when in full
leaf, when care is taken and plenty of water used ; the same may be said of young grape
vines, or any young trees or shrubs ; a good supply of the limpid element is invaluable
for the transplanting of cabbage, cauliflower, celery, etc., and lettuce grown by means of
frequent waterings are very delicious and crisp. One of the most useful applications of
water is for the starting of seeds, for late crops, during the hot summer months ; and by
this means, with frequent waterings, a succession of green peas, spinach, beans, etc., may
be kept up all the growing season. When a good pressure of water is had it may be ap-
plied, if warm enough, during evenings or cloudy weather by sprinkling; but it should
only be run between the rows of plants on the ground during bright sunny days. The
watering of transplanted plants should be done with the hose without any nozel or
sprinkler attached. If the water is required at a high part of the garden which the hose
will not reach, it may be conveyed in V shaped troughs set on the ends of notched slabs,
due regard being had to a good fall at the lower end. These V shaped troughs may some-
times be bought at the mills where they are sold as eavetroughs, but if they cannot be
procured, nail two strips of inch board three and four inches wide together, and if they
leak throw in a handful of fine sand and the cracks will soon fill up. For irrigating field
or garden crops the most inexpensive methods of raising water are by rams, windmills and
water-wheels, and in some countries oxen, horses and mules are used for this purpose.
Amongst the points chiefly to be considered by persons about to irrigate, the first in im-

20

portance is drainage. A well drained soil is seldom injured by too copious a supply of
water, but one that is imperfectly drained may easily be made into a quagmire. Good
drainage therefore should be the first thing provided for. The only soils which do not require
draining are those which overlay sandy or gravelly beds. If the soil be drained with
tiles, these should be laid three feet deep so as not to be choked with the roots of plants ;
drains made of gravel or wood should be laid below the frost line. The second is, that no
soil should be disturbed when wet, the work of sowing, weeding, cultivating and gather-
ing the mature crops, should be so arranged in reference to watering, or the watering
should be so arranged in reference to them, that they may be performed when
the soil is dry. If the soil is liable to bake it should be so worked before the
surface becomes too hard that the crust may be broken. The third point to be considered
is the time of applying the water, which should not be put off at any time during the
season until the ground is very dry; water should be applied by sprinkling a day or two
before the seed is sown, or transplanting is performed. After sowing or transplanting,
water very moderately and do not allow it to run over the ground so as to wash the
plants or seeds; moderate and frequent waterings are the best for young growing plants,
these waterings should be done by sprinkling, or, if this be impossible, have the beds
made quite level with a raised edge, and allow the water to flow over them. Water thus
used should be of the same or a higher temperature than the soil. No watering should
be done during the clear, sunny or windy days. The effect of wind is to produce evapor-
ation, and thus lower the temperature of the soil. For garden crops frequent and moder-
ate waterings are preferred, and should be given every five days or oftener, as required,
due regard being had to the variety of soil and its general appearance. The frequency of
watering may be learned by practice, as one soil will require water at shorter intervals
than another, and the rainfall will also have to be taken into consideration, so that no
fixed rule can be laid down. Many people believe that, though annual vegetable plants
require water, the small fruit-garden is capable of withstanding any amount of drought ;
this is a mistake, as they require a sufficient supply of moisture to enable them to assimil-
ate the manure or life-giving properties of the soil quite as much as do other vegetable
products ; and when we see, as was the case in 1876, the small size and general blotched
appearance of the apples, occasioned, as it was stated at the Centennial by the most experi-
enced pomologists present, from drought, which statement I have never seen contradicted
but supported by the various pomological reports from different States, which I have exam-
ined, it becomes evident that irrigation properly applied would have remedied the whole dif-
ficulty and have given an ample crop of handsome fruit. It is stated that apple trees grown
near a body of water never have an "off year" in the way of fruit, but bear regularly every year.
I rather doubt this statement, but perhaps some of our Prince Edward County friends may
be able to enlighten the meeting on this subject. Every orchardist and gardener is aware
that insects are most numerous during dty seasons. Irrigation, it is claimed, would give
vigour of growth to the tree and its productive capacity, and greatly mitigate the ravages
of these pests. It is hardly necessary to insist on irrigation for orchards and vineyards ;
the utility has been proved in moister countries than ours — such as France, Italy and
Southern Europe, where the olive, orange, lime, almond, fig and other orchard trees come
in for their share of a systematic water supply. The Israelites, during their possession
of Palestine — the humidity of which climate is very similar to ours, with probably about
the same rainfall — though the winters are not near so cold — maintained their gardens and
fields in a high state of verdure and fertility by a suitable application of water. There, as
here, the rainfall was sufficient for a partial crop, but they found the practice of a liberal
supply of water artificially bestowed at stated intervals essential to luxuriance in
growth. For my own part I have not come to the conclusion that open air grapes in this
climate require water after the fruit is well formed, as it might prolong the time of ripen-
ing and thus prove of "disadvantage to the crop, but the wild vines, whose fruit turns
black in August, principally grow along the banks of streams where the moisture is abun-
dant, and 1 have not yet found that the fruit on these ripen an)r later than those grown in
my own arid sand. The quantity of water required for irrigating an acre is one half pint
per second continually flowing, or 5,400 pints per twenty-four hours, or 86 cubic feet per
day. It will readily be seen that so large a supply of water as the above cannot be ob-
tained from any natural spring where a large area is to be irrigated, though these may be

21

made to do good service for small gardens or moderate sized pieces of ground. It is sel-
dom artesian wells can be relied on for irrigating purposes, as they do not supply a
sufficient volume of water. There are, however, exceptions to this rule. At the Asylum
for the Insane, of London, Ontario, a well was sunk 80 feet deep, 8 feet across ; but no
water being secured at that depth, the Ontario Government concluded to bore down until
water was obtained. After drilling 70 feet farther with a drill of 20 inches in diameter,
a gravelly bed was reached at 150 feet below the surface, which filled the shaft and large
well to within 30 feet of the top with excellent water. A thirty-horse power steam pump
has been fitted to it, and the Superintendent of the Asylum informs me that he can
pump 1,000,000 gallons of water per day, which would be a sufficient supply for only 200
acres of land. The deepest artesian well in the world is the one now being sunk at Pesth,
a city of Hungary ; it has already reached a depth of 3,130 feet, and the water rises 35
feet above the surface of the ground, and is 160° F. It is the intention of the city to
continue boring until water at a temperature of 178° is obtained for the use of public
baths, and it is expected it can be so utilized as to convert the surrounding region into a
tropical garden. The present quantity of water obtained is 175,000 gallons per day, and
the cost of the works is $200,000. My own supply is forty pints per minute, and, as I
have only two-thirds of an acre to cultivate, I find I have enough to drown out every-
thing in the garden if the water was left running all the time. If water has to be raised
a height, the cheapest motive power is, perhaps, the windmill. A self-regulating one of
the smallest size costs about $100, and, when the wind is favourable, will raise two quarts
of water per second to a height of 25 feet ; but much cheaper ones may be made by
any ordinary mechanic at a cost of from $10 to $25, which will answer very well. Water
raised from cold spring wells must be run into a tank to warm it, from which pipes and
hose will be required to distribute it to the various parts of the grounds. Where streams
are available the supply of water will be found more plentiful and its application more
economical. It will not require storage tanks, as it will always be sufficiently warm to
apply at once directly to the soil. Where only a low dam of two or three feet can be
constructed the water must be elevated by an under-shot wheel, but where from four
to six feet fall can be secured a breast wheel may be employed. If the stream is four feet
wide and six inches deep, arid the current runs at the rate of two miles per hour, it would
give sufficient power to elevate eleven gallons of water per second thirty feet high, or
a sufficient supply for about 24 acres of land. Many acres of our soil now supposed to be
almost barren, if irrigated would make good the words of promise found in Scripture records,
that "seed time and harvest should never more fail," whilst at the present day only a par-
tial or accidental crop is realized. Man is at present at the mercy of the winds and the
clouds, and when the rainfall is short and fortune is fickle in providing the needful mois-
ture, the farmer loses his labour and his crops, or only gets a minimum return for his
year's toil, whereas, if his exertions had been supplemented by an abundant supply of
water, his efforts would have been crowned with success. It is true that large works
could only be constructed by communities, but in almost any part of Canada such works
could be built at a much less cost than it took to clear the lands originally from the prim-
eval forest, and which the fore-runners of the present generation performed without a
tithe of the capital now at the command of the farming population. The actual cost of irri-
gating works of a permanent character ranges from $1 per acre when extended over large
areas ; and when from 10,000 to 50,000 acres are watered total cost will not exceed $5, if
soil and surface are favourable. To clear an average acre of timber land costs from $12 to
$25, and the damage accruing from stumps, sticks and stones before these rot out or are
gathered off, amounts to considerably more. In Europe land is dear ; the cost of water-
ways for canals and ditches are exceedingly heavy ; the countries are hilly and uneven,
requiring expensive aqueducts to cross valleys and depressions, and there from $5 to $10
per acre is annually paid for water alone, besides the rents of the land. The numerous
settlements which dot the States and Territories of California, Colorado, Utah and other
localities, and the success which has attended the pioneer efforts in these outlying districts,
where there have been so many drawbacks incidental to a want of knowledge in irrigation
and the requirements of the climate and soil, will tend to attract our rural population to
wards new enterprises in this direction, and I venture to predict that before the next cen-
tury turns a half revolution, the desirability of the fertilizing effects of water will be ad-

22

mitted and acted upon. Thanking you for your patient hearing of this paper I take my
seat.

The meeting proceeded to the consideration of the

YELLOWS IN THE PEACH.

A. M. Smith, Drummondville, said that this disease was making its appearance among
us. That he had noticed it first on the ridge-road north of Lockport, N. Y., and thejpast
year had seen some diseased trees about Niagara Falls, and a few at Grimsby. The
only remedy, he believed, was cutting out all diseased trees and giving good cultivation to-
those that remained.

Chas. Arnold, Paris, thought that this disease was caused by the winter's frost,^which,
when severe, injured the tree, made it sickly, and caused the symptoms of disease known a»
the Yellows.

W. Holton, Hamilton, was inclined to believe that it was owing to impoverishment of
the soil.

PROTECTION TO PEACH ORCHARDS.

Mr. Honsberger, Grimsby, has been in the habit of planting his peach trees in the
spaces among the apple trees, and letting the peach trees take their chances with the apple,
but he was now growing a hedge of Norway spruce to protect his peach trees from the south-
west winds.

E. Morden, Drummondville, would protect peach orchards especially on the west and
north.

W. Haskins, Hamil ton, f said that he had fifty acres of peach orchard, and found that
those trees did best which were protected from the west, and also had found that good culti-
vation was very important.

A. M. Smith, Drummondville, would put protection on the west, south-west, and south
sides, and thought protection preferable to planting on an elevated site.

W. Holton, Hamilton, had noticed that about Bradford those peach trees did best which
were on a rather poor soil and protected, and gave better results than those in the rich hollows.
L. Woolverton, Grimsby, had found elevated knolls very well adapted to peach trees.

THE BEST TREES TO PLANT FOR PROTECTION.

Chief Johnson, of the Six Nation Indians, advocated the sugar maple.

P. C. Dempsey, Albury, would plant the bass-wood, because it would afford not only
shelter, but would also supply the bees with most beautiful honey.

W. McKenzie Ross, Chatham, was in favour of the Scotch pine, because it grew
very fast.

John Croil, Aultsville, mentioned the Norway spruce ; it could be procured at reason-
able prices, in large quantities, grew rapidly, could be transplanted safely, and retaining its
branches to the very ground, made a most excellent wind-break in winter.

W. Roy, Owen Sound, favoured the Austrian pine, Norway spruce, and Scotch pine.

W. Haskins, Hamilton, suggested the Lombardy poplar.

W. Holton, Hamilton, mentioned the arbor-vitae, or, as it is commonly called, the white
cedar, and the white pine, which, being both natives, could be easily procured by every one.

Mr. Jones, Rochester, N. Y., spoke in favour of the Norway spruce as possessing more
good qualities for shelter belts than any other one tree. The European larch was also a very
rapid growing tree, and the native white pine had been planted with very good results.

A. M. Smith, Drummondville, thought well of our native balsam spruce for such
purposes.

THE BEST FERTILIZER FOR FRUIT TREES.

Mr. Robertson, of Oakville, had found a liberal application of clay around trees growing
in sandy soil very beneficial.

L. Woolverton, Grimsby, had tried this plan also with very good results.
P. E. Bucke, Ottawa, would apply mineral phosphates.
John McGill, Oshawa, prefers wood ashes.

23

Chas. Arnold, Paris, thought nothing better than barn-yard manure.
Mr. Jones, Rochester, N. Y., would use lime and ashes on heavy soils ; had found great
benefit from green crops ploughed under, and from barn-yard manure.

to

Linus Woolverton, Grimsby, presented the report of the Fruit Committee appointed
examine and report upon the fruit on exhibition, which was as follows: —

REPORT OF ;jFRUIT COMMITTEE.

Your Fruit Committee beg to report that : —

Mr. A. M. Smith, of Drummondville, shows samples of the Mann Apple, a kind not
much cultivated in Canada. It is an apple very irregular in size, of a not very desirable
flavour, but said to be hardy. Also, fair specimens of the Northern Spy and Cranberry
Pippin.

Mr. Geo. A. Weese, of Albury, shows specimens of the Ben Davis, an apple which is
destined to become valuable on account of its hardy and prolific habits.

Mr. P. C. Dempsey, of Albury, shows some very fine specimens of the Josephine de
Malines Pear, in good condition. It has a rich luscious flavour, and a rose coloured flesh ;
some fair specimens of the Beurre D'Anjou, of the Vicar of Winkfield, and of the Beurre
Grise D'Hiver.

All of which is respectfully submitted,

Linus Woolverton,
P. C. Dempsey,
Wm. Roy.

On motion to receive and adopt the report, Mr. Holton, Hamilton, desired to express his
opinion of the Ben Davis Apple, that while the tree was hardy and productive, the fruit was
not of that good quality which planters would be led to expect, that he feared people would
be disappointed in the quality.

Chas. Arnold, Paris, expressed the same opinion.

P. C. Dempsey, Albury, stated that one of his neighbours had found the Ben Davis *
very profitable market fruit.

The Committee appointed to examine and report on the Seedling Fruits exhibited,
presented the following

REPORT ON SEEDLING FRUITS.

The Hastings is a handsome red apple blotched with darker red spots or stripes,"and the
stem is set in a deep cavity. It is rather over the average size, white juicy flesh, a little over-ripe,
slightly aromatic flavour, would recommend it for future general cultivation. Its handsome
appearance and size and general good qualities, would make it a favourite market variety.
Gives a good crop every year.

Mr. A. M. Smith, of Drummondville, exhibited two Seedling Apples. No. 1, a dull
yellow, of unattractive appearance, and not up to many varieties now in cultivation, resem
bling in appearance the Mann apple, but quite unlike it in crispness and flavour. No. 2, fro i
the grounds of G. J. Burrows, a pleasant looking yellow apple with a bight red cheek, Lut
of no special qualification.

P.E . Bucke,
J. J. Bowman,
Geo. Anderson.

The following communication was received from B. Gott : —

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Fruit Growers' Association of Ontario : —

I regret very much that I shall not be able to be present at your Winter meeting held
in the City of Hamilton, on the 6th of February next ; but 1 should like to make a sug-
gestion or two that, if made practicable, might very muoh encourage and assist the fruit in-

24

terests of this country. A few days ago I received a copy of the report of the Western
New York Horticultural Society for the year 1876, and I must say there is much to be
learned from it. I was astonished at the amount of real serviceable work they are doing in
the matter of gathering up fruit statistics or the statements of the fruit products and fruit
values in the several counties over which they predominate. In these matters, we have been
very negligent, and the consequence is in these matters we are in total darkness, and much of
the legitimate stimulus and encouragement to a large and national fruit product is consequently
wtibheld from our people. I would therefore respectfully suggest that at the coming meeting
of the fruit men of this country, there be an earnest discussion as to the advisability and
practicability of gathering up the fruit statistics of this country, and the best method in
which it could be done. These statistics should, if possible, contain the number of acres in
orchard or gardeu culture, with the number of trees of apple, pear, plum and cherry, with the
amount in bushels annually produced, and the total values of each for the counties in which
they were produced. The number of square rods or acres of strawberries, raspberries, goose-
berries, and currants, with the amounts of the fruit of each in quarts, with their total approx-
imate value, and the area devoted to the culture of nursery stock also, arranged by the
counties in which they are produced and located. I intend to send a form and a sample
herewith. Allow me still further to suggest, that as we have not County Horticultural So-
cieties generally established, in my humble opinion the work could be best and most advan-
tageously done through the instrumentality of our Agricultural County Societies by means
of the influence of our Minister of Agriculture. This I consider practicable in two ways —
First by inculcating the matter upon the several County Agricultural Societies, and they by
Committees formed for the purpose ; or, second, by instructions and printed forms in the
hands of the several municipal assessors. This last I consider the most practicable and the
most thorough, and would, doubtless, be the most satisfactory. If it be impracticable to do
this work with respect to the several fruits it is our privilege to grow, I would still suggest
that at least it be done for apples, and that the work be done at least, twice every decade,

W. Brown Smith, of Syracuse, sent the following report. Below please find an esti-
mate of the various fruits grown in Onondaga, during the year 1876 ; also, their average
market values. Our pear crop has beeu unusally light ■ apples were abundant, but of very
inferior quality and low prices ; quinces, very light crop.

From Onondaga County.

275,000 bushels Apples, best, at 30 cents $82,500 00

550,000 " cider, at 15 eents 82,500 00

10,000 bushels Pears, at $2 20,000 00

6,000 bushels Plums, at $2 12,000 00

10,000 bushels Cherries, at $2 20,000 00

Quinces, small crop

300,000 lbs. Grapes, at 6 cents 18,000 00

1100,000 quarts Strawberries, at 6 cents 66,000 00

100,000 quarts Raspberries, at 8 cents 8.000 00

60,000 lbs. Currants, at 6 cents 3,600 00

16,000 quarts Gooseberries, at 6 cents 960 00

Blackberries, few.

Total $313,560 00

I am, Gentlemen,

Yours, very truly,

B. Gott.
Arkona Nurseries, Jan. 16, 1878.

SUMMER MEETING.

The Summer Meeting was held in the Council Chamber, City Hall, St. Catharines, on
Wednesday, July 10th, 1878.

President Burnet being in the chair, the Secretary read the minutes of last meeting,
which were approved.

The following questions were submitted for discussion :

Subjects for Discussion.

1. How far have the recent frosts injured the fruit crops throughout Ontario.

2. What are the prospects with regard to the crop of apples, pears, plums, peaches and
grapes ?

3. What new varieties of strawberries are promising well 1

4. What methods of cultivation aro best adapted for the successful growing of
small fruits 1

5. What varieties of Raspberries are succeeding well 1
6 Miscellaneous discussion.

7. Is the Robin beneficial or injurious to fruit-growers 1

The first question was then taken up and discussed at considerable length.

Chief Johnson, Tuscarora, remarked that his grapes were very badly hurt, that he would
not have half a dozen bunches.

Mr. Taylor, Hamilton — My grapes will be a medium crop ; further back from the lake,
near the mountain, they are injured more than mine, the water saved mine.

P. C. Dempsey, of Albury, said his crops of strawberries and grapes were badly damaged
by frosts, but his plums were most abundant. He said his Flemish Beauty pear had mil-
dewed badly, strawberry crop had turned out fair ; the apple crop was rather thin.

L. Woolverton, Grimsby, said apples and pears in his neighbourhood were not injured.
Peaches had suffered considerably. The cherry crop was almost a total failure. Currants are
abundant ; grapes have not been injured.

A. Morse, Smithville, said peaches had suffered considerably ; plums were much in-
jured ; pears half a crop; Glout Morceaux all killed; White Doyenne tolerably good; stood
frost well; Louise Bonne de Jersey half a crop; the Sheldons not hurt at all; Seckels were
good ; raspberries generally good, Red Antwerp especially being very good ; apples half
a crop.

W. Saunders, London, said the frosts of May 12th and 13th had been very destruc-
tive in his neighbourhood. Cherries are almost a total failure, except the Maydukes,
which gave a fair crop. The injury to apples was only sectional, but that to pears and
grapes was general. Crab apples suffered worse than any others. His grape vines looked
luxuriant in foliage, but little or no fruit. Apples had not suffered so much from codlin
moth as from drought.

W. H. Read, Port Dalhousie, said the frost had not done so much injury on his farm,
but the wet weather and damp, raw, east winds had caused much dropping of fruit. Grapes
were well advanced, and fair crops. The gooseberries had been nipped by frost, yet still
the crop was good and free from disease. Cherries a failure. Plums tolerably fair ; the
curculio, as usual, was on hand. Mr. Gribble, his neighbour, smoked them with coal tar,
which he claimed to be a perfect remedy. He set fire to the tar early in the morning and
produced a dense smoke through the foliage of the trees. This remedy, like others, re-
quired diligence and industry. He found the method of jarring the trees and catching
them in a sheet fairly successful. Pear crop a failure, owing to cold, damp weather, rather
than frost. The heavy rains had washed off the pollen so that the fruit could not be per-
fected. In dry weather the air is full of yellow particles, which some people called sul-
phur, but which in reality was pollen.

Chas. Arnold, of Paris, attributed the damage done to fruit mainly to frost. Early
blooming plums had been killed, but some where the fruit had set, escaped. Late varieties
had not suffered, Pear trees showed but few blossoms. Apples would be an immense
crop. There .was not a perfect raspberry in his section, especially Black Caps. Black

26

currants poor. Gooseberries free from mildew, moderate crop, with fewer insects. Late
cherries a failure.

Wm. Roy, Owen Sound — Strawberry crop bad; about one-fourth crop of plums;
apples materially injured either by rains or frost, or both — an average crop. No injury
to pears, grapes or peaches.

W. McK. Ross, Chatham, spoke of ravages to strawberries and English cherries, but
the common red cherry good. Peaches particularly good ; also a good yield of pears.
Apples good around Lake Erie. Grapes failed.

Jonas Neff, Port Col borne — Pears promised well before the frost. In less than three
weeks not a pear was left except here and there one on the Flemish Beauty. Apples a
failure. No plums or peaches of any account. An abundance of gooseberries and currants.
Took only six quarts of strawberries off a quarter acre patch. They were of the New
Dominion variety. Cherries a failure. Grapes were frozen to last year's wood. A plum
tree which had been smoked with coal tar and sulphur, was loaded with fruit, while other
trees in the same garden failed to perfect an}^ fruit.

The President introduced Mr. Werden, a vetern fruit grower, who made some
general observations on fruit culture. He recommended Lee's prolific black currants.
He found no advantage in binding his plum trees with bandages smeared with coal tar ;
he had not tried smoking the trees.

Joseph Laing, of St. Thomas, corroborated generally the statements of previous
speakers in reference to damage by frosts. A friend of his had used with complete success
for three years, smoking pans with coal tar, in destroying curculio.

Geo. Leslie, of Toronto, gave an equally discouraging account of fruit prospects. In
pears, Flemish Beauty had fared the best.

A. M. Smith, of Drummondville, said every discription of fruit had suffered with him,
and none would average more than half a crop.

J. Honsberger, of Jordan, reported apples, especially Northern Spy, a good yield.
Peaches not more than half a crop. Crawford's and Foster's most injured by frost. The
early Beatrice well loaded.

Col. Magill, Oshawa — Pear crop a failure; plums only one-third of a crop. Grapes
good ; apples half a crop.

Gage J. Miller, Niagara — Grapes completely cut down, after making six inches of
wood ; had fruited since from second wood ; apples had escaped pretty well, but
would not have more than half a crop. Pears injured, but promised fairly. Had a pear
tree 100 years old, which he had grafted. Near the ground, owing to shelter of foliage
above, they had escaped well, while his younger trees would not yield much. His plum
trees never showed better ; had not seen a curculio on his trees this year. He used last
year the sheet and mallet. Had never smoked them. Peaches, light crop , currants
good.

Messrs. Leslie, Werden, Roy and Dempsey, were appointed a committee to report on
seedling fruit on exhibition.

The second question having been fully answered by the discussion on the First, the
meeting proceeded to the consideration of the Third question.

What New Varieties of Strawberries are Promising Well 1

Mr. Biggar, of Drummondville, said the Great American promised well. He said the
New Dominion was an excellent berry.

J. Laing, St. Thomas, says that the Monarch of the West is doing well.

Mr. Taylor cultivated only the Wilson.

A. Morse had some new varieties, but not sufficiently tested to report.

A. M. Smith, Drummondville, had several new varieties, one known as Arnold's 40
promised well. Among the most promising he had fruited was one from Ohio, known as
the Cumberland Triumph. It yielded better than the Wilson. Had fruited some plants
of the Great American. It was a fair variety, large size, and a little later than the Wil-
son. The Monarch of the West had good qualities, but was a little soft and did not
ripen evenly. The Stirling bore sparingly this year, but was of fine flavour. The Late

27

Cone was of fine flavour, but not very productive. The Dominion did not do very well
with him.

E. Morden, of Drummondville, said there was a new variety known as Long John.
It seemed wonderfully productive. He could not speak as to its quality. Boyden's 30
he recommended for home use, but not good on sandy soil. On rich, loamy soil, it might
be profitable for market.

Dr. Watt, of Niagara, could not recommend Boyden's 30. He did not care much
for Wilson's Albany, which was beaten by several other well-known varieties. Captain
Jack was a nice fruit, but fruited too near the ground. He liked the Col. Cheney. The
Late Kentucky was so delicate that it would hardly bear handling.

Jonas NefF, Port Colborne, cultivated only the Dominion, which did well with him.

Col. Magill, Oshawa, recommended Arnold's No. 1. The New Dominion has not
done as well with me as I expected.

Mr. Stewart, Virgil. — His favourites were the Duchess and Crescent Seedling. The
first was medium sized, quality good, and produced almost equal to the Wilson. The
Crescent Seedling was very productive, fair size, and good quality. He also recommended
Green Prolific, and Col. Cheney, the latter as productive as the Wilson, but fruit not al-
ways perfect. The Capt. Jack was of small size, very productive, and of good quality.
The Great American, he thought, would fail, the plant being weak and sickly. He could
get no runners from it. Green Prolific had done well with him. He thought the Cres-
cent Seedling the most promising he had tested.

Mr. Gilchrist, of Guelph, said Arnold's No. 7 did not do well with him. The New
Dominion sold well on account of its looks, but was too soft to ship. Col. Cheney has
done well.

Allen Moyer, of Jordan Station, did not think much of the Monarch. The Monarch
was soft, and by no means prolific.

Mr. Honsberger, Jordan, was cultivating about a dozen varieties. He had shipped New
Dominion to Montreal and Ottawa ; had no complaints of it. This year the berries were
small, due probably to rust. He preferred the Wilson and the Dominion. He grew
berries for profit and not for pleasure only.

A. M. Smith, Drummondville, had sent a few of the New Dominion to Hamilton,
and a few to Toronto ; for these he got 15 cents per quart, while the Wilson only brought
10 cents.

The Fourth Question. — What Methods of Cultivation aee best Adapted for
the Successful Growing of Small Fruits 1

Linus Woolverton, Grimbsy, spoke of blackberries and currants. He found it best
to cut blackberry bushes at this season of the year to about 4 feet, which made the fruit
larger in size and better in quality. He believed in high cultivation for the currant, and
plenty of manure.

Mr. Stewart, Virgil, near Niagara, thought it well to keep the ground stirred for
small fruits, and plenty of fertilizers. He also believed in cutting back.

A. Morse, Smithville, did not believe in too much fertilization. It gave too much
growth to the wood and too little fruit. In strawberries the runners should be kept cut,
unless where it was intended to propagate. He planted 18 inches apart both ways. He
tried mulching with spent hops on his vines and came near destroying them.

0. Arnold, Paris, had an idea of water and straw as his fertilizer for strawberries.
He tried strong manure, which killed them. On a poor soil he had a fair crop. For
raspberries, loose soil, tan bark and water. Salt improved his raspberries, but killed his
strawberries. His blackberries were always winter killed. Gooseberries require a rich
soil.

Geo. Leslie, Toronto, said after a raspberry patch had fruited four or five years it
paid to dig up the vines and plant them afresh. He found advantage in mulching. Ground
could not be made too rich.

[The President, Mr. Burnett, had to leave by train at this time, and Mr. Roy, of
Owen Sound, took his place.]

28

Geo. Leslie believed in the Whitesmith gooseberry, which was advantaged by being
well watered and the ground enriched.

A. M. Smith, Drummondville, said he removed the old canes as soon as the fruit was
gathered so as to give air and light to the young canes. He cultivated strawberries on a
sandy soil. He did not approve of too much water in their culture. It tended to soiten
the berries, which would not bear shipment. His experience on sandy soil was against
the use of rotten stable manure the same year as plants were put out. The land should
be prepared the previous year. He believed in keeping the strawberry patch clear of
weeds. He ploughed deep for small fruits. He found staking raspberries necessary,
especially Black Caps.

W. Saunders, London, would renew plantations of raspberries as well as of straw-
berries, and would mulch them liberally. He would manure strawberries heavily. The
English gooseberries are very subject to mildew ; it was a fungus which attacked both
fruit and leaves. A grower in London cultivates the Whitesmith, and uses water freely,
those abundantly watered were free from mildew.

E. Morden, Drummondville, thins out the new canes of raspberry also, when too
numerous. He grows strawberries for market ; had too much water on his strawberries
this year ; during the picking season it spoiled the fruit. Eaw manure on strawberries
on sandy land kills the plants; would plow deep for all small fruits. Grow only the
Houghton Seedling gooseberry ; they are very fine.

Dr. Watt, Niagara, said coal ashes mixed with night soil and sulphuric acid made a
good fertilizer for strawberries. He don't believe in spading raspberries ; would give only
surface cultivation. He plants red raspberries five feet apart each way, and leaves a road-
way every five or six rows, and gives them a heavy dressing of salt. Would cut down
every second plant and grow only new canes on that stool for next year's fruit, thus alter-
nating each year so as not to grow canes for next year, and fruit the same season from the
same plant. It is not possible to manure too much on the surface.

W. McK. Ross, Chatham. — Currants should be highly manured.

P. C. Dempsey, Albury, would cultivate strawberries thoroughly, stopping the culti-
vation only during the picking season. Barn-yard manure affords a refuge for insects ;
think water enough without manure ; would use superphosphates.

Col. John McGill, Oshawa, advocated plenty of manure, mulching with short straw,
frequent stirring of the soil and a plentiful supply of water, leaving three to four canes in
a hill.

FIFTH QUESTION — WHAT VARIETIES OF RASPBERRIES ARE SUCCEEDING WELL.

Chief Johnson, Tuscarora. — I have grown the Mammoth Cluster, but the fruit is
not equal to that on exhibition to-day. The Philadelphia gives me the best satisfaction
of any, as yet. I have had it some six years, it is excellent for canning. The Clarke
and Brandywine grow vigorous and give good fruit.

Mr. Honsberger, Jordan. — For Black Caps I grew the Davison's Thornless and
Mammoth Cluster. Davison's Thornless is not good for shipping, and the plant is not
hardy. I value the Highland Hardy on account of its earliness, though the fruit is only
of medium size. The Clarke comes next j it is very productive ; berries large, bright
red. The Philadelphia is so dark in colour that it does not sell as well as the Clarke, and
is a softer berry. I cannot recommend the Brandywine, it is not prolific. The Herstine
is a fine large berry, but not as prolific as some others. I prefer Highland Hardy and
Clarke.

A. M. Smith, Drummondville, said : — I cannot get on without Davison's Thornless,
it is a week earlier than the other Black Caps, and hardy enough with me. The Highland
Hardy is a valuable berry, coming in before the strawberries are gone, and harvested by
the time other sorts are ripe. Am pleased with the Clarke for a home market, it is hardy,
and, though not as prolific a bearer as the Philadelphia, sells better on account of its
brighter colour. The Philadelphia is the most prolific of all ; the Herstine is soft j the
Brandywine suckers badly, yet it is a good shipper, though not as heavy a cropper as
some : the Franconia is too tender.

29

E. B. Werden, St. Catharines. — The Fastolff is an excellent bearer, and sells best in
a near market ; the Clarke comes next, though I do not like it as well as I do the Fran-
conia. The soil should be stirred frequently and not very deep.

W H. Reed, Port Dalhousie. — I find the Black Caps subject to borers and tree crickets.
Read's Hybrid is a fine near market sort ; it will command two cents per quart more than
any other in this market ; it is hardy and productive.

Chas. Arnold, Paris.— We do not seem to have made any progress in the quality of
our raspberries during the past twenty years, but we have raised some that are more
hardy, and therefore better suited to our climate. I am not fond of the Black Caps. It
does not pay to grow raspberries for market in Paris. Brinckle's Orange is too tender ;
the Diadem is good in quality and hardy ; the Clarke is good. The best shipping rasp-
berry is my Number Seven, it is large. The Saunders' raspberry has given very poor
satisfaction ; the Philadelphia gives large crops. In point of flavour, the Diadem is one
of the best.

P. C. Dempsey, Albury. — The Black Caps succeed well with us, and are more profit-
able than the red. Some are partial to the Doolittle. The Philadelphia is the most pro-
ductive of all the raspberries.

Col. John McGill, Oshawa. — The Philadelphia is the most prolific of the red varie-
ties, and most profitable by two to one.

E. Morden, Drummondville. — The Philadelphia is in raspberries what the Wilson is
among strawberries.

The Committee appointed to examine the fruits on exhibition, brought in the follow-
ing report : —

REPORT OF FRUIT COMMITTEE.

St. Catharines, July 10th, 1878.

Your Committee beg to report that they find fruit exhibited as follows : —

Geo. Leslie and Son, Toronto Nurseries, show Franconia, Brinckle's Orange and
Kirtland raspberries ; Golden Lion, Sulphur Yellow and Downing gooseberries ; and Na-
poleon Bigarreau cherries.

Mr. Chas. Scott, Melville Mills, shows a seedling gooseberry of good size, resembling
the Whitesmith, of considerable promise. Mr. Scott states that the bush is hardy, pro-
ductive and has been free from mildew for ten years.

Mr. W. H. Read, of Port Dalhousie, shows Brinckle's Orange and a Red Hybrid
raspberry ;• and twenty varieties of seedling gooseberries, mostly of the English type, all
of which, Mr. Read states, have proved with him perfectly free from mildew on a sandy-
loam soil. One of these varieties, of large size, he names the " Gem," and another the
" Gibraltar," also the Golden Ball, " Hiawatha" and Minnehaha, all extra fine berries, of
largest size. As none of the berries are ripe, we can say nothing of quality, but look upon
these berries as an advance in the growing of this fine fruit, and very encouraging to the
production of new varieties and the more extended cultivation of this fruit ; he also
shows two kinds of gooseberries, with a large strain of native blood, and they
are fully double the size of the Downing, of much the same colour, and extremely produc-
tive. This we can say, as the berries are shown upon the branch. We think they would
prove very valuable for general cultivation.

Mr. A. M. Smith, Grimsby, shows two kinds of seedling Black Cap raspberries, also
Mammoth Cluster, Ganargua and Golden Thornless Cap raspberries. As for the seedlings,
we notice no distinguishing characteristics. Mr. Smith also shows an interesting collec-
tion of seven varieties of raspberries, as follows : — Brandy wine, Naomi, Clarke, Herstine,
Highland Hardy, Philadelphia, Diadem.

Mr. Moyer, of Jordan Station, places on exhibition the following established varie-
ties, all of very creditable production, viz.: — Red Victoria and Red Cherry currants;
Amazon, Highland Hardy, Philadelphia and Clarke raspberries ; Mammoth Cluster and
Doolittle raspberries ; and Black Naples currants, this latter of great excellence.

W. H. Read shows a remarkably large cane of blackberry, a Hybrid, between the
Lawton and the Boston High Bush, larger and more prolific that either parent.

30

While the exhibition of fruits is excellent so far as it goes, your Committee cannot re-
frain expressing their regret that the quantity shown is so small, there being only four ex-
hibitors at this meeting, which is held right in the heart of the leading fruit-growing sec-
tion of Canada.

Geo. Leslie, Jr.,
P. C. Dempsey,
Wm. Roy,
R. P. Werden.

The meeting then adjourned, to meet at Sarnia, in September.

AUTUMN MEETING.

This meeting was held in the Town Hall, Sarnia, on Wednesday, the 11th day of
September, 1878.

The President being absent, Mr. Chas. Arnold was chosen Chairman of the meeting.
The minutes of the summer meeting were read and approved. Messrs. Ebenezer Watson,
George Mill, and Townsend G. Vidal, were appointed a Committee to examine the seedling
fruits exhibited ; and Messrs. Joshua Adams, Hugh Smith, and Charles Duncan, a Com-
mittee to prepare a list of subjects for discussion.

While the Committee was engaged in the consideration of desirable topics for the meet-
ing to discuss, it was suggested that the subject of pear culture and pear blight be taken up.

Mr. Mowbray had not seen pear blight, but was troubled with the frost. Soil, heavy
clay ; some sorts winter killed. The Flemish Beauty is the most hardy.

E. Watson succeeded in getting some fine pears, but his trees had always, sooner or
later, been destroyed by blight. The frost this season has injured the fruit crop on farms
away from the lake shore, but near the water the crop is good. My soil is a clay, so also is
Mi. Mowbray's. My farm is not near the water, not as near as his. The land is well
drained.

James Watson — The pear blight had not injured my trees much until lately. My soil
is clay, and situate on the banks of a creek. The Flemish Beauty has not suffered in any
way, in the Township of Moore. I have applied a mixture of clay, lime, and sulphur, wrap-
ped around the trunk of the tree, over the spots affected with blight. The Bartlett is too
tender, the Beurre d'Anjou has stood the winter. The Baldwin and Rhode Island Greening
Apple trees have suffered from the cold. The Doyenne d'Ete and Beurre Clairgeau Pears stood
well. The Doyenne d'Ete ripened in the end of July. Clapp's Favourite does well, is hardy
and good.

Wm. Saunders asked about Eliot's Early Pear, but none present were acquainted
with it.

Charles Duncan, Moore Township — The Flemish Beauty and Clapp's Favourite promise
to be hardy, and suited to this locality. There has not been any blight on them in my
grounds. Have found leached ashes very beneficial to trees. The frost has injured the fruit
this year.

Thomas Watson, Sarnia — I find that the Flemish Beauty. Clapp's Favourite, and all
other sorts of pears lose their leaves, and spot and curl up. Soil, sandy loam.

Joseph Watson hoes and digs around his pear trees, and believes it to be very benefi-
cial to them.

Joshua Payne neither digs nor ploughs around his pear trees. The Flemish Beauty
does well, some of the trees, however, blight. His soil is clay. He sometimes spreads a
little manure on the ground around his trees. The Bartlett does well, and the Seckel,
Clapp's Favourite, and Beurre Clairgeau. Thinks they do best without cultivation, and
that the manure serves as a mulch, and keeps the ground from cracking in a drouth.

Thomas Watson — I put sawdust and chips around my trees, and I find they are infested
with the borer. Is this mulch the cause 1

Wm. Saunders, London — No, the sawdust, chips, &c, are not the cause of the presence
of the borer, it was only a coincidence. Ashes are a good fertilizer for fruit trees, and will

31

prevent the borer from attacking them if applied to the trees. Soap or any alkaline wash,
as a solution of potash, will prevent the beetles from laying their eggs, and will kill them if
laid, though it will not kill the grubs if they have bored into the wood of the tree.

E, Watson — I never mulched my trees with chips or sawdust, but I have had plenty of
borers. I think a thin coating of pine tar useful in keeping out the borer.

James Dougall, Windsor — I understand that inquiry has been made concerning
Eliot's Early Pear, and may say that last year all my trees of this variety blighted, and
this year they have not produced any fruit. It is a larger pear and ripens a week earlier
than the Doyenne d' Ete ; it is also a strong grower, very hardy, and of superior
quality.

The committee on subjects for discussion submitted their report, which was received
and adopted, and the meeting proceeded to the consideration of the first question,
namely :

What varieties of fruit are successfully cultivated in the district along the shore of
Lake Huron, and the river St. Clair, and how far has the fruit crop in that district been
injured by the spring frosts this year 1

Thomas C. Wheatley, Sarnia, on the lake shore, said that he cultivates only apples
and peaches. He grows the Early Harvest Apple and the Red Astracan. The Early
Harvest is subject to spot badly, the Red Astracan is the most profitable. The Porter
yields well, does not spot, but is not so marketable as the red apples. I want a red apple
to come in just after the Red Astracan, and have just planted the Benoni, in the hope
that it will supply the deficiency. The Rhode Island Greening fruits abundantly, has a
very good reputation and is much inquired for. The Baldwin is not as even in size as
the Greening, but it keeps until May. The Cayuga Red Streak bears young and heavily,
but the fruit is too large. The Spitzenburg spots and cracks badly on very sandy soil.
The Peewaukee has just fruited with me.

Of peaches I have planted the Early Crawford largely, but do not find it to be a good
bearer, it never yields more than a quarter crop. Hale's Early did not rot at first, but as the
trees grew older the fruit rotted badly. The Crawford's Late generally ripens with me,
but it is not much more prolific than the Early Crawford. The Serrate Early York does well
with me, and am pleased with the Amsden. The Large Early York is unproductive.
Old Mixon succeeds well, it is large, attractive and profitable.

The frost did little injury to the large fruits, but it hurt the strawberries. Rasp-
berries were a fine crop. Peaches were not hurt by the frost last May, though we had
from two to five degrees of frost.

D. Nesbit, Plympton — With me the peaches usually winter kill. I am five miles from
the lake shore. I notice that the seedling peaches were not injured by the frost last May,
but it killed all the grape vines. My Oswego Beurre pear has a fine crop, but the other
pear trees have no fruit. My soil is clay mixed with gravel.

James Watson — My soil is stiff clay, and my peach trees are killed out, they will not
stand the winter.

James Johnson, Bosanquet — 1 grow chiefly apples and peaches, on the lake shore.
Apples do well, we do not have any summer frosts to hurt anything. I have the Early
Harvest, Sweet Bough, Red Astracan, Fall Pippin, St. Lawrence, Autumn Strawberry,
and Dutchess of Oldenburg. I have a good crop this year, but back from the lake the
frost of last May injured the crop very much. In the winters of 72, '73, 74 and 75 the
Hale's Early Peach and the Early Crawford were seriously hurt. The Old Mixon being
more hardy was not hurt. We are not subject to summer frosts within a mile of the lake.
I lost a few pear trees last year with blight, this spring I whitewashed tru trunks with
lime, and so far this season have not had any blight. The Baldwin Apple bears well,
also the Rhode Island Greening. The Spitzenberg bears well, but is a shorter lived tree
than the others. 1 have a tree called the Winesap that will yield thirty bushels this
year ; the tree is thirty years old. The Concord, Isabella, Salem, and Adirondac grapes
ripen well. Plums do well, and good crops can be secured by jarring the trees and
catching the curculio.

John Carr, Sarnia township — In our section peach trees can not be grown well, they
winter kill. My land is sheltered on three sides by bush, shall have a good crop of apples

32

this year. Pear trees and cherry trees do well. Plums do not fruit well, the fruit rota
badly.

James Dougall, Windsor, advised that the rotting plums be carefully gathered and
taken away, for the rot spreads if they are allowed to remain.

T. D. Watson, Sarnia Township — With us peach trees all die down to the ground.
Neither the English cherry trees nor the Maydukes will bear any fruit, they do not blos-
som, the trees grow well. Seedling peaches grow and bear fruit. The fruit in my section
was killed this year by a late spring frost. Close to the lake and river they escape these
late frosts.

Jarnes Watson — The Cherry does not thrive on the clay soil with us, but on the
sandy soil it does well, but on the clay even the Mayduke and Kentish will not thrive.

Chas. Duncan, Moore. — Cherry trees gum and die on clay soil. Summer frosts
usually injure all of our fruit crops, we are very subject to summer frosts. The apples
all fell off after the late frost this year.

Hugh Smith, Sarnia — The Kentish cherry is usually grown from suckers. It is a red
cherry, the tree is hardy and productive.

Thomas D. Watson, Sarnia Township — I cannot grow any quinces, I have tried
manuring them with salt, ashes. &c, &c, but cannot get any fruit.

BORER IN THE PEACH.

The meeting proceeded to discuss the question to what extent the Peach trees have
been injured by the borer or other insects affecting the root or the collar of the trees.

James Dougall, Windsor, said he was not troubled with the borer.

T. C. Wheatley had seen a few, but had not been much troubled by them.

D. Nesbit had no borer.

James Watson had no peach trees and therefore no borer.

W. McKenzie Ross, Chatham, had plenty of borers, had taken forty-seven out of one
tree. He had also found a snapping beetle about half an inch long laying its eggs in the
crevices of the bark of peach trees at the collar.

W. Saunders, London — The larva of the click beetles, do not bore into trees, but in
the beetle state they are fond of the gum of fruit trees and come to eat the gum. There
is also often found in the gum exuding from our fruit trees many hundreds or it may be
thousands of the larva of a small fly, these also feed on the gum but do not harm the
tree. The peach-tree borer is the larva of a moth, one of the Sphingidse, it is a dark
blue moth of a wasp-like form, the male has all the wings transparent, but bordered and
veined with steel-blue, the female has the fore wings opaque blue, and the hind wings
only transparent and bordered with blue like the wings of the male, and the middle of the
abdomen encircled by a broad orange-coloured belt.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Hon. A. Vidal asked whether there was any ground for the statement he had frequently
heard, but which he did not credit, that driving nails into peach trees would keep off the
borer. Mr. Saunders replied that it did no good whatever.

T. 0. Watson asked whether boring a hole into plum trees, filling with sulphur, and
then plugging, had any effect in killing off the curculio 1 James Dougall replied, no, none
at all.

Hon. A. Vidal said that he had applied boiling water to the collar of a peach tree in-
fested with the borer, and it seemed to kill them.

John Bartlett, Warwick, inquired about the Utah Hybrid Cherry, which was being sold
by the pedlars through the country. James Dougall, Windsor, replied that it is not a cherry
at all, it is more nearly allied to the plum. The tree is only a small bush, and the fruit is
worthless.

REMEDIES FOR THE CURCULIO.

Chas. Arnold, Paris, the best way is to Jar the tree, catch the bug, and pinch his
head off.

33

James Dougall, Windsor, I find that a hen and chickens cooped under the tree devour
a great many curculios, and secure me a crop of plums.

Hon. A Vidal, Sarnia, said that Mr. Baubee made a hen yard around his plum trees,
and had no more trouble with the curculio.

James Lambert, Sarnia, tried the jarring plan with three trees, and these are breaking
down with fruit.

Townsend Gr. Vidal, Sarnia, tried a coating of mortar under one tree out of nine with good
results. Also recommends burning raw petroleum under the trees.

D. Nesbit thought the coal smoke from a forge had saved his plums.

T. C. Wheatley — Can Paris-green be of any use ? Can they feed on plum leaves ?

Mr. Saunders — No, it is of no use, chickens are useful in picking up the curculio as
far as they are able ; but a plum orchard of four hundred trees is too much for the chickens.
The jarring method is the best, it is easier done than smoking with petroleum, and more
pleasant. Have tried smoking alternate rows in my plum orchard, and had fruit on those
trees which were smoked, but prefer the jarring. I begin to jar early, before the blossoms
fall, keep up the jarring every day for a week, then every other day for the next week, then
two or three times a week. It is necessary to use a buffer and a mallet to prevent bruis-
ing the trees, or else saw off a limb, leaving a stub, and strike upon the stub, or else strike
upon an iron spike driven into the trunk of the tree.

Hon. A. Vidal tried putting a shouldered piece of wood into a hole in the trunk of the
tree, and striking upon that, and found it better than mallet and buffer, the buffer deadened
the blow. In order to be most effective, the blow needs to be sharp.

James Dougall said that one of his neighbours had tried smoking and failed to keep
off the curculio.

W. Saunders caught a number of curculios and put them in a box with a glass top,
and on looking at them in the night by lamp-light, found them flying about, and there-
fore concludes that they fly at night as well as during the day.

Joshua Adams asked if they were local. There were none, he believed, at Mitchell,
Owen Sound, and many other places.

James Dougall replied that to some extent they were local.

W, Saunders said it is local as much as the potato-bug is local, but extends its limits.
A few years ago there were no curculios at Goderich, now they are there in full force, and
plum growers were discouraged. It is not yet at Owen Sound, but will be bye and bye.
Our Secretary remembers when there were none in the Niagara Distict. I can remember
when it was not known about London. The rot in the plum is caused by a fungus ; wet
and warm weather favour the spread of this fungus.

James Dougall — I advise the careful picking off of all rotten plums. In older times
we had no curculio, then one could raise not only plums, but plenty of apricots and
nectarines.

T. C. Wheatley— We are now troubled with curculio in our peaches, and they are
increasing. We must jar to save our peaches.

Hugh Smith, Sarnia, explained to the meeting his plan of changing dwarf trees to
Standards by inserting the top of a seedling under the bark of the tree and planting the
seedling root in the soil.

TREES BEST ADAPTED FOR HEDGES AND SHELTER

Chas. Arnold preferred the Norway Spruce.

D. W. Beadle said that the Norway Spruce, if planted out when it was from one to
two feet high, was the most economical tree to plant for shelter.

W. Saunders desired to called attention to what Mr. Beadle had just said. My
neighbour, in his anxiety to have a shelter belt immediately, planted out some fine Nor-
way Spruce, fully four feet high ; those that I planted were not over eighteen inches
high. Now mine are from ten to twelve feet high, and his are not much higher than
when he planted them.

W. McKenzie Ross named also the Arbor-vitse, Scotch Pine and Austrian Pine.

James Dougall said that the Norway Spruce was the fastest grower, adapted to all
soils, and the best tree to plant for shelter, as it retained its branches quite to the ground
3

34

while the Balsam, Spruce and Pine get bare. Those Norways transplanted from sandy
soil should not be over eighteen inches high, if taken from clay soil they may be larger.
It is a wise plan to plant the shelter from six to ten years before the orchard is planted.

W. Saunders remarked that he planted his young evergreens eighteen inches high at
the same time that he planted his orchard and now they are ag high as any of the orchard
trees.

T. C. Wheatley said the yellow willow grows very rapidly and makes a good shelter.
The trees planted for shelter help to retain the snow which he thought important.

SCRAPING FRUIT TREES.

James Dougall, thought the scraping injurious to the trunks of the trees, but that an
alkaline wash would keep them smooth and was beneficial. Soap is better than lime for
this purpose. It can be rubbed on with a coarse cloth.

T. C. Wheatley — Healthy trees will not need scraping, the rough back will drop off
Moss on the trees is caused by bad drainage.

W. Saunders, scraping off the rough bark will kill the insects that take shelter under it,
such as the codlin-moth, and will not hurt the tree.

The Committee on seedling fruits presented the following

REPORT.

The Committee appointed to examine Seedling fruits beg leave to report as follows :

1. Seedling Summer Apple sent by Seth C. Wilson, of Whitby, is now rather out of
season — size medium, flavour, good. We think this apple quite equal to the Early Har-
vest, and for the table superior.

2. Russet, No. 7, belonging to the same — nothing special in its favour.

o «( ci c< a a <« a

4. Mr. Wilson also sends 4 varieties of seedling crab, the best of which is No. 4.,
though we do not consider it equal to several of the present known varieties.

5. Seedling from Northern Spy, crossed with pollen of Spitzenberg and Wagner, from
Charles Arnold, Esq., of Paris. Apple good, but not specially commended.

6. Mr. Lambert's seedling — medium size, very handsome — but not otherwise to be com-
mended.

7. T. C. Wheatley — Handsome winter apple — size, medium, very late and conse-
quently harsh at present — said to keep till April, and supposed to be a good apple after it is
matured.

8. Russet seedling — no special merit.

9. Major Anderson's Yellow fall — fair size — flavour good — commended.

10. Stead's seedling — Handsome red apple — now quite ripe — rather small— good table
apple — com mended.

11. Autumn apple — middling.

12. Shaw seedling — Like the Porter in appearance and size, but quality greatly
inferior.

13. Red seedling — handsome, good size, but flavour very poor.

14. Mrs. Galloway's seedling — rather small — quality fair.

15. Sweet crab — shown by Samuel Carr — not commended.

16. Small crab, marked 264 — not commended.

17. Fine, large and handsome crab, marked 260 — raised by T. G. Vidal, of Saruia
highly commended.

Respectfully submitted,

Ebenezer Watson,
Townsend G. Vidal,
George Mill,
William Carrick.

35

REPORTS OF TREES AND PLANTS RECEIVED FROM THE ASSOCIATION.

Report from A. Ramsay, Brantford.

I have been a member for five years, and this is my first Report. The Beurre D'Anjou
is growing well but has not fruited yet.

The Othello Grape grew well, and fruited two years, but the vine was too tender ; it
froze back to the ground twice, the second and fourth years, and I then dug it up.

The Grimes' Golden Pippin did not grow.

The Swayzie Pomme Grise would have done well, but I had not a proper place to set
it out, so the sheep destroyed it the second year.

The raspberries which I received last spring started nicely, but a black grub gnawed
off the new shoot, which was near the ground. The strawberries threw out a few runners.

The Downing Gooseberry has made a good growth, and is free from mildew ; it
fruited last year, and about half of the berries died when nearly full grown, from the
effects of insects.

The Clapp's F. Pear is making a good growth ; no fruit yet

The Flemish Beauty Pear Tree is doing well. I might say that I have 73 Flemish
Beauty Pear Trees, planted at the same time, and they have all made fine growth, but four of
them blighted last year. I have also 30 Clapp's Favourites, and none of them blighted
last year, but two years ago one died from it. I have 217 pear trees in all. The blight was
worse here last year than I have ever known it : it was worse on the old trees than it was
on the young.

The Glass Seedling Plum is doing well. I have some trees of them that have been
transplanted three years, and they have made vigorous growth and had fruit on last year,
which has good keeping qualities, and the trees are free from black-knot, while the Lom-
bard alongside of it was affected.

The Salem Grape is a vigorous grower and very hardy, as it has stood the winter for
five years with me without protection, and the grapes are my favourites.

Report from Wm. J. Mansell, Toronto.

The Glass Plum has grown into a beautiful tree, eight or nineffeet high ; it has not
fruited yet, I expect it will in the coming year. The Diadem Raspberry has made a strong
growth and bore a good crop of fruit, and the seedling strawberries received from Mr.
Arnold proved very productive, the two original plants bearing over one hundred and
fifty berries at one time. The Burnet Grape, received in the spring of the present year,
has grown into a nice vine, with well ripened wood, and will, I doubt not, fruit in 1879.

Report from Adrian H. Abbott, Warwick.

The Salem Grape grew well the first summer, but the frost killed the new growth j
the second year it started again from the root, but the frost killed it as before. Dc»wning's
Gooseberry was dead when I got it. By some means or other I got no pear. The rasp-
berry died, the strawberries are doing well. The Glass Plum is making vigorous growth;
it is a fine large tree, it blossomed last year, but did not have any fruit. My land is a
sandy loam.

Report from John Mclntyre, Appin.

All the trees, &c, that I got from the Association have done well except the Beurre
Clairgeau Pear, and it is sprouting out from the roots again. I never had any luck with
vines. The Burnet vine was growing nicely until the frost in May last year nipped it.
You will please send on the Report for 1878 as soon as printed.

Report from A. Milne, Lang ford.

Having been admitted a member of the Association in 1874, I received a Salem Grape
and Downing Gooseberry, which reached me in good order. I immediately planted them,

36

and that Downing Gooseberry turns off good crops of the Honghton seedling species of no

g'ea Thorpe commenced to leaf in June, and grew with vigour till October, when it was
checked by an early frost. I covered it up and over with straw to protect it from the chilly
blasts of winter ; next spring all the top was dead, which I out off, and during the summer
o 875 two shoots started, but did not grow ten inches in length. I cut them back, and in
1876 two shoots grew three and four feet respectively ; cut them back, and 18/7 havegrown
about ten feet Ion- I have cut them back and covered them over with straw as usual and
eS t o gt some fruit this season, 1878. The soil is clay loam and perfectly drained
Other grat.es grow luxuriously without even the protection of the s raw in winter. On that
account I think the Salem too tender for our section, but I shall still persevere m the hopes
that 1 can send in a good report of its merits.

The Swayzie Pomme Grise Apple, received 1875, was all but dead on receipt, any vitality
that was in it vamoused perceptibly every day till it was as dead as a .dooMja.1.

The Flemish Beauty Pear took rather poorly in its new quarters in 18 i 5 and 1876, but

k ^lI^S^ and settled down to business

at °DT^a HVb™d Se'r/onVngrows rather slender, but in another season will be able
to better judge of its merits.

Report from A. Bridge, Esq., P.M., West Brook, County Frontenuc, near Kingston.

I received the Grape Vino in the spring in good order ; it has made a good growth this
Vear grew about 8 or 9 feet ; I cut it back to three buds this fall, and covered it up for
winter I killed the Glass Seedling Plum tree last winter by covering it with a barrel; it
Tver leafed out in the spring ; it sprouted again a few inches from the ground I ^living
fo hope* of getting a tree from it yet. The two pear trees, Clapp's Favourite, and Flemish

Bea7heartewSor0aSeStrees, Grime's Golden Pippin and Swayzie Pomme Grise are also doing
well Only one of the strawberries received last year grew I put out abed of seventy
Plants from that one, the 1st of September this year; the fall here has been very wet and
larm anTthe plant have made a remarkable growth. I expect they will all bear fruit next
Tar The raspberry received in '77 is a fine bush ; it has quite a number ot branches from
four to five feet high I am expecting a large show of fruit on this bush next season. I
laid it down this fall.

Report of W. Moss, Owen Sound.

The tree of Glass Seedling Tlum arrived in very bad order, being barked and split in
several places, but has made splendid growth this year, growing over seven feet The Flemish
Beautv Pear has gone wild with growth, being four times the size of the Swayzie Pomme Gr.se;
but no keeping it in shape. The Burnet Grape is doing well with me making a growth
of over seven feet, after bad luck in the spring, the buds being rubbed off twice.

Report from Andrew Dickson, Gait.

The Grape Vine for 1878 which I received, is growing nicely, and I am well pleased with it

Report from Jonas Neff, Port Colborne.

The Goodale Pear is a fine grower ; it has the finest shaped top of all the pears in my
warden No sign of blight. Glass Seedling Plum continues its healthy growth. No ap-
g , w „f bkek-koot Burnet Grape appears to be quite at home, it male a growth of
o'v^rXeeLt My fruit crop this season was a tot J failure, except that the Baldwin was

811 "1 ce'rSiuedy to destroy ant nests, if any. of our members are troubled with
these pests let them cover them four or five iaches d.ep with drift sand and wa'.oh the result.

37

Report from Sandford White.

1873. Clapp's Favourite Pear and Grimes' Pippin are growing well, but have borne no
fruit yet.

1874. The Downing Gooseberry and Salem Grape have borne fruit for two years. The
gooseberries are of good size and free from mildew. A worm injured the berries some by
eating into them before they were ripe. I gathered from the vine about two quarts of grapes
last fall, of good size and quality.

1876. The packages of Glass Seedling Plums sent to my care arrived in good order,
and nearly all grew. I put a graft of that plum into a blue plum stock and the graft grew
up last summer five feet and eleven inches.

1877. The strawberries grew, the raspberries all failed as far as I know.

Report from Wm. Gohn, Thornhill.

Last spring received a rootless raspberry cane and two strawberry plants ; neither of
them grew.

The Glass Seedling Plum that I received in 1876 is doing well. The Swayzie Pomme
Grise and Flemish Beauty Pear that I received in 1875 are growing nicely. The Salem
Grape and Downing Gooseberry that I received in 1874, both have fruited.

Report from D. B. Hoover, Almira P. 0.

I beg leave to report to the Fruit Growers' Association the condition of the fruit trees
and fruit in the neighbourhood of Almira, Markham Township, for the summer of 1878.

First, I am happy to say that our fruit trees have done remarkably well this past season,
no sign of any new diseases. I never saw a larger growth of wood to my knowledge before,
not one case of blight on the pear trees on my grounds, neither a fresh black knot on the
plum.

Second, the crop of fruit this year was light, apples not more than half the quantity that
might have been, but in quality they fire excellent, both in form, colour, and flavour. Very
few pears, plums, and cherries, hardly worth speaking of, though I had some very fine Lom-
bard plums which escaped the frost of May 13th. The red cherries have nearly gone out of
existence on my ground, the black knot did not miss a single tree. Our small fruits bore
abundantly, grapes excepted ; strawberries a good crop, also the gooseberries and black rasp-
berries were a good crop.

The Salem Grape is an extreme grower, bore last year for the first time, the fruit ripened
well. The gooseberry is doing well. The F. Beauty Pear Tree grows well, did not bear fruit
yet. The Pomme Grise Apple is dead.

The Glass seedling plum tree don't grow fast but I have this year fruited one of the
grafts that came with the tree when received, just the second year after the grafting ; I must
say that the fruit will be a credit to anyone's garden. The fruit on the graft was very large,
ripe the 12th September — it grows on a greengage.

The raspberries for the year 1877 had no appearance of life when received, did not grow
at all. The strawberries grow well, but did not bare well yet.

The Burnet Grape came to hand in splendid condition, it grew five feet ; wood ripened
well for the winter.

D. B. Hoover,

Report from Burnham Mallory, Frankford.
The Burnet Grape Vine arrived safely and made a fine growth.

Report from W. P. Taylor, Fitzroy Harbour.

The only trees I have been able to save of those received from the Association, are one
pear and the Glass Plum, the latter received by mail. The Canada, Salem, and Burnet
Grapes, are alive, only the Canada has yet been fruited.

38

Report from George Winslow, Millbrook.

None of the trees have borne any fruit as yet, but from the appearance of the Wagner
and Grimes Golden Apples, Clapp's Favourite Pear, and the Diadem Raspberry, I think I may
expect fruit next year. The Burnet Grape did not grow much last season, but looks healthy.
The McLaughlin Plum, and Swayzie Pouiine Grise Apple are dead.

Report from Alfred [Joskin, Toronto.

My Burnet has made a good start.

THE PHYLLOXERA.

BY THE PRESIDENT,

In the Australasian, published at Melbourne, on the 15th of Dec. last, is to be found an
interesting article on this pest, exhibiting the views and aims of our countrymen at the anti-
podes as to the mode in which they are to rid themselves of the evil. The editor twits the
fruit-growers of Geelong with their ignorance in allowing the insect to exist without notice
for the past five years, though their vines were showing every symptom of its presence. Its
ravages were discovered by what is called mere chance. The important question is discussed,
What is to be done 1 We notice that a deputation of grape growers, who are styled by the
appropriate name of " Vignerons," waited upon the Government, and suggested that they
should acquire the power by Act of Parliament to adopt measures to stamp out the disease.
The energy and judgment of our kinsfolk on the other side of the Equator cannot be too
soon imitated by ourselves in ridding ourselves of the multitudinous evils that afflict fruit-
culturists. They set to work with a good will that is refreshing, which is a sure index of
their success in future. The article urges the expediency of the stamping out process. Vine
culture, it is affirmed, has become part and parcel of the husbandry of the farm. " Farmers
have learnt to grow grapes as inexpensively as other crops, and to sell them to the wine-
maker just as they do their wheat to the miller." Vine-growing is gradually acquiring a pos-
ition amongst the great staple industries of the continent, and it would be sad indeed were its
progress marred by such a misfortune as the spread of phylloxera. The practice of France
and Switzerland is adduced as that which alone can avail to get rid of the disease. In France
the system adopted is to lift the vines and their roots as completely as possible, sprinkle them
with tar and burn them. In Neufchatel the law requires clearing and burning of the vines
in whatever vineyards phylloxera make their appearance, and it is enacted that no vines be
replanted ou the ground for ten years. Such powers are pled for in the Australian Act. "It
appears to us that anything short of an absolute power to do this would negative the most
conscientious administration of the Act. The bill is objected to because it makes no provi-
sion for compensation. " This appears likely to inflict hardship on some of the growers."
The admirable reflection is added : " It seems questionable whether, in the interests of justice,
owners of infected vineyards ought not to be compelled to prevent them being a source of in-
jury to their neighbours." After all, this is touching the matter with a needle. In a state,
citizenship demands that trades and professions ought to be so carried on that no detriment
accrues to one's neighbour. Compensation ought to be given where healthy vines, in close
contact with diseased roots, are destroyed to prevent the spread of the disease.

This matter, as regards ourselves, is parallel to the case of the Shorthorn importation.
Diseased cattle are prevented from being introduced either from Britain or the United States,
so ought diseased vines be debarred from entering our country on the same principles.

Should our brethren at the antipodes stir us up by the vigour of their action in prevent-
ing the spread of the phylloxera, our little but important monthly, The Canadian Horticul-
turist, will serve a most important purpose.

By way of addendum, it may be mentioned that the paper, which contains a leading article
on the phylloxera, is composed of 32 pages of five columns each, with a supplement in addi-
tion of eight pages. Verily, giant sheets are issued on the other side of the line. For the
copy of Dec. 15, 1877, we are greatly indebted to our distinguished member and fruit-grower,
Mr. John McLean, Owen Sound.

39

NOTES OF THE YEAR.

By B. Gott, Arkona.

Believing firmly as I do in the ultimate usefulness of our popular Society to the present
progress and future development of this great and promising country, I feel it a duty devolv-
ing upon me to do whatever lies within the range of my abilities for our encouragement and
advancement. My time at the present being so wholly and so urgently taken up in the daily
routine of my increasing business, 1 feel myself unable to do much that may be interesting
to my fellow fruit growers by way of contribution to the pages of our instructive and valuable
Annual Report. However I have at length concluded to beg indulgence for a short space
while I make a statement of a few " Notes of the Year " just now so nearly closing upon us.
Indeed the fact of the matter is, this is a very fitting and convenient time for circumspection
and reflection. It is doubtless well for us frequently to look over the mysterious way in
which we have been so safely led by our indulgent, kind and heavenly Father. It is clearly
profitable to review the mercies and many providential blessings bestowed, and thus to acquire
fresh inspiration of zeal and courage for the work that still lies before us. We further firmly
believe in the deep and broad sympathy of all engaged in the ennobling work of horticultural
progress, though they may be in remote of parts our wide and great country. I have noticed
again and again that in no class of artisans in the various industries of our promising land
is there a deeper and broader sympathy and a kindlier fellow feeling than those most surely
developed among honest, practical fruit growers. Although the representatives may
be natives of the gorgeous, sunny south, or of the forbidding and frigid north j at
home in the wide and ever green fields of the Golden State on the Pacific coast,
or stationed on the rugged cliffs of the Atlantic seaboard, the actuations of their na-
tures are responsive, and they instantly feel the grasp of a brother's hand. This,
my dear sir, is one of the brightest and most precious advantages of our arduous and
trying avocation. It is an immediate outgrowth from the very nature of the business, and
one of the many valuable fruits of the profession, even far more valuable and far more lasting
than those fruits found hanging on the trees. Fruit is ameliorating, and fruit is ennobling,
and none can taste and eat but (if not live for ever) are most decidely influenced and bettered
thereby. But to the subject proposed ; I may at once characterize this season as a distinct-
ively outlined and remarkable one from the beginning to the end, and, first, from its extreme
earliness and, second, from its bountiful fruitfulness, that is, all things considered. The
season opened with us more than a month in advance of the usual time for such displays,
so that on the 6th day of March we had the brightest sunshining and spring-like weather,
several small insects ware on the wing, and honey bees were swiftly buzzing across our
fields. Certainly we all thought this was too much, it would not long continue ; but it did
continue, and on the 9th of the same usually snow covered and frozen month of March,
in Canada, we found ourselves surrounded by the gladdening signs of balmy spring, and
several fine moths of what we supposed to be Phalena Vernata, and others were caught,
and we captured the first fine Canadian mosquito on the wing. This has scarcely ever been
so here before even in the recollection of the oldest inhabitant This season we commenced dig-
ging and working in the nursery earlier than ever before, so that on the 8th of March we were
moving and packing nursery stock for the market ; and the blossoms of our fruit trees and
shrubs appeared also unusually early. But as we are ever made to feel that we are earthly and
dependent, being in no season left without tuition, some disappointments and many mystifica-
tions; so also in this decaying season, on the 15th of the beautiful month of May and the
two following days, or rather nights, when we fondly supposed all external danger was over,
and we were advancing under the brightest prospects of one of the most remarkable fruit
crops ever witnessed, just as the little apples and cherries were setting in myriads on the
trees, lo ! a frost came and at once rudely blighted our hopes. Alas ! for human calculation,
it's hard for the time but it may be best in the long run. As one of the results of this
visitation the strawberry crop was almost a total failure, and many of our growers sus-
tained heavy losses thereby. The apple and cherry crops especially were in a bad condi-
tion for frost, and they consequently sustained heavy losses, the young fruit falling like
hail, and in some localities the crop was made worthies and ruined. Our supply of apples

40

now in the market, at least in this section of our country, is not sufficient to meet the
demand, and the consequence is our cellars are in no way crowded by our winter supply,
and many not having any at all. But as ever the all pervading and benevolent law of
compensation was found to hold good, though the strawberries were a failure the rasp-
berry crop was most general and plentiful, and were our planters only in a good
condition to reap a good harvest all might have been well j but here's the rub ! we have
scarcely any planted to supply a need in time of scarcity ; as our fruit growers have not yet
taken the matter of raspberries in hand in good earnest, from the fear that the market will
not warrant it. Our observation in this matter, however, is, that in fruit culture as in grain
culture there is no position safer or better on the whole than a mixed and varied crop. Spe-
cialities are well enough in their place and if they happen to do well ; but if not ! if frost or
insect takes that, all is lost,and you have nothing to fall back upon to encourage and help you
on. Let us learn from these failures some good lessons — it is at least one good use to make
of them. Gooseberries and currants have become a losing and vexatious business, made so
only by the insect enemies of these fine and savoury fruits. The currant leaf worm Nematus
Ventricosus and the gooseberry fruit worm Fembelia Grossalaria are each of them far more
than an equal match for us, and where we attempt these fruits on a large scale they baffle
our best offorts at success. We usually raise fine and beautiful cherries in this region, but
this season the crop was injured fully 50 per cent, by the frosts of May ; and so also was our
crop of pears. The grape vines too were just then in a very bad condition for frost visita-
tion, as the buds had expanded fully two feet or more. These young shoots and the whole
wealth of fruit buds upon them were at once scorched, shrivelled and dead, and our fond
hopes of luscious and beautiful grapes were at one stroke dashed to the ground.
Alas for human hopes ! How fragile are their texture ! How deceptive are their
promises. However, notwithstanding this calamity, we clipped a tolerably good crop
of medium fine fruit for which we were very thankful as it was unexpected and
far better than our fears. The plum and peach crops of this county were encour-
aging exceptions. These fine acceptable fruits are becoming more and more popular,
and the market is at any time open and ready for them. They were very abundant and
good and in some localities — the trees were literally breaking down with the abundance of fine
fruit. We are glad to see that the culture of these valuable fruits is annually attracting
much attention, and many are planting largely now who grew not a tree a very short time
ago. In vegetable and floral gardening the season has been generous and encouraging to our
fair as well as robust cultivators. This department of Horticulture is rapidly becoming
more and more an absorbing occupation among our tasteful and well-to-do country people ;
and many are annually added to the throng of busy workers during our pleasant summer
months. Although the season may be written down as disastrous to some of our national
fruit interests, yet on the whole it was a clear and positive demonstration of the over-
flowing bounty of an overruling Providence, and of the native richness and productiveness
of our admirable soils as brought out by the untiring industry and skilful efforts of an
enlightened people. When the season for the annual fall exhibitions came
round we were ready, and more than ready, to load the broad and long tables
to their utmost bearing capacity with the finest, most beautiful, and richest
specimens of pomona, that it has ever been our exalted privilege to witness. At
this particular time during our delightful and happy months of September and October,
the weather was most favourable, and all that could be desired by our people in their
agricultural demonstrations throughout the whole extent of our progressive country. If you,
sir, could have seen at these several country shows, the multitudes of our varied population,
the young, the beautiful and the gay, as well also as the inured stalwart tiller of the soil, and
his attentive partner and better half that were regularly in attendance in such immense
crowds, it would have inspired your heart with fresh courage, and made you feel that uo
other land under the sun can offer greater privileges to her inhabitants or boast of brighter
prospects for the future. These shows are demonstrative and annually teach us lessons of
usefulness and wisdom. "Surely^ the lines have fallen to us in pleasant places, and we have
a goodly inheritance."

41

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON HASKINS' SEEDLING GRAPES.

To the President and Directors of the Fruit Growers' Association:

Your Committee appointed to examine the Seedling Grapes of Wm. Haskins', Esq.,
Hamilton, beg leave to report :

Tha after examining some fine clusters exhibited by him at the Central Fair, Hamil-
ton, October 3rd, they proceeded to his grounds where they found a large collection of very
fine seedlings produced by hybridizing our hardy native grapes with some of the best foreign
varieties. The most notable of these were three varieties which Mr. Haskins designates as
A, B and C. Letter A is a cross between the Black Hamburgh and Hartford Prolific, and
is a dark grape of medium size, somewhat resembling the Eumelan, of fair quality, a strong,
thrifty grower, and an abundant bearer — might be fancied by some amateurs, but in our
opinion, not of sufficient character for general cultivation. Letter B is a good-sized white
grape, similar in appearance to Allen's Hybrid, bunches large, compact, and somewhat
shouldered. Vine thrifty, foliage healthy and good ; wood well ripened, and to all appear-
ance perfectly hardy, and a prodigious bearer. Mr. Haskins informed us it had been tied to
a stake where it stood even since planting without any protection, and had thus far escaped
injury from our severe winters. We regard it as a great acquisition. Letter C is a cross
between the Creveling and Black Hamburgh. Vine hardy and a thrifty grower, fully as
early as Creveling, berries larger, and bunch more compact; flavour and other characteristics
very similar to Creveling. We regard this as a very valuable and early grape.

We saw several other promising varieties, some of which were very early, and we doubt
not, will prove valuable ; but Mr. Haskins, with his characteristic modesty, preferred not to
bring them into notice till he had further tried them. We most heartily congratulate him on
his success in hybridizing, and sincerely believe the horticultural world will ever owe him a
debt of gratitude for his efforts in this direction.

A. M. Smith,
Thos. Buchanan,
Peter Murray.

REPORT ON FRUITS FOR 1877.

TWO PLUMS RECEIVED FROM COL. JOHN MCGILL^ OSHAWA.

No 1. Small plum • delicious flavour ; seedling from an English Golden Drop. Tree, a
healthy, strong grower. This plum was awarded a prize at Ottawa by the F, Gr. A. of Out.,
in 1875.

No. 2. A large plum ; seedling from Lombard. It is an early and constant bearer.
Flavour not as high as the small one. It was awarded a prize in 1875.

MR. JAMES REID'S PLUM.

The Committee, through Mr. Saunders, report as follows on this plum : — Have examined
Mr. James Reid's plum. It is distinct in character, as far as form is concerned, being dif-
ferent from every plum that I am acquainted with. The flesh is very smooth, juicy, and
melting, but I do not think it is equal in flavour to Lombard, and certainly not at all equal
to the finer varieties of plums already in cultivation. Unless there are some peculiar advan-
tages in the habit of the tree, which would render jt desirable, I do not think it would be
wise to encourage its propagation.

" BAKER S LONDON GAGE," SEEDLING PLUM

The fruit of this plum is rich, with very small stone ; flesh very firm, and easily parted
from the stone. ' Supposed to be a cross between the Lombard and Green Gage. It is below
the medium size, and not particularly distinguished for its good qualities. It closely resem-

42

bles Imperial Gage. The size about the same as Greenj Gage, and has the elongated form of
the Imperial Gage Is not equal in quality to the Parent. Foliage vigorous, large leaves.
No. 2 has the form of Yellow Gage, and a little below the average size of that plum.
Colour, yellow tinted with reddish orange ; fair quality, pleasant sub-acid flavour. Foliage
apparently vigorous, stems and leaf-petioles bright red.

MR. JAMES DOUGALL's SEEDLING PLUM.

A large and handsome plum, with sometimes a very decided orange tint, on the portion
exposed to the sun. Nice bloom ; nearly oval, with a moderatelyfdeep suture, much resemb-
ling the Yellow Egg, but more truncate at the calyx end of the fruit. Stem moderately
long ; flesh rather coarse ; quality fair ; frigrant ; superior in quality to Yellow Egg ; stone
small ; very promising plum. The Committee award this Seedling a prize.

Mr. Dougall writes : " The tree is a very strong grower and hardy — also a very early
bearer — it is just covered with clusters ; last year was the ^first that it bore ; it is only five
years old."

dr. edward's seedling plum.

This is a seedling from Unionville, County York. The Dr. says, M He regards it as a
seedling, being a sprout that grew below the graft of a Washington Plum." The specimen
was evidently taken from the tree before it was ripe. The size is medium ; a great bearer ;
tree hardy and thrifty ; quality fair ; not superior to the varieties in general cultivation.

wakeling's seedling peach.

A large and handsome peach, yellow fleshed, assuming blood red tint around the stone.
Stone free, medium sized ; colour, whole surface splashed with dull yellow ; fine grained flesh,
melting and juicy ; good rich flavour; raised from the stone* by William Wakeling, West-
minster.

syer's seedling peach.

Exhibited at the Provincial Exhibition by the late Mr. John Freed. A very superior
peach in every way Rich, high flavour, juicy, taking colour, and ripens intermediately be-
tween the Early and Late Crawford, thus indicating a most desirable variety. The Associa-
tion wish to see and report again on this peach.

a white-fleshed seedling peach. (Owner unknown.)

Mr. Saunders writes of this peach : — " I have tasted the White-Fleshed Seedling Peach
you kindly sent me, and find it very pleasant, juicy, and highly flavoured, unusually high
flavoured, for a peach of this character, and ripening so late." (3rd Oct. 1877.)

MR. A. HOOD'S CRAB APPLE.

The Seedling Committee were greatly pleased with this 'new fruit. One member says,
" 1 think the Crab Apple is a very good one. To my taste it is just as pleasant eating as
many of our dessert apples. It is only pleasantly sub-acid, with a smooth, fine-grained flesh,
and remarkably fine flavour." " I should much like to see this fruit disseminated in some
of tho colder regions of the country, as I think it would, by its hardiness and good quality,
meet a want much felt." Mr. Hood himself thus writes under date 11th September, 1877.

Fergus, 11th Sept., 1877.
Rev. R. Burnet:

Dear Sir, — I have this day »ent by express to your address samples of a Seedling
Crab, which I think may prove worthy of cultivation in the colder sections of this and other
countries.

43

The fruit sent is the produce of a tree raised from the seed of a Harvest Apple, as I
learn from the person who sowed the seed, and from whom I last year purchased the farm on
which it is growing ; the tree is from 10 to 15 years from the seed, and is now growing on a
light sandy loam which is seeded down to grass, and the sod appears to be of 4 or 5 years'
growth. It has every appearance of a Crab tree, and is, I presume, as hardy and produc-
tive as trees of that class, though this is only the first year in which it has borne a full crop,
the growth having been retarded by frequent transplantings.

I have been trying to keep the fruit to show at the fall meeting of the Society, and it is
therefore perhaps a little too ripe, and has therefore lost a little of the acidity which I think
gave it a flavour perhaps better than in the ripe state. The size of the fruit is equal to that
of the best crabs I have seen, even in this season, which has been extremely dry in this sec-
tion, and the flavour, I think, decidedly better than that of our Harvest Apple, being more
juicy and lively. It was ripe two or three weeks since, or about half way between the time
of ripening of the Harvest Apple and Siberian Crab, and was the earliest fruit we had fit for
use before the new potatoes were ready for use, and when the old ones were done and none in
the market, we found this crab or apple very useful, for it made very good sauce, although
at that time, of course, far from ripe.

I am of opinion that there are very few apples ripe at the same time that are equal'to
this crab as a dessert fruit, and without taking into consideration the hardy character of the
tree, the fruit is fit to compete in point of flavour with the product of any part of Canada,
whether called by the name of apples or crabs.

Your obedient servant,

A. Hood.

All of which is respectfully submitted.

Robert Burnet,

Convener.

MR. LOUGHREY'S SEEDLING PEACH.

Size medium, colour dull reddish; flesh yellow, juicy, rich, and high flavoured; stone
not quite free.

W. S.
R. B.,
Committee.
London, 14th September, 1878.

J. BARTLETT'S SEEDLING PLUM.

Size under medium, form nearly oval, with a slight shoulder at the stem ; colour deep
red with a purplish bloom ; flesh dull orange yellow, juicy, acid, but not high flavoured;
flesh adheres to the stone. This plum being of a comparatively small size and poor flavour, is
not, I should consider, worthy of any extended cultivation, unless there are some other good
points connected with it apart from the fruit, such as hardiness, productiveness, &c.

W. S.
R.B.,
Committee.
London, 16th September, 1878.

s. Greenfield's plum.

Ottawa, 22nd August, 1878.

^ Mr. President, — Mr. S. Greenfield, a member of our Association, has presented me
for inspection several specimens of plums of which I have the pleasure of forwarding by this
day's mail a sample. They are a seedling from the " Magnum Bonum." Several of the
•amples measured 4f inches round, and 5 inches round the length of the fruit. Mr. Green-
field has several of the seedling trees ; they are perfectly hardy in this climate ; they began.

44

to beir three years ago; last year (spring of 1877) the trees were moved. The trees are
healthy and thrifty, and, if multiplied, would be a great acquisition to the " iron clad " list.
You will please make such report on them as you deem most fitting.

P. G. Bucke,

Director F. G. Ass.,

Ottawa.

Mr. Greenfield's seedling plum was submitted to the seedling Committee, who find it of
medium size, scarcely as large as the Lombard ; colour deep, bright-red, characteristic of the
wild plum of the country ; form resembling the Lombard j quality, unable to judge of it as
it came to hand in bad order.

London, 24th August, 1878.

fS'o- d^ ^M# Saunders,
\ 1gne / Robt. Burnett,

Arnold's " brant " grape.

At a fruit growers' meeting in Michigan, some time ago, Mr. L. 0. Whiting, a very
successful grape grower of East Saginaw made the following remarks, which are somewhat
flattering to our townsman, Mr. Charles Arnold, as the Brant Grape so highly spoken of,
is one of Mr. Arnold's Hybrids, and named by him after this County : — " The grape is one
of the earliest, and subject to the fewest insect enemies of any of our fruits. It is one of the
most healthy, and with little trouble can be kept as well as apples or pears, and should be on
our tables at least six months of the year. In the remarks I purpose to make, I shall con-
fine myself to a few points. First, what to plant. For those who do not make grapes a
speciality, only the most hardy vines should be attempted in this climate. For this purpose
the following kind in the order of their ripening may be named ; — The Brant, Worden, Dela-
ware, Eumelan, and Concord. For those who are willing to take mjre care, add the Wilder,
Salem, and Agawam. For safety the last three should be covered during the winter. For
marketing I will reduce the list to the Brant, Worden, Concord, and Agawan.

" There are many new kinds of much promise, and the above list may in a faw years be
profitably changed, ^ou can lose but little by allowing others to experiment for you.

" The soil best suited to the grape is decomposed shale, but any good clay soil thoroughly
drained will do.

" The ground should be carefully prepared and only well rotted manure used.
. " Decomposing turf is one of the best fertilizers, where it can be obtained, no other will
be required.

" Grapes for fall and winter use should be picked as soon as ripe, and when perfectly
dry, packed in fine dry sawdust. Select your box or jar, cover the bottom with sawdust,
then layers of grapes and sawdust alternately until full. Keep them in the coolest place you
can find free from frost, until wanted for use.

" The grapes best for winter keeping in the above list are the Brant, Eumelan, Salem,
and Agawam.

" Some of you may ask why the Delaware Grape is left out of the market list. There
are several reasons and among them I will name the following : —

" The Brant is a better grape. It is two weeks earlier, less subject to rot and will keep
well three to four months, it has more healthy foliage, stronger roots, and will succeed with
half the care of the Delaware."

IMPOSITIONS OF CERTAIN TREE BROKERS.

(From the Huron Signal.)

" Beware." — A local tree agent takes offence at our remarks last week under this head-
ing. For his information we may state that our remarks were made from a complaint lodged
with us by a farmer who has been very badly sold by that terrible personage, the tree agent,

45

but whether or not the local agent is the man referred to we know not ; he may know best
himself. The farmer referred to lives in Stanley Township. Our local friend also appears
to feel offended at us, charging that we are nursery agents. We fail to see any crime in be-
ing such, but the fact is we are not, nor to our knowledge does anyone connected with this
paper act as regular agent for any nursery. We advertise for nurseries from time to time,
both American and Canadian, and orders left here are forwarded where desired, and advice
given freely as to the proper stock to purchase, &c. The firm he says he represents we are
not acquainted with, but we believe, so far as we know at present, that they have no nursery at
all in Toronto. We will make full enquiry regarding them, and give the result to the public.
When we make complaint against agents we do so for the public benefit, and everyone knows
well how often people in this section have been swindled by unprincipled agents who would
make any sort of representation in order to sell their goods. We are well aware that there
are most excellent nurseries on the American side, and believe that if parties here would
send their orders direct to these nurseries they would be filled properly and honestly. But
we do know also that agents are continually on the run who take orders under all sorts of fine
promises and fill these orders with mere trash they purchase at the nearest nursery, trash
which the nurseryman himself would scorn to sell to anyone. Two years ago such an agent
visited this section with plate-book and jars and took a large number of orders ; another fol-
lowed him to deliver the stuff, and many discovered that the affair was a swindle in time to
save themselves. We do not believe in the plate-book and jars of spocimens ; it is calculated
to deceive, and the purchaser is induced to purchase the finest looking which is not always the
best fruits. We believe in patronizing a home nursery, as they are likely to be very care-
ful what stock they send out, and then again their stock is more likely to succeed than that
taken from a warmer climate. Our local friend will see when he looks calmly into the case
that we are endeavouring to root out the "unprincipled agent" only, and we believe we are do-
ing cur duty when doing or tryiug to do this. When we are convinced of the honesty and
reliability of any man engaged in spreading the benefits of horticulture through the country,
we are willing to give a helping hand, and if our local will make himself known as such in the
proper way he will find out we are not so bad after all.

"Beware." — In our article last week under the above heading we promised to make
full enquiry regarding the firm represented by a tree agent who took exception to our former
remarks, and who claims that the firm he represents are nurserymen who sell the best stock
in the Dominion. We made enquiry in Toronto and the result is given in a communication
in another column. It seems the firm referred to, Messrs. Stone & Wellington, have lately
started in business for themselves and have issued circulars, cards, &c, representing to the
public that they are nurserymen at Toronto and Rochester. We find that this is not true so
far as Toronto is concerned at all events, and in all probability the same result will be found
upon enquiry at Rochester. We have taken steps to ascertain this also and will give the re-
sult to the public. We believe from what we have already discovered that Messrs. S. & W.
are nothing more nor less than tree brokers who purchase stock from the nursery that will sell
the cheapest, and therefore we feel it our duty to the Huron public to put the matter in its
true light. This is nothing more than justice towards the honest nurseryman as well as the
public. The Fruit Growers' Association have taken up the war cry against tree brokers, and,
as will be seen by the annual address of the President at Toronto the other day, the Associa-
tion asks the Government to interfere and prevent unprincipled men from flooding Canada
with trees from the States, that are, in ninety-nine cases out of the hundred, mere trash.
There are a number of large nurseries in Ontario where every kind of tree can be had that
is profitable or useful for planting, and we fail to see why anyone should deal with
strangers who charge high prices for stock that in nearly every case turns out to be mere
culls. Tree brokers are a great accommodation to nurserymen, no doubt, as they purchase all
the refuse stock that is to be found in every such establishment, and which otherwise would
have to be destroyed, as no respectable nurseryman would sell it to his regular honest cus-
tomer Doubtless good stock is often got from these brokers, but the chances are all in favour
of getting bad stock. We know cases where the poor purchaser has been deluded into pur-
chasing stock bearing a euphonious name, unknown to any but the inventive tree broker, and
paying a very high price, and when the trees came into bearing found nothing but the com-
monest varieties, or perhaps trashy seedlings. We know a gentleman who paid $3 for a

46

gooseberry bush bearing the name of " Highland Lassie," and it turned out to be the Down-
ing, which any home nurseryman would have sold for five, or, at the most, ten cents. An-
other got twenty apple trees, for extra fine sorts and lived to reap seedling fruit of the mean-
est kinds. He paid a high price and his expectations were high, but time proved that he did
wrong in giving his order to a broker instead of a legitimate nurseryman. If people think
American grown stock is best, our advice is to send their orders direct to Messrs. Ellwanger
& Barry, of Rochester, or some other well-known firm there, and they will get what they or-
der. But they mi^ht better throw their cash into the fire at first rather than invest with
any tree broker, for the end of dealing with these gentry is "vexation of spirit" and loss of
time and money. The Fruit Growers' Association is possessed of information and statistics
sufficient to satisfy any reasonable man that putting faith in tree brokers is a delusion and a
snare. Every fruit-grower should join this valuable Association, and keep posted so as to avoid
delusions. Our advice to all is to give a cold shoulder to tree agents representing foreign firms
who are not known, and order only from home, well known nurseries, who have a character to
sustain, aud will not, therefore, attempt to gull or abuse the public confidence. It should
not be necessary for us to caution the Huron public so often, as so many instances of
swindles have been seen, through confiding and unprincipled agents, that every one should be
sufficiently on guard. We expect to hear from Rochester in regard to the firm already men-
tioned very soon, when we will give the public the news, good or bad. We enquired of two
gentlemen from Rochester, who were attending the Toronto exhibition, but they did not know
of any such firm of nurserymen as S. &. W., and did not believe there was any such in
Rochester. If the firm referred to are actually nurserymen, why are not their agents posted
and able to tell us when this firm became nurserymen, how many acres they have under nurs-
ery, what stocks they actually grow, &c, eh ?

"Beware." — We promised our readers full particulars regarding the firm of Stone &
Wellington, who have been representing themselves as nurserymen. We already intimated
that they are not nurserymen in Toronto, and now we have received reliable information,
stating that they have no nursery in Rochester either, but that they are merely brokers who
buy stock where they can get it the cheapest. Mr. Alex. Watson told us the other day that
he can supply the same kind of roses for 50 cents each that the agent of the above firm sold
here for $1 each, and Mr. Watson will guarantee them, and his guarantee is good. We ,"
sume the stock which the above firm will supply will be the overgown, forced stock which
most American nurserymen grow and are always anxious to dispose of. We have now done
our duty in exposing this matter and any who are gulled into purchasingjsuch stock as is sold
by " plate book gents " well deserve the result — disappointment and loss of money.

W. B. HAMILTON S SEEDLING PLUMS.

I have some rare seedling plums, one of them I think will be the earliest plum in
Canada.

Another produces prunes — they will dry on the tree or off, without sugar or any trouble
whatever, not even sun, and have the flavour of the French prune. This is the first year of
bearing of both, — the first is a beautiful peach bloom, but not highly flavoured, fair size, not so
large as an egg ; commenced to ripen before the 15th " August," and not in a favoured position
either. I shall watch these trees with great interest.

W. B. Hamilton,

Collingwood.

A PLATE OF PEARS.

From an Epicurean Point of View.

Whether we consider its delicious flavour, easy culture, and excellent keeping qualities,
or its long continued supply of beautiful fruit, the Pear in its many varieties may justly lay
claim to the title of the fruit par excellence.

47

To obtain it in the pink of perfection, it should be picked from the tree as soon as the
fruit has attained its full growth, and just as it begins to turn from green to the ripening
condition. When left beyond that period the ripening process goes on in favour of the seeds,
and its qualities rapidly deteriorate. A pear ripened on the tree is not fit to be eaten. Even
a day or two too long in the summer varieties renders it dry, flat and insipid. Fall and win-
ter fruit, after gathering, which it is desired to keep any length of time, is best preserved in
barrels or, better, in boxes, containing about a bushel, in a cool or cold, dry place. When
desired for use, to insure its highest perfection, it should be ripened in a dark, dry place in a
moderate temperature, and rigidly excluded from the air. Proper thinning on the tree is an
essential point in obtaining well conditioned fruit, and placing it between layers of flannel is
a secret in developing colour and flavour that is worth knowing. A pear should never be
eaten warm. Cooled in the refrigerator in summer and eaten at a temperature between
warm and cold in the winter, it is at its perfection, and those who have never tasted some of
the finer varieties under these conditions have a pleasing lesson to commit to memory.

There are pears that are pears. The average consumer, generally speaking, is acquaint-
ed with but a few of the commoner varieties to the exclusion of the really fine sorts. The
Seckel, Bartlett, Lawrence, Howell, Flemish Beauty, Belle Lucrative, Sheldon, Duchesse
and Beurre d'Anjou, are perhaps the best known and most salable market varieties. These,
at least the majority of those mentioned, are but the lower grades of this really delicious
fruit, and no more compare with many of the finer sorts than a crab or a Gilliflower apple
does to a Spitzenburg or Northern Spy. The Seckel and Bartlett both have a pronounced
musky flavour. They suit the average American taste because they are sweet and strongly
flavoured, for the same reason, doubtless, that the American palate demands a sweetened and
alcoholic wine, or discards olive oil in favour of sugar in the salad. Their popularity, as that
of most of the above sorts enumerated, is also no doubt largely owing to the fact that only
comparatively few are acquainted with the better kinds, and are, therefore, unable to establish
a comparison. While many really excellent varieties have originated in this country, the
French and the Belgians must be credited with the majority of the really superior varieties.

SUMMER VARIETIES.

Beginning with the summer sorts that rank high in the gamut of taste, the Petite
Marguerite, recently introduced in France, is especially deserving the attention of the ama-
teur. Its juicy and vinous flesh and delicate bouquet, all entitle it to a place in the well-
regulated private orchard. It is not large, a trifle larger than the SeckeJ but large
enough, according to the writer's taste, for a dessert pear. Of the larger summer pears,
the Clapp's Favourite, originated in this country and a cross between the Bartlett, an En-
glish variety, and the Flemish Beauty, a Belgian sort, should not be overlooked. It is
entirely free from the muskiness of its English parent, and considering its size and other
really fine qualities, one might look much farther and fare worse. It is said to rot at the
core too quickly. This is obviated to a great extent by early gathering. Of the many
other summer sorts, the handsome red-cheeked Beurre-Giffard, the Rostiezer, a vinous,
high-flavoured sort, comparatively a stranger to American collections, and last, but not
least, the Tyson, which is much better known, bring up the rank and file among the very
early pears.

With the change from the hot summer weather to the mellow and cooler days of
autumn, we at once note a difference for the better in the quality of the fruit, which seems
to become imbued with the vinous richness of nature's harvest season, the fall sorts having
more character, piquancy and flavour. Of this class, it is an extremely difficult matter
to choose between several varieties. Whoever has been fortunate enough to taste a Beurre-
Superfin, fully matured, ripened to a nicety and glistening in its bright, smooth, oily skin,
needs look no farther for the acme of perfection in the pear. It is as juicy as a peach, and
eating its fine-grained .and highly perfumed and flavoured flesh reminds one of nothing
more than drinking a delicious dry champagne. It fully merits its appellation " super-
fine. " Like many good things it will not keep long. But were it possessed of the virtues
of the amaranth, we doubt whether that would prove much in its favour, as a supply of
Buerre Superfins would scarcely last except under lock and key.

48

BEST OF THE AUTUMN SORTS.

Among the Autumn pears, the Urbaniste, a Belgian sort, is second to none. It is one
of the acidulous kinds, like the Superfin, of good size, melting, very juicy, and of a most ex-
quisite flavour and perfume, strongly resembling attar of roses. This particular aroma is
always very pronounced. The bouquet has been described as the "soul" of wine, and this
characteristic odour in the Urbaniste is one of its chief attractions. The aroma which gives
the character of the fruit, in many varieties of pears, lies just below the skin as in the case
of the Urbaniste ; in others it is contained in the entire juices of the fruit.

If the Urbaniste and Beurre Superfin are entitled to a topmost seat in the synagogue,
the Gansel's Bergamot, an old English variety, certainly deserves a place of equal promin-
ence. It is a profuse bearer, a medium sized apple-shaped, russety fruit, melting, and of a
most rich and sprightly sub-acid flavour. It is to autumn pears what the juicy and highly
flavoured Gravenstein is to the fall varieties of apples. Being difficult to grow in the nursery,
it rarely finds its way even to private tables, and is unknown in market. Poor growing sorts
like the Gan>el's Bergamot are rendered tractable by being re-grafted, or as it is termed in
nursery parlance, " double worked," on strong growers. Sorts like the Gansels are worthy
of any trouble to obtain.

The Louise Bonne de Jersey is an acidulous pear, tolerably well known in this country,
that never fails to please a person of that taste, carrying its tartness as far as possible without
absolute excess. But its good qualities are sadly counterbalanced in this climate by its ap-
parent tendency to blight. The Louise Bonne is recommended by its vigorous and handsome
growth of tree, and its productiveness. The fruit is elegant in form, beautifully coloured,
the flesh melting and overflowing with refreshing vinous juice. Nevertheless, in point of
quality, it does not reach the very high flavour mark of the Gansel's Bergamot, Urbaniste, or
Beurre Superfin.

A well-known pear is the Doyenne White, or Virgalieu of the French. It is without
doubt the handsomest coloured pear grown, being as rosy-cheeked as a lady apple. Of late
years the fruit has cracked badly with us. The Doyenne White is distinguished by a cer-
tain perfume possessed by no other variety. Although regarded as adapted to most every
one's taste, it is lacking in the vinosity which to a trained palate is generally considered one
of the essential virtues of the really superior sorts.

The Sheldon, a large, round, golden-russet fruit of Western New York origin, previously
referred to as among the best-known varieties in this country, when well grown and well
ripened, is usually regarded as deserving a place among table fruits of the first order of
merit. It is a general favourite with those who are partial to the honied sorts. Like some
others, it has a slight suspicion of muskiness, and, as reviewed from our individual point of
taste, lacks the " snap " that is essential to complete the harmony of a perfect pear.

The Seckel, a household word among American fruits, is too well known to need descrip-
tion. Its honied sweetness and its marked flavour, recalling that of Mosel Muscatel, are usu-
ally objected to by connoisseurs, although it finds favour with as high a pomological author-
ity as Mr. Thomas,

Dana's Hovey, one of the vinous sorts, which has recently made its bow to the pomolog-
ical public is highly extolled in Massachusetts, where it originated. It has been little
fruited in this vicinity, and we are personally unacquainted with it except by favourable
roputation.

The Duchesse, a deservedly esteemed market sort; would be of great value for the pri
vate orchard, were it not that there are so many other superior kinds to choose from. Never-
theless, its great size, splendid golden colour and good qualities will always entitle it to be
called a "noble " fruit.

Not to mention the Bonne du Puits-Ansault, a comparatively new French variety among
the autumn pears, would be a glaring oversight. One needs but to have once tasted its deli-
cious, melting and sprightly sub-acid flesh to accord it a foremost place in the galaxy of ne
plus ultra pears. The amateur cannot afford to do without it. This variety does best as a
standard.

Dr. Reeder, a recently-introduced pear, originated by that gentleman at Varick, in this
State, and disseminated by Ellwanger & Barry, is one of those good things that come done
up in small packages. With its small, roundish, ovate form, and bright golden skin, netted

49

and sprinkled with russet, combined with its exquisite, fine, juicy and vinous flesh, it has
scarcely a superior as a dessert fruit. For the amateur it is a veritable treasure trove.

Of the claims of the Beurre Bosc to pre-eminence as a table fruit, we do not agree with
even so eminent an authority as Mr. Downing, who is particularly partial to this handsome
representative of the Calebasse type. It is high flavoured and delicious, but is rather lack-
ing in juices, and does not possess that acidulousness to which we have previously referred as
one of the great desideratums. It is, however, the beau ideal of shapeliness, which in the
pear is pyriform, as best illustrated in this variety. The Bosc, in particular, requires to be
very ripe to call forth its good qualities.

PEARS FOR THE WINTER MONTHS.

We now come to the winter varieties, of which the Beurre d'Anjou is, perhaps, the most
popular and favourably known. This is a variety, all things considered, that we cannot do
without, its size, flavour, and excellent keeping qualities, all render it worthy of a foremost
place in the catalogue of desirable fruits.

Among ,the winter sorts of "name and noble estimate " is the favourite Winter Nelis, a
Belgian sort, that makes up in quality what it may lack in form and general appearance. It
has a great deal of individuality • its melting, buttery flesh being characterized by a certain
spicy, nutty aroma, peculiarly its own. It always comes into admirable play as a winter
table fruit.

Those who regret the poor keeping qualities of the Superfin can console themselves later
in the season with the Beurre Easter, which is of a similar piquant champagny flavour. In
keeping qualities it has no superior. In France, and in this country among careful growers,
it attains a very large size. Its good qualities as a fruit are offset in a measure by its slow
habit of growth, its tendency to blight, and its only thriving in the best of soil and under
careful treatment. In spite of these objections, it is a sine qua non among winter sorts, and
to every really choice pear garden. Beurre Easter is best cultivated on the quince.

Last but not least among the desirable varieties for the amateur is the Josephine de
Malines, without doubt the most valuable late-keeping pear. For this great acquisition we
have also to thank the Belgians. Its skin is of a pale yellow, and its flesh a light salmon
colour, and of a most delightful rose flavour, similar to, but not as pronounced as the Urban-
iste. Of comparatively recent introduction into this country, it is scarcely known in market,
but is prized beyond measure by those who are acquainted with it. The Josephine succeeds
both as a dwarf and a standard.

There are many other excellent sorts that, if not fully equal to those enumerated, are
eminently deserving of a hearing which the limits of this article forbid. Tastes differ in
fruits as in wines. But there is an acknowledged standard of excellence in both that meets
the general taste. A person must indeed be deficient in taste who can perceive virtue in
Surene, or discover pleasing qualities in a puckery crab. One cannot go amiss on Lafite or
Chambgrtin, nor can the tyro and the connoisseur in fine fruit fail to agree as to the merits of
an Urbaniste, a Gansel's Bergamot or a Superfin pear. Judging from this standpoint, the
above varieties referred to as possessing the cardinal virtues comprise the very best among
the table sorts, and are amply sufficient for an abundant variety in the largest and most care •
fully selected orchard. Except where otherwise noted, all are suitable for cultivation as
dwarfs.

Our remarks are confined to private gardens only, where quality is desired, if even it be
largely at the expense of quantity. But in a well-cared -for fruit garden, with the proper
treatment, the poorest bearers may be made, if not to " blossom as the rose," to " gi/e forth
their fruit in due season " in comparative abundance. The blight, which still remains as
great a mystery as ever, has seriously interfered with pear-culture lately. While this may
trouble the professional market grower, it need not interfere with the amateur, who should
always have a few good trees in reserve to take the place of those which may not succeed.

SUMMING UP — DOCTORS DISAGREE.

To sum up with the Petite Marguerite, Clapp's Favourite, Rostiezer, Beurre Giffard
and Tyson of the summer sorts the Beurre Superfin, Urbaniste, Gansel's Bergamot, Bonne
4

50

du Puits-Ansault, Dr. Keeder, and Louise Bonne, among the autumn varieties, and the
Beurre d'Anjou, Winter Nelis, Beurre Ea3ter and the Josephine among the winter sorts,
the amateur can revel in a succession of the finest of fruit from early summer till early
spring.

In conclusion, it may be interesting to know the individual tastes of the six leading
American pomologists of the day as to table pears, quality of the fruit alone being taken into
consideration : —

P. Barry. — " Whenever I taste a GanseVs Bergamot, ripened to perfection, I always
come to the conclusion it is the best pear, as far as quality is concerned."

Marshall P. Wilder. — " If pinned to one for quality, I must, considering all things, say
Anjou, which I have on the table every morning for over four months, in the year."

George Ellwanger. — " For absolute perfection for table use, I name the Beurre
Swperftn."

Charles Downing. — " If I were limited to one pear, it would be Beurre Bosc."

J. J. Thomas. — " For uniform excellence every year, without variation, the Seekel is
undoubtedly the finest in quality. There are some others, as the Belle Lucrative. Grey
Doyenne, &c, that are sometimes very fine and unexcelled."

C. M. Hovey. — " If I were to name the very best pear without regard to season, I
should name Dana's Hovey as the ne plus ultra of flavour and exquisiteness, and all other
qualities except size."

When doctors disagree, whofshall decide 1

George H, Ellwanger.

Rochester, N. Y.

THE HONOURABLE MARSHALL P. WILDER.

Hon. Marshall P. Wilder was tendered a banquet at the Parker House on Saturday
afternoon Sept. 21st., in anticipation of the eightieth anniversary of his birth, which oc-
curred on Sunday. For more than half a century Colonel Wilder has occupied a foremost
position among the promoters of the agricultural, horticultural and pomological interests of
the United States, and it was in recognition of his labours in the development of the earth's
products that a large number of his friends and associates united in tendering him a banquet.
The occasion was also interesting as being the fiftieth annual dinner of the Massachusetts
Horticultural Society, with which Colonel Wilder has been long and prominently identified.

The company, comprising about thirty gentlemen, members of the Massachusetts Hor-
ticultural Society, the Agricultural Club and other kindred associations, assembled at three
o'clock and passed an hour pleasantly in the interchange of friendly greetings and congratu-
lations to the guest of the occasion. Dinner being announced, ex- Alderman Charles H. B.
Breck, chairman of the committee of arrangements, led the way to the banquet hall, which
was tastefully embellished with fruit and flowers, appropriate emblems of the occasion. At
the head of the hall was displayed the familiar painting depicting the scene at the opening of
the United States Agricultural Society's Exhibition on the " South End Fair Grounds," in
October, 1855, the central figure in which was Colonel Wilder mounted on a white horse.
At the left of the picture stood two life-size statues, executed in wood by Herbert Gleason, and
loaned by their owner, William Emerson Baker of Wellesley. They represent Hon. Mar-
shall P. Wilder standing with uncovered head, while Pomona, the goddess of fruits, is in
the act of crowning him with a wreath of laurel.

The cloth having been removed, the company was called to order by ex Alderman Breck,
who spoke as follows : " We have assembled here to-day to greet with kind words and to
honour one whom we all love and esteem, whom we all have known intimately for years, who is
well known throughout the length and breadth of our country, and whose name in England,
France, Belgium and Holland, is held in high esteem by the pomologists and horticulturists
of those countries. We come here to-day to celebrate his eightieth birthday, and to wish
him many years yet of health, strength and vigour, and that his usefulness may be continued
to his country for many years to come. I propose to you the health of our guest, Hon.
Marshall P. Wilder."

Colonel Wilder arose amid prolonged applause, and responded as follows :

Mr. President — I thank you for your kind expressions of respect, and you, my dear

51

dear friends, for the very cordial reception you have given me. Nothing could be more
grateful to my feelings than these warm demonstrations of friendship and regard, coming as
they do from those who have known me for many years, and are conversant with my many frail-
ties and faults. Yes, the wheels of time move on and tell the story of our bygone days ; and
if I live to see the opening of another Sabbath morn I shall have passed the bounds of
fourscore years. Most devoutly would I render thanks to the Giver of all good that he has
prolonged my life, and that I am able to be here with you on this joyous occasion — here in
the presence of my beloved pastor, who for thirty years has been my spiritual adviser — here
with so many kind friends and co-labourers, with whom I have taken sweet counsel these many
years — here to receive your friendly salutations, and, perhaps, for the last time, to enjoy the
sweet melody of your voices and breathe in the still sweeter consolation which arises like in-
cense from off the altar of sympathizing souls.

When we reflect upon our past labours, our thoughts naturally revert to the Massachu-
setts Horticultural Society, whose fiftieth Annual Exhibition has just closed, and for which
you. Mr. President, and your good father have done so much. Well do I remember its first
exhibition in the old Exchange Coffee House in this city. Well do I remember the scene,
with its two small side-tables and one at the head of the hall. Well do I recollect the con-
tribution of fruits when Robert Manning, the great pomologist of America, contributed only
two baskets of fruit, and the subsequent growth of his enterprise, when he donated many
hundred varieties, and afterward had in the Pomological Garden at Salem 2000 varieties of
fruit trees. Thank God, his son, bearing his own name, is with us to-day. Well do I
remember the dinner at which sixty gentlemen participated, and the speeches which suc-
ceeded it. The scene is before me now. There sat at the head of the table the eloquent
Dearborn, there on his right and left sat his honour Lieutenant-Governor Thomas L. Winthrop
(father of our beloved Robert C. Winthrop) and his honour the then mayor of the city,
Harrison Gray Otis, and the accomplished statesman and orator, Daniel Webster of immortal
fame. (Applause.) There, too, were Hon. John C. Gray, vice-president; Dr. Jacob
Bigelow, corresponding secretary of the society, and John B. Russell, all of whom still sur-
vive, and here to-day, much to our joy, are the brothers Hovey, who were present on that
occasion. Well do I remember the toast of General Dearborn — " Intelligence and industry,
the only true promoters of the public good" — a sentiment which deserves to be written in
letters of living gold. I thank you, Mr. President, for your kind allusion to me as one who
has done something to promote the interests and welfare of my fellow men.

My friends, I have lived to see great progress and improvement in the agriculture
and horticulture of our country, much of which may be primarily traced to the enterpnze
and labours of Massachusetts men. Suffice it to say, that from the day when Governor
Endicott planted his pear tree at Salem, which still lives ; from the day that Peregrine
White planted his apple tree at Marshfield, Mass. ; from the day when our society was
formed, it has stood prominently before the world as a leader and patron of agricultural
and horticultural science. How marvellous the progress in our own day ! How grand
the march of horticulture since the establishment of our own society ! It is scarcely fifty
years since the Massachusetts Horticultural Society was formed. Then there were only
two horticultural and but few agricultural societies in our land ; now they are counted by
thousands, and are scattered over the continent, all working harmoniously for the promo-
tion of these arts. Then there was scarcely a nursery of any note west, and only a few
east of the Hudson River ; now they are planted from one shore of our country to the
other, and among them are many of the largest in the world. Then Mr. Hovey had not
sown the seeas of his strawberry and other fruits, which have since immortalized his
name, or commenced laying out his extensive grounds, and building his houses in Cam-
bridge. Then I had not planted a seed of the camellia, the azalea, pear or grape, or even
attempted the hybridization of a plant; now our American fruits and plants enrich the
gardens and adorn the catalogues of foreign lands. Then we had no such splendid villas
as those of Hunnewell, Parson, Gray, and others, with their broad lawns, extensive glass
structures and magnificent plants, which are such an honour to our land. Then we had
many old and fine homes and gardens such as Governor Gore's, Mr. Lyman's, Mr.
Preble's, Mr. Cushing's, the Perkinses and others ; but very little in the way of landscape
gardening, or in new or rare plants or fruits. Then our exhibitions were confined to a
few days of the year, and were for many years held in small rooms ; now many of our

52

exhibitions are the best given in any State in the Union. Then we had no building of
our own ; now we possess the most costly and magnificent temple of horticulture that
the world can boast. Then the American Pomological Society, whose president, by
the mercy of God, in his twenty-eighth year of service now stands before you, had never
been dreamed of — a society that emanated primarily from the influence of the Massachu-
setts Horticultural Society — a society that embraces not only our national domain, but
whose jurisdiction extends over our continent — whose catalogue prescribes the appropri-
ate fruits for fifty States, territories and districts, and at whose quarter centennial in this
city, the far-off State of Nebraska, with her Governor at her head, carried off triumphantly
the Wilder Medal for the best collection of fruits. Then there were few exports of fruits ;
now we send 400,000 barrels of apples in good years to foreign lands. Then the grape
was scarcely cultivated ; now, in addition to al ^ that are used for the table, we make
15,000,000 gallons of wine, and wine, too, that took the first prize at the World's Exhibi-
tion at Vienna in 1873. Then the statistics of our fruit crop were not thought worthy
of record ; now it amounts to $140,000,000, or nearly the average annual value of our
wheat crop. But I must bring these remarks to a close. I thank you for the kind
references to me as a poineer in rural affairs. You do me no more than justice, for I can-
not, as I have told you before, remember the time when I was not fond of the cultivation
of the soil. But, gentlemen, my labours are mostly over. Soon I shall be resting in the
bosom c f my mother earth, but if I can believe I have done anything to advance the
great in( jrests of our land, and which shall contribute to the happiness of my fellow men,
shall, so far as this world is concerned, die content, feeling that I have not lived
in vain.

MICHIGAN STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY

The following paper on Cranberry culture was read at the meeting of this Society ia
December, 1877 :—

St Joseph Mich,, Dec. 3.

It not being convenient for me to attend your meeting at this time, I have taken the
liberty of sending you by express a sample of cranberries picked on the natural cranberry
marsh I am improving near this place.

I would also call the attention of your Society to the importance of the cultivation of
this fruit in this State, where I suppose there is considerable soil adapted to its growth. In
Wisconsin it is becoming a very large business, one grower having this year gathered a crop
of over 6,000 barrels, on about 200 acres of land which has not cost over $25 per acre to im-
prove, and they are worth $8 per barrel at this place. Several others have crops of 2,000
and 4,000 barrels. The only serious obstacle in Wisconsin is the danger from frost, which I
suppose would be less likely to trouble them in this State. I have spent the past four years
in superintending the improvement of a large cranberry farm in Jackson County, Wisconsin,
which yielded its first crep of about two hundred barrels this year, and should have had more,
but for frost. The sample I send you is of the " Bell & Bugle " variety, and are very
superior berries as to size, flavour and keeping qualities.

They are the natural variety grown in the large natural marsh of over 200 acres, which
I selected in this vicinity from its possessing in a very perfect manner all the conditions for a
cranberry farm. It is within half a mile of Lake Michigan, which renders it absolutely free
from danger of frost. The water supply, depth of soil, etc., are the best of any I know of
in the West.

I should be pleased to give any members of your Society any advice in my power, on
the selection or improvement of cranberry lands.

Aside from my personal experience in the business, I have been acquainted with many
of the most successful growers both East and West, and have been familiar with the history
and modus of the business, and reasons for its success and failure in different places. I may
say I believe the West can excel the East in this as far as in growing wheat and corn. On
my land, this'year, ;I picked at the rate of 450 bushels per acre. From the limited extent

53

of land well adapted to the cranberry, I believe there ^is no danger of overstocking the
market.

Very respectfully,

S. H. Comings.

Also the following essay on the Phylloxera and grape rot was read by the Secretary, in
the absence of the writer, Prof. A. J. Cook, of Lansing. He says :

It is well known that the subject of black rot in grapes, for years the cause of some
anxiety, has of late become a matter of the most serious consideration in some parts of our
own and contiguous States. Since 1864 this evil has been rapidly increasing, not only reach-
ing out to blight new vineyards, but also clutching in its withering grasp many new varieties.
It is a question of no small moment, whether there is any relation between this fatal rot and
the insect known, at least in some regions, to be the arch destroyer of the vine.

As I shall show in the sequel, there is some reason to believe that these hold the rela-
tion of cause and effect. The Phylloxera, by its withering presence, so destroys the vigour
of the vines that they fail to ripen the fruit, and as a result we find black rot among the
grapes. Without doubt the Phylloxera, so destructive in Europe, is an American insect of
quite recent importation into Europe. That it has been sucking the vitality from our
grape-vines during the past is a fact beyond question. The insect is polymorphis, or exists
in several forms.

In every form each louse is exceedingly small, appearing to the unaided vision as a mere
speck of matter whose vitality would hardly be surmised except as it is seen to move. One
form is smooth, oblong and yellow and only works — at least this is probable — in galls on the
leaves. These galls are very noticeable, sorely marring the appearance of the leaves, and are
caused by the presence of the lice. Within the galls the eggs are laid, and the young lice
brought forth. These gall Phylloxera are agamic, that is produce without males, and
apterous.

Another form — the root form— are greenish yellow, oval in form, and not smooth but
covered with wartlike projections. These too are agamic and apterous. These by their punc-
tures and sucking proclivities cause the root to appear knotted and to die, the plants to de-
cline, and when the lice are very numerous, to wither away, and I have reason to believe they
may at least cause the black rot.

In summer another form appears, the progeny of these agamic root lice with wings.
These come forth, and by flying to other vineyards to deposit eggs, spread this terrible
evil with a rapidity not otherwise possible.

Hence we see that the presence of these pests in our vineyards need not be a matter
of conjecture only, for while the insects are mere specks, either the galls on the leaves or
the knots on the roots give quick indication of the dreaded foe.

I have come to the conclusion that the Phylloxera causes the rot by obstructing the
sap, and so lessening the vigour of the vines that they are unable to ripen all their fruit,
and thus many grapes wither. This sapping of the vines, too, very likely induces exces-
sive fruiting. As in ail organic nature, the weak and the feeble are more prolific, as if
expecting their near demise, thus the Phylloxera not only sows the seeds of destruction
but induces a condition in the very habit of the vine. That the lice are the first cause
in some, if not in all cases of black rot, seems evident from the fact that their presence
or absence is sure evidence of the presence or absence of rot.

Of course I would not say that black rot never occurs except as a sequence of the
enervating attack of the Phylloxera, as they indirectly cause it, by depleting the vitality
of the vines. Yet we have good reason, I think, to prefer strong charges against this
minute, but powerful destroyer.

J. C. Holmes, of Detroit, sent a letter to the Secretary, relative to this same subject,
and in it he says :

" You know that the grapes in some of the vineyards at Grosse Isle were, in some
way, the last summer, destroyed before coining to maturity. I see by the papers that
Prof. Cook thinks the state of the atmosphere, want of drainage, etc., had something to
do with the destruction of the grapes, , Perhaps it is so, but I think the Phylloxera is a

54

little at fault in this matter. A few weeks since Dr. Benedict brought me a few grapes
from his vineyard on Grosse Isle, that had been injured as described by Prof. Cook.

" On some of the grapes that were still fresh, I noticed a semi-circular mark, similar
to the mark of the curculio on plums, and within the part bounded by this mark I noticed
several very minute spots or excrescences which looked very much like the work of an
insect. The Doctor noticed that as the grapes began to show signs of disease, that this
little semi-circular mark was upon the damaged fruit, so small at first that it required very
close observation to detect it. The mark gradually increased in size until it could readily
be seen. I took a little thin slice, with a little of the pulp from this diseased part of the
grape, placed it upside down upon a glass slide, then under the microscope. I found that
this little juice of the grape was filled with Phylloxera, quite lively and feeding on the
juice of the grape. This shows that the Phylloxera in one form and at some part of the
season will attack the fruit as well as the roots and leaves of grapes. This may be the
cause of the shrivelling up of the grapes."

WEEPING TREES.
A paper read before the Western New York Horticultural Society by Wm. C. Barry.

WEEPING OR DROOPING TREES.

In this class are embraced the most charming examples of ornamental trees. Graceful
in outline, elegant and novel in their mode of growth, impressive and attractive in appear-
ance they possess all those characteristics of growth and foliage which render them especially
desirable and valuable for the embellishment of landscapes and the ornamentation of grounds.
The beautiful cut-leaved Weeping Birch, sometimes called the Lady Birch, with its bright
bark glistening in the summer's sun and its graceful drooping branches, swaying m the
lightest breeze, is a worthy subject for the artist's pencil and the poet's pen. In winter too,
covered with ice and illuminated with the brilliant rays of the setting sun, its trembling
branches apparently studded with innumerable brilliants, it presents a charming picture,
attracting the attention and winning the admiration of even the most careless and indifferent
observer This elegant tree which Mr. Scott very appropriately calls " the most exquisite of
modern sylvan belles," was introduced and first offered for sale in this country by Ellwanger
& Barry about the year 1851. Henry W. Sargent, Esq., writing to the Horticulturist from
Germany in 1848, and describing Booth's nursery at Holstein stated that " among trees and
shrubs new to me I noticed a Weeping Birch peculiar to Germany. It had descending snoots
32 feet long. The branches hung as perpendicular downward as those of the Sophora pendula
or the common weeping willow and are quite as delicate and pensile as the latter." From
this description Messrs E. & B. at once concluded, that this must be a very desirable and
valuable tree, and they immediately ordered a specimen to be forwarded to them, in due
time it came, was planted, and as soon as possible, a large stock of young trees was obtained.
No novelty was ever received with greater enthusiasm, or gave more general satisfaction than
this The demand was so great that for several years from 5 to 15,000 stocks were budded
annually Until the month of November last the original imported tree stood in their
nursery -rounds a living monument, full of beauty and grace, adorning the landscape, and
gamin- for itself hosts of admirers. Unfortunately, however, being in the way of projected
improvements, it had to be destroyed, much to the regret of those who had seen it planted,
and watched its growth for nearly twenty-five years. In view of the many interesting facts
associated with it, it had already become a historical tree, but fifty years hence, when its ott-
spring will be found in every city and hamlet of this great country, it would have been could
it have been left standing, remarkably interesting to the admirers of characteristic and note-
worthy trees. Mr. Scott, who evidently appreciates the value of this Birch for ornamental

PaD1"listIndsathe acknowledged queen of all the airy graces with which lightsome trees
coquette with the sky and summer air. It lacks no charm essential to its rank. Erect,
lender tall, it gains height only to bend its silvery spray with a caressing grace on every

side. Like our magnificent Weeping Elm, but lighter, smaller, and brighter in its features,
it rapidly lifts its head among its compeers till it overtops them, and then spreads its branches,
drooping and subdividing into the most delicate silvery branchlets, whose pensile grace is only
equalled by those of the Weeping Willow." +

Although extensively planted in all parts of this country, it is far from enjoying that
universal recognition to which its merits justly entitle it. While I was surprised to note its
absence in the finer European parks and gardens, I am still more astonished to see so few
fine examples in a city where it has been propagated by the thousands for years. The man-
agers of our parks, too, have evinced great indifference towards this tree, if we may judge
from the small number of fine specimens to be found growing in them. Strange as it may
appear, it seems to have been reserved for the projectors of one of the fine parks in the West
to properly employ this truly noble tree, by planting one of their leading avenues with it. All
honour to the gentlemen of Chicago, who, realizing the surpassing charms and beauties of this
Birch, have not only formed an avenue which will do credit to the park and themselves for
all time to come, but will teach, stimulate and encourage similar efforts in other places.

The Cut-leaved Birch is one of those trees which is complete in itself. It has no de-
fects of habit which require to be concealed, and should always be planted by itself in
the most prominent and conspicuous position on the lawn. Although it is a rapid grower
and attains to considerablej size, it is equally well adapted for large and small grounds,
and wherever planted always contributes towards rendering a landscape charming and
effective. For avenue planting it surpasses all other trees. I have in my mind an avenue
which has been planted lately in our city, and I trust the time is not far distant when we
shall have several. Were we limited to a single ornamental tree, we should have no hes-
itation in selecting this in preference to any other. It is the most graceful of all trees,
and deserves to be better known and more widely disseminated.

Young's Weeping Birch is a new and interesting variety, which is admirably adapted
for the lawn. It was discovered about twenty-five years ago by Mr. W. Young, of the
Milford Nursery, England. Owing to the slenderness of the branches, which in the orig-
inal plant were so weak as to creep along the surface, great difficulty was experienced in
propagating it. It was first offered in this country by Ellwanger & Barry in 1873. To
the graceful elegance peculiar to the Birch family it adds the odd, singular erratic habit of
Weeping Beech. It has long slender, thread-like branchlets, which fall from the main
branches like spray. Grafted upon stems 6 to 7 feet high, it can be grown into a rounded,
regular head, like the Kilmarnock Willow, or left to itself, it will send up a leading shoot,
with side branches like the cut-leaved, only more spreading. In this distinct type we
have gracefnlness and picturesqueness combined. It is one of the very best of new trees,
and worthy of being introduced into every garden.

Betula alba pendula elegans is another charming variety, of quite recent introduction,
and, as yet, but little known. It originated with the Messrs. Bonamy Brothers, at Tou-
louse, France, in the year 1866, and was first exhibited by them at the Paris Universal Ex-
hibition in 1867, where it received a gold medal, the highest award for new trees. Ell-
wanger & Barry first offered it in this country in 1873. Its habit of growth is unique and
beautiful. Grafted on stems 6 to 8 feet high, the branches grow directly downwards, par-
allel with the stem. Its decided pendulous habit, rich handsome foliage, delicate branches,
render it particularly showy and attractive on the lawn. Among ornamental trees of re-
cent introduction, this and Young's Weeping may be considered the most valuable ac-
quisitions of many years.

The Kilmarnock Weeping Willow, first offered in this country by Ellwanger & Barry
in 1857, is now so well known as to need no description. Being one of the most popular
and widely disseminated of weeping trees, its history may not be uninteresting. " It was
discovered growing wild in a sequestered corner of Monkwood estate, near Ayr, in Scot-
land, by an aged botanist, named James Smith, an enthusiastic lover of plants, and a
zealous collector. From him, Mr. Lang, a nurseryman at Kilmarnock, purchased one
plant in the year 1844."

Sir W. J. Hooker, curator of Kew Gardens, received two plants in the spring of
1852, and, having observed how exceedingly ornamental it was, gave Mr. Lang a decided
opinion, stating that he thought very highly of it, and that it was much admired in the
Royal Gardens at Kew. The name, Kilmarnock Weeping Willow, was given to distin-

56

guish it from the common weeping willow and the American weeping willow. Of all
weeping trees, it is the one best adapted for small lawns, garden plots or yards. Very-
handsome plants may now be obtained, grafted on stems 6 to 8 feet high, for training
into umbrella heads. Grafted low, say three to four feet high, with the head nicely kept
and the branches trailing on the ground, it becomes a novel and interesting object on the
lawn. For rounding off or completing the end of a belt or border of trees or shrubs, it is
very appropriate. In my tour through Scotland, the past summer, I did not meet with a
single specimen of this tree, either in the parks, nurseries or gardens, and I am at a loss to
know why it is so little esteemed in its own home, especially since we in this country
hardly think any ornamental tree equal to it.

The Weeping Beech is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable of drooping trees. Its
habit of growth is odd and eccentric, but at the same time picturesque and beautiful. A
strong grower, its branches shoot upward, then outward, twist in various directions, and
turn into a variety of shapes • then droop and trail on the ground. Divested of its leaves,
it is quite ungainly ; but clothed with its rich luxuriant foliage, it presents a magnificant
appearance. It is one of the largest and most curious of lawn trees, and should be planted
by itself, where it can have abundance of room. Large specimens often cover an area one
hundred feet in diameter. Its history is somewhat remarkable. Some sixty years ago
Baron de Man's gardener at Beersel, Belgium, was planting an avenue of beeches. The
Baron, while superintending the work, noticed among the trees selected for the purpose
one poor and crooked specimen, and rejected it. The gardener thinking, however, that it
possessed some merit, planted it in a corner of the garden, where it grew to be one of the
most beautiful and singular of trees. One of the noblest of specimens I have seen was in
Mr. Anthony Waterer's nurseries, at Woking, England.

The New American or Fountain Willow is a well known pendulous variety, which
forms a very handsome specimen when budded standard high. While it can be trained
in umbrella form like the Kilmarnook willow, it is a much stronger grower, and requires
more space. On account its vigorous growth, it is much more difficult to keep in shape
than the Kilmarnock, and, all things considered, hardly equal to that variety for orna-
mental planting. It is a trailing species of American willow, grafted standard high, and
was introduced from France about the year 1852.

The European Weeping Ash is a well known weeping tree of vigorous habit, its branches
spreading at first horizontally, but gradually drooping towards the ground. Its strong,
stiff growth does not render it as graceful and ornamental as many of the trees of this class,
but planted singly on a large lawn, it forms an interesting object. It is one of the best
trees for forming an arbour.

The White leaved Weeping Linden is a handsome drooping variety, with large round
leaves, of a grayish green colour above, and silvery gray beneath. Worked upon stocks
standard high, the branches shoot out almost horizontally, and as they increase in length,
bend gracefully towards the ground giving to the tree a decidedly pendulous character.
Being a strong grower it requires to be vigorously pruned to keep it in shape. In this
way it can be trained into a round symmetrical head, and will always be found a desirable
addition to any collection, on account of its distinct silvery foliage, which contrasts effect-
ively with the deep green of other trees.

Of Weeping Elms there are several which deserve attention. Our American Elm is
one of the most noble and stately of weeping trees. It is so well known that any notice
of it here would be superfluous, but it may be proper to remark that it is not admissible
on small lawns.

The most popular of weeping Elms, is the Camperdown, a very picturesque and
elegant tree which can be employed with the most satisfactory results in extensive grounds,
as well as in small garden plots. It is of rank growth, the shoots often making a zigzag
growth outward and downward of several feet in a single season. The leaves are large,
dark green and glossy and cover the tree with a luxuriant mass of verdure. By a judicious
use of the knife, it can be kept very regular and symmetrical in form, and a handsome
specimen isolated on the lawn, will always arrest attention and elicit admiration.

The Scotch Weeping Elm (montana pendula), is a drooping variety, resembling the
Camperdown, but not so good.

The fiougti-leaved Weeping Elm (rugosa pendula), is a pendulous variety with large

57

rou-h leaves, and Elm viminalis, sometimes classed among drooping trees, is a distinct

slAmW hnnched variety, very ornamental m habit and loliage.

The W, Ztg Mo uLn Lh has probably received as much attention as any weeping

tree on accon it of its distinct and carious habit. A careful examination of its mode of
growth canno t fail to excite wonder. If worked two to three feet from the ground
and albwed to .row wild, it soon becomes as odd a piece of framework as it is possible
to imagine I have an indistinct recollection of one I saw growing in this manner, and
at the" me I considered it as great a curiosity as I had ever seen. Grafted six to eight
fcethiX it becomes a very desirable lawn tree, and in the Autumn, laden with large
clusters of bright red fruit, it produces a brilliant effect. . . , . ,

*Ths SnaPopldr \pjpulus grandideMa pendula), although not so elegant and
irracef^as^meof the drooping trees we have mentioned, has many desirable qualities
Shfch commeTd it to the admirers of fine trees. Its character is decidedly pendulous,
In its branches spread and droop gracefully towards the ground. But the knife must be
used ^ unsparinglyPto preserve its symmetry. It is the most rapid grower of any in this
class ailthose who desire a weeper which will produce immediate effect, will find their

H*^ Isolde St. Julien, two varieties recently

intrt^^ T- »d one which is very

little ^nowi/or mentioned, is Bujofs Weeping Honey Locust ^CJiZSlT^
of habit and foliage to commend it, but in severe winters it is liable to injury irom Host.
I s propagation is somewhat difficult, which will always make it expensive and rare.
Like Z Weepino- Japan Sophora, it sometimes succeeds in sheltered positions. I know
o) only one specimen L this vicinity, which has survived the severity ot several winters,
unprotected Those who love and admire fine trees sufficiently to give them the neces-
TpSon, will feel themselves amply repaid for any trouble or expense they may
incur in securing a specimen, and giving it the protection it requires.

The Weeping Japan Sophora, one of the most beautitul weeping trees, is not quite
hardy here and i not propagated in the nurseries. We have a tine specimen tree, how-
evrwhSi thrives in a sheltered position, the same as that occupied by the Sequoia or
big trie of California. The Gold Burked Weeping Ash, a handsome ™U^***&'

The Weeping Cherries-Evei flowering weeping, avium pendula, Bigarieau pendui
are all pretty lawn trees, but not sufficiently known to be properly appreciated. On some
future occasion I hope to be able to call attention to these more particularly. It should
be borne m mind by those intending to plant drooping trees, that their appropria te pc>s -
tion is always on the open lawn, single, never in groups or masses nor mixed in with
other trees "or shrubs hAelts or borders. In the hands of the ^^ **£
capable of producing the most charming results and are more effect »*™&™S™?* "
and expression to a landscape than any other trees. I append a list of select varieties ioi
large and small grounds.

SELECT DROOPING TREES FOR SMALL GROUNDS.

Kilmarnock Weeping Willow.
Young's Weeping Bitch.
Cut-leaved Weeping Birch.
Dwarf Weeping Cherry.

Weeping Larch.
American Weeping Willow.
Camperdown Weeping Elm.
Birch elegans pendula

To the above may be added —

FOR EXTENSIVE GROUNDS.

Ash, European Weeping.

Beech, Weeping.

Birch, Eiropean Weeping.

Birch, tristis.

Elm, Corked-barked Weepim

Elm, Scotch Weeping.
Linden, Weeping.
Weeping Poplar.
Weeping Cherry.
Mountain Ash, Weepin<

REPORT

OF THE

FRUIT GROWERS' ASSOCIATION

OF THE

PROVINCE OF ONTARIO

FOR THE YEAR

1879.

^viwUft hy $ntor $f ttee <£tqi$\%tivt ^»emM»,

PRINTED BY C. BLACKETT ROBINSON, 5 JORDAN STREET

1880,

INDEX

PAGH.

Americam Pomological Society 16

A. MacCallum, obituary 16

Annual Meeting 1

Annual Address 4

Apples 10

PAGE.

Apples in Co. Kent 26

" New 42

" Eeport on 67

Auditors' Eeport 4

Autumn Meeting 84

Belle Lucrative Pear 22

Best twelve Pears 20

Best list of Pears 51

Beurre d'Anjou 20

" Superfin 21

" Bosc 21

" Clairgeau : 21

Bishop's Seedling Strawberry 83

" " Gooseberry 34

Black Alier 19

Blackberry, Wachusett Thornless 45

Blueberry 19

Burning bush 18

Button bush 19

Canada's favoured climate 5

Canada, Baldwin 28

Ceph^lanthus occidentalis 19

Ceanothus Americanus 19

Champion Quince 43

Cherries in County of Kent 24

Chokeberry 18

Cornus Stolonifera 18

Crops in Europe 5

Decarie Apple 28

Directors' Eeport 2

Directors for 1880 8

Diseases in Pears 11

Dominion Exhibition 16

E.

Economic Forestry 58 | Euonymus atropurpureua

18

F.

Flemish Beauty Pear 22

Floriculture 11

Forestry 11

Forestry, economic 58

Fruit Growers' Association of Quebec 28

Fruit list necessary 15

Fruit Committees' reports 32, 33

Fruits, new and rare 39

Fruit Crop, Eeport on 59

6.

General Grant Crab 29

Grapes 8-53

1 ' in County of Kent 25

Grapes, popular sorts 55

" new varieties , . . . 55

" White 56

111.

Hesper Blush Crab 29 | Hypericum Kalmianuni .

TAOS.
.. 18

I. J.

Illustrations in Annual Report 13 I Josephine de Malinea Pear

Ilex Vertioillata 19

24

K.

Kalm's St. John's Wort 18

L.

Lawrence Pear 23 I Liriodendron Tulipifera 19

Legislation required 7 | Louise Bonne Pear 21

M.

Meeting, Annual 1

1 ' Autumn 34

Michigan Law on Yellows 37

Montreal Apples 36

Me.

MacOallum, A., Obituary 16

N.

National Policy 12

Native Flowering Trees 17

New Jersey Tea 19

New Fruits in 1878 39

New Apples 42

New Pears 43

" Quince 43

' ' Strawberries 44

" Grapes 45

" Raspberries 45

Officers for 1880

Peach Year 7

Pears 10

" best twelve 20

" new 43

Peaches in County of Kent 24

" " ' Lambton 26

" new 39

Pear Orchard, Report on 60

Pests of the Vineyard 9

Plant Distribution 13

Plums 6

" in County of Kent 24

Popularizing Society's Work 14

President's Address 4

Progress of Horticulture 11

Prunus Serobina 20

Pyrus Arbubifolia 18

Quebec Fruit Growers' Association

28

Quince, new sort 43

IV.

R.

PAGE.

Bare Fruits in 1878 39

Raspberries new 45

Red Osier Dogwood 18

Report on Trees distributed 31

" of Fruit Committee 32, 33, 57

" on Bishop's Strawberry 33

PAGE.

Report on Bishop's Gooseberry 34

" Seedling Apples 57

" Fruit Crop 59

" F. Anderson's Pear Orchard 00

' ' Roses, best hardy 45

Eusssian Apples 42

s,

Sheldon Pear 23 | Strawberries, new

Small Fruits -. G Swamp Blueberry

Spindle Tree 18 |

44
19

T.

Ten best native Flowering Trees
Toll, Jas. C, Fruit Crop

17

24

Treasurer's Report
Tree Distribution

13

Vaccinum Corymbosum.
Vine, The

Vineyard Pests

w.

Wachusett thornless Blackberry 45

Walkerton, Meeting at 34

Wealthy Apple 28

Winterberry 19

Wild Black Cherry 20

Winter St. Lawrence Apple 28

Winter Nelis Pear 23

White Doyenne Pear 22

Y.

Yellows in the Peach ... 17, 37 | Yellows— Law to prevent spread of

37

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

FRUIT GROWERS' ASSOCIATION

OF THE

PROVINCE OF ONTARIO,

FOR THE YEAR 1879.

To the Honourable the Commissioner of Agriculture : —

Sir, — I have much pleasure in submitting the Report of the Fruit Growers' Associa-
tion of Ontario, for the year 1879. The proceedings and discussions have been full of
valuable information to al] who take an interest in the pursuits embraced within the
operations of the Association. The monthly publication of the Canadian Horticulturist
has been continued, and the proceedings and discussions of each meeting have been speedily
laid before the members. A copy of the monthly issues for the year 1879 accompanies
this Report and is submitted herewith.

Thanking you for the encouragement you have always given to the efforts of the
Association, •

I have the honour to be,

Your most obedient servant,

D. W. Beadle, Secretary.

PEOCEBDINGS AT THE ANNUAL MEETING.

The Annual Meeting was held in the City Hall, Ottawa, on the evening of the 23rd
of September, 1879.

The President took the chair, and the Secretary read the minutes of the last annual
meeting.

The Directors submitted the following Report : —

1

DIRECTORS' REPORT.

To the members of the Fruit Growers' Association of Ontario :

Gentlemen, — The year of our official labour closes, and we now submit the customary
Report with such suggestions as the experience of the year prompts.

Your Directors notice with pleasure that the winter meeting is growing in importance,
the attendance upon it steadily increasing, and the subjects considered becoming more
extensive and of greater general interest. At the last winter meeting it was resolved by
the members, that the Directors be authorized to arrange the next winter meeting for a
two days' session, thereby evincing a desire for fuller discussion and time to admit of the
discussions taking a wider scope. It will therefore be important that the incoming board
should take steps at an early day to ascertain what subjects will be of greatest interest,
and to secure from competent sources papers to be read at the meeting, bearing upon these

topics.

Your Directors are also able to state with much pleasure, that the representations
made by this Association to the Dominion Government with regard to the necessity of a
change in the customs dues upon fruit from an ad valorem to a specific duty, met with a
favourable response.

The Canadian Horticulturist has been received with such evident satisfaction that
your Directors have been encouraged to continue its publication during the present year;
and it is very gratifying indeed to be able to state that our members are more generally
making use of it as a means of communication with each other, and manifesting their in-
terest in the objects of the Association by contributing of their experience to its pages.

The Treasurer's report will be submitted, from which it will be seen that our member-
ship this year is not quite as large as it was last year. The continued severity of the
financial depression has doubtless had much to do with this decrease. There is also an-
other matter which causes some fluctuation in our membership. A number seem to be-
come members merely for the sake of the tree or vine that is given to members, not from
any desire to advance the interests of fruit culture, or of contributing towards the diffusion
of knowledge of what best to grow and how best to grow it. When the article to be distri-
buted happens to take in the public mind, there is a corresponding increase, for the time, in
our membership, but which may fall off the next year if the article that is to be distributed
happens to be less taking in the popular mind. We hope eventually that our membership
will become more stable, and be largely composed of those who are seeking not so much
personal gain as the diffusion of knowledge and the prosperity of our Province.

We are further persuaded that the time has come when steps should be taken to lay
before our people personally the wort of this Association, believing that many would
become members, useful and active members, were they only made acquainted with the
objects of this Association and the great good it is doing. It has occurred to us that the
only effectual method of accomplishing this would be to send out some suitable and com-
petent person to hold meetings and call public attention to the work of the Association,
and in some measure to canvass the country and secure in all the important centres of
each county, some person who will take an interest in maintaining and extending the work
and membership of the Association.

R. Burnet, President,
D. W. Beadle, Secretary.

The Treasurer submitted his Report, accompanied with the report of the auditors,
which was received.

The President delivered his Annual Address which was listened to with marked
attention throughout. It was received with thanks and ordered to be printed in the
Annual Report. ,

The meeting proceeded to the election of officers with the following result : —

President — Rev. R. Burnet, Hamilton.

Vice President — Wm. Roy, Esq., Owen Sound.

Directors.

Division No. 1, John Croil, Aultsville.

2, P. E. Bucke, Ottawa.

3, R. J. Dunlop, Kingston.
" 4, P. C. Dempsey, Albury.

5, Thos. Beall, Lindsay.
" 6, Geo. Leslie, jr., Leslie.

" 7, Thomas Stock, Waterdown.

" 8, A. M. Smith, Drummondville.

" 9, Chas. Arnold, Paris.

10, A. McD. Allan, Goderich.
" 11, W. Saunders, London.

" 12, B. Gott, Arkona.

" 13, A. Hood, Barrie.

Auditors.

Robert Roy, ) tj -i.

a a xtl i j t Hamilton,

Angus Sutherland, j

TREASURER'S REPORT.

Receipts.

Fees from members, 1878 $4 00

Sale of two copies Yol. I. Canadian Horticulturist 1 00

From advertisements 33 25

From members' fees, 1879 1,065 00

Government Grant 1,300 00

$2,403 25
Disbursements.

Balance due Treasurer $126 58

Auditors 20 00

Expenses, Directors and Committees 329 19

Commissions collecting fees 30 80

Postage 33 17

Guarantee premium 20 00

Express 5 90

Printing .' 385 97

Paper 171 28

Binding and mailing 172 30

Advertising 93 55

Discounts on loan 61 90

Burnet grape vines 530 00

Duties on foreign reports 1 36

Clerk 50 00

Secretary-Treasurer 200 00

Editor 300 00

Electrotypes 3 00

$2,537 80

AUDITORS' REPORT.

Hamilton, 22nd September, 1879.

We hare examined the foregoing receipts, and compared the disbursements with the
vouchers, and have found them correct, which shews a balance due the Treasurer of

$134.55. „ ^ .

Robert Roy, ) Auditor,_

Angus Sutherland, J

Some discussion was had on the subject of fruit statistics, and their importance. On
motion it was resolved, that the President, Vice President, and Secretary, be a Committee
to wait upon the Hon. Mr Pope, and confer with him upon the subject, with a view to
securing statistical returns of the fruit productions of the country.

Several members complained of the depredations of fruit thieves, and many sugges-
tions were made as to the best ways of putting a stop to the stealing of fruit. It was at
last resolved that the President and Secretary, be a Committee, to prepare a paper, on

1 AtoW thanks was passed to the Mayor, and Aldermen, of the City of Ottawa, for
the use of their commodious Council Chamber, and the meeting adjourned.

• ANNUAL ADDRESS.
By Rev. R. Burnet, President.

Thirty-seven years ago I heard a minister discourse on the text " For he hath founded
it upon the seas and established it upon the floods." He gravely maintained that the
solid earth was founded on the water, because the Word of God said it was so. It so
happened that in coming down the Kirkgate my landlady inquired ' How did you like
the mmlster this morning V "Not at all," was my reply, "1 don't think his illustrations
were rue " This conversation so short and decisive, was duly reported to my clergyman
of course, without my cognizance. I taught the advanced Bible-class in ^Sabbath
school a. d it not unfrequently happened that after duty I was asked to spend the even-
nt and night at the Manse and return to my work on Monday morning, after enjoying
cool dip fn the refreshing waters of the Firth. Walking together for this latter purpose
down to the shore, and near the ruins of the old Kirk and in the very shadow of the
graveyard, the Parson addressed me thus, "So you did not like my sermon yesterday
SornLr I was confounded, and could have wished that the earth would swallow me up,
or that I was at the bottom of the sea. It was the first time ever my orthodoxy had been
questioned, and indeed the first-time I had ever entered upon the questionable in geology
I repUed "Mr. L-, I cannot tell a lie, 1 don't think the solid earth is founded on the
water" "You see," aid he, pointing to the tangle slightly moving on Turnpenny Rock
"You see that rock; I verily believe, as truly as I am speaking to yon, that the earth is
founded on the water, because the Word of God says so." The piping answered '/Bnt
I don't know, now, that the Almighty taught by illusion. He never does. The inter
tretation remained a mystery to me for many long years, until I ^d quotation rom
Lieutenant Maury's " Currents of the Ocean," in which he quotes the 33rd Psalm- He
kycthupthedepyth in storehouses," illustrating the Psalmist' s statement by them ere t
Philosophic fact that the Disposer of all events employs the sun as a mighty hydraulic
P^p in the to rid zone, and thereby raises millions upon millions of tons of water, every
da^ causes them to pass over the region of the calms, descend in the shape of ram, dew,
and^oar frost!ld thus causes the fulness of the earth to be dependent on and built np

by the influence of the watef. Thales seems to have been pretty near the mark, when he
said, "The origin of all things is water." Our friend P. E. Bucke smiles. We all know
his jjencha?U for water. Learned men, and men illustrious in more modern times, ap-
preciated this great fact. The late Prince Consort, of honoured memory, seems to have
been far ahead in theological knowledge of my worthy and godly minister in the North of
Scotland. He had appropriately inserted as the inscription of the new Royal Exchange
" The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof ; the world and they that dwell therein,
for He hath founded it upon the seas and established it upon the floods," thereby indicat-
ing that all agricultural and horticultural prosperity largely depends on the influence of
water. Literally the statement is true, whether regarded in the sense in which it was
uttered by the Psalmist, employed by the Prince Consort of Great Britain, or even as in-
correctly stated by the worthy clergyman.

THE CROPS IN EUROPE.

The floods have been singularly disastrous in England, on the Continent of Europe,
and, indeed, almost throughout the world this year. The London Standard says : —

" This is truly a year of disappointments. When after wet weather without parallel
for duration, a brief period of fine weather sets in, and farmers begin to look a little less
despondently upon the situation, a storm of tremendous severity occurs, and dashes all
their hopes to the ground. Only a fortnight since, the 4th of August, a thunder and rain
storm burst over the whole country. The swelling rivers flooded the low-lands, washed away
crops, and committed terrible devastation. Now it is evident that the storm of Saturday and
Sunday, the 16th and 17th of August, has been equally disastrous, if it has not surpassed
its predecessor in widespread ruin. The West of England experienced the greatest vio-
lence of the storm. There the rain fell for thirty hours without intermission.
Bridges were swept away and miles of railroad were washed up. Great tracts of country
were flooded and the crops destroyed. Since the breaking up of the storm we have lapsed
into comparatively cold weather. The thermometer has fallen greatly, and the sky is over-
cast, so that there is no sun to dry such crops as struggled thus far through unprecedented
climatic difliculties. Under such circumstances the most sanguine may well despair. The
prospects for agriculturists are more gloomy at present than we can ever remember them."

Canada's favoured climate.

In wonderful contrast to the expressions of "desolation," "ruin," and the like, we
have to compare our own favoured climate, and remarkable absence of climatic ravages
and stormy destruction of crops, either of the agriculturist or horticulturist. We are
reminded that the Disposer of all events "hath laid up the depths in storehouses," " hath
founded the fulness of the earth upon the seas, and established it upon the floods," for our
pleasure and profit. We rejoice in the bountiful return of another fruitful season and
sure pledge of the promise, " While the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, and cold
and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease." We live in a
highly favoured land, blessed with health, crops and plenty. " He has crowned the year
with His goodness," and a bountiful crown it has been. Our barns are filled with plen-
teous stores, and our presses overflow with new wine. Our duty is fully to appreciate the
manifold goodness of the Almighty. For some years, in making our annual address to
the assembled fruit growers of the Province, we were necessitated to indulge in lugubrious
strains. Cold and frost had committed sad ravages upon the products of the husbandman,
and scanty crops had been the result. This season is, indeed, a fruitful one, and all hearts
rejoice. I cannot but congratulate the producers here present on the late harvest. Our
devout expressions of gratitude are justly due to the Almighty, the author of every good
and perfect gift. We recognize His hand in the sunshine and shade, in the storm and
calm, in the grave and gay, in the bounty which loads us with His mercies, in the needed
lessons to be gathered when He sees meet either to withhold His gifts or when He permits
the devastating rains and floods. The season has been one of unexampled profit to the
husbandman.

SMALL FRUITS.

All sorts of fruits have done well in almost every section of our country. The crop
of small fruit amply repaid the care and attention of husbandmen. Currants, red, white,
and black, make good and remunerative returns. A growing taste is perceptible on the part
of the public for blackberries. In some districts they have been highly prized. This is
just as it should be. Few of the small fruits cook better than they do. In the neigh-
bourhood of London, Saunders' blackberry has been in good request, and we augur will be
in greater demand wherever its merits are known. Cherries were a most abundant crop,
and as a consequence this fruit sold cheap. The Kentish variety which is so much
esteemed for cooking, canning, and preserving, was sold at first for ten, in some cases fif-
teen cents, but during the end of the season only realized five cents per quart. The finer
varieties were also very abundant, so much so that the ravages of voracious birds and in-
sects have not attracted much attention. The Duke and Morellos, during the season have
been singularly prolific, and the same may be said of the Bigarrean and Heart varieties.
The new cherries that deserve notice are the " Toronto," raised by E. L. Cull, of Toronto,
who says that the tree is a remarkably strong grower and seems to resist the slug better
than other varieties. The " Olivet " is a large, globular, very shining deep red sort. It
ripens in the beginning of June and continues till July, and possesses a rose-coloured juice,
its flesh is tender, rich and vinous, with a very sweet sub-acidulous flavour. It pos-
sesses the fertility of the best of the Duke sort and is perhaps the largest of that class.
The "Lieb," a Morello cherry of American origin, is said to ripen a week earlier than the
Early Richmond and to be larger and hardier.

PLUMS

are an excellent crop, so plentiful that the Curculio has been unable to overtake the whole
crop, which is all the better for his voluntary thinning out. The curculio is on the decrease ;
whether or not the cold, frosty season, damp and late, has had to do with this effect we
know not. Certain it is, however, that they have appeared in diminished numbers during
the past summer. Let us aid elemental nature in destroying the little lurk. Remarkably
good care in jarring, and good culture, go a long way in getting rid of this inveterate spoiler.
The black knot is diminishing. We fear not from attention and good cultivation, but
from the disease having killed outright a large number of trees, both of the common blue and
the finer sorts. Ellwanger and Barry declare that their preventatives and remedies are
good, clean culture, and prompt amputation. We heartily recommend, besides those
usually grown by plum cultivators, the Guthries' Apricot, and Topaz, Huling's Superb,
and Ickworth Imperatrice. B. Gott, of Arkona, no mean judge of fine fruit, lays great
stress on Huling's Superb. The Ickworth Imperatrice is of high, delicious flavour, but
not a robust or vigorous grower. The new plum of Mr. James Dougall, Windsor, is of
superior excellence and of great beauty. We long for the time, which assuredly will
come, when through the munificence of our Government and the patriotic efforts of the
members of our Fruit Growers' Association, we shall possess in either the Hamilton or
Toronto districts a test or experimental garden for these new fruits. The benefits to ac-
crue to the country would far outweigh the paltry expense. Yeai after year elapses, the
Province, and indeed the world of fruit producers lose the wealth and pleasures that are
yet to follow in the general dissemination of important and valuable new fruits. Our As-
sociation has done, and is now doing, much in this direction, but a good deal is yet to be
done, and we know of no way in which this could be better done than by the establishment
of an experimental fruit garden. Now that our Association has committed itself to the
development of forest and flower interests, in addition to those of fruit, perhaps this mat-
ter will appear a necessity in the minds of our legislators. We have heard of no new plum
this season likely to take the fruit growing public by storm. Glass Seedling is favourably
reported on from almost every district. In fruit catalogues, I see that this latter variety
sells at $1 per tree.

A PEACH YEAR.

The year 1879 may be said to be the peach year. Peaches have been a most abun-
dant crop. Notwithstanding the severity of the winter on some varieties of fruit trees
the peach singularly escaped. While the Philadelphia raspberry and other varieties
suffered much, the peach escaped the usual frosty ravages, and a most abundant crop has
been the consequence. Mr. Allan Moyer, of Jordan station, G. W. R,, Oni, sends
samples of High's Early Canada. He writes me that it is earlier than Alexander's Early,
and Amsden's June by a week at least. The first is delicious, it is earlier than River's
" Early Beatrice," larger and of better quality. Recently we received from B. Gott,
Arkona, a sample of Hale's Early. We can confidently recommend this variety for
general cultivation in Western Ontario. It was raised in Ohio, from which we have so
many excellent new fruits. The flesh is white, bursting with pleasant rich juice, of first
quality, and ripens a full week before the Early York. The Country Gentleman, in its
earliest August number, says of the Waterloo, a seedling which originated in Waterloo,
N. Y., produced by Mr. Henry Fiske : — "That from its large size and extreme earliness,
it must attract attention." Ellwanger and Barry, who introduced it, say that on the first
of August, peaches on a tree of the Amsden were yet nearly green and quite hard, which
shows the extreme earliness of this new variety. This comparison enables us to add,
Cela va sans dire. We casually noticed in our address last year a seedling peach, shewn
by Mr. Bliss, at the New York State Fair, Elmira. There has been no mention yet of its
propagation and introduction. We are satisfied, however, that the time cannot be far
distant when we shall hear of it. It was esteemed by Mr. Fuller, than whom there is
not a more competent judge of fruit, superior in flesh and quality to the Early Crawford,
a peach holding much the same relation to peaches that the Seckle does among pears.
May Mr. Bliss' peach soon bless the world ! Mention of the " Conkling" must not be
omitted. It originated in the town of Parma, N. Y., in the garden of the Rev. Mr.
Sawyer. It is a large, handsome yellow-fleshed, free-stoned peach, resembling Crawford's
Early, but ripening a week or so later. It has received the commendation of Mr Ellwan-
ger, which of itself is a sufficient guarantee that it is all he claims it to be. Peach culture
is again in vogue among fruit growers. The borer, frost, curculios, and yellows have not
been potent enough to diminish its cultivation. The acreage under culture is gradually
increasing. The Navy Island Association of Fruit Growers are pushing its cultivation on
their grounds. We are led to understand that this season's yield will be amply remunera-
tive to the company. The yellows however are in dangerous proximity. Mr. A. M.
Smith, Drummondville, writes,

" Your favour was received and I should have replied before this, 20th August, but
have been waiting to get all the information I could in regard to that terrible disease,
which is threatening the destruction of our most luscious fruit, the peach, and I find that
my fears of a year ago were only too well grounded. Whole orchards in western New
York, where it first started five years ago, or at least where I first observed it, are totally
destroyed, and it has spread over a radius of 15 or 20 miles, and th?re is scarcely an
orchard but what is more or less affected, and that is not the worst. In this neighbour-
hood where I first noticed it, three years ago, it is almost as bad. There is hardly a
sound tree in Lundy's Lane, which was once the famous peach garden of this section. To
relate my own experience, I planted 200 trees on a place which I rent here, five years
ago, and they made a remarkably rapid growth, and were in fine healthy condition till
two years ago. There was one tree which ripened its fruit prematurely, and I at once
suspected yellows, and advised my landlord to let me cut it down or dig it out ; but he
declined, thinking it was too valuable to lose. The result was that last year there were
twelve affected, and this year there are 150. So you can see the rapidity with which it
is tpreading.

LEGISLATION REQUIRED.

" In regard to the great peach section about Grimsby, I am happy to say there is but
little of it as yet. In our own orchard of 3,000 trees, I have failed to see a well defined

specimen, though in a few orchards which I mentioned last year where trees were procured
from the States, there has been a number of cases, and it is only by strict watching and the
immediate removal of affected trees that they have been able to keep it in check : and
some, I understand, who did not know the danger in time, and where the disease had spread
considerably before they tried to check it, are about to give it up in despair. Here it
seems to me comes the necessity for that law which, through the ignorance of our legisla-
tors upon the subject, was defeated in our Legislative Assembly. I sincerely hope that
something may be done for us at the next meeting of onr Local Parliament, not only to
stop the spread of the disease, but to put an ejjd to the importation of diseased trees and
the immense amount of diseased fruit coming into our markets. Toronto, and many other
of our markets, are now stocked with it, and people are not enough posted yet to disting-
uish it from really good fruit. It is so highly coloured that it is very attractive to the eye
and will readily sell to the exclusion of better fruit. People are unacquainted with it,
and the consequence is that it is ruining the market for our own fruits. I hope you
will ventilate this matter, and if I c\v*. serve you in any way I shall be at your command."
The misfortune under which we, as an association, labour in this and kindred matters, so
ably put by Mr. Smith, is that we do not get them put into execution. A prominent fruit
grower and able member of our Fruit Growers' Association resisted with all his might, and
that successfully, the introduction into Mr. Creighton's admirable bill on black knot in
plums any clause indicating the neccessity to put a stop to the import ation of diseased
peach trees. In our view, and, we trust, in the view of all enlightened fruit growers, all
diseased trees should be legally prevented from entering our Province. It is a pity such
a view did not guide the usually enlightened legislation of Ontario. So in regard to the
important matter of securing the fruit statistics of the Dominion. The views of fruit-grow-
ers have been brought to the notice of the readers of our Annual Reports, but that is all.
No means have been taken, that I am aware of, to press the procuring of answers on fruit
statistics upon the Dominion Government, Oh ! for a watchful executive committee of
our members. Time flies ; we are getting old and useless, and nothing is done. Forgive
the ebullition. The little progress on fruit-growing is enough to give a man the "yellows,"
i. e.y the jaundice.

THE GADDING VINE.

Grapes have done well this season. They just escaped the frost on the 16th and 17th
of June. The flowers were ready to burst. Fortunately the season was late, and little
damage was done throughout Ontario. Here and there they were caught by the cold snap.
B. Gott, of Arkona, writes that grapes are most abundant. Indeed the crop generally
is very heavy, affording great encouragement to the grower. There is a larger acreage
planted in Ontario this year than ever before. We were delighted to hear of the success
attending the planting of vines in Toronto and neighbourhood. Mr. John Hoskin, of the
Dale, has a considerable vineyard, and is a most successful cultivator of this noble and
ancient fruit, and no novice in wine making. Mr. P. C. Dempsey, Albury P.O., Prince
Edward county, says : —

" Grapes are not so large in bunch this year as in former years. I think the vines
have not fully recovered from the effects of the frost in May, 1878, when they had grown
from 12 to 15 inches, and were completely frozen off. I have several vines that have not
one bunch, but all are making plenty of wood. My hybrids, No. 4, small black grape
resembling the Burnet, is in form and flavour and ripening at the same time as No. 5, which
is large, black, ripens with Isabella; No. 15, also black, medium in size of bunch and berry;
No. 18, white, you have frequently seen; No. 19, or Burnet, requires no remarks from me;
No. 20, white, resembles the exotic, the best of all my seedlings — a good grape; No. 25,
you have frequently seen. If it was three weeks earlier I would not ask a better grape ;
No. 24, too late for our climate, black and large; No. 60, a cross between Delaware and
Allan's Hybrid, is a white grape or rather light amber in colour, bunch about like Dela-
ware, the berry a little larger, early and good, but has the fault of dropping the berry
from the bunch as soon as ripe. These are all the varieties of my hybrids that have
fruited and that are of any promise. I have many more of recent production and growth
that have not fruited. All are crosses with hardy varieties."

I am sure it would greatly gratify the fruit growers of Ontario to know that all of Mr.
Dempsey's hybrids were in the market. I particularize Nos. 18 and 25. He is the Rick-
etts of our Province and deserves well of the country for the number of interesting hy-
bridizations he has added to our fruit list. May he be long spared to be enrijhed and to
enrich. We had hoped to announce to you this year that the hybrid grapes of Mr. W. H.
Mills, my predecessor in this chair, had been put upon the market. This we are unable as
yet to do; but when the announcement is made, I am sure we shall all rejoice. His
seedlings are of great promise and value, and will show what advances hybridization is
making among our fruit growers. Mr. Wm. Hoskin's grape, a hybrid with the same pater-
nity as the Burnet, is being propagated, and will prove no unworthy rival to its compa-
triot. The hybrids of Mr. Wm. Saunders, of London, who has a legion of them, are
fruiting, and some of them giving promise of marked excellence. One or two of his
varieties are strikingly early. Some of them are foreign in their foliage, with a deep
mauve colour in their stem, and many of them most vigorous in constitution and growth.
Mr. Saunders moves slowly, constitutionally. His hybrid blackberries have dragged their long
length and age behind. Were the members of our Association bold enough to give a recom-
mendation to our enlightened and successful co-labourer we might say to him, Don't put too
much stress on the oldmottoof " Festina lente" Amongst our neighbours over the way there is
first the Pocklington, a remarkable grape of promise; and, secondly the Rochester and the
Monroe, both raised and introduced by Ellwanger & Barry. The Pocklington is a white grape,
and bears the favourable imprimatur of Mr. M. B. Bateham, of Painsville, Ohio, and the two
latter by the Messrs. Ellwanger and Barry. We have seen the Rochester, and highly esteem it.
The habits of the vine are similar to those of the Diana. It requires ample room and rather
longpruning. It is ripe in the first week in September, and has never failed to ripen well in the
worst season since it first bore. Mr. Rickett's Highland and Lady Washington have been
already noticed by me. Mr. Hubbard's new white grape, the Prentiss, is making a furore
in Ohio, and doubtless will soon find its way among ourselves.

PESTS OP THE VINEYARD.

It will not comfort many of you to know that the grape-rot, so prevalent in Cincin-
nati twenty or thirty years ago, is beginning to make its appearance in Canadian vineyards.
Wet seasons are most certain to bring rot. Vines on wet and moist soils are most liable
to the disease. A crop of clover, rye or oats, covering the surface of the ground during
the hottest part of the summer has been found to lessen the evil. W. W. Scarborough, of
Cincinnati, protects his vines profitably, both from mildew and rot, by covering them with
Manilla bags, and sometimes he uses bags of muslin for the same purpose, and that suc-
cessfully. We are persuaded that similarity of climatic changes with those in the States
is the real cause of rot in Canadian vines. It would be well for Canadian vine growers
to be on the alert and use every available means to prevent its spreading generally over
the Province. Good cultivation and watching are perhaps the best preventives. A few
years ago I witnessed the rot ravages at Cincinnati, and have a very salutary dread of its
dire effects. In this connection I may mention that there is no diminution of the Phylloxera.
Secretary Bateham, of the Ohio State Horticultural Society, estimates the loss of vines
by the ravages of Phylloxera to be at the rate of 1,000 acres annually in that State. This
seriously diminishes the profits of the cultivator. G. A. Campbell, of Delaware, Ohio, a
well-known adept in fruit matters, declares that the ravages of this pest are rapidly on the
increase. Mr. John McLean, of Owen Sound, to whom I have been much indebted for
news about fruit growing, sends me Australian newspapers, whose contributors bitterly
complain of the inroads of the Phylloxera on Southern vineyards. The misfortune is that
no good and sufficient remedy has yet been discovered. WTe fear that the only remedy k
to deprive the destructive pest of his modicum of food. Unsparingly root up defective
vines and carry the war into Africa against the determined ravager. Mr. Bucke, Ottawa,
writes that his " Salem have badly mildewed this season, though no other variety has been
injured. The Champion has coloured nicely, and Miller's Burgundy is following close
after it." We need only say that a good dose of sulphur will greatly modify, if not

10

wholly prevent the mildew on grape vines. Mr. Paffard, of Niagara, grows beautiful
Sweetwater in the open trellis in his garden, and treats the Black Hamburg as a hardy
grape, and by means of large and frequent applications of sulphur. The subject of long
pruning, applied to the vine, is receiving the utmost attention at present. The longer the
subject is discussed, will it appear evident that we have been cutting the vine too closely,
its nature, habit, abundance of sap, all indicate that it requires to run, though it may be
an extreme illustration, yet it is a just and applicable one. The single Black Hamburg
vine at Hampton Court Palace fills the whole house, ex uno disce omnes. A curious and
fanciful gardener, and what gardener is not both curious and fanciful, employed in our
ideal test garden would speedidy put all these test questions to the proof, and furnish us
with occular demonstration that fruit growers have been too long trying to confine vines too
much to narrow limits. Mr. Hoskins' Rogers' 1 5 is a notable example of the benefits
accruing from long pruning, which many of you by inspection have been able to judge
of for yourselves. A better, a newer, era is dawning on fruit growing, and the united
experience of cultivators freely disseminated will yet work wonders to the profession.

APPLES AND PEARS

are plentiful, notwithstanding that this is not the fruiting year of the former. Mr. B.
Gott says that the crop of apples and pears is very promising and will be very fine, and
the former will be most abundant. In the neighbourhood of Strathroy there is a splendid
show of fruit. Recently I travelled along a part of the 4th concession, Adelaide Town-
ship, and found some orchards groaning under an unusual weight of apples. At St.
Thomas, too, there is the prospect of a remunerative yield. Altogether we have reason to
express our gratitude with great thankfulness to the bountiful Giver of all good gifts for
the ample supply of delicious fruits, and especially for the wholesomest of all fruits — the
apple. It would gratify many fruit growers to know the extent of the season's apple crop,
We trust that, while we meet as an association in our annual gathering at Ottawa, a com-
mittee will be appointed to wait upon the Hon. the Minister of Agriculture, and represent
how easy it would be to embrace in the forthcoming statistical report questions adapted to
call forth an accurate account of the yield of fruit, and especially of apples. I have no
faith in the guesswork that is annually put forth by interested producers who know little
or nothing about the extent of our fruit crop. Haphazard statements of so many hundred
thousand barrels have had their day, we trust, and that now we can look forward to care-
fully prepared tables which will be unerring as a guide to our fruit growers. We notice,
from a circular of Messrs. Woodall k Co., Liverpool, that the apple crop in England is
almost a failure. It is a bad wind that blows nobody good. What is the extremity of
English fruit growers will prove to be a rich harvest to Canadian horticulturists. Every
barrel should be sent to the British market that can be spared from our own, care being
taken that fair, hand-picked, good fruit is forwarded, not for a remunerative return, but
for the credit and good repute of our Ontario fruit dealers. Let us all rejoice in the fruit
prospects of this abundant fruit season. Of new apples we were favoured with a sample
of Lord Suffield, forwarded to us by our indefatigable Director, Mr. A. McD. Allan, of
Goderich. Alas for his Lordship's reputation, we mistook him for a sample of Willson's
early harvest apple, and made a premature incision, which has thrown a favourable report
of the excellent qualities of his Lordship's back to another season. The Jefferis has been
on our show-tables for two years. We can strongly recommend its general cultivation. It
is tender and delicious, of great beauty in its appearance, one of the finest dessert apples,
and productive. We again call your attention to a remarkable crab-apple brought to our
notice by Mr. Wood, of Guelph, now of Fergus. It is ironclad, delicious for dessert, and
beautiful in shape and appearance. It would be well worth propagating by some of our
go-ahead nurserymen. Hitherto nobody of our acquaintance has taken its dissemination
in hand ; the more's the pity. P. C. Dempsey, of Albury, writes, in regard to seedlings,
that in the County of Hastings and neighbouring counties there are many orchards which
have been planted from fifty to eighty years, containing fine samples of natural fruit. Our
Association lags in not arising and securing these seedlings for more general propagation
An experimental or test garden would soon enhance valuable varieties in public estima-

11

tion. We have waited long, and we think that we may wait in vain, for some public-
spirited individual among our members to step forward and show the importance of this
matter and push it to a practical conclusion. The Provincial benefits for such an institu-
tion are not far to seek, being apparent on the surface. The good results likely to accrue
to our hybridists will present themselves to every thinker.

DISEASES IN PEARS.

I approach with some degree of caution the pear question. The drawbacks to its
cultivation are so many and so formidable, that we shrink from saying aught that would
lead pear-growers on the ice. It is true that the ravages of the blight have not been so
destructive this season as we have seen it on former occasions. But it is still bad enough.
We are persuaded that over-cultivation has a good deal to do with pear blight. Trees
poorly fed, and worse cared for, seldom blight. The origin of the evil is as inscrutable to-
day as it has ever been. Mr. John Pearce, of Toronto township, has written us largely
on the origion of the disease, but, alas, for his learned lucubrations, we have a blighted
pear tree, at this moment growing in a pot, which blighted on the trunk, was cut down to
within an inch or two of the ground, and which is now, the 1st of September, sending up a
vigorous shoot, indicating that at least the supposed origin of the disease, the root, is not
at fault. Two years ago I cut off in the same way a badly blighted Glout Morceau, and
we question if any pear grower among us has a prettier head than that which now graces our,
about to be, discarded pear tree. The origin and cure of pear blight are yet to seek. Of
new varieties within our knowledge, we can confidently speak of Andre Desportes, Beurre de
l'Assomption, Bonne du Puits Ansault, Brockworth Park, Duchesse Precoce, Madame
Baptiste Desportes, Madame Andre Leroy, Pitmaston Duchesse, Dr. Reeder, Mount Ver-
non, Frederick Clapp, and Madame Appert. This year throughout the Province there is
an abundant crop rewarding the care, patience, and assiduity of the horticulturist. Such
is the record of the season which we now present to you.

We trust that in the experience of every one interested in Horticulture, the
recapitulation may prove its truthfulness and impartiality. We could wish that our
annual address here ended, as we fear that our reflections and presentations of facts may
be tedious to the practical horticulturists here present.

THE PROGRESS OF HORTICULTURE.

At the risk of wearying you, my duty calls upon me still further to notice the
advances we have made in horticulture and kindred subjects during 1879. First in order
comes the new fields of labour on which we have agreed to enter. At a recent meeting of
your Directors, they unanimously agreed to recommend to the Government, that we be
clothed with a new name indicating the new subjects sought to be taken under the auspices
of this Association. The new name indicates the whole of our responsibility — Horti-
culture, Floriculture and Forestry ; we miss the mention of the vegetables in our desig-
nation. Our worthy Secretary, ever fertile in suggestions, may have seen means for
remedying this defect. Defect it is, no doubt, for a more important branch of horticultural
interest, scarcely exists. There are few subjects under our care, that tend more to the
comfort, health and happiness of our citizens than the vegetable garden ; somehow, few
businesses are more despised than that which furnishes such healthy contributions to our
tables. In this department of horticulture, as in all its departments, vast progress is be-
ing made in hybridizing new varieties. Our efficient editor of the Horticulturist can do
much in furthering this branch of our art in recording and bringing to public notice such
triumphs of the hybridizer as are to be seen in Dempsey's hybrid tomato and Arnold's gar-
den pea.

FLORICULTURE AND FORESTRY.

Some of our members speak of horticulture with bated breath, as if it were beneath
the dignity of a fruit culturist to care for such evanescent creations, and as if it were some -

12

thing the general public cared little about. We have no sympathy with such views. The
adornment of our lawns and gardens has become a fixed fact, and the passion for flowers is
rapidly spreading among us. Our public parks are claiming careful attention. Volunteers
are offering to contribute their quota for the public taste. In London our cemetery com-
panies are vying with each other who are to make the last resting place outwardly the most
attractive with floral decorations. I am glad to think that Mr. W. Saunders is leading the
public taste largely in this matter. His leadership will at least secure correct taste. In
forestry everything requires to be done. Canadian yeomanry have wonderfully succeeded
in clearing the land of the noble monarchs of the forest — monarchs which, were the icono,
clasts to live to ten generations, they could not replace. Questions of increased rainfall
general health, grain and fruit crops, hang on the proper attention to be given to this in-
teresting subject. Land capable of growing the black walnut, butternut, and red cedar is,
and ought not to be, left to the production of the elm and ash. An English writer of note
says : " The universal curse of an old civilization is the reckless destruction of the original
forests." We Canadians unconcernedly stand by and witness the dire effects of fire and
the axe without lifting one protesting and supplicating voice. We can never estimate
aright the valuable timber that has been sacrificed to a hungry greed to clear the land.
The Fruit Growers' Association need to put forth their best efforts to husband our provin-
cial and Dominion resources in their timber limits — to carefully instruct the farming com-
munity how much depends on the judicious planting of forest trees, their presence produc-
ing abundant rainfalls, preserving and distributing moisture, and thereby forming a
preventive against drought and devastating floods. Hamilton, which might have enjoyed
a scene of beauty for generations yet to come, has allowed the face of her fair mountain to
be barbarously shorn of the leafy covering, to the great detriment of the city and injury to
the proprietors. We need protection from selfish and greedy men, protection from men,
devoid of taste, by those who have taste and sense. Mr. Wilmot, our admirable President,
I am sure, would indeed rejoice, for the sake of his special culture, that the woods were
largely spared to afford " water privileges" to the valuable fish streams that enrich our
country. In our forest city we are setting the denizens of other cities a good example in
boulevarding our handsome, wide streets. There is much for our Association to do in this
respect. The question has to be answered : What are the best trees, and when and how to
plant them 1 Let us importune our Government to efficiently take this matter in hand,
and speedily adopt measures introduced by legislation to meet the urgent demand for tre e
planting. What a wide field for such energetic efforts in the valley of the Saskatchewan!
Who could object to a restricting clause in the sales to our highly favoured emigrants to
the Lone Land, that yearly they are to plant and protect a certain number of trees. Tree
planting has received a marvellous impetus in the Western States by the Timber Act of
the United States Congress, by which 57,000,000 trees were set out during the current year.
Verily, our cousins are an enterprising people. They seem to do to-day with all their
might what their hands find to do, and thus present a noble example to us. I look forward
with no trepidation to the consideration of our recommendation of this subject by our
enlightened Commissioner of Agriculture, the Hon. S. C. Wood, who has always shown him-
self thoroughly alive to the furtherance of horticultural and kindred pursuits. His part
will not be wanting in successfully carrying out the projected alterations in our Provincial
Agricultural Act to enable us, as to the manor born, to take under our wing the subject
of Canadian forestry. We turn to the effects of

THE NATIONAL POLICY

on our fruit growing. We confess that we are not indifferent to its results commercially
and politically. Whatever benefits or depresses our country's interests cannot be viewed
with indifference by the patriot. Last year we were met by the random assertion that the
National Policy would enhance prices, and that only the rich could buy luxuries under its
sway. Dr. T. H. Watt, of Niagara, who has greatly interested himself in these matters,
writes me thus : —

. "Again, with regard to peaches, who ever heard of them being sold on the 7th day
of August at one dollar a basket, in the previous history of fruit-growing in Canada. We

13

may account for this. The American and Canadian growers have been aiming at very early
varieties. We have them now, and as they are only good from hand to mouth, and are
flung on our markets at once, we see a decline in one day from two dollars to one dollar.
They have no other market in the United States. Now to my thinking this is just where
the National Policy steps in and aids us. They must sell, or have them rot on their hands,
so sell they must. Peaches sold this day (8th Aug.) at $1, deduct duty 20 cents, basket
and cover 10 cents, freight to Toronto and Harbour dues, say 12 J cents, commission 10
cents or less, 52Jc, value of the fruit, less expense of picking and teaming, 47|c. Now if
this is the case with early ones, what will it be in full season 1 The shipper will be brought
into debt. Thus probably the cultivation of the peach may be curtailed to a certain
extent on their side and increased on this, and the same line of argument may hold good with
all perishable fruits."

The Dr. further adds : — " The National Policy is only on its trial, and it would be
unfair to expect any very immediate results. The whole money system of Canada is in the
balance; may it not be found wanting."

We are satisfied that more fruit tree planting has been done during the past season
than for years before. Our nurserymen have been pushing a good business — a sure indica-
tion that better times are looked for in the near future. B. Gott, a shrewd observer, writes
me— "The market outlook (for fruit) is very encouraging. The effects of the National
Policy, or protection, upon our fruit market seems to work well, and we are much more
encouraged in getting the cream of our own market, and finding a ready demand for our
rich fruit products. All this is very pleasing."

TREE AND PLANT DISTRIBUTION.

As a general thing, we have the most satisfactory reports from every part of the
country where our trees reached their destination alive. We recently visited Strathroy
and found in Mr. Geo. Orchard's garden the good effects of our tree and plant distribution.
He has not only received, but cared for his associational free gifts. His Swayzie Pomme
Grise, Grimes' Golden, Beure Clairgeau, Clapp's Favourite, are handsome trees, upright and
healthy. Glass' seedling plum is a perfect beauty, and the Burnet grape is doing
splendidly. Mr. Orchard is a model horticulturist, and exhibits the greatest interest in all
matters horticultural connected with the efforts of our Association. A pleasant and delight-
ful hour was spent on his place. The reports, indeed, from all quarters are satisfactory.
The wonder is at the dissatisfaction consequent on disappointed hopes, where the distribu-
tion has been so extensive, was not larger. As to be expected, many of our members
sometimes have received their trees in bad condition, which was the misfortune, not the
fault, of our Association, the evil resting with those with whom we dealt outside our own
borders. Of late the members must have noticed that the Board have been confining
their distribution largely from the ranks of our own Canadian hybridists. This rule has,
however, not been so rigidly enforced as to preclude what has seemed to the Board to be
of superior excellence from abroad. The present policy is working well and Mr. Arnold's
Ontario was recently sent over the length and breadth of the land, as, we trust, another
feather in the cap of your direction for prudent forethought.

ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE ANNUAL REPORT.

•

You will doubtless miss the accustomed illustrations in your annual report. The
omission has arisen from straightened means. A small debt hanging over the heads of
your direction owing to the increased expenditure for the publication of the Horticulturist
has dictated the propriety of curtailing our outlay to bring it into correspondence with our
narrow income. They have determined to pinch along, and do the best they can for the
advancement of our chosen culture. It is eminently due to Mr. Wm. Roy, of Royston
Park, and Mr. Wm. Saunders, of London, to say that their liberality in a very practical
way was manifested in our extremity, which bridged us over our financial difficulty. The
Hon. Commissioner of Agriculture, Hon. S. C. Wood, also timely came to the rescue, and
added an important addition to our grant. In a few months our financial matters will

14

stand as they never before have done, the balance in favour of the Association. From this
statement I pass to the consideration of the best means of advancing our future usefulness.

POPULARIZING THE SOCIETY'S WORKS.

The operations of our Association are not sufficiently known. In too many sections
our very name has not penetrated. Such an assertion is very humiliating, but it ought
to be made, if true, and good will come out of it. Some time ago, I was in. the county
of Elgin, and found that prominent fruit-growers in their own locality had not seen nor
read any of our fruit reports, and did not know of the Association at all. Two weeks
ago I had an inquiry from a successful firm of nurserymen as to the mode in which they
might become members of our Association. We require to take means to organize county
branch societies, whose work would be indentical with our own. Our worthy Secretary
suggested some time ago that your President might undertake to give addresses on horti-
culture in different districts, being aided and abetted by leading local fruit-growers. This
suggestion would probably have been acted on before this, if you believe me capable of
such an effort, had it not been that a severe attack of sickness incapacitated me from
entering on the discharge of such a duty. A more extensive circulation of our reports,
and the increased distribution of the Horticulturist is urgently needed. Where known
our reports are diligently sought after. Where read, our Horticulturist is a welcome
monthly visitor. In regard to the latter, poetry, learned essays, spirited editorials,
delightful horticultural gossip, spicy travelling accounts, contemplated botanical pursuits,
all claim the attention of our members, and would be greatly relished by the portion of
the community that the monthly never reaches. Let us devise some means to get readers,
I might say subscribers, to the organ of our Society. It will never be much till it is
made to pay — till people, in fact, pay for it. Gratuitous distribution does not pay, has
not paid, will not pay. People estimate gifts very often according to the money value
which they pay for them. In this connection, I may also state that our quarterly dis-
cussions are greatly lost as far as regards usefulness from a similar cause. They are not
known. We have been struck with the little interest they excite even in the localities
where our meetings are held. Often, were it not for the laudable attendance of our direc-
tors, the meetings would have to be dissolved for want of a quorum. A review of this
nature just shows what a mighty work is before us, and how we ought to gird ourselves
to the battle against indifference, ignorance and sometimes censoriousness. Of late we
have remarked that no mention has been made of these meetings by the metropolitan
press. An Assistant Secretary should be appointed at every meeting to help our Secretary
and prepare paragraphs of our discussions for insertion in at least the leading newspapers
of our growing towns and cities. The Peterboro' Review, under the able management of
its editor, did our Association good service at our summer meeting. Like results ought
to be made general. We require to make earnest solicitation for assistance. There are
many persons, shall I say it, so affected with a common disease called laziness, that they
are not aware what they can do till they are pushed to do something besides. If a thing
is desirable in itself, it is worth asking for. It is true in soliciting assistance, and is
equally true in urging attendance at these meetings of fruit growers ; last winter we
made a good beginning in securing essays and topical addresses from a number of our own
members. It would be a pity to let this good practice drop. Skilful and talented
individuals, even outside of the roll of membership, might be enlisted for these purposes.
Not to mention the improvement to our meetings by such a course, these papers wotild
prove an unfailing source of benefit in awarding suitable material for the preparation of
the annual report to the Government. Efforts should be made to lengthen out our
sessions to two days at least. We are too much in a hurry to get home. Longer sederunts
would secure a deeper and wider public interest in the Society's sayings and doings.
Important subjects are chosen for discussion. It frequently happens, however, that often
several of them are left unconsidered. A determined exertion should be made to secure
cheap railway fares. Other societies receive this benefit, which cannot be said to be so
important, or which are doing so much gratuitous good as we are doing. A deputation
should be appointed to wait upon the leading railway authorities. Our case should be
strongly argued and convincingly put : exertions in this direction would largely increase

15

our attendance. I have heretofore urged a closer connection with the maritime provinces.
Last year I pointed out how truly beneficial our purposes and plans might be made in
regard to Manitoba. This is a field for our exertions not to be despised nor overlooked.

A FRUIT LIST A NECESSITY.

It is very desirable, too, that we form and authorize a comprehensive and reliable
fruit list suitable for the various sections of this country. Our labours in this respect
have been very much lightened by the admirable lists of the American Pomological
Society, under the leadership of that astute horticulturist and pomologist, Mr. P. Barry,
of Rochester. The Canadian fruit grower owes a deep debt of gratitude to this gentleman.
The difficulties attending a revision and publication of an extended fruit list can only be
understood by those who have studied this most important subject connected with horti-
culture. I ought not, perhaps, though I may appear tedious to you, to overlook the model
set us by the Michigan State fruit list. At no time, perhaps, in the history of fruit grow-
ing, was there ever a time when, in the prosecution of our legitimate labours, we could
have got such valuable assistance from the arduous work of those who are and have been
engaged in like pursuits. I know of few means that would more advance our national
industry than just to take a new departure in this respect. We exist, in fact, to help our
Provincial and national industries, and every advance made in forming a correct and,
therefore, reliable nomenclature, would tend to immensely enchance the value of our fruit
products.

THE MANAGEMENT.

Lastly, after the manner of a parson, I would strongly recommend that the honours
and labour of the management of our Association be equally distributed. You have long
honoured the policy of reappointing your officers. Perhaps this is a favourable time for
your divergence from this custom, and to inject a little new blood into your Direction. A
fitter President than your present Vice-President, Mr. Wm. Roy, could scarcely be found
worthy of your suffrages. An ardent horticulturist with time and leisure on his hands, he
would serve you well and prove an ornament to your Association. He would prove to be
the right man in the right place.

THE AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Mr. Beadle, Mr. P. C. Dempsey, and myself, attended the meetings of the American
Pomological Society, which opened its session in Rochester on Wednesday last. Mr. P.
Barry ably presided in the lamented absence of the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, President
of the Association. Many important discussions engaged the attention of the members
which will be given to the world through the publication of the transactions. A grand
reception was given to the members and their friends, by the citizens of Rochester. Mr.
Power's picture gallery was considerately placed at the disposal of the Yice-President, Mr.
Barry, for the occasion. Your President had the distinguished honour of replying to the
toast " Success to the pomology of the Dominion." As usual every courtesy and kindness
were extended to members of your deputation. The Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, of Boston,
was again unanimously chosen President.

THE DOMINION EXHIBITION.

This brings me to notice our present Provincial, or rather, grand Dominion Exhibition
at Ottawa. It will long be known as the red letter year of our Association. The presence
of his Excellency the Governor-General of the Dominion, which we believe first suggested
the idea of giving our Provincial exhibition a Dominion cast, will be long remembered in
connection with its formal opening. His well-known interest in all matters referring to
agriculture and arts, indeed in every branch of industry calculated to advance the Dominion
in material prosperity; his personal liberality in the munificient gifts of gold, silver, and
bronze medals, and his encouragement to the exhibition in the distribution of five hundred
Dominion medals through the Government, will remain a lasting memorial of his devotion

16

to the welfare of our country. Not less courteous has been the condescension of her Royal
Highness the Princess Louise, who has been pleased to take a particular interest in the
exhibition of our fruits.

CLOSING REMARKS.

I have only space to make the briefest mention of an important matter connected
with the future well-being and advancement of our fruit interests. I refer to the rights
of our hybridists in the fruits of their industry. Why should not our hybridists be
protected in their rights just in the mode that authors are protected1? They should have
a right to the name they give their products and have the privilege of selling their rights
to individuals, townships, counties, states, or provinces. In short, they should have a copy-
right in their own property.

Another important matter claiming the efforts of fruit producers is the subject of
drying fruits, canning and preserving them. Tomatoes, for instance, have been selling
wholesale for fifteen cents. In the market they have brought twenty-five cents, leaving
margin sufficient for a handsome profit to the preserver.

1 have only another word to say and I have done. It is unusual that I should
exhibit a grumbling mood in my annual address. This year, however, I cannot but remark
that with regard to the Dominion prize medals for our fruit department, we seem to live
in a bronze age. It may be a little brassy for your President to remark that in Class 36,
with twenty-five sections, our quota of medals was two silver and five bronze medals. Class
1, with eleven sections, has had awarded to it one gold, two silver, and five bronze medals.
The general fruit list, Class 38, with seventy sections has had five bronze medals awarded.
Natural history, which in past exhibitions has been a mere bagatelle, any one being able
to place in a small portmanteau the valuable contributions in its Class 44, with seventeen
sections, has only obtained two gold, two silver, and two bronze medals. I wish to have
it on record that I had neither act or part in this distribution, but simply that of protest-
ing against our cherished culture being lowered to the bronze age.

OBITUARY NOTICE.

Our Association has lost a Avorthy member in the demise of the late Archibald
MacCallum M.A., LL.B., Inspector of Public Schools, Hamilton. He was one of our
quiet, but active members. Indeed, it may justly be said, that he was always ready to
lend a helping hand to every cause that has for its object the welfare and happiness of
his fellow creatures. Engaged, as he was, in the active discharge of the duties of a
singularly busy life, he yet had time for recreation in the shape of a diligent cultivator
of fruit trees. With honest pride he showed the results of his experiments in gardening,
and exhibited good taste, both in the selection and cultivation of his fruits. He has
gone, greatly lamented by a large circle of admiring friends. The death, however, of a good
man ought not to be lamented. We ought to rejoice that he combined in a very eminent
degree, the qualities, of the worthy citizen, and the humble disciple of our Lord and
Master. His departure is fruitful in important lessons, to do with all our might those
things that our hands find to do, ere the night of death cometh when we cannot work.
He was a christian, and that embraces all of good that can be said of him. His end was
peace. When our day of departure comes, may we die the death of the righteous, and
may our latter end be like his. In such an hour as we know not the Son of man cometh.
"Be ye also ready." May we so strive to discharge our duties that when the summons
goes forth, " cut them down " we may hear the gladdening sentence, " Well done, good and
faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord."

" So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan, that travels on
To that mysterious realm, where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night
Scourged to his dungeon ; but sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
Around him, and lies down to pleasant dreams"

Robert Burnet, President.

17

REPOBT OF DISCUSSIONS.

It does not seem to be wise, to burden this report with a reprint of these discussions.
I hey have been so fully laid before the members in the pages of the Canadian Horticul-
turist that it is only necessary to say that they will be found in the numbers for March,
April, September and October, 1879.

YELLOWS IN THE PEACH.
Read at the Winter Meeting, by P. E. Bucke, Ottawa.

It is stated that yellows attacks only those trees that are worked on the peach stock,
and that if worked on the plum or the almond this disease would be avoided When once
a tree is attacked this disease is regarded as incurable, and can only be got rid of by the
total eradication of the trees infected. This dread epidemic is happly unknown in Europe
having made its appearance only on this continent in the United States. It is never seen
in newly cleared districts, unless introduced by the importation of infected trees.

ihe South Haven Pomological Society appointed a committee to examine and report
Z I/ °rCf^rd7" ^locality in order that the trees if affected might be destroyed as
the law of the state of Michigan requires. It appears that many parties neglected destroy-
bL™ T+UnAT tlelmPress'on that the yellows only spread when the tree was in
b oom so that if the trees were made away with before the spring no damage would result,
but it has been found that tins impression is a wrong one, as the disease spreads at any
mZfl^fl T fResol"tlons ,were therefore Pa«ed by the above society recom
riers n% f ^"Tt r^ramJrom sh'PPing leased fruit, and calling upon public car-
riers to refuse such freight, and requesting commission men and other dealers to report to

diviZk 7th\e nam6S PerS°nS S,r Pph]g *he Same> that the society d0 Prosecute such in-
o note thi "TUT SelilnS the fruit 0f members of the socie'y be requested to

nkbeVh f ^ SMth. HaV6n fruit' and that a c°Py of tlle abOTe resolutions be fur-

nished as far as possible to carriers and commission men and other parties interested

fr,™ 6 T ?Ur S°CIet^ mlght take a leaf out of the book of the °"e above quoted and
obtTn vtZ ♦ "" m,«ht Protect its members from t«is dreadful scourge and if necessary
obtain Barlimentary assistance in suppressing the disease.

WHICH ARE THE BEST TEN FLOWERING NATIVE TREES AND

SHRUBS FOR ORNAMENTATION?

Read at the Winter Meeting, by W. Saunders, London.

i ^ is,7thout doubt ver.y desirable that as far as possible our native ornamental

lshUedS aand n'm "^ "^ 4 ^f "T^ "**" f— ble condiMon~tab
or can he In 7 lnsta"ces ^ey can be Gained either as small plants from the woods,

within thegreTch 7"?, ^T "**"?* C°St' and " ^ desired *»«**, which Places them
Action than thoJ t* i^iTS CaSe\such shrubs 6™™ ^m seed will give more satis-
of soil siWin *»»&>*£ fr°™ their native haunts, for the reason that the change
endure It n , su™endings ,s sometimes too great for the partially grown shrub to

and where tJ ^ affe°ted f f^l l0CaHty' Where the S0° has b^n damp and rich,
mainTaineV surrounded and sheltered by masses of luxuriant foliage which have

Tw ltattn inT me7re 0iihil aS We" aS a m°ist at™sphere about it; while in its
of The « I gardei? °r shru,bbe>-y * ™7 be exposed to bleak winds and the strength
srowintsZ.h „ T m a drler1a?,d l6SS n°h Soil Such Sreat cha«ges will usually stunt a
fndeTl hardene^ S,°metlmeS klU !.' outr'Sht. 7hiU "VounS seedlin|s raised in a drier soil,
much less ri* W^ eXp0ST' T'" afommodate themselves to altered circumstances with
woods it W. Ze r^eCt °n Ule ma"y beautiful shrubs and trees which adorn our

morf^f oui atwa ^ °f S,° "^ astonishment that they have not in the past claimed

not live a verv ^r fi ;, T^', *?"' t0 Which We are C01lfilled in this "^cussion does
not give a very wide field, particularly since we are limited, as I take it, to such as are known

18

to b3 native to Ontario j nevertheless, if the selection be a judicious one, it may still serve
as profitable subject for thought, and future experiment.

1. Pyrus Arbutifolia — Chokeberry.

This is a very desirable shrub, an early and most prolific bloomer, botanically allied
to the pear and apple. It is distributed over a large area, being found from Canada to
Carolina, in low swampy grounds. Its height varies from two to eight or even ten leet
The leaves are small, oblong and finely serrate. The flowers are white, sometimes tinged
with purple, and are arranged in compound cymes, terminating the branches; they are pro-
duced in May in the greatest profusion, so that at a little distance the shrub appears to be
a mass of bloom. Following the flowers, the bush is ornamented by clusters of dark pur-
ple nearly black pear shaped berries, about the size of a pea which when not eaten by
birds will haw? on the bushes until the flowering period of the season following. It suc-
ceeds either as a bush, or grafted as a standard, on a thorn stock, and is highly ornamental.
In spring when covered with its profusion of white flowers, in autumn, when its foliage as-
sumes tints of red and purple, and in winter, when the branches are tipped with clusteis ot
fruit It was introduced into England in 1700, and is said to be frequent there m collec-
tions, known under the name of Mespilus arbutifolia. In this country it has not received
the attention it deserves.

2. Cornus Stolonifera — Bed Osier Dogwood.

Among the shrubs belonging to the genus Cornus, there are several native to this
nrovince well worthy of cultivation. Stolonifera, sometimes also known ha alba is inter-
esting and desirable for several reasons : its young wood is of an intensely red or coral
colour, which makes it attractive in winter ; its fine large ovate leaves and its flat clusters
of white flowers make it an ornament in summer, and its bunches of bluish-white fruit in
autumn. Its period of flowering is from May to July, but frequently there is a second
crop of bloom in September, but much less abundant than that of early summer. This is a
very common shrub throughout Ontario, growing on the margins of rivers and lakes, adapt-
in- itself to almost any sort of soil, although when growing in the pure sand along the
lake shores it is often very much stunted. In height it varies from three to six feet and it
spreads itself by means of prostrate or subterranean running shoots, which root in the soil.
It has been d cultivation in Europe for about fifty years. Among the other species of
cornus which are native here and are desirable for cultivation are the following : U pawr
culata, with flowers and fruit both white : C. sericea, with white flowers and bluish fruit,
and G. stricta, with white flowers and pale blue fruit. -

3. Euonymus Atropurpureus—The Burning Bush or Spindle Tree.

One of the common names of this shrub, "burning bush" has been given to it from
the fact that in winter the bare branches are all ablaze with brilliant scarlet berries, show-
it to great advantage on a back-ground of snow, and which makes the bush a desirable
one for the winter season. The branches are smooth, the leaves opposite-stalked, lanceo-
late oblon" in form and serrated. The flowers are not conspicuous being small and flat,
composed usually of four petals of a dull dark purple colour. The brilliant fruit is four-
Inhpd and lianas on slender stalks. . .

Many beautiful varieties of Euonymus are now in cultivation, and are high y orna-
mental especially the evergreen species from Japan, and their many variegated forms,
but it is ^scarcely Ukely that any of these excepting the handsome Euonymus ra^cans
latilZ wm be found^ permanently hardy in Ontario. Among the deciduous forms in
Cultivation, it is doubtful if any are more attractive than our native atropurpureus.

4. Hypericum Kalmianum.—Kalm's St. John's Wort.

This is one of the shrubby St. John's Worts, growing from two to three feet *>£*&,
forming a very neat and compact bush; it is probably the most ornamental of the hardy

19

species of this genus. It is densely clothed with lanceolate leaves from one to two inches
in length, and produces its bright yellow flowers in clusters freely, during the months of
July and August. Found in damp rocky situations at Niagara Falls, and in the neigh-
bourhood of the northern lakes, it succeeds best in shady situations. Has been in culti-
vation in Europe for about thirty years.

5. Cephalanthus Occidentalis — -Button Bush.

The Button Bush is a bushy shrub, from three to six feet in height, growing in marshy
places from Canada to Florida, and is abundant in Ontario. The leaves are large and
handsome, nearly oval in form, and are either opposite or arranged three in a whorl. The
individual flowers are small, of a white or yellowish-white colour, but they are arranged
in dense globular heads which are quite showy; their heads are not unlike a large button
in form, hence the common name, Button Bush. Its period of blooming is July and
August. This is a very beautiful and interesting shrub and well worthy of a place in every
collection; it has been cultivated to a limited extent in England for the past forty years,
but is not much known in this country outside its native haunts.

6. Ceanothus Americanus — New Jersey Tea.

This shrub derives its common name from the fact that its leaves were used as tea
during the American Revolution. It is low-growing, seldom exceeding two feet in height,
but is very compact and is covered with its pretty white flowers in clusters during the
month of July. It affects dry sandy situations, where it seems to thrive better than it
does in heavier soil. The leaves are ovate, serrate, and downy beneath, the flowers in
little umbel-like clusters, which are crowded in dense panicles at the summit of the flower
branches.

7. Vaccinum Corymbosum — Common or Swamp Blueberry.

This is a tall and handsome deciduous shrub, growing from five to ten feet in height,
and is common almost everywhere in swamps and low thickets. Its leaves are oval or
oblong, from one and a half to two inches in length. The flowers which expand in May
and June are very pretty, but small ; they are bell-shaped, of a white or reddish white
colour, growing in clusters or short racemes. This bush yields the common blueberry or
blue huckleberry of the latter part of the season. It was introduced into England, and
cultivated for ornament as early as 1765, where it is still regarded as a handsome shrub,
of easy culture in sandy peat soils.

8. Ilex Verticillata. Black Alder or Winterberry.

A deciduous shrub common in swampy places, where it attains a height of from six
to eight feet The leaves are oval, pointed, finely toothed, and downy underneath ; the
flowers small, white, and arranged in clusters about the base of the leaves. The flowers
are succeeded by very bright red berries, which are produced in profusion, giving the bush,
a very handsome appearance in the autumn, especially brilliant after the fall of the leaves.
Introduced into Europe in 1736, where it is still cultivated.

There is not much space left for flowering trees, there are two, however, which I
should not like to omit.

Liriodendron Tulipifcra. The Tulip Tree.

A large and most beautiful tree, handsome in form, and when mature, attaining a
height sometimes of over one hundred feet, with a diameter of eight or nine feet. The
leaves are very oddly shaped, being truncate at the top, four lobed, and resembling a
saddle in form. As its roots, are furnished with but few fibres it is more successfully
transplanted while young, when it should be placed in the situation it is intended to
occupy. The tree does not usually flower until it has attained a height of twenty feet or

20

more. The flowers are large, terminal, and solitary, of a greenish-yellow colour, with
orange markings, they have an agreeable odour, and surrounded by the luxuriant foliage,
produce a fine effect. Although not a common tree with us, yet it is found native in
many parts of western Ontario, and in cultivation, when once established, grows rapidly,
enduring our climate well. It was introduced into Europe, two hundred years ago, where
it is very highly esteemed.

Prunus Serotina. Wild Black Cherry.

The luxuriant foliage of this tree, as well as its beautiful form, makes it also very
desirable. The leaves are glossy, oblong or lanceolate-oblong, finely toothed and pointed,
and of a rich green colour. The flowers are white and fragrant, borne on racemes, which
terminate the leafy branches, and therefore appear after the leaves, late in the spring.
The ripe fruit is purplish black and slightly bitter. This tree will deserve a place in
every collection ; was early introduced into Europe where it is much cultivated.

THE BEST TWELVE VARIETIES OF PEAR FOR CULTIVATION IN ONTARIO.
Read at the Winter Meeting, by Rev. R. Burnet, Hamilton.

For me to introduce to the assembled fruit growers of Ontario, the best twelve
varieties of pears for cultivation, is like returning to the enjoyment of old associations,
and to the exquisite delights of old horticultural pursuits. -A veteran coachman likes to
hear the crack of the whip, and an old teacher loves to see the successful career of his
pupil, so do I take kindly to recount to you my efforts, failures, and successes in pear-grow-
ing. My first, and my present, impressions of the best pears, are widely apart. On my
first entry upon pear culture, the beau ideal of all pears, was the Seckel. Like Mr. Arnold,
I have lived to change my mind, and like him, I claim the privilege of changing my mind,
or rather my experience. Undoubtedly the Seckel stands preeminent in flavour, but
flavour is not the only good characteristic of a good pear. Adaptation, hardihood, general
favour, are important characteristics, and not to be overlooked in the cultivation of a
dozen varieties. I may be considered a Vandal when, with an unsparing knife, I excise
the Seckel from the dozen varieties. Some one will say, but does not your very compari-
son, the very eminence, which you give to the Seckel, prove its unquestioned superiority.
Perhaps it does, but I infinitely prefer the Bartlett to the Seckel. The late Mr. George
Barnes, was once questioned in our winter meetings, if he had twenty acres to plant in
pears, how many varieties he would plant, and he answered, One. Being pressed to name
another variety, he replied, I would name the Bartlett. Its quality is of the best, buttery
and melting, with a rich, musky flavour, peculiar to itself. The tree grows well, and is
an abundant grower. No variety will reward thinning out more than the Bartlett for it
is a prolific bearer. It carries the palm for popularity too ; nineteen, out of every twenty,
would prefer to purchase the Bartlett before any other variety. In regard to blight, my
experience goes to show, that, while it is not blight proof, it is almost as little liable to
blight as any other pear tree, One peculiarity of the tree is, when it Joes blight, you can
often cut off the blighted limb, and no variety of pear tree is more apt to send out from
the excision stronger or better shoots. In fact, sometimes there is a profusion of such
shoots. For every reason, therefore, we can think of, we class the Bartlett first in our
Twelve varieties for Canadian cultivation. The varieties described are placed in the
order of estimation. Next in order is the

Beurre D'Anjou,

This pear is the favourite of the Hon. Marshall Pinckney Wilder, the venerable
President of the American Pomological Society. It is the "Ne plus Meuri's" of the
French, and is a pear of the highest excellence. I notice in the catalogue last issued by
Messrs. Ellwanger &, Barry, its value is emphasised by a brief sentence in italics, "One
of the most valuable pears in the Catalogue." This variety reminds me much of the ex-

21

cellence of the Rhode Island Greening, and holds much the same place among pears as
that apple does among its kind. We were always singularly successful in the cultivation
of this pear. It delights in a limestone soil, and succeeds admirably in stiff clay. No
tree of this variety has ever blighted with me. I don't think I had ever occasion to cut
off a blighted limb from any of my trees of this sort. One marked characteristic is, that
it never overbears, the fruit is spread evenly over the tree, and if thinned a little, the
size of the fruit becomes enormous. This quality, along with its long-keeping, marks it
out as a pear of first excellence. Properly handled it will keep to midwinter, and prove
delicious when several of the winter varieties are past. Its size is also in its favour.
Some Burre D' Anjou which I have seen grown at Lockport were very large. When known
it becomes highly esteemed, and will amply repay careful cultivation.

Beurre Superftn.

This variety is scarcely inferior to the Beurre D' Anjou. In the estimation of some,
superior to it. It certainly is a most luscious pear. The tree is apt to blight. It does
not overbear. In this respect it may well be classed with the Beurre D' Anjou. A
striking peculiarity in its bearing, is, that one can gather three or four different, or distinct
fruits off the same tree, and not unfrequently off the same branch — all unlike, as they can
well be, to the normal shape of the pear. One is entirely russetted from stem to cup, and
another wholly free from the appearance of russet. In shape, too, they vary. The peculiar
insertion of the stem is a guide to a knowledge of this fruit. Mr. Holton, of Hamilton,
was the first to point out to me the superior excellence of this fruit. In any collection,
however small, it ought to form an important part.

The next variety is one of rare excellence, and univerally a favourite. We mean

The Beurre Bosc.

No pear is more easily recognized. Its peary shape has always commended this
variety to me. The fruit grows in strings along the boughs, and there are few finer sights
than a tree thickly laden with this most delicious fruit. It is a large and russety pear ;
very distinct, or kenspeckle with a long neck, highly flavoured and melting. We have
heard it affirmed that in the Hamilton district it is tender. Our experience does not lead
us to this conclusion. We have never seen the least tenderness about the tree. W^ere
the truth to be told, we would say that the fruit is apt to mark in the carnage. The
skin is thin and fine, the flesh soft and melting, and requires the greatest Care in the
handling. I have some considerable difficulty to locate or place my next variety. Three
or four cry out loudly for the fifth place. To be candid, I have a little misgiving. I
venture, however, to mention,

Beurre Clairgeau.

This is one of our very best market varieties. I once heard the Archbishop of Bor-
deaux say in praise of a young man, that he had "un bon mien." The Clairgeau comes
under this category. It looks well. Good looking people are always in repute, so with
the Clairgeau. Its yellow and red attract the gaze of the passer by. Its huge size, and
pyriform contour, incline the purchaser to invest. This fruit has many excellent proper-
ties, and not the least is that it keeps long after being gathered. The flesh, when ripe, is
yellow, and nearly melting. Messrs Ellwanger & Barry say of it, " a magnificent market
fruit; one of the finest acquisitions." I need not say to you, gentlemen, who are here pre-
sent, that this fruit commands a long price in the New York market, and that the estimate
in which this fruit is held is steadily on the increase. It may be well, however, to make
this announcement for the sake of those who are about to invest in pear trees. Few will
come up to expectation more than this variety.

Louise Bonne de Jersey.

Much has been said and written about the excellence of this pear. It is difficult to
overestimate its value. It covers, perhaps, a greater area, than any other variety of pear.

22

Almost all soils agree with it. This fruit is better known, and more widely diffused than
any other pear. In the Channel Islands it grows to an immense size. Paris is the great
market for this fruit. We are persuaded that there are two varieties of this pear culti-
vated in Canada. I am conversant with two trees in the neighbourhood of Niagara, which
produce enormously large fruit, having much the appearance of the Channel Island Louise
Bonnes. Both fruits have the same characteristics, yellow, with dark red cheeks ; melting,
buttery, and rich. It is said to do best on the quince. I have seen it very fine on pear
stock. A standard Louise Bonne de Jersey loaded with fruit is a rare sight indeed. It
would cure one of atheism methinks. What better provision could there be in nature, for
the delectation and refreshing of our frail humanity than that afforded by the delightful
acidity of this melting fruit1?

I am half-way through my list, and seem as if I were only entering on this loved and
wide theme. It is odd, is it not, that the next pear to be described, is as near perfection
as may be, and rejoices in the perfect place, the seventh.

Belle Lucrative.

To some tastes, this is the pear of pears. The French give it the appropriate name
of Fondante U 'Automne, "Autumn's Fountain." Singularly appropriate. There is no
grit in this variety — all juice, melting, and of honied sweetness. It bears profusely, and
requires thinning. The first time I tasted this pear was in Mr. W. H. Mills' garden. The
remembrance is delightful at this moment. I remember how it fired me up to secure a
few more varieties with such characteristics, and incited me to pear culture. Taking it
all in all, the Belle Lucrative is hard to beat. To my taste, it is a little on the sweet side.
I prefer a Louise, or a Beurre Superfin. I can eat more of them, though they are all
more-ish. A limestone soil is that in which this variety delights. It never disappoints its
cultivator. With me, I have had it blight quite a deal, and, unlike the Bartlett, when
once it is touched you can scarcely recover it. No variety with which I am acquainted
will better reward thinning out than this. The fruit then becomes very large and fine.
This variety should have a place in all collections. In competition, it always marks A 1.

I now turn to the

Flemish Beauty.

Almost all that has been said of all the foreskins: varieties is true of this sort. The
Flemish Beauty is a first-class fruit in every respect. It, too, is well named — tree and
fruit are alike beautiful. I have sometimes thought that the Flemish Beauty should be
constituted the standard of perfection among pears. I think so yet, only I have seven
equally good pears on the list before it. In fact it is a difficult matter for me to say which
I like best. I like them all. In shape it is a perfect, large, melting, sweet pear. Tree
vigorous, but largely subject to the blight. I could tell of my experience watching and
caring for the tree for twelve or fourteen years, and then in a season the whole, tree and
fruit, gone forever. It m-^ikes one feel bad, and inclines one to give up pear growing.
Tins variety, like the Louise Bonne, is spread over a very wide area. It flourishes at
Ottawa, and Mr. Roy grows superb specimens beyond Owen Sound. Somewhat after the
fashion of other fair creatures, which shall be nameless, this fruit is often better looking
than it really is, as it has a tendency to degenerate about the region of the heart, while
not exactly like the apples of Sodom, the expression is often used with regard to it, 'As rotten
as the heart of a Flemish Beauty pear." They, like all pears, must be gathered a fortnight
before they are ripe, and carefully watched during the whole of the ripening process. This
sort verifies the Roman adage, " Our sweet flowers soon fade."

White Doyenne.

An old but unusually well known pear, of the highest excellence. It, and its con-
gener the Gray*Doyenne, succeed well in almost every district of Ontario. I have seen it
in some years spot and crack badly. Once only in my garden in Hamilton did it crack.
To my liking it is a magnificent pear. Perfectly buttery, of delicate flavour, there are few

23

pears to compare to it. I never thinned the White Doyenne, though I have seen when it
would have been much the better of thinning. A beautiful consumptive blush gives this
variety a rare attraction. The leaf marking, too, renders it a beautiful pear for dessert. As
a market variety it has few equals. The tree is a good cropper, and the fruit has a ready
sale. However small the collection, we are persuaded that no amateur should be without
this variety.

We come now to the

Sheldon.

In our discussion, I am prepared to hear the Sheldon advanced to a higher place.
For size, beauty and flavour, it is hard to beat. Its grittiness is almost in its favour. Its
coarse flesh has a wonderful relish, and almost all the better for its coarseness. We have
grown this variety for many years. It never loses in one's estimation. The longer it is
cultivated, the better it is liked. An American pear, it finds its way wherever known. It
needs no puff or introduction. It speaks for itself. Russeted pears, somehow, are taking
to the eye. Almost all t'ie russeted pears are of first quality. Let Beurre Bosc, Gray
Doyenne, Beurre Hardy,Oswego Beurre, testify to the truthfulness of this assertion. Sheldon
is highly esteemed in Britain, where it has become quite acclimatized. As a market
variety it deservedly stands high. A great drawback to its value is that it is very subject
to blight. Indeed, after the trees are fully grown, say from eighteen to twenty-five years
old, the blight is almost sure to strike them. When the fruit of the husbandman is just
about to be expected, the dire evil puts in appearance and robs the cultivator of his
expected reward. Continuous planting is the only remedy that I know of to secure a
supply of this luscious fruit. This list exhausts the Autumn varieties of pears best for
cultivation in Ontario. We were greatly tempted to enlarge on some other varieties, but
your time and patience would not permit, with a perfect remembrance of a savage remark
once or twice made by our esteemed secretary, I continue my notice of a few winter
varieties. He once declared in this room, that he did not know a winter variety worth
eating, or so good as a turnip.

In the forefront I place the

Lawrence.

Of all winter pears to me this is the best. Whether this arises from its association
with Christmas and New Year's Day dinners, I know not, but the fruit stands higher in
my estimation. Add to this, that I never had a Lawrence tree blight, that it is an
abundant bearer, fruit of fine shape, pleasant flavour, and easily ripened for a winter
variety, and there is abundant reason to praise it. The secretary's sweeping conclusions in
regard to winter pears has no place here. It is not an early bearer, does well on its own
stock, and the fruit is all the better, if the stock is a rampant grower. There is money in
the Lawrence. It will amply reward the cultivator. Its season of ripening is about the
beginning to the middle of January. A noble pear it is, when fully ripened.

The Winter Nelis.

The Winter Nelis is second only to the Lawrence as a winter pear. It is a universal
favourite. Perhaps, next to the Vicar, it is the best known of winter pears. For early
winter it cannot be beat. Of late years we have thought that it approached a late
autumn rather than a winter variety. With me it has been ripening prematurely. I remem-
ber the time when I kept it to a late Easter, and even then it required warmth to mature
it. The drawbacks to the Winter Nelis, are that now and again the fruit becomes knarled
with large gritty knots. Highly treated with wood ashes, the fruit is fair, and free from
knots. The Winter Nelis delights in wood ashes. When leached ashes are used, the tree
will bear the application of almost any quantity. The tree itself is a slim sparse grower,
very fruitful, and constant in its bearing. I never knew the fruit the worse for carriage,
if in any way carefully handled. It bears transport well, and is a valuable fruit. It needs
little or no extra care in ripening it I may add, that the tree is perfectly hardy, and I
never knew it blight. Last, not least, is the

24

Josephine dg Malines.

This pear is gradually coming into notice. It is a medium-sized roundish pear, ex-
ternally of a pale straw colour. The flesh is rose coloured, melting and delicately perfumed.
It has the pecularity of growing its fruit in clusters, very often three and as high as five
together. It is one of the most delicious of long-keeping table pears. Our secretary's
sweeping assertion has no place here either. It does not fit. I would like to present him
with a finely ripened Josephine de Malines in April or May. It would do us all good to
hear him retiact, which he is honest enough to do, when he's convinced.

In conclusion, I have only to say, that you have my best knowledge on the twelve
best varieties of pears for cultivation in Ontario. They are all good, and, with the addi-
tion of two or three early summer varieties, and one or two more winter varieties, would
afford a family a nice variety from July to May. It will afford me much satisfaction to
listen to the remarks and criticisims of the members present, and to give verbal explana-
tions of the reasons for my preferences.

I would respectfully submit the following twelve varieties in their order of merit viz. :
Bartlett, Beurre D'Anjou, Beurre Superfin, Beurre Bosc, Beurre Clairgeau, Louise Bonne
de Jersey, Belle Lucrative, Flemish Beauty, White Doyenne, Sheldon, Lawrence, Winter
Nelis, and Josephine de Malines.

THE FRUIT CROP OF JAMES C. TOLL.

Ouvry, Nov. 1879.

In reply to your quotations about my fruit crop of the present year, I would state
that the first fruit of the season (Strawberries,) is one of which I cultivate but little more
than enough for home use. The Wilson's Albany is the only kind I grow. I plant in
rows 3 J- feet apart, plants 14 inches in the row, cultivate clean, and let the runners go,
mulch when the ground is frozen hard in the winter, and remove mulch off the crown in
spring.

Cherries.

The only kind of cherries I grow are the common red, set in the fence corners. They
need no cultivation, and pay poorly, but are the most profitable and best for table use;
other kinds are poor bearers and short lived.

Plums.

I think there if no man in the county of Kent who has taken as much interest in grow-
ing plums as myself, (and let me here state that a careless or lazy man cannot grow fruit
profitably ;) I got my directions from a small book written by Mr. James Dougall, of
Windsor. I set the trees fourteen feet apart each way, build a high picket fence around
one hundred trees ; then build a henhouse so that when the hens came out of the house
they would be in the yard among the trees. I also kept the hogs in the same yard, and
when the fruit was about the size of peas, I jarred the trees catching the curculios on
white sheets, and killing them. I find the curculio more plentiful in soft warm weather,
at which time the trees need close attention. The jarring process should be continued
about three weeks or more two or three times a day.

VARIETIES OF PLUMS.

Pradshaw — Lombard — Imperial Gage — Pond's seedling — Columbia, and several others.

Peaches.

About ten years ago I bought one hundred peach trees, from Delaware, U. S., but
I have found that many of them are very poor bearers. I do not know the names of
many of them. The Hales Early is bound to disappoint the fruit grower, as they blossom
well, set well with fruit, but by the time the fruit is ripe, it is often two-thirds rotten.

25

The curculio works on the better varieties of peaches the same as it does on the plums. I
attended the Michigan State Fair, at Detroit this fall, and there I saw many fine peaches.
Among them there was a beautiful peach called the Barnard. I think it the best coloured
orange peach I have yet seen, and if I were going to plant I would give it a trial, as it is
said to be a good bearer, good size and good colour. I find that nice orange peaches will
bring much the best price. The Early Crawford is called the best peach we have, but
with us it is a very shy bearer and often rots badly. I set my trees ten feet apart each
way, but if I were going to plant again, I would give them sixteen or twenty feet each as
it would give the trees a chance to spread and get the light of the sun.

It has been the custom here to market peaches in three peck boxes, but I think clean
new baskets are much better. What fruit growers want is a cheap basket that they can
afford to give away with the fruit ; they should be made to hold eight and sixteeen quarts.

Grapes.

After trying several kinds, I have settled on the Concord ; it is good enough for me
until there is something better, and when well attended yields well. I set my vines ten feet
apart each way, set posts ten feet apart and five feet high. I trellis with No. 128, galvan-
ized wire, put top wire four feet six inches high and the other two feet lower. I have
only two wires to a row. About the first of June I turn the earth from the vines with a
■one-horse plough going about three or four inches deep (not deeper) ; then with a spade or
hoe turn down the earth between the vines, and when the weeds start, put on the harrow
and keep them down till the new growth gets about two or three feet long. I then take the
plough and turn the earth back to the vines, and when the grass and weeds start keep down
with the harrow, and when the grapes are fit to pick, no weeds should be seen. Yery few
persons understand pruning grape vines ; it needs practice and patience, people often
leave too much wood, experience teaches that close pruning is best, cutting out the old
wood and leaving the new canes. I prune mostly in March or April, though I have
pruned in the fall.

Soil

My soil is a gravelly loam lying along the banks of Lake Erie, in the county of Kent,
and is said to be one of Canada's best fruit-growing sections. I notice that my grapes
are larger and the bunches more compact than many others I see in the market, owing, I
think, to better cultivation. They have always been commended wherever shown.

Manure.

Barn-yarcl manure is said to be too strong for grapes; I have never used any manure
but ashes, which I applied last spring for the first time, and my crop has been the largest
I have ever grown. I do not attribute it to the ashes, as others in this neighbourhood
have grown larger crops this year than before. The rot scarcely ever injures my grapes,
but this season's crop has been slightly affected, many grapes having black spots on them
which when ripe do not show.

Mildew sometimes makes its appearance, caused I think by the newly plowed ground.
The rain and the heat when there is no wind makes the steam arising from the ground to
settle on the thickest vines and fruit and causes the mildew. Where the vines are thin
and open mildew never makes its appearance. Sulphur has been recommended, but I
have never tried it.

Apples.

I think Mr. Douglas says that apples are the only fruit that a farmer can grow
without neglecting his other work, or in other words, apples do not need that close atten-
tion that other fruit does.

2G

Varieties.

The apples grown in this vicinity are principally winter varieties, and I think if the
people were confined to one variety the Rhode Island Greening would be the choice.

The Northern Spy is a first class apple, but needs good soil and cultivation to get
good fruit. It is an apple which is a long time coming into bearing. The Roxburgh
Russet, Baldwin, Rhode Island Greening and Northern Spy are our principal varieties.

The crop this year has been very good, and the prices have ranged from $1.25 to
$2.00, including barrel.

Apples are shippad from here to Montreal, Chicago, Omaha, Manitoba and Toronto.

PEACHES.

By B. Gott, Arkona.

Now, in the pleasant lull after the pressure and hurry of the fruit season, it may
be well to look back and review the work of the season, as relates especially to particular
fruit. For the present we would like more closely to inspect the peaches, as they stand
out in bold and prominent outlines as the fruit for the masses. This choice fruit is gain-
ing fast its hold on the popular fancy and taste, as we have no fruit that will equally fill
the bill or supply its place on the catalogue. We may safely say, even without the proper
statistics to warrant us in doing, so, that there has been more peaches grown and disposed
of this season than in any previous year in the history of the country. The distinguishing
characters of the fruit, the times of its maturity, and the various and desirable uses to
which it may be put, all point to the peach as the fruit of the season, and most decidedly
as the fruit for the people. The most favourable conditions for the easy and cheap pro-
duction of this fruit exist on this continent, and even in this country, in the best possible
proportions and in a marked and profitable degree. It is quite possible to have peaches
produced immediately about our homes to the extent of thousands and even millions of
bushels annually. In some favourable regions and localities it is now cultivated and grown
on a very large scale to supply the great markets of the country, and even whole States
are renowned for their superior peaches. For the Toronto and Hamilton markets thou-
sands of bushels of delicious peaches are grown in what is called the Grimsby country, a
low, level, flat belt, bordering the lake, and just below the mountain. It extends the
whole distance from Hamilton to the Niagara River on the frontier. Another fertile
peach region is that known as the Chatham country, a region bordering the river on both
sides, and extending from that point across the country, southward, to Lake Erie. These
Chatham peaches find their way into the country as far as London, where this season we
saw them side by side with the Grimsby peaches, in greatest excellence and abundance.
These fruits in this market were as large, beautiful, and as perfectly matured as ever we
saw, and were not unworthy to be placed on any market in the world. Again, another
excellent peach region is located on and near the River Aux Sauble, near the village of
Arkona in the County of Lambton. Here some excellent fruit is being largely produced,
and is yet bound to make its mark on the markets of this country.

THE PEACH CROP

this year has been unusually large, and we believe this condition of things has been quite
general. For a few days we suffered a glut in our markets, caused not so much by our
home crop as by the introduction of large quantities of American peaches being thrown upon
us, notwithstanding our heavy protective duty. This caused a surfeit at those points, and
prices fell very low, affecting more or less the markets of the whole country. This un-
happy circumstance — the general stagnation of business, the lamentable scarcity of money,
&c. — made it more difficult than usual to market our pQaches satisfactorily. The buyer
had all the advantage. Notwithstanding all difficulties, however, the returns for the crop
are in general far better than could be expected. As to the

27

VARIETIES,

the popular favourites are still about the same. The present rage among growers is for
early peaches, but the margin of profits lies rather in the direction of later sorts. Craw-
ford's Early and Late still hold their own as popular fruits, without the slightest abatement
of favour. Amsden's June is said to be good and very early, followed closely by Early
Louisa and Early Rivers, two well known English peaches of great merit. These are
immediately followed by Hale's Early, a really fine peach, early and of good quality. This
peach seems to be doing much better lately than it did a short time ago, as it then possessed
the bad fault of being very liable to rot; however, this may have been merely climatic.

SEEDLING PEACHES

are produced very rapidly and in great numbers, and some of them are possessed of very
good qualities, rendering them exceedingly profitable growing. Some very superb seedlings
of peaches were shewn at the Western Fair in London this season. Mr. Jas. Macklin, of
Strathroy, showed a seedling peach at the West Middlesex Fall Show that was really very
fine and attracted much attention as a late peach, it being in season about Oct. 15th. Mr.
George Ott, of Arkona, is propagating and growing very largely a handsome yellow-fleshed
seedling peach, that comes true from seed from generation to generation. It is a medium
sized, round, handsome looking fruit, has a beautiful red cheek and a solid, deep, yellow
flesh, and parts readily from the stone; in season about Sept. 20th. On account of its
internal value and continued solidity of flesh, it will be a valuable acquisition, and admir-
ably suited for market purposes and distant shipment. Many other

NEW VARIETIES

are zealously trumpeted loudly over the length and breadth of the land as possessing new
and most valuable qualities, and possibly some of them do Among the two hundred and
fifty varieties of peaches now collected and catalogued by our nurserymen and fruit writers,
it will be found very difficult to produce a new one possessing qualities differing from any
of them. We would not, however, disparage legitimate and real progress in any depart-
ment of industry, much less in this. We say, let us have all the valuable qualities in a
fruit itis possible to attain, but let us be cautious in runniug after novelties to our ultimate
loss. Among the most successful originators of new peaches are H. M. Engle & Son, Mar-
rietta, Pa., who have tested and named Downing, Saunders and Wilder, which are gaining
quite a reputation among growers of this fruit. But as we have before observed, the rage
is for

VERY EARLY PEACHES.

These have been multiplied amazingly, the very earliest being supplanted until Mr. Rivers'
Early Louisa is comparatively nowhere. Some of the most prominent of these very early
peaches are those offered by Ellwanger & Barry, the great Rochester nurserymen. These
are Brigg's Red May, Conkling, Mountain Rose, Wilder and Waterloo, the last said to be
" one of the largest and finest of the very early peaches." We have a promising very early
peach in this country, called High's Early Canada, and sent out by A. Moyer & Co. of
Jordan Station, that is attracting some attention. Mr. Rivers, the great English nursery-
man, of Sawbridgeworth, has lately added Early Silver to his before renowned list of ex-
cellent early peaches. This has been fruited in this country, and is said to be one of the
best of the list. At a late meeting of the

AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY

at Rochester, N.Y., in Sept. last, many of those very early peaches were named and des-
cribed by that large body of excellent fruit men, and much valuable discussion was had
upon them. The very early peaches may be profitable, and no doubt are so, to the shrewd

28

Americans in their central, select markets, but they are not so much so to us. Our people
are more chary and never readily spend their money before they have well considered what
they are getting, and whether it would not be better to wait a while. We notice, too,
that even the Americans are taking the alarm on the subject, and are now beginning to
direct their attention to excellence rather than to so much earliness. This is a pleasant
subject, its features are exceedingly encouraging, and it well deserves the attention and
ability of the best men of our times.

FRUIT GROWERS' ASSOCIATION OF ABBOTSFORD, PROVINCE OF

QUEBEC.

This Association held its Annual Exhibition on the 24th of Sept.

As to apples there were shown, inclusive of crab hybrids, 429 plates which was about
equal to that of the past two years. These, however, included a large assortment from
many different parts of the Province, also from the United States, making a grand total of
over 100 varieties; a rare opportunity for the student in apple culture, — an opportunity,
too, not neglected, for at a meeting held not long after, the promising among the newer
varieties were examined, their strong and weak points weighed, and their propagation dis-
cussed. Of those which had never before appeared on exhibition in the Province, we would
mention Scribner's Spitzenburg from Plattsburg, N.Y., — an apple with much of the high
flavour, texture and apparent keeping qualities of the true Esopus Spitzenburg, but borne
upon a hardier tree.

OF THE NEWER APPLES,

first in promise of general usefulness stands the Wealthy, a Minnesota seedling of
Fameuse form, size and season, and somewhat of Fameuse quality, but borne upon a tree
whose hardiness almost equals Duchess, and therefore enabling a choice early winter fruit
to be grown where hitherto we would deem it safe to plant but Crabs and Duchess. Next,
new we may say even to Montreal, is that delicious little dessert apple the Fameuse Sucre,
though its probable place of birth was on the Coteau St. Pierre. It is quite hardy, in
nursery. Its bearing in orchard has been watched for the last three years at Hon. E.
Prudhomme's, and it has shown itself to be a good, though not a profuse bearer. Its
quality has been highly praised by Dr. Hoskins, of Newport in the American agricultural
press.

Decarie, probably a native of the same Coteau, combines many points of merit. It
is a fall fruit of which we have so many, yet its heavy bearing, its by no means poor
quality, its invariable deep colour, with that bluish bloom, more suggestive ■ of a Ponds
Seedling plum than an apple, will go to show that this fruit must become a favourite, and
one that must rank among the profitable, even if not among the favoured "five."

Winter St. Lawrence (so called), long ago imported into Montreal under the wrong
name of Manks Codlin, and long propagated as such by Mr. Wm. Lunn, has been long and
favourably known in Montreal, though new to the south of it. Scions of it were some
years ago sent by mistake for Alexander to Abbotsford, and trees of it sold as such and
planted into orchard. The mistake is one now not on the whole regretted by those whose
trees have attained bearing age. The fruit is of good even size, attractive colour and good
quality, ships well, and keeps till mid-winter, and the hardiness of the trees augurs well for
a life of length and usefulness.

Canada Baldwin, though by no means new there, is yet a stranger to many parts
where it might prove useful. No bright red, fine qualitied, good sized, long keeper, can
anything like approach it in general satisfactoriness on the heavyish soils of North Shefford.
Though the early rising of its sap on the warm quick soil of Abbotsford, tending to sun-
scald and to premature decay is that which prevents their being loud in their praises in its
behalf. They cheerfully commend it for such soils as suit it.

29

OF THE NEWER CRABS.

Hesper Blush and General Grant, both of Minnesota, the society intends to exhibit
hereafter merely to show their worthlessness, and to prevent their propagation. Of the
non-astringent edible crabs they speak well of Orange (of Minnesota). Its thin skin, its
sprightliness of flavour and freedom from anything like astringency, fits it for a small
dessert fruit. They like it but are not mad in its praises. Golden sweet, (of Wisconsin)
is a very nice, thin skinned little crab that keeps till December. The tree is a model of
hardiness, but now and then, not always, the fruit has a tinge of astringency. Meeder's
Winter (of Minnesota) is a really fine flavoured little crab that keeps till Christmas. It
has been loudly praised by Dr. Hoskins. Aiken's Striped Winter is a nice long keeping
little crab, but we hardly see its use. Soulard is the most villainously astringent acrid
compound ever named crab. In the West it was highly praised. It was said to cook like
a quince, to be in fact the "Quince of the North." Oh how widely do human beings
differ, even on the qualities of a crab.

OF OUT-DOOR GRAPES

there were fifty-two plates and thirty-three (!) different varieties, an assortment which has
never before been anything like equalled in this province. Mr. John W. Bailey, of Platts-
burg, carried off the first prize with a collection of 27 varieties, many of which had never
been seen here before.

Of those entirely new to the Province of Quebec, Herbert (Roger's No. 44) and Essex
(Roger's No. 41) attracted most attention. They are both purplish black grapes of the
largest size for out-door growth, meaty, sweet and almost pulpless, and seemingly not any
later in ripening than the Delaware. Barry (Roger's 43) is much of the same type but a
little later and, therefore, of less value, and much like Roger's No. 1 9.

As to others more or less new :

Of Roger's large amber coloured Hybrids, Salem (Roger's No. 22), Wilder (Roger's No.
4) and Agawam (Roger's No. 15), named in apparent order of ripening, bear much gene-
ral resemblance. They are large luscious grapes with a slight Muscat flavour, and very ■
little later then Massasoit (Roger's No. 3) and Lindley (Roger's No. 9), which even this
past wet season have proved so successful at Abbotsford.

Bailey No. 2. A seedling of Delaware and Adirondac, and suggestive of both, is
sweet, pulpless, fine-flavoured and early. Eumelan, small, but sweet and pulpless; and
last, but not least, that grape which for many years was bought near Rochester, N.Y., as
Champion, and sold as such, and then later bought as Champion, but sold as Beacons-
field. It is essentially a pioneer grape. It was in flavour the poorest, with one excep-
tion, of the thirty-three varieties exhibited. It is, however, quite good enough to sell.
The market does not demand quality, and it has the earliness, size and colour necessary for
a commercial grape, and as such, and as a forerunner of finer fruits, it must prove of great
service to our northern country.

Such was the collection gathered on the eve of the Exhibition, but next morning, alas,
heavy drenching rain almost prevented the very office-bearers from being at their posts of
duty. In fact, several who would have been among the chief prize-winners in fruits, in
flowers, and in vegetables, and whose collections were packed and ready for shipment, were
unable to attend, and reports now clearly show from localities from sixteen to twenty-five
miles distant, and in one case from a village thirty miles distant, where large preparation
of attendance had been made that, had weather permitted, the crowd gathered would have
been very far in excess of the 2,000 assembled last year.

That such an interest should be manifested in the exhibit of a local society is a point
that merits our closest attention. It shows a lively interest in horticulture that only needs
to be organized to show its power for good. It points directly to a great, but as yet un-
supplied want in this Province, that of a system of local horticultural societies, upon which
we copy the following from the society's last report :

"Until 1877 no moneys were appropriated in this Province for purely horticultural
purposes. The Montreal Horticultural Society up to that time was enabled to draw her

30

annual grant of $328 only as the Montreal Agricultural and Horticultural Society, and by
offering certain prizes for agricultural products.

" In 1877, however, Montreal Society became a Provincial Society, with a yearly grant
of $1,000 for horticultural purposes only, the Government also providing for the publica-
tion of its reports; and the action of the Council of Agriculture, since then, shows its
earnest desire to advance horticulture in all possible localities.

"Let us see what has been done in this matter by our sister province, Ontario. In
1877 she had twenty-five local horticultural societies, beside the societies in the larger cities
of Toronto, Hamilton and Kingston, eighteen of which local societies received from their
provincial treasury the sum of $1,750, besides certain municipal grants. There was paid
in prizes in 1877 for fruits, $-491 ; for flowers, $944 ; and for vegetables, $544; making a
total of $1,979 paid in prizes by fifteen of these local societies for horticultural purposes,
and the reason that there are not larger, and a still larger number of these horticultural
societies is due to the fact that the Electoral Division and Township Agricultural Societies
enter largely into the Horticultural held. These Agricultural Societies paid that year in
prizes for fruits, $3,669; for flowers, 1,651 ; for garden vegetables (held root crops not in-
cluded), $2,408, making a total of $7,728 spent by these Agricultural Societies upon the
fruits of Horticulture. To this let us add $1,343 paid at the Provincial Agricultural Ex-
hibition for like purposes, and we have the sum of $9,071 expended by the Agricultural
Societies, or the total sum of $11,094 paid by the Agricultural and Horticultural Societies
for Horticultural premiums.

" Let us see what has been done in our Province. First, the Montreal Agricultural
and Horticultural Societies paid in 1877 for premiums for fruit, $114; flowers, $457;
vegetables, $82 ; making a total of $653 expended for Horticultural purposes.

"Next as to local societies. Until the organization of the Missisquoi Horticultural
Society, in April, 1879 we were alone, one of a system whose co-workers were as yet un-
created. Our Association paid in prizes in 1877 but $26 for our 132 entries, a mere crown
of wild olive; 'It would have been gold had not Jupiter been so poor.' Yet with a prize
list open to all, with exhibition free, and competition to non-members for the nominal sum
of 50 cents, with large, but short-lived debts, this voluntary Association has drawn large
and distant competition, and has gathered crowds of 2,000 persons, largely from distant coun-
ties, even with this paltry prize list, showing that it is not to ourselves only that we are
a want supplied.

" Of Country Agricultural Societies, however, we have a complete organization. In
1874 we had eighty-one societies, with a membership then of 12,537, probably now much
larger, subscribing over $25,316, and receiving from our Provincial Government about
$38,775, or sixty-five per cent, of the amount received by the Electoral Division Societies
in Ontario. But they do but to a very limited extent enter into the Horticultural field.

"In 1877 these county agricultural societies paid in prizes for fruits about $104 ; or-
chards, $116. In flowers, $106 is all we find noted. Of this, the No. 1 Agricultural
Society of Huntingdon paid in floral premiums the sum of $95.45, an amount which re-
flects great credit upon the Society and also upon the long and valued services of its ex-
President, Mr. Daniel Brims. As to vegetables, it is sometimes hard to define between
the garden and field, let us say $544, gardens, $93, making a total of $966 paid by these
county agricultural societies for horticultural premiums. To this we can add nothing from
our Provincial Agricultural Society, for, in making out the prize list, it was forgotten that
Flora and Pomona were among our tutelary deities. To the County Agricultural Society
expenditure add that of the Horticultural Societies, and we have as the total amount paid
in 1877 by the Agricultural and Horticultural Societies of Quebec the sum of $1,645 as
compared with $11,094 in Ontario.

" Our Horticultural needs are —

•' 1. Hearty co-operation from the Country Agricultural Societies.

" 2. Distinct and independent organization of Local Horticultural Societies, for
localities whose needs cannot be reached by Agricultural co-operation."

One other horticultural need we must draw attention to.

We find upon the tables at Abbotsford fruit from the counties of Hochelaga, Hunt-
ingdon, Vaudreuil, Stanstead, as well as from Vermont and New York ; and among that

31

grown at Abbotsford are new apples or crabs, natives of Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin,
Iowa, N. Hampshire, Vermont, New York and (indirectly) Russia, introduced for the pur-
pose of experimenting. Such work is not merely useful, it is necessary to fair progress.
It, however, needs organization, and upon this we again quote from the Society's last
report : —

"May we point to a yet further, because a pressing want? Our position in the "cold
north" is a peculiar one, not favourable to horticulture. Our list of "tree fruits" is in-
complete, and has many blanks. Whence are these blanks to be filled ?

"(i) — From our seedling orchards, of which we have a large extent.

"(ii) — From our isothermic lines, both to the east and west, not excepting Russia.

" The Department of Agriculture at Washington (for our good, rather than their own,
we should suppose), received about ten years ago, from St. Petersburg, scions of several
hundred varieties of apples, though not all natives of Russia. Many of these are now
being tested by Dr. Hoskins, of Newport, Yt., who will faithfully report upon their merits
as they fruit.

"A. G. Tuttle, of Baraboo, Wis., a few years ago received from the United States
Consul at Moscow, 150 varieties of Prussian apples, and we believe, some Russian pears.
Ellwanger & Barry have imported largely, we know not how many; at any rate, 31 kinds.
The Iowa State Experimental Station, under Prof. Budd, at Ames, received not long ago
200 varieties of Apples from Russia, and were expecting 200 more.

i' Now shall we profit by all this costly importation from the home of the Duchess,
the Astrachan, and the Alexander, or shall we not] Let us decide. Let us clearly see
our course. If our decision be in the negative, let us at least know the cost of our inac-
tion. If otherwise, let us with least cost accomplish the greatest and speediest results.

"This importation from our isothermics is of far more relative value to us than to the
United States. In fair play we should claim the right of paying our friends in the States
half the cost of all this work, so directly is it to our advantage.

"There is a way, however, in which we can make a partial repayment — a northern
testing ground. Such would be of use to their North as well as to ourselves.

" In Ontario, no such work has been done, because less necessary. The similarity of
her climate to the adjoining States, whereby they all become unconscious workers in a
common cause, the describing of new fruits in the monthly and in the yearly reports of
her Provincial Fruit Growers' Association, and the distribution of certain trees and plants
to her widely scattered members, as well as the healthy state of her nursery trade and the
general leaven of experimenting that pervades her people, all go to make this, our great
need, to her, but a minor want.

"This testing of new fruit trees, new timber and ornamental trees is to us a necessity
to fair progress, on account of our peculiar position in the North. "It is a great work
left undone," but a work not great in cost. The cost is but an investment in our own
welfare. It is, however, a work that needs organization, organization having a controlling
centre, and that centre a landowner. We need an experimental station."

With a system of Local Horticultural Societies, and with an organized system of ex-
perimenting, horticulture and fruit growing would gradually assume the commercial and
aesthetic importance which it has in our sister States and Provinces.

REPORT ON TREES RECEIVED FROM THE ASSOCIATION.

Dear Sir, — I send you an account of trees, &c, received by me from the^F. G
Association since I became a member.

1872, — McLaughlin Plum, fruited 1875 a splendid dessert plum.

Othello grape, " " having transplanted it 2 years ago, I cannot

say anything about it as yet.

1873, — Grimes' Golden Pippin died, only some 5 lived out of some 20 or 30 received
here.
Clapp's Favourite Pear, fruited 1879, a splendid fall pear.

32

1874, — Dowing Gooseberry, fruited, 1877.

Salem Grape, " "a very good grape.

1875, — Swayzie P. Grise Apple, grew well, this and last year, not fruited yet.

Flemish Beauty Pear, fruited 1879, a very good pear, and does well here. At
our Horticultural Show here, a Mr. Harris exhibited some 10 J inches in
circumference.

1876, — Glass' Seedling plum doing well.

1877, — Diadem Raspberry died.

Strawberry plants did well, had a patch some 12 x 40, covered this summer,
a good bearer. Berries in shape from round to flat, I have dug them all up,
and planted the New Dominion, which is a very large berry, and perfect in
form, had berries 4 J in circumference.

1878, — Burnet grape doing well, expect it to fruit next year.

1879, — Arnolds' Ontario Apple, showed no bud till some 10 weeks ago, when after
cutting both head and part of the stem, some buds were forced out, which
are now growing.
You will see by this that -I have had very good luck with what I got, having
only lost two of the whole.

Yours (fee.

Ebenezer Day.

REPORT OF FRUIT COMMITTEE ON FRUIT EXHIBITED AT PETERBORO'.

J. C. Dempsey, of Albury exhibits 6 varieties of Black Cap Raspberries, in good
condition, viz : — Mammoth Cluster, Ontario, Seneca, Doolittle, American, and Davison's
Thornless. The Ontario is a very fine berry, fully as large as the M. Cluster and a few
days earlier.

A. M. Smith, Drummonclville, shows 12 varieties raspberries, red, yellow and black,
one of them a seedling named " Niagara, " which Mr. Smith claims will be valuable on
account of its lateness, the colour dark red, and of large size ; also two of Saunders' Hybrid
Seedlings, Nos 69. and 63, and Arnold's Diadem, showing a very curious sport in produc-
ing red and yellow berries from the same root ; The Highland Hardy Amazon, a free-
bearing sort, of good size, and the Ganargua.

Luke Bishop, St Thomas, shows a seedling Goosberry, very similiar to the Warrington
Red, for which he claims that it is almost totally exempt from mildew, and a good bearer.

Also some preserved strawberries, marked Bishop's Seedling, No 2. It is not possible
to judge of the qualities of this variety by the sample shown. Mrs. Sheffield of Peterboro'
shows a very handsome dish of Gooseberries, large and free from mildew ; the variety not
named.

Mr. Wallis, of Peterboro' exhibits Goosberries, Currants, red, white and black,
Cherries and Raspberries, a nice collection, not named.

Thos. Beall, of Lindsay, exhibits a fine dish of Whitesmith's Gooseberries, free from
mildew and well grown.

P. E. Bucke, of Ottawa, shows a branch of one of Saunders' Hybrids loaded with fruit.
We would judge from this that the canes of this sort are very hardy. Mr. Bucke also
shows four varieties of Currants, and one of Gooseberries.

Capt. Wallace of Peterborough, shows a plate of very large and well grown Early
Rose Potatoes.

Geo. Leslie, Jun.
John Croil.
P. C. Dempsey.
A. M. Smith.

33

,./

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FRUIT EXHIBITED AT THE WINTER

MEETING IN HAMILTON.

L. Wolverton displayed four varieties, a very fine sample of Cranberry Pippin, King
of Tompkins County, and a very fine sample of seedling. The last named was past its
season, a little above the medium size, yellow, with a fine, bright blushed cheek, oblong,
marked with a light raised streak descending from the calyx, somewhat similar to the mark
on the Talman Sweet; said to be crisp and juicy, resembling the Snow Apple in season,
from which tree it is probably a seedling. The committee suggest, from its beautiful clear
appearance, that it be named "Princess Eiouise." This exhibitor also showed a handsome
sample of the Westfield Seek-no-further.

Charles Arnold, Paris, showed several of his hybrid, Ontario. It more than bears out
the former description as a fine-sized, juicy, crisp apple, suitable both for the table and cook
ing, and will no doubt prove one of the best for shipping to foreign markets. His other
apples have been often described before. The Moyle bears much of the appearance
of the Bourassau, but the flavour is strongly that of the Spitzenburg, of which it is a
sprout. Mr. Arnold also shows a plate of the Lady Apple, Swayzie Pomme Grise, Swaar
and Wagner.

Mr. William Roy exhibited a very fine plate of Baldwins, grown in Owen Sound, and are

^specimens which will compare favourably with any we have seen. Mr. Roy also exhibited

two seedlings — one somewhat resembling Yellow Belle-Flower in form, very mild in flavour,

but too far past its season to enable us to form a proper conception of its real value. The

other gives promise of rating well, of fine pleasant flavour, bright, lively, heavy-blushed.

MrN^ohn Croil exhibited a Fameuse almost as highly coloured as the Black Detroit,
and of very'Kmch the same shape, fully equal in keeping and in fineness of flavour to any
we have seen. iMLackintosh Red, of almost perfect form, smooth skin spotted to deep blush,
but while the flavour is somewhat peculiar, we do not feel inclined to reccomend it better
than to place it in the third-class. Also a Winter variety, said to be a graft, extra solid,
sweet, rather lacking in juice, deep eye, splashed and flattish.

Wm. Brown exhibited a fine looking, but a poor, woody -flavoured apple, supposed to be
the 20 oz. apple.

Mr. C. M. Honsberger exhibited a large, heavy, full-blushed, well formed apple, of
mild flavour, fine grain, bearing many characteristics of the Fallwater.

Mr. Isaac W. Reid, of Ops, exhibited two highly coloured seedlings, but being so far
past season we could not pass judgment as to character.

Mr. A. M. Smith exhibited as fine a plate of King of Tompkins County as any
grower could desire to look upon. A plate each of R. I. Greenings and Fall Pippins were
on the table, also a Green Seedling, crisp, juicy and pleasant. A plate of apples, light
coloured, covered with russet, solid but not possessing much character. Another plate of
russeting apples, with blushed cheek, was too far past its season to enable us to speak
decidedly of the value.

Mr. Samuel Woodley exhibited a plate of grapes in an excellent state of preservation.

We made an examination of the specimens on the table, of Beauty and Ella ; judging
them as we find them, we cannot come to a satisfactory conclusion.

► REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO EXAMINE LUKE
BISHOP'S SEEDLING STRAWBERRY, NO. 2.

Your Committee appointed to visit the groun ds of Mr. Luke Bishop at St. Thomas
and examine his new seedling strawberry, beg to submit the following report: —

Bishop's No. 2 seedling strawberry is of a large size, with form very similar
to Triomph de gand, but scarcely so wedge-shaped. Flowers perfect, seeds rather large,
imbedded somewhat deeper than in Wilson, with coarser indentations in the flesh. The
flesh is soft with a hollow centre, sweet and high-flavoured; it ripens about a week later
than Wilson.

34

The plants were vigorous, with leaves rather large and thick, which appear to stand
the sun well; the length of the fruit stalk is about the same as that of Wilson.

This variety seems to be a very fair bearer, and may be very useful for amateur cul-
ture, but we think it is too soft in texture to serve a good purpose as a market fruit.

Mr. Bishop had a number of fine gooseberry bushes claimed to be a new seedling,
heavily laden with rather large fruit, which in its then immature state, we could not form
any opinion as to quality.

The blood-red peach on his grounds is a very attractive tree, and is fruiting for the
first time.

Wm. Saunders,
E. West,
Robert Burnet.

REPORT ON LUKE BISHOP'S SEEDLING GOOSEBERRY.

Some fine seedling gooseberries were sent for report by Mr. Luke Bishop. These were
raised from the seed of some English berries. They were of good size, larger than Smith's
Improved, and if found impervious to mildew, will be of much value. Mr. Bishop uses
salt in the cultivation of this berry and a very heavy mulch. He also sent a new seedling
strawberry, which unfortunately were kept too long for a good trial. There was, however,
a small jar of preserves which indicate a high and luscious flavour.

A committee was appointed to visit Mr. Bishop's grounds at St. Thomas, and their
report will probably give full details.

AUTUMN MEETING.
Held at Walkerton, September 10th, 1879.

The attendance was but small, but a pretty lively discussion took place in reference
to the cultivation of fruit trees.

Mr. Roy, of Owen Sound, in the absence of the President, took the chair. He
regretted the absence of the Secretary, who missed the train. The chairman stated that
the object of the meeting was to learn the capabilities of this district, as a fruit-growing
section.

Rev. Mr. Shortt, expressed the opinion that the Red Astrachan and the Snow apple
succeed very well. He has been here only some four years.

Mr. Couch regretted not having planted early apples when he first came here, as the
opinion then prevailed that early apples would not succeed. Northern Spy does well.
The Baldwin will not succeed. Astrachan and Early Harvest will do well. His early
Strawberry is just beginning to bear, has splendid fruit. Tried American Golden, knows
them to succeed well. Mr. Arnold advised the planting of early apples, as they bring the
best prices ; he always makes more from his early apples than from the late. They are the
best for shipping.

Mr. Tolton planted out his first tree some thirteen years ago. His trees have suc-
ceeded very well. Has Early Harvest, Red Astrachan and Keswick Codlin ; has Russets
and Rhode Island Greenings. No Baldwins. Not enough grown for exportation. Har-
vest apples sold readily from 80 cents to $1 per bushel.

Mr. Mayor McLean did not raise many, has had trouble with worms. His trees were
too much confined. Mr. Arnold says that the only remedy for the Codlin moth, is tying
same paper or rag around the tree near the bottom. Mr. Couch expressed the opinion
that the stinging of apples takes place after the blossoming.

Mr. Lamb said that in his opinion, the insect bores apples from the outside. He has
found apples bored just a short way. Snow apples do very well. The Mann apple is the
best winter apple. American Golden Russet bears well; good grower, likes it well.

35

His opinion is that winter fruit is best for this district, His trees are planted twenty-two
feet by thirty-two feet apart.

Mr. Allan of Goderich was here at the Exhibition last fall. Saw some very good
fruit, but thought that fruit cultivation received very little attention. He thought win-
ter apples best for general use in this district. He thinks that fruit trees want cultivating
as well as wheat or other field produce.

Mr. Doberer, Hanover, thinks early apples do well. For flavour, recommends Spitz-
enberg. Thinks trees want more cultivating. Farmers pay little attention to their trees.
Finds his trees want manuring every three years. Thinks trees should be washed and
pruned every year, grubs should be taken off every year.

Dr. Bell does not personally grow fruit, but has observed that trees look healthy and
vigorous. The country is new. Red Astrachan, Snow apples, King of Tomkins County,
few Spitzenberg, Russets, and Northern Spy do well. The county, in his opinion, is very
suitable for the cultivation of fruit.

Mr. Faulds considered the county very suitable for fruit growing. Cherries do not
succeed very well, pears do well. The Ben Davis apple does very well.

Mr. Clendenning spoke of the Codlin moth; thought it worked from the outside in-
wardly. Has been very successful in catching the moth by surrounding the trees with
paper. Did three trees that way, and the apples were not nearly as bad as the others.
Believes in manuring his trees ; believes that spreading straw around trees kills June grass.
Has had trouble with borers.

Mr. Couch asked for information about the Yellow Bell Flower, which he found to
shed its fruit after it is set. Mr. Arnold thought very little of it. Mr. Roy said he suc-
ceeded best with the Yellow Belle Flower, by allowing it to droop on the ground.

Mr. Doberer thought that standard trees are generally preferred, but he thought low
trees were the better. They are not so much liable to be shaken by the wind. The fruit
oan be better taken off.

Mr. Tolton has many varieties of pears but very few bearing, finds the standard the
best trees, had no trouble with blight. His trees do well, thinks pears do well, has had
trouble with the Codlin moth.

Mr. Clendenning has seen the pear slug; found ashes will remove them.

Mr. Couch found pears do well in this district. No blight. Plums do well, Green
Gage, June Purple, Yellow Egg, found some to rot on trees, most on yellow plums. Thinks
this a good plum country.

Mr. Clendenning has the Washington Plum, but found it to rot this year.

Dr. Bell, expressed his admiration of the magnificence of the plums in this district,
saw some sixteen varieties fully matured in the garden of Dr. Douglass of Port Elgin. He
expressed the idea that the Indian Peninsula will prove a valuable fruit district, especi-
ally so for apples and plums.

Mr. Tolton had black knot on one tree, but cut it off and destroyed it, and has not
been troubled with it since.

Mr. Shortt saw some curculio in an orchard near Invermay.

Mr. Gowanlock, living five miles from Walkerton, has black knot this year, on his
Blue plums. Mr. Arnold advised the cutting down of every Blue plum tree.

Mr. Doberer found black knot on Blue plum trees, and advised their destruction.

Mr. Tolton has grown out-door grapes, had them fruit, protects them with long straw
manure in the winter. The Salem has not done well. The Burnet grape has grown well
this year. The president advised cutting it down to two or three eyes. Mr. Couch
has not much experience in grape growing. Has a Clinton which prospers very well. Saw
trouble from the Thrip.

Dr. Bell said his Burnet grape grew very little last year, but did well this year. Ad-
vised the planting of the early kinds. Thinks the Champion will do well in this district,
which is fully ripe now. The Concord should be planted, he thinks nothing later than
this will ripen here.

Mr. Roy said that he laid down the vines under the snow, but did not cover them
with anything.

3G

Mr. Faulds thinks the introduction of the Isabella has done injury to grape growing,
because it generally failed.

English Cherries cannot be profitably cultivated in this district.

Dr. Bell, on behalf of the fruit-growers in this district, presented the chairman with
the following address: —

To the Fruit Growers' Association of Ontario :

Gentlemen, — The Town Council, Horticultural Society, and inhabitants of Walkerton,
extend to you a cordial welcome, at this your first visit to the County of Bruce.

Our County is so new, that we have as yet made little progress in the noble Art and
Science of which your Association are the patrons ; but we believe that it possesses very
important natural adaptations for fruit cultivation. We trust that your meeting among
us, may result in making the Association better acquainted with the natural capabilities
of this section of the Province, and also in developing a deeper interest in fruit growing
among ourselves.

We hope that your deliberations may be pleasant and profitable, and that we may soon
again have the happiness of enjoying your presence among us.

On behalf of the parties above named.

M. Maclean, Mayor.

Walkerton, September 10th, 1879,

Mr. Roy thanked the meeting for the address.

A vote of thanks to the Warden for the use of the hall, was moved by Dr. Ebyr
seconded by Mr. Sproat.- -Carried.

The meeting concluded by a vote of thanks to the chairman, Mr. Roy.

MONTREAL APPLES.

The exhibit, by the Montreal Horticultural Society, of forty varieties of apples, at the
Dominion Exhibition at Ottawa, was very much admired, and though not fortunate enough
to secure one of the prizes offered, was "highly commended " for its excellence, by the
judges. If the Association had known the basis on which the award was made the result
might have been more favourable. The fruit chosen by the Society was selected on account
of the excellence of the specimens. The award was, however, made by the judges by the
standard of their commercial value. Owing to this fact the number of points given some-
of the varieties were not as high as might have been obtained had other named sorts been
chosen. The judges were gentlemen from Ontario, and they performed a rather difficult
and arduous task in a very thorough and painstaking manner, carefully examining every
kind to see that it was properly named, and cutting into the fruit where it was at all
doubtful. Any variety that was improperly named secured no points whatever, and in
this way the Montreal collection lost points on four varieties. Some of the varieties
shewn being known only locally also contributed to lessen the number of marks obtained
by the Society for their exhibits. It is a matter of regret that some of the gentlemen
from this Province who had been asked to act as judges in this class were not able to
accept, as the information a grower of fruit in this section would have been able to give
the Ontario judges would have been a material help, as none of them were very familiar
with the apples grown in this Province. The Society is greatly indebted to President
Burnet, Vice-President Roy, and other gentlemen of the Ontario Fruit Growers' Associa-
tion, for the courtesy shewn them in having, by special resolution, allowed the Montreal
Association to compete with only five apples of each kind, instead of six, as should have
been shewn. Such friendly encouragement of the Society in their first efforts should

37

stimulate them to go on in their work, and judging by the position obtained by the first
lot of fruit shewn, a still higher position might be obtained in the near future. One thing
is sure, namely, that it is hopeless to attempt to compete successfully against the experien-
ced fruit growers of Ontario, unless the greatest pains are taken in selecting the varieties
sent, and the utmost care taken in having them properly named. Fruit growers here do
not seem aware of how important a matter this is, and they have much to learn from their
brethren in the sister province.

YELLOWS IN THE PEACH.

Below is the full text of the law of Michigan, entitled " A bill to prevent the spread
of the yellows, a contagious disease among peach, nectarine and other trees, and to extir- .
pate the same :"

Section 1. The people of the State of Michigan enact: That it shall be unlawful for
any person to keep any peach, nectarine, or other trees infected with the contagious dis-
ease known as the yellows; or to offer for sale or shipment, or to sell or ship to others,
any of the fruit thereof; and no damages shall be awarded in any court of this state for
the destruction of such diseased trees or fruit, as hereinafter provided; and it shall be
the duty of every citizen, as soon as he becomes aware of the existence of such disease in
any tree or fruit owned by him, to forthwith destroy or cause the same to be destroyed.

Section 2. In any township in this state in which such contagious disease exists, or
in which there is good reason to believe it exists, or danger may be apprehended of its
introduction and spread, it shall be lawful for any five or more resident freeholders of the
same place or any adjoining townships to set forth such fact, belief or apprehension in a
petition addressed to the board of such township, requesting them to appoint three com-
missioners, as hereinafter provided, to prevent the spread or introduction of said disease,
and to eradicate the same, which petition shall be filed with, and become a part of the
records of the township to which such application is made.

Section 3. It shall be the duty of the township clerk on receipt of the petition speci-
fied in Section 2 of this act, to call a meeting of the township board within ten days there-
after, and upon the assembling of said board to lay such petition before them ; whereupon
it shall be the duty of said board, upon the hearing of said petition, to appoint three com-
petent resident freeholders of such township as commissioners, who shall hold their office
during the pleasure of said board ; and such order of appointment and of revocation, when
revoked, shall be entered at large upon the records of the township.

Section 4. It shall be the duty of said commissioners, within ten days of appointment
as aforesaid, to file their acceptance of the same with the clerk of said township, and said
clerk shall be ex officio clerk of said board of commissioners, and he shall keep a correct
record of the proceedings in a book to be provided for the purpose, and shall file and pre-
serve all papers pertaining to the duties of said commissioners or either of them, which
shall be a part of the records of said township.

Section 5. Any one or more residents of the same or adjoining township may make
complaint in writing and on oath, addressed to said commissioners, delivering the same to
either of them, setting forth that said disease exists, or that he has good reason to believe
it exists upon lands within the township in which said commissioners reside, designating
the same with reasonable certainty, or that trees or fruit infected with such disease are
offered for sale or shipment, or have been introduced therein, designating the person in
whose possession, or under whose control such trees or fruit are believed to be.

Section 6. It shall be the duty of the commissioners to whom such complaint is
delivered to proceed without unnecessary delay to examine the trees or fruit so designated,
and if he shall become satisfied that the contagious disease actually infects such trees or
fruit, he shall, without injuring the same, fix a distinguishing mark upon each of the trees
so infected, and immediately notify the person to whom such trees belong, personally or

38

by leaving ci written notice at his usual place of residence if he be a resident of the same
county, and if such owner be a non-resident of such county, then by leaving the same with
the person in possession of such trees requiring him within five days, Sundays excepted,
from the date of said notice, to effectually remove and destroy, by fire or other means, the
trees so marked, and in case of fruit so infected, such notice shall require the person in
whose possession or control it is found, to immediately destroy the same or cause it to be
done.

Section 7. If any person neglects to destroy or cause to be destroyed, such diseased
fruit, after such examination and notification, but sells, ships or disposes of the same to
others, such person shall be deemed guilty of misdemeanor, and punished by a fine not
exceeding $100, or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding three months, or
both, in the discretion of the court, and any justice of the peace of the township where
such fruit is sold, shipped or disposed of, as aforesaid, shall have jurisdiction thereof.

Section 8. Whenever any person shall refuse or neglect to comply with the notice to
remove and destroy the trees marked by the commissioners as aforesaid, it shall be the duty
of said commissioner forthwith to notify the other commissioners to assemble with himself
on the premises on which said trees shall be, on the fifth day, Sundays excepted, after he
shall have made service of such notice, and then and there personally to examine the trees
in question, and the evidence bearing upon the existence of said disease, and if said com-
missioners or a majority of them shall, after a proper examination of the matter, decide
that said trees are infected with such disease, they shall in case such trees so infected do
not exceed six in number, order the same to be removed or destroyed forthwith, or cause
it to be done, employing all necessary aid for that purpose, if the person in charge thereof
refuses or neglects to do so, and in case the trees found to be infected, shall exceed six in
number, and the owner thereof shall upon the service of said notice, refuse or neglect to
remove the same in accordance with the provisions of the act and the terms of such notice,
then and in that case said commissioners shall petition the circuit court for the county for
an order directing and empowering said commissioners to remove or cause to be removed
such infected trees, and the court shall direct the defendant to be summoned, and an issue
joined therein, and the cause to be tried in a summary manner; and if it shall appear on
said trial that said trees are so infected, he shall grant the order prayed for, with costs of
prosecution against the owner of said trees, but in case such trees are found not to be in-
fected, he shall dismiss said proceeding with costs to be taxed against the township in
which such commissioners reside.

Section 9. Every person who shall willfully refuse or neglect to comply with the no-
tice of the commissioners, as hereinafter provided, to remove and destroy said diseased
trees, shall be liable for all the costs, charges and disbursements made upon the proceedings
of said commissioners and of the board of commissioners, to effect such removal and des-
truction, together with a penalty of five dollars for each and every day, but not exceeding
one hundred dollars in all, such trees remain undestroyed, which costs, charges, disburse-
ments and penalty shall be recovered of him in action of trespass upon the case, in the form
of assumpsit, brought and prosecuted by the supervisor, in the name and for the benefit of
the township, and before any justice of the peace therein, in the same manner and with
like proceedings as are applicable in civil cases before such courts, and upon judgment be-
ing rendered in favour of said township, the said justice of the peace shall issue execution
against the defendant in said action, which may be stayed, as in other cases, but when col-
lected he shall pay the amount thereof, forthwith, to the treasurer of said township, to the
credit of the general fund.

Section 10. The form of the declaration in any suit instituted as aforesaid, may be as
follows, to wit: In justice court, before AB, justice of township, county, the town-
ship of , said county, complains of C D, in an action of trespass upon the case, and says

that C D justly owes the township dollars, being the amount of the expenses incurred

by said township in the removal and destruction of trees infected with the yellows, from
(designating the premises with reasonable certainty), and the penalty incurred by said C D
for not removing and destroying said trees pursuant to an act entitled "An act to prevent
the spread of the yellows, a contagious disease, among peach, nectarine and other trees, and
to extirpate the same," wherefore the said township brings suit. A B, Supervisor.

39

Section 11. The commissioners shall be allowed, for services under this act, two dol-
lars for each full day, and one dollar for each half-day, and their other charges and dis-
bursements, hereunder to be audited, as well as any other charges and disbursements under
this act, by the township board.

Section 1 2. In all suits and prosecutions under any of the provisions of this act it shall
be necessary to prove that such trees or fruit were diseased or infected.

NEW AND RAKE FRUITS IN 1878.

A Paper read before the Western N.Y. Horticultural Society, January 23rd, 1879.

By William C. Barry.

The year 1878 has been rendered memorable in the annals of American pomology by
reason of the large number of new native fruits which have been originated or introduced
during that time. The list of peaches especially has been wonderfully augmented.
Descriptions of about thirty seedlings never before described have come to our notice, and
we may safely estimate that as many more have fruited, but have not as yet been
made known to the public. In connection with this remarkable array of peach novelties
their places of origin are interesting. The State of New York offers several candidates
for popular favour which appear unusually promising. From the great metropolis even
come two new varieties which apparently possess many valuable qualities. In Western
New York there are several seedlings which will undoubtedly prove very desirable. One
of them is believed to be the largest and earliest of all the very early peaches. In the
neighbouring State of Ohio several excellent early and late varieties have originated. Pass-
ing over a vast extent of country we find a large number of new kinds in Missouri, Kansas
and Nebraska, and a correspondent of the Gardener's Monthly, writing from Kansas,
says "that the whole list of early peaches known to the public so far as fruited in Kansas
this year, is surpassed both in earliness and size by at least fifty new seedlings of Kansas
origin, many of which have borne their first fruit this year." At the South, too, some
promising new sorts are spoken of. Thus, as if by magic, the same year, and in various
portions of the country new peaches have sprung up in such numbers as to astonish and
almost perplex the fruit-culturist. Of the progress made and the success achieved no
more convincing proof could be desired than the fact that on the 19th of July, 1878, we
had upon our table large, ripe, luscious peaches, grown in the open air in the vicinity
of Rochester. This is indeed a remarkable fact and indicates wonderful progress. Our
Society and all similar organizations are to be congratulated upon the successful issue of
their efforts in creating and fostering a taste for the beautiful and useful in nature, and the
extraordinary improvements effected in the past should encourage renewed efforts and
greater exertions in the future. It is to be regretted, however, that while we must in
justice award great credit to the originators of valuable new fruits for the energy, zeal
and industry displayed in the production of the same, it becomes our duty to criticise
severely those who would offer to the public, knowingly, a new fruit of inferior quality or
intentionally disseminate an old or discarded variety under a new name. Too much
carelessness has been evinced in this regard in the past, and it seems to me that this is a
proper time for this Society to consider the matter, and to adopt some measures to remedy
this evil.

A LIST OF THE NEW PEACHES OP 1878.

In the following list I have endeavoured so far as possible to include all of the new
peaches which have been noticed during the year. I am aware that this list is far from
being complete, but I trust that the information herein afforded will enable those who are
interested to prosecute their inquiries with greater facility the coming season. Nearly all
are such descriptions as I have received, some few have been described from personal
observation.

' —

40

Beckwith's Early — Raised by Mr. Beck with, Olathe, Kansas, in 1877. It is a cling-
stone peach, large, showy, firm, and it is thought will make a fine market variety.
Ripened at Olathe, June 20th, 1878.

Wyandotte Chief — Originated by George Krop, Wyandotte, Kansas. It is large,
handsome and a clingstone. Ripened June 22nd, 1878, at Wyandotte.

Bledsoe's Early Cling — Ira L. Wood, of Pleasant Hill, Mo., is the originator of this
seedling. It is claimed to be five days earlier than Amsden, in the same locality, and of
better quality.

Seedling No. 1 — Raised by James A. Storm, Mo. A very handsome freestone,
measuring eight inches in circumference. The originator says it possesses more fine qualities
than any peach he has seen, and that it is at least ten or fifteen days earlier than the
Amsden, and superior in size, flavour, colour and durability.

Seedling No. 2 — Raised by the originator of the above. This variety is said to ripen
about the same time as Amsden, is eight inches in circumference, and the flavour is good.

Brice's Early June — Dr. S. M. Brice, of Kansas, is the originator of this variety,
which fruited for the first time in 1874, and ripened on the 20th of June of that year.
Frost and grasshoppers prevented any further fruitage until 1877, when it ripened again
from the 20th to the 25th of June. In 1878 it ripened June 18th. Dr. Brice says that
in a test in 1877 with the Amsden, Alexander, Early Louise, Early Rivers, and several
others of the earliest and best varieties known, Brice's Early June proved its superiority
in size, flavour, beauty and early maturity.

Hyne's Surprise — Originated by E. F. Hynes, West Plains, Mo., 1877 ; said to be
large, highly coloured, very fragrant, a prolific bearer and a good keeper. Ripened in 1877,
June 28th ; in 1878, June 14th.

Rape's Early — A Georgia seedling, raised by Dr. Samuel Hape, of Atlanta. It is
said to equal if not surpass any early peach now known, in flavour, size, hardiness, capacity
for shipping, and beauty.

Ashby — Discovered in Texas among a lot of seedlings in 1877. It is said to be a
large, handsome peach, with firm flesh, of excellent quality, and ripens about ten days be-
fore the Amsden.

Baker's Early May — A seedling which made its first appearance in 1872 in Texas ;
resembles Hale's Early. It is a freestone, and its originator claims that it ripens six
to ten days before Amsden.

Seedlings Nos. 1, #, 3, 4, 5, from Ohio, fruited for the first time in 1878.

No 1 — is a handsome peach, of about the size of Hale's Early, measuring seven
inches in circumference, colour creamy white, nearly covered with dark purplish red,
adheres to the stone ; said to be two weeks earlier than any other variety.

No. 2 — Similar to No. 1, but ripens a week later.

No. 3 — Large, measuring eight inches in circumference and weighing 5 J oz. ; skin
o eamy white, streaked and mottled with light red, deepening into dark crimson, flesh
juicy, sweet, vinous and of first quality ; ripe in August.

No Jf. — Yellow and red, flesh yellow, small ; ripens in September.

No. 5 — A white peach, of medium size ; late.

Bower's Early — Raised in Frederick, Md., in 1876. It is a freestone, of good size,
measuring nine inches in circumference, and considered earlier than the Amsden.

Seedling — Originated in Rochester, N.Y. A fine peach, of medium size, round, with
a dark red cheek ; of excellent quality ; ripe Sep. 4th, 1878.

Seedling — Another Rochester seedling. Large, handsome, white fleshed peach, of
first-rate quality ; skin creamy white, tinted with pale rose ; matured Sept. 4th, 1878.

Seedling — From New Brighton, S.I. Another large, round peach, with pale creamy
white skin, flesh free, white to the stone, like Morris' White.

Seedling — Raised in New York. Very large, measuring nine inches around ; skin
yellowish white, flesh white, red at the stone, and a cling like Heath Cling. A splendid
peach; ripe Oct. 5th, 1878.

Gov. Garland — Raised in Arkansas, and said to be the largest and best very early
peach.

41

Harper's Early — Originated in Missouri. Tlie originators claim that it is the earliest
of all peaches.

Waterloo — The first very early peach ever raised in Western New York. It was
originated in Waterloo, by Mr. Henry Lisk, and fruited for the first time in 1877, when
it ripened several days earlier than the Alexander or Amsden. In 1878 the first specimen
ripened July 14th, and all the fruit was gathered July 19th, about a week in advance of
the Alexander and Amsden. The fruit is medium to large size, good specimens measuring
nine inches in circumference and weighing five ounces. The skin is whitish green in the
shade, marbled red, deepening into dark purple crimson in the sun. Flesh greenish white,
with an abundance of sweet vinous juice, adheres considerably to the stone like Hale's,
Amsden, etc. It is a remarkable keeper, and will undoubtedly be of great value for
distant as well as home markets.

Conkling — Among fifty varieties which we had the pleasure of seeing in fruit the past
season, I think this might be justly regarded as the most attractive of them all. The fruit
is large, good specimens measuring 9J and 9J inches in circumference, and weighing 6J
and 6| ounces. Skin beautiful golden yellow, very juicy, vinous, and of very good quality.
It succeeds Crawford's Early. This is another Western New York peach, having been
raised in the town of Parma, N.Y., and fruited for the first time in 1873.

Kinnamon's Seedling — Originated with Samuel Kinnaman, of Delaware, ripened 20th
of June, 1878. Fruit of medium size, roundish, skin pale brownish red on a pale greenish
ground, flesh greenish white to the stone, juicy, sweet and of a very good flavour. Ad-
heres partially to the pit. It is said to be some days earlier than the Alexander or
Amsden.

Burns' Peach — Raised by Thomas F. Burns, Mt. Palaski, 111., who claims that it is
the earliest peach known, being a month earlier than the Alexander.

Collie Scoff Peach — A seedling of Early York raised in Water Valley, Ky., said to
be earlier and better than Amsden.

Sallie Worrell — -Was found on the ground of Mrs. Worrell, near Wilson, N.C. It is
regarded by good judges as the finest flavoured peach in the Carolinas.

Thompson's Orange — Raised at Wilson, N.C., and said to be one of the earliest yellow
peaches. It has a beautiful colour, somewhat like a yellow apricot, is a freestone and has
a good sub-acid flavour.

The above list comprises thirty varieties all more or less new. How many of them
will prove real acquisitions it is impossible to predict. We intend to watch them closely
the coming season, and trust at our next annual meeting to be able to furnish much valu-
able information about them. Our notes on this subject would hardly be complete without
a few remarks on the newer peaches which have been tested the past season.

Alexander's Early and Amsden 's June, in which a great deal of interest has been
manifested, have proved so nearly identical as to make it impossible to distinguish one
from the other. They are the largest and earliest of the very early sorts, not taking into
consideration the introductions of 1878, of which the " Waterloo " is thought to be nearly
a week earlier. The time of ripening of the newer sorts has also been satisfactorily
determined. Alexander, Amsden, Honeywell and High's Early Canada bear such a striking
resemblance to each other as to be considered almost identical, and all ripen at about the
same time. Then follow in the order named, Brigg's Red May, Early Beatrice, Early
Louise, Early Rivers, Rivers' Early York, Early Silver, Magdala, Dr. Hogg, etc.

Rivers' Seedling Peaches — Of these Rivers' Early is now recognized as one of the fin-
est peaches, and particularly deserving the attention of the amateur. Its delicious flavour
places it at once at the head of the list. For distant markets, however, it is doubtful
whether it will be of value, as both skin and flesh are tender, and it will, therefore, not
bear much handling. (This remark may apply to all of Mr. Rivers' seedlings.) Another
handsome and excellent peach is the

Early Silver, which, although introduced about the same time as Beatrice, Louise and
Rivers, has not been widely disseminated, and therefore is comparatively unknown. The
fruit is large, larger than the Rivers, of a beautiful silvery colour, flesh melting, rich, vin-
ous and white, to the stone, like Morris' White. It ripens about the 1st of September,
and is well worth the attention of fruit-growers.

42

Large Early Migonne is another which bids fair to rank high in popular estimation
so soon as known. It is large, skin of a pale, straw colour, marbled with reel, flesh melting
and very good. This tine peach was raised from the Belle Beauce, and ripens latter part
of August.

Dr. Hogg is a handsome freestone, of medium size, skin pale white, with crimson cheek,
flesh with red around the stone, and very good.

Early Albert is a clingstone, of medium size, skin white, mostly covered with light red,
flesh white, melting and very juicy.

Crimson Galande is a large peach, freestone, flesh tender, melting, rich and of a deli-
cious flavour; ripens in the latter part of August, and should never be omitted in a col-
lection for the garden.

Magdala. — Of medium size, colour creamy white, marbled and blotched with crimson,
flavour quite original, being a combination of peach and nectarine.

Princess of Wales. — Very large and one of the most beautiful of peaches ; colour
jreamy white, with a rosy cheek, melting, rich and excellent ; is justly entitled to be
numbered among the best.

Rivers' Early York is of medium size, skin marbled with red, flesh melting and juicy ;
-ipens after Early Rivers.

Several choice peaches, about which there seems to be little known, may be named as
Follows :

Belle de la Croix. — A large variety, remarkable for its rich, sweet flavour.

Belle Beauce. — Large and handsome, skin pale white with crimson cheek and
marbled with light red ; flesh white, red near the stone, free, melting and of first quality.

Belle Doue.— Medium, or rather small ; flesh white, red at stone and very good.

Royal George. — Large, melting and delicious.

Walburton Admirable. — Large, skin creamy white, with delicate marbling of red
around base ; flesh greenish white to the stone, free, juicy, sweet, delicious ; ripe end of
September. One of the finest late varieties.

Royal Kensington. — Of medium size and the finest quality.

Malta. — A fine peach, though rather small.

Belle de la Croix, Royal George, Royal Kensington and Early Rivers are peaches of
the highest flavour, and cannot fail to satisfy the most delicate tastes.

Among the older sorts raised in this country, Atlanta, of the style of Hales, and one
of Dr. Sylvester's Seedling is a delicious fruit and ought to be extensively cultivated.
Foster is another which should not be overlooked. It resembles Crawford's Early, but is
superior in texture and flavour. Coohdge's Favourite, although rather small, is a fine
peach, and deserves to be better known.

NEW APPLES.

But few really new apples have been brought to notice the past year. Of the
Russian apples which we have had under trial for some time, several have given evidence
of value, and while they can hardly be compared in quality to our best apples, still they are
fair and will undoubtedly prove valuable in those localities where only hardy varieties
succeed. The following are worthy of particular notice :

(Season of ripening, August and September.)

Titouka or Titus Apple. — A large handsome fruit, resembling Twenty Ounce. Skin
smooth, greenish yellow, striped and splashed with red ; flesh a little coarse, sub-acid ;
ripens middle to last of August. This is the largest and showiest of the newer Russian
varieties which we have thus far tested.

Arabskoe (Arabian apple) — Another beautiful fruit of moderate size, roundish oblate
form, with dark red skin, covered with a rich purple bloom ; flesh white and juicy.

Belborodoos/we. — Of medium to large size, rather flat, tapering slightly to stalk, skin
yellowish green, with light dots and a browny tint on sunny side ; flesh a little coarse,
juicy, sub-acid. A good apple.

43

Groskoe Selenke Gruner. — Of medium size, roundish, conical form, skin smooth
yellowish green, colour of Sweet Bough ; ripens early in August. Promises to be one of
the most valuable.

Ostrowskoe. — Of medium size, round, regular, skin smooth, greenish yellow, with red
cheek, and covered with white dots. Very distinct and handsome.

Repka. — Size medium ; roundish, oblate form, regular and smooth ; skin pale straw
colour, transparent ; flesh fine-grained, crisp, juicy, sub-acid, good ; ripe early in August ;
tree a free grower and very prolific. For this variety we predict great popularity.

fioschdestivenskoe, or Christ Birth Apple. — Large, roundish, stalk short, stout ; skin
green, mostly covered with purplish red. A handsome apple.

Tschernoe Drewo. — Of medium to large size, roundish ; skin yellow, with a beauti-
fully mottled red cheek. Yery attractive.

Waskaroe. — Size medium, roundish, slightly conical ; skin yellow, striped and
marbled with crimson, about the colour of Duchesse of Oldenburg ; flesh crisp ; ripens in
August.

Grand Duke Constantine. — Although we have had this variety in our collection for
several years, we have not as yet had an opportunity to test it entirely to our satisfaction,
owing to the imperfect condition of the fruit when examined. The conclusion we came
to, however, was that it would prove identical with the well-known Alexander. The
following description is Mr. Scott's, the celebrated English Pomologist, and we quote it
because, if correct, this variety deserves to be placed in the front rank among the
Russian varieties. Mr. Scott says : " This is a noble fruit in size and appearance. It is,
perhaps, as handsome and beautiful as any existing variety, not excepting Alexander and
Northern Spy. It is of the largest size, roundish, somewhat flattened ; skin clear, bright
yellow, almost entirely covered with streaks of dark crimson on the side exposed to the
sun ; flesh white, tender, juicy, sweet, slightly sub-acid ; ripens in August.

Grand Sultan. — Another variety represented to be of first size and quality ; skin
whitish yellow, covered with a beautiful bloom and striped and shaded with red on the
sunny side ; flesh white, and, when ripe, transparent. A very fine fruit, rich and juicy ;
ripens in August and September.

NEW PEARS.

The year has not been prolific in new pears. An American variety, one of the
Messrs. Clapp's seedlings, has been introduced, and gives promise of great excellence. It
is called the

Frederick Clapp, or Clapp's No. 22. — -We are indebted to the Hon. Marshall P.
Wilder for the following description : " Form generally obovate, but somewhat variable,
size above medium ; skin thin, smooth and fair, clear lemon yellow ; flesh fine-grained,
very juicy and melting ; flavour sprightly acidulous, rich and aromatic ; season October
15th to November 1st, remaining sound at core to the last ; quality very good to best, and
will be highly esteemed by those who like acidulous pears. It has been exhibited for
many years by the originators, Messrs. F. & L. Clapp, of Dorchester, Mass. Of this pear
the Committee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society have reported favourably for
years. Of its quality they state in 1873: "It was pronounced decidedly superior to
Beurre Superfin, and is regarded by all who have seen it as the highest bred and most
refined of all the many seedlings shewn by Messrs. Clapp." It is probably a cross
between Beurre Superfin and Urbaniste, the tree resembling in habit the latter variety,
and may safely be commended as worthy of trial by all cultivators of the pear.

Kieffer's Hybrid Pear is another novelty, raised from the Chinese sand pear, crossed
with a cultivated variety supposed to be Bartlett. The fruit is large and very uniform in
size ; skin greenish yellow ; flesh white, buttery, juicy ; quality good. It ripens in
October, when pears are scarce and high. The tree is a strong grower, and is claimed to
be blight-proof.

CHAMPION QUINCE.

Champion Quince.— A new variety, which originated in Georgetown, Conn., in 1865.
It is described as being superior to all other varieties now known. The fruit is said to be

44

larger than the Orange, fair, smooth and of fine quality, and a late keeper. Tree bears
large crops, early and regularly. We will look toward this variety with a great deal of
interest.

NEW STRAWBERRIES.

During the past few years a very large number of varieties have been introduced to
public notice and are now offered for sale. For the purpose of reference I have prepared
the following list, which is still incomplete. The name of the variety is given first, then
the name of the originator and date of introduction. As a record it will be found con-
venient and useful. I am indebted to Mr. William Parry, of Cinnaminson, N.J., for
information regarding the origin of several varieties.

Belle, Moore, Mass., 1876.

Black Defiance.

Caroline, Moore, Mass., 1876.

Centennial, Durand, N.J., 1876.

Crescent Seedling, Parmelee, Conn., 1870.

Champion, Reisig & Hexamer, N.Y. 1872.

Capt. Jack, S. Miller, Mo., 1874.

Continental, Felton, N.J., 1876.

Cumberland Triumph, Miller, Pa., 1874.

Damask Beauty.

Duncan, Lucas, N.J., 1875.

Duchesse, Hexamer, N.Y., 1874.

Essex Beauty, Durand, N.J.

Forest Rose, Fetters, Ohio, 1877.

Gen. Sherman, Moore, Mass., 1877.

Great American, Durand, N.J., 1875.

Golden Defiance, Miller, Pa., 1874.

Gertrude Miller, Mo., 1873.

Hervey Davis, Moore, Mass., 1878.

Kerr's Late Prolific, Kerr, N.Y., 1875.

Matilda, Tillson, N.Y., 1873.

Miner's Great Prolific, Miner, N.J., 1877.

Maud Miller, Miller, Mo., 1873.

Mary Stewart, Miller, Mo., 1873.

Monarch of the West, Brady, Ills., 1871.

New Dominion, Biggar, Ont., 1873.

Panic, Peck, N.Y.

Pres. Lincoln, Smith, N.Y., 1875.

Photo, Crawford, Ohio, 1876.

Pioneer, Durand, N.Y.

Patuxent, Washington, D.C. , 1876.

Rappahannock, Washington, D.C, 1876.

Springdale, Miller, Pa., 1874.

Success, White, Mass., 1876.

Susquehanna, Washington. D.C, 1876.

Seneca Chief, Merrill & Son., Mich , 1874.

Seth Boy den, Jr., Crawford Ohio, 1876.

Sharpless, Sharpless, Pa., 1877.

Turner, , N.J., 1872.

What portion of these varieties will prove worthy of general cultivation it is as yet
difficult to say. Another season's trial, we hope, will enable us to give more definite and
reliable information concerning many of them. Of the large number of kinds which we
have personally examined and tested the past summer, the Sharpless claims the first
place. It first gave evidence of value in Mr. Barry's private garden in 1877 ; Mr.

45

Sharpless having kindly sent a few plants for testing. At the last annual meeting of
this Society your President referred to the Sharpless as very promising. This was the
first public mention made of it. In June last we had ample opportunity to give it a
thorough trial, and it pleased us exceedingly. Its vigorous habit of growth is one of its
distinguishing characteristics. No other variety that we are acquainted with produces
such strong, thrifty plants, or has such large and handsome foliage. It is very productive
and yields immense crops, even under ordinary treatment. The trusses are remarkably
strong and well-proportioned for the burden they are intended to support, although in
many cases the fruit is so large as to bend them to the ground, The berries average
large to very large, are generally oblong in shape, narrowing to the apex, but sometimes
irregular and flattened. The colour is a clear light red, with smooth shining surface. The
flesh is moderately firm, with a fine aroma, and may be rated as first in quality. A bed
of this variety, when the plants are loaded with fruit, is well worth visiting. The rich,
dark green foliage at once arrests attention, even from a distance, and if we will take the
trouble to approach and examine the fruit, it will not be possible to repress our surprise
and admiration. If it proves as great a success generally as at Rochester, Catawissa and
Cinnamison, we predict for it great popularity.

Among the other varieties Cumberland Triumph promises to be an acquisition 'for
the garden. Grscent Seedling is becoming a general favourite, and bids fair soon to be
recognized as a standard variety.

NEW GRAPES.

Rochester and Monroe, offered for sale for the first time the past year, have been
received with great favour on all sides. Moore 's Early, Burnet, Prentiss, Pocklington,
Amber Queen, Early Dawn, Lady Washington, Highland, Duchesse and Niagara are now
on trial, and we hope to be able to report favourably upon them at the next meeting.

NEW RASPBERRIES.

Gregg — During the season we were the recipients of several boxes of fruit of this
new raspberry. Judging from the samples, we would not hesitate to pronounce it a
decided improvement on the older varieties of Black Caps.

Reliance and Early Prolific gave us their first crop of fruit the past summer. Both
varieties appear to be wonderfully productive, but the fruit is soft and hardly of first
quality. They will probably be esteemed for home markets.

Pride of the Hudson, Henrietta, Cuthbert, Florence, Caroline, Queen of the Market
— have not been sufficiently tested to report upon.

WACHUSETT THORNLESS BLACKBERRY.

Although an old variety there seems to be considerable interest manifested in it.
A sample was sent us during the summer, and although three days en route the fruit was
in perfect order when it arrived. It seems to possess several qualities which recommend
it. It ripens thoroughly, the fruit is sweet and good and less acid than any other
blackberry we have seen ; the plant is very hardy, free from thorns, and is said to do
equally well on light and heavy soils.

THE BEST HARDY ROSES FOR GENERAL CULTIVATION AND HOW

TO GROW THEM.

A Paper read before the Western JV. Y. Horticultural Society.

By Henry B. Ellwanger.

This is a query put by many interested devotees of rose culture, annually, and on^
in which all who love floriculture in any of its many forms have a never-failing interest.

46

As we are each year adding new sorts to our list of varieties, and are also
making some occasional discoveries and improvements in propagation and cultivation, it
follows that our selection of kinds and our treatment in culture will vary somewhat from
year to year, as new varieties appear to take the places of old favourites, and we have
knowledge of improved methods for the care of them. Reversing the order of our head-
ing, we will first offer a few brief suggestions regarding the general culture suitable for
hardy Roses, and afterwards at some greater length consider what varieties can most sat-
isfactorily be grown by the general public.

The first requisite is the selection and preparation of • a suitable place for planting.
This is very important, as all that follows depends upon the care used in this first step.

To begin with, then, choose the best place you have in the garden, a place where you
can offer sufficient protection by means of hedges or board fences from bleak sweeping
winds. When fences are used, their general ugliness can be most appropriately clothed
by roses themselves. A warm, sunny position is also requisite ; if so situated that there is
an exposure to the morning sun and the hot rays during the afternoon are in part or wholly
shaded, all the better, but a certain amount of sunlight is as essential to a rose's welfare
as to our own, though many of us do not shew our appreciation of the blessings of sun-
light* as gratefully as do our roses. Besides scattering them through our gardens, roses
may be made very effective planted in borders about our lawns either individually or in
groups, and also planted in beds on the lawn. When the latter is done we may with great
advantage depart from the usual custom of growing the plants in bush form, and resort
to what is termed the pegging down system.

In this case the mode of procedure is quite simple. Having planted our roses — for
this purpose those on their own roots are preferable — we allow them to grow the first season
in the usual way, the following autumn or spring the short and weak shoots are entirely
cut away and the long ones carefully bent down and fastened to the ground by means of
pegs, or where more convenient or preferred they may be tied to stakes. Occasionally it
happens there is a hard stiff shoot which will crack or break near the ground, but if the
bark on the under side continues whole this is generally of no consequence as flowers will
be produced as well as though the shoot were uninjured.

Every year the pegging down must be repeated, the old shoots being cut away and
the new ones which have come up during the summer, laid down in their place. The
great advantd£e of this system over the ordinary practice of growing in bush form, is the
immense quantity of flowers produced, thus giving a magnificent appearance on the lawn,
and affording all the cut flowers desired for household use.

Soil — Roses will do well in any ordinary garden soil that is free from standing water
and well drained. Where there is too much clay the soil can easily be made sufficiently
friable by the application of wood and coal ashes, lime, stable manure, etc. Where, on the
other hand, a soil is sandy or too light, we need to bring clay, muck, leaf mould, etc., to
obtain sufficient body.

Pruning is best done during November or March, though to secure a good second crop
of flowers in the autumn, it is also necessary to prune immediately after the first flower-
ing is over with.

Manures — In regard to this important portion of cultural operations, we would say
that there must be a generous application if we expect a generous yield of flowers. When
roses are planted in the spring, if the soil is ordinarily rich, it will be better not to dig
in much manure about the roots, but rather apply it as a surface dressing. This will at
once be nourishing, keeping the roots cool and prevent suffering from the drouths of sum-
mer. The following autumn, say in November, after the roses have been planted, there
should again be applied as a mulching a free application of stable manure, which may be
dug in the next March. We find cow manure the best fertilizer, on the whole, that we
have tried, though all kinds of stable manure are excellent, as are also bonedust, soot,
guano, etc. For full directions regarding this and kindred objects, we refer to the several
excellent works on Roses.

With these few cultural hints we proceed to a consideration of what are. the best
hardy roses for general cultivation. We mean by this a list for beginners in rose culture
and the general public, naming those varieties that are most certain to succeed and which

47

will give the most generous return in profusion of flower, fragrance and beauty. A
perfect rose, therefore, for general cultivation, should excel in the following particulars,
and in the order named :

First — Beauty of colour — As that which first attracts us to a rose.

Second — Beauty of form — without which our eye cannot rest long, but wanders on
seeking a combination of the two in one flower.

Third — Fragrance — Deprived of this no rose can be perfect. Who ever yet saw a
beautiful rose without wishing to inhale its odours? Gratification in this matter is ofttimes
far more pleasing to us than the mere sight of beauty.

Fourth — Profusion and continuity of bloom. We like our good things in abundance,
poured out to us with generosity, that we may have to distribute and carry our pleasure to
friends.

Fifth — Vigour and healthfulness of growth. That will produce strength of plant, thriv-
ing with a moderate degree of care and attention, and that will endure the extremes of
summer's heat and winter's cold.

Let us consider at some greater length these several qualities essential to a perfect
rose.

First — As regards colour, we like something decided and pronounced, or else of great
delicacy and softness, and withal as durable as possible. The varieties differ very greatly
in this respect. For example, Pius the IX., a well known old rose of splendid habit,
very seldom is seen of a clear colour ; the sun fades it almost immediately after the flow-
ers expand, and a dirty shade of rose is produced, anything but pleasing. La Reine, Giant
of Battles, and others are likewise affected, though in less degree. Some, like Abel
Grand and General Jacqueminot, are quite permanent, lasting ofttimes till the petals wilt
and fall. Above all things, therefore, we want our colours pure and steadfast.

Form. — In form the rose shews almost as much diversity as in colour. We have glob-
ular, cup-shaped, imbricated and quartered roses, besides many modifications of these
forms. The globular rose, as shown in Alfred Colomb, is the finest of them all, but the
others are very pleasing in their variety, and we should not wish to be confined to the one
type. The quartered or flat form is the most objectionable, though there are very many
lovely roses of quartered or flat shape, such as Caroline de Sansal, Baronne Prevost, etc.,
which are large, full and e^en symmetrical. Shirley Hibberd, in his excellent work on
roses, places form before colour. This may be right in an exhibition box of roses, but not
as judged from our standpoint ; however, it shows the very great importance of excellence
in form, without which a rose cannot stand very high in the scale.

Fragrance. — Did one ever think what we should lose were our roses deprived of
their sweet odours 1 Why, there would at once be a vacant throne, with no rose to hold a
queenly sceptre, and the strife of Dahlia, Camellia, Lily, Gladiolus, and Rhododendron
for supremacy would have no check, no limitation. Among all the delightful perfumes
exhaled by the Lily, Heliotrope, Daphne, Jasminum, etc., none yield such delicate, sweet-
scented odours as La France and Louis Yon Houtte give us ; they are alike supreme in
beauty and fragrance.

Profusion and continuity of bloom. — This is also a very important feature, as is ably
set forth by W. D. Prior in an article on " Autumn Roses," which appeared in the Gar-
dener's Chronicle, September 21, 1878. He says:

" One of the most important points in which all roses of comparatively recent intro-
duction should be carefully watched is that of the habit of free autumnal bloom. Until
this has been well established, the title of even the finest varieties to rank as perpetuals
is incomplete. There is the greater necessity for this vigilance because true perpetuity is
the chief claim to superiority that our modorn roses are able to advance over some of their
summer predecessors, which in form, colour, vigour of growth and hardiness are quite their
equals, being surpassed only in the valuable property of having more than one season of
bloom. Another reason for impartial examination as to the quality is that so many nov-
elties receiving certificates when exhibited at the meetings of societies, or which attract
the commendations of adepts at exhibitions, ultimately turn out lamentably shy in autumn,
mere summer roses in fact, yielding, it may be, under peculiar circumstances, a flower or
two in the latter part of the year. It unfortunately happens that not a few even of the

48

established favourites are capricious and unreliable in the essential feature which gives a
name to the class to which they are held to belong. Let any one walk through a large
collection of roses from the end of August till the time for lifting arrives, and he will be
struck at beholding row upon row of healthy looking trees utterly destitute of the vestige
of a flower. In other cases a bloom here or there may be seen, but nothing in quantity to
justify the title of perpetual, while others will be found yielding flowers till the frost cuts
them off'. These last are the kinds most valuable for the purposes of the general rose
public, in coiitradistinction to the limited class concerned with exhibition ; hence the
necessity of ascertaining the trustworthy autumnal blooms every year."

There is no doubt we have altogether too many kinds of so-called Hybrid Perpetuals,
which, though excelling in many other qualities, are lamentably deficient in this : they are
perpetual in name only, and do not yield a sufficient number of flowers ; they, therefore,
should give place to true perpetual varieties.

Vigour and healthfulness of growth. — Last and scarcely least, we look for a strong con-
stitution.

Varieties subject to mildew, like Caroline de Sansal, Prince Camille de Rohan, etc.,
have our commiseration as well as our regard ; while weak or slow-growing varieties, like
General Washington, Giant of Battles, La France, etc., we unfavorably contrast with the
exuberant healthful growths of such sorts as John Hopper, General Jacqueminot, Baronne
Prevost, etc.

With these preliminary remarks, we submit a table placing in order of merit the best
hardy Roses for general cultivation. With the single exception of Climbing Jules Mar-
gottin, we have not contemplated the admission of new varieties of the past four years.
Some of them, no doubt, will be worthy a place in the list, but it takes time to thoroughly
test a Rose, and we wish to make this list as thoroughly reliable and as nearly perfect as
it is possible for such a list to be.

We have selected the following means of determining the comparative merits of
different varieties : — Taking the five qualities named in the order of their importance, we
assigned the following number of points to each : — Colour, twenty-four ; form, twenty-two ;
fragrance, twenty ; freedom of bloom, eighteen ; vigour and healthfulness of growth, sixteen ;
making a total «of 100 points for each Rose.

Where two or more varieties resemble one another, we have only retained the
superior sort as a contestant ; thus Ferdinand de Lesseps and Maurice Bernardin are
thrown out as being somewhat similar, but inferior to Charles Lefebvre.

This gives a list, therefore, of quite distinct sorts, those which are nearest alike being
Alfred Colomb and Mme. Victor Verdier at the head, and they are sufficiently dissimilar
to make both essential, even in a very limited collection.

We have given the shade of colour in case any one should desire to select from this
list with reference to having but a few sorts quite distinct from each other in tint, but as
already mentioned, Roses vary almost in form as in colour, and we may have two kinds,
of precisely the same shade, yet strongly differing in every other respect, and therefore
entirely distinct. The list runs as follows : —

49

Maximum number of points

Alfred Colomb, crimson

Mme. Victor Verdier, crimson

John Hopper, carmine rose

General Jacqueminot, velvety crimson . .
Countess Cecile de Chabrillant, pink . . .

Abel Grand, glossy rose

Marie Baumann, carmine crimson

Charles Lef ebvre, deep crimson

Francois Michelon, carmine rose

La France, silvery rose

Marguerite de St. Amande, bright rose . .
Climbing Jules Margottin, carmine pink

Duke of Edinburgh, bright crimson

Baronne Prevost, rose

Louis Van Houtte, maroon * . .

Paul Neyron, rose

Anne de Liesbach, carmine

Mme. Boll, carmine rose

Prince Camille de Rohan, dark crimson .

Countess of Oxford, carmine red

Caroline de Sansal, rosy flesh

Mme. Alfred de Rougemont, white

Peach Blossom, pink

Coquette des Blanches, white .

General Washington, reddish crimson . .
Marquise de Castellane, carmine red

Baroness Rothschild, silvery pink

La Reine, rose

Etienne Levet, carmine red

Mdlle. Eugenie Verdier, silvery rose ....

9

"3
D

g

0

24

22

24

22

24

22

24

20

24

16

23

22

23

20

24

22

24

21

24

11

24

22

24

20

24

19

24

17

23

14

24

21

22

19

24

16

24

21

24

18

24

22

23

15

20

16 I

22

16

23

10

20

18

24

19

24

21

15

12

24

20

24

20

20

19

19

14

17

17

15

18

16

15

20

12

14

15

17

20

13

12

12

14

4

12

14

10

8

4

2

2

10

2

2.

18
15
14
16
17
13
16
14
14
15
18
16
14
15
16
14
15
14
8
12

14
14
18
12
18
17

9
12
12
10

8

16

I
13 I

11

16

16

14

15

10

13

18

3
15
16
15
16

6
16
15
15
10
13
13

9
13
12

8
10

4
14

6

7

A list of this kind would not be complete without mention of some summer Roses
Though blossoming only once a year, some of them, notably the Mosses, are so beautiful

50

as to be essential to a Rose garden of any size or pretentions. We name the following as
the best -—For climbers, Bennett's Seedling, Baltimore Belle and Queen of the Prairies.
We have also a new race of climbing, Hybird Perpetuals, which promise to be valuable but
are not fully proved. Among non-climbers, the most desirable are Persian Yellow, Mme.
Hardy Mme. Plantier, and the following Moss Roses :— Crested, Common Moss, Countess
of Murinais and Salet ; the latter, though less beautiful than the others, blooms freely
in autumn and would be quite valuable for that quality alone.

The selection or mode of electing varieties to a position in the above list is, of course,
arbitrarily done, but it has been carefully, and we may say laboriously, compiled;
and though judges would differ more or less in the relative estimation of the dlnerent
qualities which go to make up a perfect Rose, and the number of points which should be
variously assigned, we nevertheless think it will be a serviceable guide. As will be seen
from the table, we have no rose which may be called perfect ; our choicest sorts, excelling
in some qualities, fall short in others ; thus Alfred Colomb, which heads the list with ninety-
two points out of a possible one hundred, is less fragrant than La France, more coy of its
blooms than Coquette des Blanches, and does not have the lusty vigour of growth pos-
sessed by Baronne Prevost, but, for the five qualities combined, no sort altogether equals
it though Mme. Victor Yerdier is a sister variety of nigh equal worth. Honest John
Hopper° always steadfast and true, comes third. Yictor Yerdier bears him much resem-
blance in colour and general appearance, but has neither the fragrance nor vigour ot con-
stitution to be counted a rival.

General Jacqueminot, notwithstanding a lack of fulness and rotund form, is now one
of our oldest, most generally known, and also best Roses for general cultivation. Clad in
crimson livery he is still prepared to lead the van.

Countess Cecile de Chabrillant, possibly from the length of name, is a variety too
much neglected and lost sight of. The flowers are not large but most beautiful, and are
models of symmetry and grace. Let no one overlook her claims. _

Abel Grand is another neglected, or at least not well-known, variety of the highest
excellence, especially valuable in the fall of the year when compeers otherwise equally
meritorious are devoid of even a semblance of bloom.

Marie Baumann ! How difficult to depict her charms. Original and exquisite in all
her features, she claims a choice position in every garden. There is no more beautiful

variety than this in the entire list.

Charles Lefebvre is an improved Jacqueminot in form and possibly colour, though
somewhat inferior in other qualities. Only within a year or two have we m this country
learned to appreciate this noble Rose. • • * n;«o«^

Francois Michelon, a comparatively new sort, is rapidly gaming favour It is a seed-
ling from La Reine, bearing some resemblance to that well-known sort but decidedly
superior in colour and form Following this is La France, the sweetest of all Roses ;
ompelled to choose one variety, this should be ours. It is not only the most fragrant
buT with the exception of those Hybrid Noisettes, Madame Alfred de Rougemont and
Coquette des Blanches, will yield more flowers during the year than any other sort named,
't flowers so profusely that its growth is checked, every eye sending forth a flower-shoot
it is Is, not very hardy, bein| the most tender on the list, but though the tops are killed,
ft will start out again in the spring from the roots, the same as the Hybrid Noisettes.

Marguerite de St. Amande is a worthy companion of Abel Grand, furnishing a generous

supplv of autumn flowers. .. ,T+i- „

ClimW Jules Margottin, besides being of more vigorous growth, seems, if anything,

more beltiful than the old sort, from which it is a sport. It is well worth growing for

its b^°^e-Edlnburgh is a bright ooloured Jacqueminot, which is saying all that is

nMe Baronne Prevost, one of the best of the flat type, is a worthy companion of General
JacqueS and a model of vigour and health. It is the oldest variety known, having

^"aL^outte, like La France, is but half hardy, and is also worthy of extra
care. No other sort so nearly approaches La France in fragrance, and when planted m a

51

bed together, the deep velvety maroon of the one contrasts most beautifully with the
delicate silvery rose of the other.

Paul Neyron is the largest variety known, and although its size detracts from our
notions of a refined Rose, it is nevertheless a noble sort for any garden.

Anne de Diesbach, a true carmine, has its rivals of the same shade, but her pure,
lovely colour has never yet been equalled by any of them.

Madame Boll is almost worth growing for its large, lustrous foliage, but the blooms
correspond in size and quality, only are too seldom seen after the June blossoming is over.

Prince Camille de Rohan is a superb, very dark sort, very well known.

Countess of Oxford (a splendid carmine red, of the Victor Verdier type), like Fran-
cois Michelon, is rapidly becoming popular, its chief defect being a want of fragrance,
which it lacks in common with all the Victor Verdier race, such as Captain Christy,
Etienne Levet, Lyonnais, Madame George Schwartz, Madame Marie Finger, Mdlle. Eugenie
Verdier, President Thiers, etc.

Caroline de Sansal is a well-known, justly popular sort.

Madame Alfred de Rougemont and Coquette des Blanches are, all things considered,
the best white perpetuals we have.

Peach Blossom, a comparatively new sort, seems to improve each year, and gives a
new shade of colour very desirable.

General Washington is one of the most widely disseminated varieties in this country,
but it does not reach the maximum number of points in' any quality. In colour it is
sometimes grand, but generally it has somewhat of a faded appearance, being quickly
affected by the sun, and seldom is seen truly pure. The same may said respecting
form, sometimes superb, but generally seen with some defect, either a green centre,
or irregular and not symmetrical. Of fragrance it is almost entirely devoid. It
ranks very high as a free bloomer, but like La France, this is at the expense of growth.

Marquise de Castellane does not always open well, but gives many large carmine rose
blooms of globular shape that are truly superb.

Baroness Rothschild has exquisite cup-shaped flowers entirely distinct from all others.
It is, unfortunately, of stubby short-jointed growth, and can only be propagated by budding
or grafting. This will always tend to make it somewhat scarce.

La Reine is another well-known old Rose which we cannot yet afford to discard, though
now surpassed by so many finer varieties.

Etienne Levet, another of the newer sorts, somewhat resembling Countess of Oxford,
is rapidly finding favour, and had it but fragrance, would be assigned a higher position.

Mdlle. Eugenie Verdier, the last of the list, is certainly one of the most delicately
beautiful coloured varieties we have, but here again the lack of fragrance deprives it of a
higher position.

THE BEST LIST OF PEARS.
By B. Gott, Arkona.

It will be admitted on all sides that the pear is one of the most delightful, valuable
and enjoyable (or toothsome, as an old friend of ours has it,) fruits that can be desired or
produced in any country. It will also be as readily admitted that it is very desirable
and greatly to our advantage to exercise our best skill for its plentiful production for our
own use and service, and to meet the demand of an eager and ever ready market. This
we must do to keep our market, and to compete with those who are abundantly and suc-
cessfully growing good pears just in neighbouring borders.

For these purposes it is very desirable to know something of successful culture, the
conditions requisite to success, and the sorts or varieties that are known to give the best
satisfaction to the greatest number of pear growers in this and other climates. It is at
present needless for us to go into lengthy details of the modes of operation by pear grow-
ers, or of the selection of the aspect, the preparation and culture of the soil, etc. ; these
are all understood, at least by the most of planters. It may be at present sufficient to

52

state that we have in this part of Canada, or in Ontario as a whole, an abundance of /as
fine and favourable locations on almost every farm, as can be found in any country. It
may be further fearlessly stated that there is no physical or moral reason why we should
not everywhere be well supplied both in our families and in our markets, with this most
delicious, healthy, refined and profitable fruit. Our rains descend as plentifully and as
gracefully, our sun shines as energetically and propitiously on us as on any land or people
on this beautiful earth. The abundance of good fruit of any sort or description among
us is only a question of our own personal activity, or simply a matter of national enterprise.

With respect, then, to the various sorts or varieties of good pears for planting in this
atitude, for family or market purposes, there is not much difference of opinion among
good judges in the matter. There are doubtless a few favourites among so many good
sorts, and planters can have the benefit of their own selection and opinion in the matter.
There are, however, a few sorts a little more run on than are others, but the list of those
successfully grown in our conditions is by no means small or uncertain. Specimens of
some of the best on the whole list of known varieties have been frequently produced of
great excellence by our home growers.

At the recent winter meeting of the Fruit Growers' Association held in the city of
Hamilton, the President, Rev. R. Burnet of London, was elected to select and name the
best twelve varieties of pears of Ontario, and he selected the following, placing them in the
order of their merit :

Bartlett, Beurre d'Anjou, Beurre Superfin, Beurre Bosc, Beurre Clairgeau, Louise
Bonne de Jersey,. Belle Lucrative, Flemish Beauty, White Doyenne, Sheldon, Lawrence,
Winter Nelis and Josephine de Malines. These he pronouned to be a good baker's
dozen and very hard to beat. John McGill, of Oshawa, submitted the following list ;
Bartlett, (Jlapps' Favourite, Tyson, Flemish Beauty, Belle Lucrative, Louise Bonne de Jersey,
Beurre Bosc, Beurre Clairgeau, Duchess d'Angouleme, Mount Vernon, Winter Nelis, and
Lawrence, — very good. Alex. McD. Allan, of Goderich, preferred the following for his
district: Doyenne de Ete, Bartlett, Flemish Beauty, White Doyenne, Howell, Duchess
d'Angouleme, Louise Bonne de Jersey, Stephen's Genessee, Seckel, Lawrence, Beurre Clair-
geau— all very good. W. Roy, of Owen Sound, had the following; Flemish Beauty, Bart-
lett, Beurre Diei, Duchess d'Angouleme, Louise Bonne de Jersey, Beurre Clairgeau, Glout,
Morceau, Graslin, Clapps' Favourite, Sheldon, Easter Beurre, Winter Nelis, Beurre Super-
fine and Beurre Bosc, also good.

Thus you see that the divergence of opinion for these outposts of our country is only
very slight, simply adding a few varieties favourably entertained in these several sections,
and the whole list only comprises about twenty-two varieties. Let us now for a moment
look at the list of favourites among pears as entertained by others some distance away from
home, simply for comparison and elucidation. In the catalogue of fruits by the American
JPomological Society, the influence of which extends over the United States and British
America, those varieties that are held in the greatest favour throughout this vast territory,
are marked by two stars, and are said to be double-starred. These are, Bartlett, Belle Lu-
crative, Beurre Bosc, Beurre d'Anjou, Beurre Giffard, Bloodgood, Buffam, Clapps' Favourite,
Doyenne d'Ete, Duchess d'Angouleme, Flemish Beauty, Howell, Lawrence, Louise Bonne
de Jersey, Seckel, Sheldon, Vicar of Winkfield, Winter Nelis, only seventeen or eighteen
varieties. This is a general index, and applicable North and South, and can positively be
relied upon for real worth.

The State of Georgia has just issued an excellent and carefully got up catalogue of all
her native and exotic fruits. This fine work is a credit to any person, and is used by her
fruit-growers as a guide in their selections. In the long list of fine pears, we find the
following double-starred: Bartlett, Belle Lucrative, Beurre d'Anjou, Beurre Clairgeau,
Beurre Giffard, Beurre Superfin, Duchess d'Angouleme, Flemish Beauty, Howell, Beurre
Bosc, Buffam, Doyenne d'Ete, Lawrence, Winter Nelis and La Coute. Now what difference
do you observe in this fine list so prized by these fruit-growers in this far southern clim-
ate. Are not these, or at least the most of them, the same familiar names as we are
accustomed to speak in our own native pear orchards 1

Let us look to the North. In the State of Minnesota, a most rigorous climate, they
have ventured to put only one variety of pear upon their fruit list, viz. : — Flemish Beauty.

53

What volumes this speaks for this fine old standard fruit, but alas for fine fruits in such
rigorous and unfriendly climates.

Just a little south-east, however, the promising State of Wisconsin, has an admirable
list of pears, many of which are the old standard varieties, and many appear to do well.
From a late list of their fruit-growers, compiled at a late meeting of the State Horticul-
tural Society, we notice the following as specially prominent : — Flemish Beauty, Ananas
d'Ete, Early Bergamot, Bartlett, Swan's Orange, Seek el, Clapps' Favourite, Winter Nelis.
This is a good list, and it is a great pleasure to us to consider that such fine and valuable
fruit can be successfully produced over so vast a territory, and enjoyed by so many millions
of people living in such extreme sections of this vast continent.

The ingenious and model fruit-growers of the neighbouring State of Michigan have
just issued a most laboured and exemplary catalogue of their native and exotic fruits,
grown by the people of that wide-awake and leading State. Their list of pears comprises
no less than sixty-two choice sorts of this popular fruit, all of which are cultivated to some
extent in some or other of the varied regions of that State. But those most popular and
double-starred for the most of these regions are: Bartlett (ever popular and ever foremost,
double-starred for every region of this State), Beurre d'Anjou, Beurre Diel, Beurre Bosc,
Buffam, Clapps' Favourite, Doyenne d'Ete, Beurre Easter, Flemish Beauty (in all lists
double-starred for every region of the State), Fondante d'Automne, Josephine de Malines,
Howell, Louise Bonne de Jersey, Lawrence, Onondaga, Seckel, Stephen's Genessee, Vicar of
Winkfield, White Doyenne and Winter Nelis, just twenty varieties.

How near this excellent list comes to that of our own adopted at Hamilton last month.
We might observe here that there are a few varieties common to all these lists, notwith-
standing the wide diversity of climate, soil and surroundings ; for example, Bartlett, Flemish
Beauty, Louise Bonne de Jersey, Beurre Bosc, Howell and Winter Nelis. Now if we take only
this noble half-dozen varieties, common to all lists both North and South, we certainly
should have a good assortment, either for family or market use, and as good fruit as can
possibly be produced. At our County Agricultural Shows last fall, there were many splen-
did specimens of fine pears, and these are widely on the increase, showing that our people
are fast becoming more and more interested in the successful cultivation of good pears.
Let all become so interested, and every land-owner plant of them, at least sufficient for his
own personal and family use. It is only thus that the extreme fruitfulness of our promise
ing country can be made fully to appear.

GRAPES,
By B. Gott, Arkona Nurseries.

The chilling winds of cold November are now furiously sweeping over the landscape,
dishevelling the verdure and the beauty of the scenery, scattering the lifeless foliage of the
trees, and spreading desolation everywhere. Where verdure supremely reigned, now only
the seed remains of a once luxuriant foliage ; where beauty and harmony dwelt, now con-
fusion and scattering and decay. What a sad change has passed over all earthly things !
Only one short month ago effulgent life and beauty were everywhere perceptible ; now all
is changed as by a magic wand, to nakedness and to the very image of death. Nor is the
luxurious vineyard in any way exempt from this general and wide-spread disorder. Its
abundant foliage, the very embodiment of life and vigour, and its luscious and tempting
fruits have all disappeared, and are now among the things of the past; only lifelessness
and scattering and decay are visible here. What pleasing memories cling around this plan-
tation, how frequently we regaled ourselves on its rich and abundant fruits, and feasted
our sight on its luxuriance and beauty ! Frost, that life-extinguishing and destroying-
influence, that subtle, imperceptible force, whose power is irresistible and prevailing
throughout this rigid month, has been here, and the evidences of its work are clearly per-
ceptible. It requires on the part of the devoted cultivator a deep and intelligent insight
into the essential reasons of things to readily exhibit any amount of submission here.

54

Stated cessation from activity, known as rest, is plainly a fixed and universal law of nature,
originating in the Infinite wisdom of nature's great First Cause. Activity and then rest,
rest and seasonable activity, is the undeviating method of accomplishing the great results
in nature and in the business of the nations of the earth. We would, therefore be resigned;
it is not death but sleep. Joyful thought ! Vigour will here again assert itself; though
the fair foliage is destroyed, life is not destroyed. There is a secret power lodging in the
minutest extremities of every rootlet that will again enforce activity and reproduce the
gorgeous scenes of the past summer. Let us then thankfully submit, and fall in with the
unerring laws of nature.

THE PAST SEASON

has been a very remarkable one for the abundance of its general fruitfulness, at
least in our midst, including the fruits of the field, as well as those of the vineyard and
the orchard. The apple crop of this country was one of the most abundant and the best
as regarding size and quality that has been known for many years past. Nor has the
vineyard been at all spare in this matter, but the large, handsome, luscious, bursting ber-
ries have been freely gathered from the loaded canes in large, heavy, compact, perfect
bunches. We have had lots of grapes to gratify the longing desires of all, even the most
insatiable. From whatever point I have gained information this season's crop has been
u usually large and well developed. Excepting a new attack of rot upon our Concords
that is quite unusual, there has been no disease among them either in leaf or berry to
seriously injure the crop. This new departure — the rot on the Concords — early apprised
many of our grape-growers, and those on the Pelee Islands, in Lake Erie, first sounded the
alarm, yet we are happy to state that no injurious decrease of the crop was visible. In
my practice this season I applied a liberal close of the flour of sulphur to my vines just as
they blossomed for the disease known as "mildew," and with perfect satisfaction. Mr.
Rogers' Hybrids are the most likely to be attacked by this dreaded disease. As far as my
knowledge goes, our vines in leaf and fruit have been most remarkably clear of all insect
ravages. Even the dreaded destroyer of European vineyards — the Philoxera Vastatrix —
has "shewn no perceptible marks of attack here. Beetles, nor thrips, nor mildew, nor rot
have damaged us in our vineyards to discouragement and dismay ; but health and beauty
and fruitfulness and enjoyment have thus far marked our progress.' It would appear, how-
ever, that many of our people yet in an elementary state of development, have not fully
learned the true uses of the grape, and consequently it does not at present occupy a very
prominent position in their daily economy. This is a source of some uneasiness among
grape growers. When offered peaches, or pears, or apples upon our markets they are
appreciated, and they say " Oh, yes ; we will take some of those fine peaches," etc., as the
case may be, as they can preserve them or can them for winter ; but when offered grapes,
they frequently demur and say, " They are very fine, but they are of no use to me, as we
could only eat them up at once." This crude notion of the uses of grapes unfortunately
prevails among a large class of our population. Many others look upon them only as
an article of luxury and not, as we believe them to be, an article of necessity to health and
happiness. The man of means buys them liberally for himself and family, but the econo-
mist says, " I would much like to have some, but I cannot afford it, these hard times it is
as much as I can do to secure the necessaries of life," etc. These false and ill-founded
notions often have a very damaging effect upon the market in lessening the area of con-
sumption, and consequently lowering prices. There seems to be no remedy for this just
at present. We must patiently wait until the general intelligence of the people, on this
as well as many other matters," is better developed. When they will not say, "Oh, yes,
they are very nice, but what are they for? How are they used?" etc., when shewn a
basket of beautiful, perfect, blooming Concord grapes. Such ignorance is lamentable and
ought to excite the pity of every well-meaning man. Although prices have ruled low this
season yet we hope not so low as to discourage our earnest growers at future attempts at
excellence. It would be well to remember that excellence will always command its face
value, whether it be in peaches or in grapes, or in anything else. When we consider the
thousands of pounds of grapes that have been imported into this country and thrown upon

55

our market from growers over the border, added to the whole bulk of our home crop, it is
really a matter of deepest wonder what has become of them. Their use is evidently
annually increasing enormously in our midst.

THE VARIETIES.

Most popular at the present time in this latitude are still the old standard well-tested
sorts which we have seen in our markets for many years past, viz. : — Hartford Prolific,
Ives' Seedling, Clinton, Delaware, and Concord. Our people are slow of change in fruits,
as well as in everything else, and when they once get hold of a good variety they don't
easily let it go for an uncertainty. They want to be sure in all their movements.
Though these grapes are not considered high in the points of excellence by many of our
connoisseurs, if perhaps we except the Delaware, yet it is our settled opinion that, all things
considered, it is difficult to surpass them in real service and genuine worth. Should insects
or disease, or the over-sanguine claimants of new varieties, or any other dire calamity
sweep the standard sorts from their trellises, dismay and despair would speedily take hold
upon us, as we have nothing left to supply their places. We would not for one moment
discourage efforts for improvement, and believe it quite possible, but let us be sure that
we have an improvement before we cast away our standards for them. Ives' Seedlings and
Concords were brought into this country during the past season in enormous quantities
from the United States, and yet to the very last the Concords were by far the most plenti-
ful and popular grapes in the market. At the exhibition of the Western Fair Association,
held in London last September, the grape department of Horticultural Hall was by far
the grandest and fullest, containing the most choice varieties of any previous display at
this place. To use freedom, the varieties were endless, and all so beautifully and perfectly
developed. As an exhibition of Canadian grapes, what could the lovers of the culture
ask more, either in out-door or under glass production 1 The latter might have astonished
and baffled the exhibitors of sunny France, and the former would verily arouse the serious
apprehensions of the most bombastic American. We may gather from the face of this
display, that among amateur growers of the grapes, Mr. Rogers' Hybrids are becoming
greatly popular and welcome favourites. This is just what might have been expected, for
the whole of this fortunate gentleman's Hybrids possess largely very uncommon excellence
that will certainly recommend them to the public notice. We consider Dr. Grant's Iona
is a reliable grape of the highest excellence, and in this locality it is a good cropper and
does remarkably well. Of the many

NEW VARIETIES

of grapes that have been lately brought into notice, either Seedlings or Hybrids, we are
compelled to acknowledge that we are not in a good position to comment much. Such
things are generally kept scrupulously among the originators for at least some consider-
able time, and held at extremely high prices. We shall, therefore, simply content our-
selves by referring to the experience and reports of others. Perhaps no originator among
fruits is, at the present time, attracting so much notice among grape growers, and lovers
of fruits, as the American Hybridist, James H. Ricketts, of Newburgh, N.Y. This, we
think, is just, for this gentleman has succeeded in fairly surprising his American brethren,
with the results of his long and patient labours. Such men ought to be honoured — for
their work's sake. The Rural New Yorker, Nov. 15, 1879, in a fine illustrated leader,
says: " If the introduction of new fruits is indicative of a growing taste for Pomology and
Horticulture, among the people at large, a very wonderful advancement has been made in
this direction, during the past few years. With the exception of the strawberry, no line
of fruit has, of late, been increased by so many and excellent vatieties as the grape. A
desire for raising seedling grapes, seems to have seized upon a number of horticulturists
at about the same time, and the results of their efforts are now becoming apparent."

These remarks are timely and very applicable, and we may confidently expect still
greater disclosures, resulting from the labours of the excellent class of men who are now

56

devotedly giving their attention to these matters. Only think of the talents of such men
as Rogers, Ricketts, Wilder, Campbell, Anderhill, Rommel, Moore, and Miller, of Amer-
ican renown j and Arnold, Saunders, and Dempsey, for Canada, all employed in the same
work, and for the same object. Surely, if advancement is possible, it must certainly
be effected. Mr. Ricketts, with considerable enterprise, was present at our Provincial
Exhibition, at Ottawa, last September, with a large and tine display of the results of his
popular labours, his " Seedling Grapes ;" they attracted much attention. Perhaps the
most remarkable and the most promising of the grapes of this gentleman's introduction, is
the one he has named "The Welcome;" it is a decidedly welcome addition to the list of
hot-house grapes ; it is a cross between Pope's Hamburg and Cannon Hall Muscat, like
those famous sorts, it cannot be ripened out of doors in this climate, but it is suitable for
both the hot and cold graperies. All good judges of fruit pronounce it superior not only
to both of its parents, but to any foreign variety. This is high commendation, and will
do much to introduce it to the notice of grape growers generally, over the continent. It
is a tint; large bunch, double shouldered and compact, very large berry, roundish oval j
black, and covered with a greyish blue bloom ; flesh tender, juicy and sweet. Others
of this Hybridist's grapes have attained considerable notice, as Lady Washington,
Bacchus, Jefferson, etc. Bacchus is a smallish black grape of great promise, and very
highly recommended as most excellent for wine-making purposes. Jefferson is a fine
large red grape of good character, and succeeds well for out-door growing ; it is a cross
between Iona and Concord, very healthy and is at present the property of Mr. J. G.
Burrows, Fishkill, New York. A new sixty dollar prize grape, is largely advertised by
John B. Moore, Concord, Mass., called "Moore's Early." We have received circulars of
this new hardy grape, that is said to have the following desirable qualities : hardiness,
size, beauty, quality, productiveness, and earliness. Surely this will fill the bill, and please
even the most fastidious. We have not seen the fruit, and cannot pronounce upon it.
Mr. George Campbell's new white grape, he has named " Lady '' is steadily increasing in
popularity, and is promising to be a valuable acquisition to our list of hardy grapes,
especially in the east. Mr. Hooker's " Brighton," is perhaps one of the most promising
of the lately introduced grapes, it is very popular and is doubtless a grape of much merit.
It is very hardy and well suited to a wide range of cultivation, and marks high as a table
and market fruit. We have fruited for the first time this season several (to us) new var-
ieties, claimants of popular favour, as Walter, Martha, Alvey, Creveling, Adirondac, etc.;
of these, the Walter is remarkable, both in bunch and berry, and is, perhaps, the highest
flavoured grape in our collection ; it is a cross between the Diana and the Delaware, and
was raised and brought into notice by Mr. A. J. Caywood, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y. In
gei eral appearance and flesh, the characters of both parents are distinctly discernable. The
bunch and berry are of medium size, of light colour ; flesh tender, rich and sweet, with
an agreeable spicy flavour, thoroughly reminding one of the Diana. As far as late Can-
adian originators are concerned, not much is said of them, or of their products. It may
be in the course of time, however, more attention may be given to these matters amongst
us, and our patient workers in this field become better appreciated. We are glad to
notice that Mr. Charles Arnold's Hybrids are very popular, and well recommended on the
other side of the line.

THE RAGE FOR WHITE GRAPES

is at present the distinguishing future of the age in horticulture. For some unaccount-
able reason there are great and prolonged efforts made for a better white grape than those
we already have. When a good one is produced at an enormous expense of time and effort,
for some reason or other its course is soon run. As far as quality is concerned it is found
to be very difficult to produce a white grape superior to Allen's Hybrid (said to be the first
of American Hybrid grapes), or in hardiness aud healthiness of vine to get one more desir-
able than Rebecca. The American Agriculturist for November, 1879, page 468, says:
"Every one who grows fruit for market would gladly welcome a white grape with all the
good qualities of the Concord and as few of its defects as possible." At the late meeting
of the American Pomological Society, held at Rochester , N. Y., last September, consider-

57

able attention was given to the newer varieties of grapes and among those exhibited were
several new white grapes of considerable promise and excellence. C. L. Hoag, of Lock-
port, New York, had one upon the table that is named the Niagara, that commanded much
comment and considerable attention. It is said to be hardy and healthy, and was much
admired for its beauty and fine qualities. It ripens about one week earlier than the Con-
cord. Mr. T. S. Hubbard, Fredonia, N. Y., had one named the Prentiss, that is said to have
much resembled Allen's Hybrid. It is further said to have some points of character that
recommended it above that good old variety. Mr. Hubbard has full control of the wood,
and says in his circular, "It was originated by J. W. Prentiss, Steuben Co., New York, as
a seedling from Isabella." (?) It ripens about with the Concord, and among its many other
good qualities it is an excellent keeper. Another very promising new white grape on ex-
hibition was one named Pocklington, a seedling of Concord (I) raised by Mr. J. Pocklington,
Sandy Hill, N. Y. This has also ascribed to it very high and desirable qualities as a fine,
handsome, large white grape, every way desirable for extended cultivation. We believe
Messrs. Stone & Wellington, of Toronto, Ont., have the sole control of this wood. J. H.
Pickett's new seedling white grape, Lady Washington, was also on exhibition. This is
doubtless a new white grape of the greatest merit and will command much respect. A late
writer in the Country Gentleman thus gives his impressions : " The grape that is destined
in my estimation to create the greatest favour among growers is the Lady Washington ;
the clusters are so large, the grapes in every way good and the plant so enduring.
The fruit is yellow, tinged with pink in the sun, and was produced from Concord and
Allen's Hybrid." In the language of the Agriculturist, page 469 " This is certainly a re-
markable collection of new grapes, and we shall be much mistaken if more than one does
not meet the demand for a white grape that will be as reliable as the Concord." And
our devout ejaculations are "So let it be."

REPORT ON APPLES

sent by Seth C. Willson, Whitby, August 22nd 1878, to President Burnet for inspection.
Size large, form nearly round, slightly conical. Calyx rather shallow ; colour of skin
yellowish-green with numerous green dots. Stem slender, core large, flesh close grained,
juicy, crisp, sub-acid, and of pleasant flavour. Skin thick and tough. Ripe early in
September.

REPORT ON APPLES SENT BY MR. HOOVER.

Hamilton, Ontario, 6th December, 1879.

147 John Street, south.

This day received from Mr. D. B. Hoover, Almira P.O., Ont., a box containing two
varieties of seeding winter apples. No. 1, medium size, highly coloured, red, pale where
protected by the leaf, flesh, fine and white, sub-acid, very sprightly, tender, crisp, and good
flavour. This apple partakes very much of the character of the old " Ozlin Pippin." It
is akin to the Fameuse, and of almost equal excellence. The tree is hardy, a profuse
bearer in large clusters of from six to a dozen apples. The apple is ripe now, but all fruit
has ripened early this season owing to the high temperature of October. Its usual time
of ripening is from January onward.

We have no hesitation in recommending it for general cultivation.

Peter Murray,
Robert Burnet.

4

58

MR D. B. HOOVER'S NO. 2.

No. 2 is a large apple, varying much in colour, some are nearly white, others yellow,
and some with a rosy blush on one side, above medium size, obovate, coarse-fleshed, juicy, a
good winter apple, partaking somewhat of the character and even of the appearance of
the Fall Pippin. Fine flavour, fraiche, and likely to prove a good market apple. It cooks
well. The tree is over thirty-five years old, hardy, and a profuse bearer.

Mr. Hoover has named it (Hoover's Favourite) or, Lady Washington.

Peter Murray,
Robert Burnet.

ECONOMIC FORESTRY.

It seems to us a wise determination on the part of the members of the Fruit Growers'
Association of Ontario, to take forestry under their fostering wing. At a recent meeting of
the Directors of the Society, it was unanimously agreed to extend their field of labour, and
embrace in their beneficent efforts, the kindred study of forestry and arboriculture. The wan-
ton depletion of our native forests by the inexorable axe of the emigrant renders an association
of this sort almost imperative. The resolve of the fruit-growers has not come a moment
too soon. Planting for shelter has become a necessity both for cereal and fruit crops..
The advantages of planting for shelter are so universally admitted, that arguments are
not needed to enforce the urgent duty. Besides, we have had more than one good paper
on shelter both in the Annual Report, and in the Canadian Horticulturist. It has occur-
red to us that some valuable hints might be thrown out in an attempt to show the necessity
and advantage of forest-tree planting as protection against storms of snow along the line
of our extensive railways. This subject has been recently called to our attention by a
pretty lengthy journey by rail from Ontario to Nova Scotia. What is true, however, of the
Grand Trunk and Intercolonial Railways is equally true of Canadian railways in general,
and more especially of roads running north and south.

The necessity of some sort of shelter different from the plans now adopted for the
purposes of protection from snow blockades, will be apparent, if, for a moment, we consider
the nature of the present means employed, and the perishable materials in use for the pur-
pose. Both on the Grand Trunk, and Intercolonial Railways are erected storm fences, close-
boarded, expensive, and subject to continual, almost annual repairs. Over the latter road
there have been built large protective sheddings, of frequent occurrence in Rimouski and
Restigouche districts, and more frequent sti] through several portions of New Brunswick
and Nova Scotia. It is at once apparent, that any suggestions to lessen these and similar
repairs and expenses on fencing and shedding, must be of immense importance to the com-
mercial and travelling public, and to the Government of the Dominion. How is this best
to be accomplished % We are strongly of opinion that the- purpose of the defence against
snow storms is best to be accomplished by the aid of forestry. Along the almost entire
length of the railways already specified, the Canadian balsam grows luxuriantly. In
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, it is the predominant tree. This fact would seem to
indicate that the Balsam should be employed for purposes of protection. A few consider-
ations, however, will go to shew that the balsam is not particularly adapted for this pur-
pose. As it grows old, it becomes scraggy at the base of the trunk, and this peculiarity
renders it unfit for railway protection. The tree is also short-lived, and very inflammable
by accidental fires. Though indigenous to the soil, therefore, we would give the Balsam
an inferior place in railway protective economics, and would greatly prefer the common
Canadian pine. The latter grows everywhere from Windsor, Ontario, to Pictou, Nova
Scotia, and would be found an admirable protection against blinding snow storms. The
intensest frosts have no effect upon the tree, and the roomier it is planted the spray
becomes the closer and thicker. We are persuaded that the Canadian pine is to take an
important place for purposes of defence, no only in the Provinces of the old Dominion,
but what is more to the purpose, in Manitoba and the far west. A fortune would soon

59

be realized by any one bold enough to grow it by the million in the neighbourhood of
Winnipeg, and along the branches of the Saskatchewan. We know of no tree so well
adapted for the purposes of protection, take it all in all, as the Canadian pine. There are
other varieties of the pine family closer in the spray, and well adapted for shelter planting,
such as the spruce, Norway larch, and tamarack, but after every consideration, the pine
of our country seems to us better adapted than any other. Should this opinion be success-
fully controverted, we are satisfied, that a very suitable substitute for the present fencing
and shedding on railways will commend the substitute for general application, and the
same is true as applied to the necessity for tree shelter in the long and sweeping stretches
of the prairies in the far west.

An important question arises, how best to bring such, or similar views, to bear
on the authorities who preside over our railways. This can only be effectively done by shewing
the pecuniary or commercial advantages likely to accrue to the country, and especially to
the fiscal policy of the Dominion. For years, tree shelter would require no renewing, and
less care and expense than are now spent on renewals for fencing and shedding. The
permanancy of the protection is greatly in its favour, and were suitable methods to be em-
ployed in planting, a most effectual windbreak would be the resultant. To do this, and to
take the initiative, before land becomes dearer, would also lessen the expense in the long
run. A belting in the more exposed situations would be also required, as trees only thrive
well, when growing under the protection afforded by massing them. We would recom-
mend a trial on a small scale of Canadian pine in the more exposed parts of the Inter-
colonial along the St. Lawrence coast, or along the ridges, Aulac to Touro. A brief period
would suffice to show its adaptation for economic railway purposes, and would doubtless at no
distant day, suffice to show its adaptation for general shelter purposes throughout the
Dominion. Who is to make a beginning 1 We are satisfied that whenever the general
public, and our Members of Parliament, have their attention directed to this interesting
and important subject, through the pages of the Canadian Horticulturist, that great
and good results will issue, not only to the railway interests of our country, but to the gen-
eral public of the whole Dominion.

Doubtless, trees must be grown and prepared. I see no means so feasible to secure
the preparation and outlay as the guarantee against loss to the tree producer by a power-
ful company like that of the Grand Trunk Railway, or by the authorities who direct the
Intercolonial and Pacific Railways.

REPORT ON THE FRUIT CROP.
By Daniel B. Hoover, Almira.

I will again try to report to the Fruit-Growers' Association the condition of our fruit
and fruit-trees for the summer of 1879.

The apple crop in our neighbourhood is rather light, though plenty for home use, and
of good size in general, but got rather ripe on the trees to keep well for winter. They
commenced dropping off themselves at picking time. I think that hot October weather
hastened them on too fast.

The pear crop was very much according to what kind of trees they were ; the old
common seedling trees bore profusely. Amongst the finer kinds, come the F. Beauty and
Clapp's Favourite best in bearing, but neither bore heavy. One of my neighbours had a fair
show of Souvenir Du Congress pears on his young, small stunted-looking trees, which he
got from some tree pedlar. I think they will be good bearers, judging by the yield these
few scrubs have made this season.

Plums were nearly a failure in our neighbourhood this season.

Cherries, the early sweet kinds bore a large crop for me this season. I have three
different kinds, which I have no name for. One kind is nearly as large as a greengage
plum ; the tree is a slow grower, bears nearly every year.

Grapes were a good crop, but rather slow in ripening. It was rather a fresh, moist

60

summer wi'tln His 'this s^soii' for 'grapes.' Some kinds ripened well, such as Clinton, Dela-
ware, &c,

Raspberries ot" black, i-cd, and orange colours bore abundantly with us.

Strawberries were a very targe crop, berries large, and kept up a long season.

Gooseberries and riirrants were also a good crop.

As we have now dome fo the winter apple season, I will notice that a great many of
■ mr winter apples turn black at the core, and some look splendid outside, but half the
fresh will be brown inside. This is rather a rare, new trouble with us, for we generally
have good; sound winter fruit'.

No new disease noticed on any of. our fruit-bearing trees or plants ; all did well in
the gr(6wM|j parC excepting the tame plum and grape vines. The plum trees by some
cause 'or 6th'er,"wliicli'I cahhQt' account for, shed their leaves a month or six weeks before
their ordinary' trine.

This year's growth of wood is rather feeble-looking in most cases; time will show
wliat the consequence will 'be.

The grape-vines with me ' have '.this" vear been visited for the first time with an ugly-
loOking caterp'iller, aoou't 'one and one-quarter inches long when full grown. Its colour
is dark drab, with red stripes crossing its back. These hungry animals will soon, if left
alone, disfigure the whole vine by eating it leaves. They are noways particular where
they take hold first ; some will be sawing off the edge, while others are busy eating holes
up through from underneath the leaves. Hand-picking is the best way to destroy these
crooked-necked caterpillars!" "

DecemW 1 1th- ><} 87fl. 'i*»Jl*d

H'BPOR^'OF THE CbMIVHTTEE APPOINTED BY THE FRUIT GROWERS'
l,',g1^6^4'tM>'^0vM¥',5fe PEAR ORCHARD OF FERGUS ANDER
SON, ESQUIRE.

Your Committee visited Mr. Anderson on the 15th of September last, and beg leave
to report as follows :

The pear orchard of Mr. Anderson is situate on the north part of lot two in the
ninth concession of Blenheim, the soil clay loam, inclining to sandy, and about three feet
deep, on clay sub-soil, and is sheltered on the north by an apple orchard and rising ground,
on the east also by rising ground, but is open to the sweep of the winds on the west and
south.

In 1875 Mr. Anderson planted^ 15 trees, all Flemish Beauties, which were procured
from Canadian nurseries. There are at the present time 505 trees living, only ten having
died purine, the Jast five Reasons. ( TJiree died the second season, three the third, and four
the" fourth season, and none this season. The trees, at the time we inspected same, all
appeared free from bjight and disease, and were well grown, thrifty, bark clean and wood
well"', ripenei'. out -pwiy, of .thjem^ nearly denuded of leaves, especially on the west, where
tlie'soil was '^lghjier than, o{i tne(|eastj side. The loss of leaves Mr. Anderson attributes to
th'e' drought! ' The trees when planted were set out in a field of barley and well mulched ;
the second year com and ^potatoes,, £he ;third year fallow, the fourth year corn and turnips,
ana' tW year ^eded ( down ,to cf over,

" Sfo barn-yard manure, na$ , been . used, but the trees have been plentifully supplied
with swamp muck', ana t J^rr t Apo^r^pn is of opinion that the freedom of his trees from
blight 'is .owing in a .great ( measure .to his using swamp muck instead of barn-yard manure,
and which your committee think may be correct, and well worthy the trial by other pear
growers, if the splendid ( appearance of the trees, one and all, is any evidence of Mr.
Anderson's proposition. Jf5ye trees, jhave not been much pruned, but only enough to try
and keep' the trees' well "balanced, as all the trees lean towards the northeast, and are
twelve" feet' each wSy ; and Mr. Anderson now regrets he did not plant them fifteen feet
each way. which he thinks auite near enough. The trees, we were informed, blossomed

61

heavily this season, but, owing to the late frosts, the crop was destroyed, and, at the time
we saw them, had but a few bushels on the whole lot. Your committee refrain from
expressing any opinion as to the ultimate success of Mr. Anderson's venture, but trust the
orchard may always continue as healthy and free from blight as it is now, and that he
may reap a well deserved reward.

Your committee cannot close their report without referring to an apple puller
invented by Mr. Anderson, by which the apples are picked as carefully as by the hand,
without the aid of that tree destroyer, a ladder. But as Mr. Anderson intends to take out a
patent for the same, we refrain from giving a description, but suffice to say we thought it
the most unique and practical tool for the purpose we had seen.

All of which we respectfully submit.

Charles Arnold, 1 n

Henky Haet, \CommtiUe.

Paris, December lltli, 1879.

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY

OF THE

PROVINCE OF ONTARIO,

FOR THE YEAR

1879

tyxxnUA by mltv xrt tkt g^ijefatire ^nubl^

®0t0ttt0:

PRINTED BY C, BLACKETT ROBINSON. 5 JORDAN STREET.

1880.

INDEX.

:o:-

Achemon sphinx 73

iEchus sacer 68

Agalena noevia 50

Agriotes mancus 83

Agrotes clandestina 44

" devastator 38

" inermis 41

" jaculifera 41

" messoria 42

" scandens 43

4i subgothica 40

" telifera 40

" tessellata 39

Alans myops 82

" oculatus 82

Andrews, W. V., death of 35

Annual Address of President 4

" Meeting 2

11 Statement of Secretary-Treas-
urer 2

Anthremus scrophularise 30

Aphodius frinctarius 68

Apis mellifica 32

Argyroncta aquatica 59

Altus mystaceus 62

Audela acronyctoides '. 21

Bees, are they destructive to fruit 22

Bombus fervidus 32

lapidarius 32

muscorum 32

pennsylvanicus 32

separatus 32

ternarius 32

terrestris 32

vagans 32

virginicus 32

Bruchus pisi 63

Butterflies, nature printed 88

Cabbage butterfly 8

Calosoma calidum 45

Canthon lsevis 67

Carpet bug, the new 30

Carpocapsa pomonella 8

Catocala ultronia 74

PAGE.

Cecidomyia leguminicola 28

Celaena herbirnacula 44

" renigera 44

Chalcophora liberta 5

Chisognathus grantii 65

Click-beetles 77

Clisiscampa sylvatica 7, 8, 22

Clover-seed fly 28

Codling worm 8

Colorado potato beetle 8, 20, 21

Conotrachelus nenuphar 8, 84

Corymbites vernalis 83

Cossus centerensis 8

Cotalpa lanigera 70

Cteniza californica 60

Currant borers 76

Cut-worms, Canadian 37

D

Dapsilia rutilava 20

Dytiscus harrisii 71

E

Egeria tipulifornus 76

Entomological club,A. A. A. S.,meetings of 11
Annual Ad-
dress of President of n

Entomological cabinet, a cheap 25

11 Commission, U.S 16, 36

" Collection at Washington.. 21

" Society, annual meeting of 2

Epeira strix 62

" vulgaris 52, 63

Euryomia fulgida 70

" inda 70

Eyed elater 82

r

Forest tent caterpillar 7

Fitch, Dr. Asa, death of 9

Fossil insects 17 20

G

Geotrupes blackburnii g^

Goliathus Ururyi , jj

IV.

H

PAGE.

Hadena arctica 39

" subjuncta 44

Harpalus caliginosus 45

Heliothis arinigera 21

Hessian fly 8,36

Humble bees, notes on 31

Hydrophilus piceus 72

" triangularis 72

Hylurgus terebrans 5

I

Insects injurious to cotton ... 12

pine trees 4,18,33

<w " clover seed -8

Insect powder 6

Io moth 75

L

Lachnostern a fusca 35

" quercina 69

Limenitis, species of 19

Limonius plebejus 83

Loew, Dr. H., death of 9

London Branch, annual meeting of 9

Lucanus cervus 66

" dama 06

Ludius ferrugineus 82

M

M acrodactylus subspinosus. 69

May-beetle larvae 35

Melanotus communis 83

Monohammus confusor 4

Montreal Branch, annual meeting of... 10

" " report of 10

Moth-trap, a successful 24

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cam-
bridge 16

Mygale Hentzii 49

N

Nemesia meridionalis 61

Nephopteryx Zimmermani 5, 19, 33

o

Obituary notices 35

Obnoxious pests, destruction of 22

Oiketicus abboti 19

Osmoderma eremicola 71

" scabra 71

Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club 35

P

Papilio ajax 21

" asterias 20

M crespaoiites

PAGE.

Papiho philenor 21

" turnus 73

Paris Green as an insect killer 6, 19

Pea weevil 63

Pelidnota punctata 69

Philampelus achemon 73

Pholisora catullus 21

Phymata erosa 20

Pieris rapae 8, 20

Pissodes strobi 19

Pityobius anguinus 84

* " Billingsii 84

Plant capturing insects 20

Plum curculio 8, 84

" parasites on 86

Porizon constracheli 86

Psenocerus supernotatus 76

Pseudohasis eglanterina 18

Pupation of butterflies 17

Pyrethrum cinnerarise-folium 7

" roseum 7

Pyrophorus noctilucus 81

" pysoderus 82

R

Beportofthe Council 3

Ketarded development, case of 20

Retinia duplana 19

" sylvostrana 19

s

Saturniaio 75

Scoliopteryx libatrix 19

Sigalphus curculionis 86

Smith, Frederick, death of 36

Spiders 46

" crab 52

" %ing 58

" garden , 50

" grass 50

" house 52

" jumping 51

" trap-door 60

" water 59

" wolf 51

T

Tarantula 51

Tiger swallow-tail 73

Tortrix nigridia 19

V

Vanessa cardni 20

w

Water-beetles, habits of 18

Wheat wire-worm 83

White grub 69

Wire-worms 7-'-;

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY

OF

ONTARIO,

FOR THE YEAR 1879.

INCLUDING REPORTS ON SOME OF THE NOXIOUS, BENEFICIAL,
AND OTHER INSECTS OF THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO.

PREPARED FOR THE HONOURABLE THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE

ON BEHALF OF THE SOCIETY.

BY

WILLIAM SAUNDEBS,

President of the Entomological Society ; Editor of the Canadian Entomologist, London.

JAMBS FLETCHEB,

Vice-President of the Entomological Society, Ottawa.

EEV. C. J. S. BETHUNE, M.A.,

Head Master of Trinity College School, Port Hope.

G. J. BOWLES,

President of the Montreal Branch, Montreal.

W. H. HAEEINOTON,

Ottawa.

AND

B. GOT T ,

Arkona.

REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF ONTARIO, FOR THE

YEAR 1879.

To the Honourable the Commisioner of Agriculture:

Sie, — In accordance with the provisions of the Statute, I have the honour to sub-
mit for your consideration the Annual Report of the Entomological Society of Ontario

for the year 1879, in which is contained an account of our financial condition, the reports
of the Council and of our several branches, also such papers from our members as we
think most adapted to the wants of our agriculturists, and most likely to further the
design of the Department in promoting the knowledge of practical Entomology.

The Canadian Entomologist has now completed its eleventh volume. Appearing
as it does monthly, with an ever widening circle of influence, it cannot but have great
and beneficial effects upon the agricultural interests of the Dominion, rendering by
timely warning and advice, such information as has afforded much protection against the
noxious insects that are ever invading our crops. It has been well supported by able
contributions from our members and is favourably looked upon by its readers.

Were our funds sufficient we would gladly introduce a much greater number of
appropriate cuts which would make our journal more acceptable and valuable to the
community, as, with suitable illustrations, the articles it contains would be much more
readily understood.

The annual meeting of the Society was held at Ottawa, at the time of the Dominion
Exhibition, when the reports of the officers, duly audited, were presented and approved of,
alsa officers for 1880 were elected. The Society's collection of insects was on exhibition
there and was awarded the Dominion Gold Medal.

The articles contained in the report are, we trust, such as will prove interesting and
useful to the public and especially to agriculturists, for whose benefit they are par-
ticularly intended. We also trust that they will meet with your approval.

I have the honour to remain, Sir,

Your obedient servant,

James H. Bowman.

ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF ONTARIO.

The ninth annual meeting of the Entomological Society of Ontario, was held in
Ottawa, in the Museum of the Ottawa Literary and Scientific Society, on Thursday the
25th of September, at 4.30 p.m. In addition to the members of the Society, there were
present on invitation about twenty members of the Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club.

In the absence of the Secretary- Treasurer, Mr. Jas. Fletcher was appointed Secre-
t ary pro tern.

The President read a telegram which he had received from the Vice-President, re-
gretting that important engagements prevented him from being present.

The annual statement of the Secretary-Treasurer was read and adopted.

ANNUAL STATEMENT OF THE SECRETARY-TREASURER, ENTOMOLOGI
CAL SOCIETY OF ONTARIO, SEPT., 1879.

Receipts .

To Balance from 1878 $191 08

" Members' Fees, and sales of Entomologist 229 78

11 Mdse. pins, lists, cork 29 16

" Advent, ements 20 00

" Interest 12 57

" Government Grant 750 00

,232 59

Disbursements.

By Postage $20 25

11 Expenses of Council, Delegations, &c ... 65 00

" Petty expenses, freight, &c 10 75

" Annual vote to Editor and Secretary 150 00

" Expenses on Annual Keport 149 74

" Engraving 13 45

" Mdse, pins 63 90

" Printing Entomologist 373 20

" Mailing " 32 00

" Paper for " 84 80

" Insurance 10 63

" Library 26 25

" Eent for 1879 80 00

Balance in hand 152 62

$1232 59

We certify the above to be correct.

Chas. Chapman, ) . ,.
Sept. 18th, 1879. Abm. Puddicombe, j Auauora'

The report of the Council was read and adopted.

KEPORT OF THE COUNCIL.

Your Council feel highly gratified at the success which has attended the efforts of
the Society during the past year. Nine years have now passed since oar incorporation ;
these have all been prosperous years, and the one we have just completed has not been
less so than any of its predecessors. All the operations of the Society have been carried
on harmoniously, and we have been able to present the public with many of the results
of your investigations which will prove of value to it.

Our Report to the Government, which you have all had the opportunity of perusing,
continues to maintain its interest, if we may judge by the manner in which it is sought
after. We think that it is perhaps our best medium for reaching those whose know-
ledge of Entomology is limited, and to whom it is necessary to present the science in
its more elementary and popular forms, if we would create a taste for its study. The
fact that our reports are so much in demand indicate that the science of practical
Entomology is rapidly growing in favour among the more intelligent of our
agriculturists.

The new enterprise of the " Fruit Growers' Association," the publication of the
Horticulturist, to the pages of which your members contribute largely, will, we trust,
be a means of still more widely diffusing Entomological knowledge, as this journal
enters the homes of nearly all our horticulturists, and in addition to the many valuable
papers on fruits and flowers which it contains, it carries much information on our
noxious and beneficial insects.

One great drawback to the Society's efforts has been the lack of funds to carry on
its operations, and to enable us to procure woodcuts and electrotypes to illustrate the
pages of our journal. We are satisfied that without figures of the insects we treat of,
much of our labour is lost as far as the general public is concerned ; we earnestly hope
that before long our annual grant may be sufficiently increased to enable us to overcome
his difficulty.

Our journal, The Canadian Entomologist, has now completed its eleventh year, and
has made a reputation for itself which is second to none in the same department of

science ; it has been regularly issued and has always been well filled with useful matt
The articles have been almost entirely original, and any new developments in Entomc
logy have been promptly recorded in its pages.

The meeting of the Entomological Club of the American Association for
Advancement of Science, was held at Saratoga, commencing on the 26th of Augi
Our society was represented by the President, Mr. Wm. Saunders, and the Vic
President, Kev. C. J. S. Bethune, M.A.

It has been decided to exhibit our collection of Canadian insects at the Dominic
Exhibition at Ottawa, and our collection of foreign ones at the Western Fair in Loi
don. The Ottawa collection is formed of the bulk of our Centennial display, so the
those members who visit Ottawa, who have not before seen our collection, may
enabled to judge of its value.

Our branches in Montreal and London are still carrying on a successful work,
join the Parent Society in hailing the coming year as one of increased usefulness
success.

Submitted on behalf of the Council, by

Jas. H. Bowman,

Secretary- Treasure

Mr. Couper then read the report of the Montreal Branch, indicating very satisfa
tory progress ; this was referred for publication.

The annual address of the President was next in order, after the reading of whic
a vote of thanks was tendered to him, both in the name of the Society and also in tl
of the Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club, for his exceedingly interesting and instructs
address, and a copy was requested for publication in the Annual Report.

ANNUAL ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL

SOCIETY- OF ONTARIO.

To the Members of the Entomological Society of Ontario :

Gentlemen, — Again it is my privilege as your retiring President to address you
draw your attention to Entomological subjects, and more especially to the operations
the insect world about you, and to record the progress or decline of those noiseless d
turbers of our peace — injurious insects.

The City of Ottawa being one of the great centres of our lumbering interest,
seems fitting that I should on this occasion call your particular attention to some
those insects most injurious to our pine forests. The losses occasioned by the destru
five work of borers in pine trees, both before and after they are cut, are unfortunately t
well known to those interested in the lumber trade, although the sufferers may not
familiar with the life histories of their enemies so as to be able to recognize them
the various stages of their existence. The lumberman suffers from the work of a nu:
ber of destructive species, nearly all of which inflict their greatest injuries during t.
larval stage of their existence.

There are three families of beetles in which are included the greater number of o
enemies in this department. I allude to the longicorns or long-horned beetles, Cera:
bycida ; the serricorn or saw-horn beetles, Buprestida, and the cylindrical bark beetles,
ScolytidcB. To go over this long series in detail would weary you. A brief sketch oi !
the life history of a single example in each family will serve as representatives of the '
whole.

One of the most destructive of the species included in the Cerambycida is a large ^
grey beetle with very long horns, known to Entomologists under the name of Monoham* °|
mus confusor, and popularly in this district as the "Ottawa Cow." Where trees have*:
become diseased from any cause, or where a fire has ravaged a pine forest and scorchec

::

d partially destroyed the timber, or where logs after being cut have been allowed to
main a season in the woods or in the mill yard — there these insects gather and soon
iltiply to a prodigious extent. The mature insect is over an inch in length ; the
tennae of the male reaches the extraordinary length of from two to three inches,
lile those of the female are shorter. The female lays her eggs in the crevices of the
rk, where the larvae when hatched eat their way into the wood, burrowing extensive
lleries through the solid timber ; when mature they are large, white, almost cyiindri-
L, footless grubs. They pass their chrysalis stage within their burrows, and the per-
st insect on its escape eats its way out through the bark. There are about a dozen
ecies in this family known to be destructive to pine.

Most of the insects belonging to the family Buprestidce may be recognized by their
illiant metallic colours ; they have very short antennae which are notched on one side
e the teeth of a saw, and are often hidden from view by being bent under the thorax.
alcophora liberta is one of the most destructive to pine trees, and its history is very
ailar to that of the long-horned beetle just described, but the larva is of a different
*m, and has the anterior segments or rings of the body very large, reminding one of
3 appearance of a tadpole. The perfect insect is about three-quarters of an inch long,
a brassy or coppery hue, with the thorax and wing-covers deeply furrowed by irregu-
longitudinal depressions. Dr. Fitch enumerates twelve species belonging to this
nily which are known to be injurious to pine. Additional information in reference to
3se beetles may be found in an article contained in the last annual report of our
ciety, by Mr. J. Fletcher, of Ottawa.

The cylindrical bark beetles, Scolytida, are also a numerous family, eight species of
ich are known to attack pine. The boring Hylurgus, Hylurgus terebrans, is probably
of the commonest. This beetle is about a quarter of an inch long, of a chestnut
L colour, thinly clothed with yellowish hairs, and is found during the month of
»y. The larva, which is a small yellowish white footless grub, bores winding passages
every direction in the inner layers of the bark of the tree, and also through the outer
•face of the wood.

In some parts of our Province pines are greatly injured and sometimes killed by

i attacks of a woolly bark louse, which covers parts of the trunk and branches with

vhite cottony secretion, under the protection of which myriads of tiny lice live,

icturing the bark with their sharp beaks and exhausting the trees by feeding upon

sap.

While we are mainly interested in the preservation of our mature forests, the future

)ur country demands that we shall not overlook the young growth on which the lum-

supply fifty or a hundred years hence must largely depend, and which it should be

policy of our rulers to protect as far as possible. Most of the governments of

rope are now fully alive to the importance of this matter, and are annually spending

ge sums of money in establishing young forests. Two years ago I called your atten-

1 to an insect then recently discovered by Prof. A. E. Grote, of Buffalo, which was

atly injuring the terminal shoots of both the white and red pines in Western Nev

k; it was the larva of a small moth, Nephopteryx Zinwiermani, which fed under thfo

•k, causing a free exudation of resinous matter from the wounds it made, followed

lally by the death of the twigs infested. Since then it has been found over a much

ler area than was at first anticipated, and I have no doubt but that it is to-day ma-

ially retarding the growth of young pine trees in many portions of our Province.

At a recent meeting of the Entomological Club of the American Association for the
vancement of Science (where our Society was represented by your President and
e-President), Mr. S. H. Scudder, of Boston, submitted some observations on another
tdopterous insect which is injuring the young pines growing on the Island of Nan-
ket. It is a species of Retinia closely allied to Retinia duplana of Europe. The moth
3 her eggs near the tips of the twigs, down which the young larvae burrow, killing them
right, and thus stunting and almost destroying the trees. Prof. Comstock, of Wash-
fcon, also referred to two other species of Retinia which he had observed injuring the
e trees in that city.
In addition to all these, there are a score or two of species of insects which are known

to devour the leaves of the pines, damaging them in some instances very much. From
the facts enumerated it is evident that we are suffering serious loss in all our lumber-
ing districts from the silent workings of these insidious foes, and since in some measure
to be fore-warned is to be fore-armed, I desire to call the special attention of those im-
mediately concerned in the prosperity, present and future, of the lumbering interests of
our country, to this important subject. Unfortunately it does not as yet seem to be
within the power of man to do much directly towards restricting the operations of these
enemies to our forests ; yet this should not deter us from studying their habits and his-
tory, since an intimate acquaintance with these may result much more to our advantage
than we now anticipate. A few trees, such as a belt, or a group planted for shelter or
ornament, may be protected from the leaf and twig destroyers by syringing with a mix-
ture of Paris Green and water in the proportion of a teaspoonful to a pail of water, and
the bark lice may be killed by the use of alkaline washes applied with a brush or broom,
and a timely application of the same will prevent the operations of the borers ; but it is
scarcely possible that such remedies can ever be applied over extended areas of forest.
It is, however, gratifying to know that in addition to the numbers devoured by our in-
sectivorous birds, almost every injurious species is in turn attacked to a greater or
less extent by insect parasites of the most active habits, who seek out and destroy these
pests with ceaseless diligence ; were it not for these friendly insects the destructive spe-
cies would be far more numerous individually than they now are.

The question as to how best to check the increase of destructive insects is of the
greatest practical importance, and probably no insecticide has of late played so import-
ant a part in this connection as Paris Green, which is 3 compound of arsenic and cop-
per, comparatively insoluble and a substance which seems admirably qualified for the
destruction of insect life. Besides its special use as a potato- beetle killer, it can be suc-
cessfully used to destroy any and every insect which eats the leaves of plants, shrubs or
trees. So poisonous an agent should be handled with caution if accidents are to be pre-
vented, and it is a matter of great regret that in consequence of carelessness in its use
the lives of many valuable animals have been sacrificed, and occasionally even human
lives have been imperilled or lost. From the ease with which it can be procured.it has
also been resorted to in several instances by those determined on suicide. These unfortu-
nate occurrences are greatly to be deplored, and every possible precaution should be taken
to avoid accidents. It is quite a common occurrence for painters, hardware dealers and
general merchants to sell Paris Green and to send it out without label of any sort, and
sometimes the parcel is very insecurely put up and packed with groceries and
other articles for home use in the most indifferent manner. Such recklessness should
not be permitted and no one should be allowed to sell any substance so dangerous un-
less it is properly labelled with the name of the article and the word " Poison" promi-
nently attached ; with such precautions generally adopted many accidents which now
occur would be prevented. It has been urged by some that so many evils have attended
the use of Paris Green that it does more harm than good, and that its use should be
discontinued ; but in this I am not prepared to concur, as I am satisfied that without it,
unless some suitable substitute were found, the potato crop in many localities could not
be preserved from destruction. If reasonable care is exercised and the powder be used
mixed with water, there is no danger attending it, and its use in this manner in the pro-
portion already mentioned of a teaspoonful to a pail of water and applied with a whisk,
is not only safe but most economical.

For some years past experiments have been made with various other substances
with the view of finding a substitute for Paris Green which would be less dangerous in
the hands of the careless, and among them I believe none have been used with greater
success than common blue vitriol or sulphate of copper, in solution in the proportion of
about an ounce to a pail of water, and applied in the same manner as the Paris Green
mixture. This article is worthy of, and will doubtless receive, a more extended trial, as
its use under any circumstances would be attended with but little danger. For the de-
struction of household pests Insect Powder has lately attracted much attention, and is
probably the most valuable agent we have for this purpose, and it is quite harmless to
man and the higher animals. There are two sorts of this powder, known in commerce

under the respective names of Persian and Dalmatian Insect Powder; the former is the
powdered flowers of Pyrethrum roseum, the latter of Pyrethrum tinner ar ice-folium. The
Dalmatian Powder is most highly esteemed. The powder is diffused through the atmos-
phere by means of a small bellows, or insect gun, and in a very short time it brings house-
flies, cockroaches, etc., on their backs, and dusted among bed-clothing is equally effec-
tual on noxious pests there. It does not at first kill the insects outright, but paralyzes
them so that they are unable to use either legs or wings, and after remaining in this
condition many hours and sometimes days, a solitary individual here and there will
either wholly or partially recover, but the great bulk of them die.

A very active blue-bottle fly placed under the influence of the powder was brought
©n its back in one and a half minutes. After six minutes it performed some remarkable
evolutions, throwing itself about in the most desperate manner by the aid of its wings,
for by this time it had lost the use of its legs ; in a few moments more it was quiet, but
still able to move its legs, and this power it retained for two days, after which it was lost
sight of. The same powder was applied to a full-grown grasshopper ; immediate un-
easiness was manifested, and within two minutes its hind legs were partially paralyzed
so that they could not be used with much effect. The first symptoms were a general
rubbing of the legs against each other and a peculiar backward movement of the body ;
in four minutes there was a trembling of the whole frame, while all the legs were so
much affected that locomotion was very feeble. In six minutes the insect had lost all
control over its limbs, and in nine minutes it was on its back, with no power to recover
its natural position. A second patient manifested precisely similar symptoms, but was
not affected quite so rapidly. Applied to house-flies in a room, some of them begin to
fall powerless in two or three minutes ; others will remain active several minutes longer,
but manifest constant uneasiness, evidenced in unnatural movements of wings and legs,
and a frequent thrusting out of the proboscis. Having operated in a room one day about
noon, I swept up after a few minutes several hundred flies and put part of them in a
tumbler covered with a small plate, and the remainder in a chip box which I carried in
my pocket for the first day, where the flies would receive some warmth from the body.
After five or six hours the box was opened, when several crawled out or flew with a very
weak, short flight ; these were evidently recovering ; the others remained on their backs,
many of them moving their legs now and then. At the same time those in the tumbler
were looked at ; all were on their backs, but still alive. In twenty-four hours after-
wards those in the glass were in the same helpless condition, barely alive, while in the
box three more had so far recovered as to be able to walk, and one of them could fly a
little. The following day they were examined again and every one of those in the box
were dead, while in the tumbler, out of 137, there were 22 alive, which number was
reduced to three the following day; this small remnant survived two days longer, when
all died.

In the use of Insect Powder on the green Aphis, which infests house plants, the
same course was observed ; the insects dropped from the plants as if paralyzed, and
after a short time were incapable of locomotion. After two days they were found still
alive', but in this instance there was no sign of recovery in any of them, and all died
within two or three days afterwards, but whether from the direct effects of the powder or
from starvation I was unable to decide.

When I addressed you last year I referred to a strange disease which had destroyed
large numbers of that destructive pest, the Forest Tent Caterpillar, Clisiocampa sylvat-
ica. After the disease had reached a certain stage the larvae remained motionless, re-
taining their hold on fences and the trunks of trees ; shortly, although in appearance
they were quite natural, when touched they were found to be dead, and their bodies were
so decayed as to burst with a very gentle handling. Subsequent observations convinced
me that this was the result of a fungoid disease to which caterpillars, as well as some
perfect insects, are very subject. A similar disease sometimes attacks the silk-worm
and causes great devastation, and the common house-fly is liable every autumn to die
from the effects of a fungus which multiplies with amazing rapidity within the fluids of
the fly's body, soon destroys life, and forms a circle of luxuriant growth all around its
victim. Examples of this may be found on the windows of almost every dwelling during

the month of September. Some years ago a learned European professor claimed that
he had proved the identity of this fungus with the common blue mould and also with
that of yeast ; and in proof used the fungus of the fly for the purpose of raising bread,
and shewed that it was possible to brew beer with the common mould. The close re-
lationship, if not the actual identity, of these three was thus established. Quite recently
it has been proposed by Dr. Hagen, of Cambridge, Mass., to use a diluted solution of
yeast in water with an atomizer as a means of destroying noxious caterpillars and other
insects by introducing disease among them, and it seems quite likely that the use of this
remedy may to some extent prove effectual.

The Cabbage Butterfly, Pieris rapes, having pretty well colonized the northern por-
tions of America, is still travelling southward. During the present season it has been
reported as common in many localities in the State of Alabama, and has nearly reached
the Gulf of Mexico ; it seems as capable of adapting itself to extremes of heat as of cold.
The Forest Tent Caterpillar, Clisiocampa sylvatica, which has been so very numerous and
destructive in our neighbourhood for two years past, has almost disappeared. The Col-
orado Potato Beetle seems to have fairly established itself in several places in Europe,
and if it proves as prolific there as here it will be rapidly disseminated. The Wheat
Midge, Cecidomyia tritici, has appeared in the neighbourhood of Port Hope, Ont., but not
to any alarming extent. The Plum Curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar, has been common
as usual, while reports have been received from several districts of the increasing preva-
lence of the Codling Worm, Carpocapsa pomonella.

Our journal, The Canadian Eixtomologist has been well sustained during the past
year, and through the kindness of our esteemed contributors we have been enabled to
present our readers with many original papers of great practical value. Mr. W. H.
Edwards, of West Virginia, has continued his very useful and valuable papers on the life
histories of our butterflies. Dr. Bailey, of Albany, N. Y., has given us an interesting
description of the various stages of Cossus Centerensis, illustrated by an excellent litho-
graphic plate. Many new species of insects have been described by Messrs. A. B. Grote,
W. H. Edwards, V. T. Chambers, Prof. Fernald and others, besides which we have pub-
lished a very large number of papers of general interest.

Among the more important recent contributions to our Entomological literature may
be mentioned a new edition of the Catalogue of the Described Diptera of North America,
by Baron Osten Sacken ; the Coleoptera of Florida and Michigan, by John L. LeConte,
M. D., and E. A. Schwarz ; Beport on the Insect and other Animal Forms of Cale-
donia Creek, New York, by J. A. Linter ; the Coleoptera of the Alpine Begions of the
Bocky Mountains, by John L. LeConte, M. D. ; on the Collection of Insects made by
Dr. Elliot Coues in Dakota and Montana — the Orthoptera by Cyrus Thomas, Hemip-
tera by P. B. Uhler, Lepidoptera by W. H. Edwards; Notice of the Butterflies Collected
by Dr. Edward Palmer in Southern Utah and Northern Arizona, in 18.77, by Samuel H.
Scudder ; and an account of some insects of unusual interest from the tertiary rocks of
Colorado and Wyoming, by the same distinguished author. The elaborate and volumi-
nous report of the U, S. Entomological Commission on the Bocky Mountain Locust, with
maps and illustrations, issued in 1878, did not reach us in time to be noticed at our last
annual meeting. It is a work which has involved great labour, and besides containing
much that is new, covers the entire field of our knowledge in reference to this destructive
pest. Prof. C. V. Biley, of Washington, has issued a special report on the Silk- worm,
being a brief manual of instructions for the production of silk, with illustrations. Prof.
A. B. Grote has written Preliminary Studies on the North American Pyralidae, and
Samuel H. Scudder a Century of Orthoptera. Several additional numbers of Edwards'
magnificent work on North American Butterflies have appeared, with charming plates.

The members of the Entomological Commission of the United States are devoting
their attention this year especially to the Hessian Fly, investigating its habits, preparing
statistics of the losses occasioned by its attacks, and testing the various remedies which
have been suggested for its destruction. In a circular issued in June last they solicit the
co-operation of Entomologists, many of whom will, I trust, be able to render them
efficient aid in this good work.

During the year, death has removed from our ranks three well known labourers in

the Entomological field, Dr. Asa Fitch, late State Entomologist of New York ; Dr..
Hermann Loew, the eminent German Dipterist, who has done so much to advance our
knowledge of American Diptera ; and Frederick Smith, the renowned English Hymen-
opterist. Thus, year by year, we are called to mourn the loss of those whose names, for
their works' sake, we revere. They have gone to their reward ; we live to labour. Let
us each endeavour to make the best possible use of the time and opportunities we have,
however limited they may be, and dilligently and contentedly labour in the sphere in
which God has placed us ; prompted by pure motives, may we with earnest effort probe
deep into the secrets of nature, and draw from thence treasures new, so that when we
pass away, we may leave behind us some little lustre which may lend a light, however
dim, to those who will fill our places.

I have the honour to be, very sincerely yours,

Wm. Saunders.

The election of officers then took place, resulting in the appointment of tha
following gentlemen : —

President. — W. Saunders, London.

Vice-President. — Jas. Fletcher, Ottawa.

Secretary-Treasurer. — Jas. H. Bowman, London.

Council.— Rev. C. J. S. Bethune, M.A., Port Hope; Wm. Couper, Montreal; J.
M. Denton and E. B. Eeed, London ; E. V. Rogers, Kingston ; G. J. Bowles, Montreal ;
and W. Harrington, Ottawa.

Editor of Entomologist. — W. Saunders.

Editing Committee. — Jas. Fletcher, G. J. Bowles and E. B. Reed,

Librarian. — W. E. Saunders, London.

Library Committee. — E. B. Reed, J. M. Denton, H. B. Bock, London, with the
President, Librarian and Secretary.

Auditors. — Chas. Chapman and A. Puddicombe, London.

A short time was agreeably spent in asking and replying to queries in reference to
insects and their habits, and in examining the collections of insects in the Museum,
after which the meeting adjourned.

ANNUAL MEETING OF THE LONDON BRANCH.

The Annual Meeting of the London Branch of the Entomological Society of
Ontario, was held on the evening of February 11th, 1879, at the residence of the
President, Mr. J, M. Denton. The President occupied the chair.

The Secretary- Treasurer read his annual report, which was adopted. His report
shewed that the finances of the Branch were in a satisfactory condition.

The election of officers than took place with the following results.

President. — J. M. Denton.

Vice-President. — A. Puddicombe.

Secretary-Treasurer. — W. E. Saunders.

Curator. — C. Chapman.

Council. — Messrs. H. B. Bock, E. B. Reed and W. Saunders.

Auditors. — H. B. Bock and Jas. H. Bowman.

Permission was asked by Mr. C. Chapman for the School of Design to use speci-
mens of some of our large Butterflies and Moths as models for the drawing and painting
classes, which was cheerfully granted.

Mr. Saunders gave an interesting account of his recent visit to Florida, and
exhibited some of the insects obtained by him while there.

10

Mr. H. B. Bock kindly presented the Society with a number of specimens of
Coleoptera from Germany.

Subsequently an hour or two was spent in social intercourse and participation in
the many means for enjoyment provided by Mr. Denton for the members. After spend-
ing an exceedingly pleasant evening the meeting adjourned.

W. E. Saunders,

Secretary-Treasurer.

MONTKEAL BBANCH OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF ONTARIO.

The Sixth Annual General Meeting of the Montreal Branch of the Entomological
Society of Ontario was held at the residence of G. J. Bowles, Esq., on Tuesday the 3rd
June, 1879, at 8 o'clock p.m.

Mr. Bowles read a paper entitled, " Some of the insects that frequent the orchard
and garden, under what circumstances they increase unduly, what insects to spare,
what to kill, and how to kill them, with other useful information," by the Rev. F. W.
Fyles, corresponding member of the Natural History Society.

The annual report of the Secretary-Treasurer was then read and adopted. This
report shewed that after meeting the current expenses of the year, there still remained
a very fair balance on hand.

The proceedings were closed by the election of the following officers for the ensu-
ing year : —

President, G. J. Bowles ; Vice-President, H. H. Lyman ; Secretary and Treasurer,
Geo. H. Bowles ; Curator, F. B. Caulfield ; Council, Robert Jack, W. Couper and G. B.
Pearson.

The meeting then adjourned.

G. H. Bowles,

Secretary.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE MONTREAL BRANCH OF
THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF ONTARIO.

In presenting their Sixth Annual Report, your Council have much pleasure in
stating that the Society is still making satisfactory progress.

Eight very pleasant meetings have been held during the year, and besides the
many interesting Entomological items recorded in the minutes of the Society, the
following papers have been read before the members : —

1. "On the Larvae of Papilio Brevicauda and Pieris Borealis, and the food plants."
— W. Couper.

2. "On the May beetle, Lachnosterna quercbtu, and its parasites." — G. J. Bowles.
8. " Introductory notes on the Iclineumonida." — G. J. Bowles.

4. "Notes on Phyciodes Harrisii and Nycteis." — H. H. Lyman.

5. " On the Saw-flies."— G. J. Bowles.

6. "My Entomological trip to the Godbout River, 1878."— W. Couper.

7. " On the Insects ot the Mammoth Cave" (selected). — Geo. H. Bowles.
The following books have been added to the Library : —

"Riley's Reports," 2, 4 and 5, making the set complete. The nine reports have
been bound in three volumes, and form a very valuable addition to our library.
" Hentz's Spiders of the United States," with 21 plates.
" Sausser's Solitary Wasps of America," with 4 plates.

" La Crysomele des Patates," from the Department of Agriculture, with 1 plate.
u Report of the Entomological Society of Ontario, 1878."
"Reports of the Fruit Growers' Association of Montreal, 1877 and 1878."

11

Our order for books to the Naturalists' agency is still not quite filled, and a balance
of about $10 remains in their hands.

Your Council would note that additions are still being made to the list of species
in the "Montreal Catalogue," and would recommend the work to the members as one
worthy of zealous prosecution.

In regard to the labours of the coming season, your Council feel glad to report that
the members are beginning their collections with renewed vigour ; and they trust that
the next year's operations will show a great advance in the study of our fascinating
science in Montreal.

The whole respectfully submitted,

Geo. Jno. Bowles,

Montreal, 3rd June, 1879. President

MEETING OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL CLUB OF THE AMEEICAN ASSOCI-
ATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE.

The Annual Meeting was held, as announced, on the 26th day of August, in the
Town Hall, in Saratoga, N.Y. The first session began at 12.30 p.m., the President, 3.
A. Lintner, of Albany, in the chair. The following members were present during the
several sessions : Dr. John L. LeConte, S. H. Scudder, C. V. Riley, A. R. Grote, C. H.
Fernald, Dr. John G. Morris, Rev. C. J. S. Bethune, Wm. Saunders, J. H. Comstock,
E. P. Austin, F. W. Putnam, B. P. Mann, H. F. Bassett, W. S. Barnard, D. S. Martin,
E. L. Graef, Dr. J. S. Bailey and E. H. Pohjman.

The Secretary, Mr. B. P. Mann, read the minutes of the last meeting in St. Louis,
Mo., after which the President delivered the following address : —

ANNUAL ADDRESS OP THE PRESIDENT.

Gentlemen : — In the remarks which I presented to the Club at our last annual
meeting, a brief review was given of the progress in American Entomology within the
preceding half century. It was shewn that within the last few years rapid progress
had been made ; that the study of insects had enlisted the labours of many earnest and
successful workers, and given to them names honoured in science both at home and
abroad ; that many large and valuable collections had been accumulated — several of
which contained so large a number of types that their preservation in the future was a
matter demanding serious consideration ; that the literature had become quite exten-
sive ; that much had been done in working out the life-histories of our species and pre-
senting them to the public in their economic relations ; and finally, that the importance
of the study had at last been recognized here, as long ago it had been in Europe, by a
Commission appointed by our General Government, for the investigation of some of the
insect pests which were the occasion of serious pecuniary loss, poverty, and almost star-
vation in some portions of our country.

It affords me pleasure to be able to report, that the past year has shewn no
diminution of interest or activity in our department, but that work in it is being
prosecuted with an energy and with results fully up to any other department of Natural
Science, if we except those to which Congress and several of our States are extending
their liberal aid.

If fewer new species have been described during the year, we may find encourage-
ment in the explanation that we are approaching the period, if not already reached,
when a new species may not be claimed as the reward of every Entomological excur-
sion. And indeed, there does not seem to be urgent need of descriptions of forms so
very far in advance of some degree of knowledge of transformations, habits and relations
to the vegetable world.

An evidence of increasing interest is to be found in the frequent inquiries made for
instructions in collecting, apparatus for preparation, and books for study. While the
first two requests can be promptly met, not so with the last. We are unable to place

12

in the hands of the student the volumes which he requires for naming his collections.
This cannot but be the occasion of discouragement to the beginner, and often the cause
of diversion of earnest labour to other departments of Natural History. A great need
of our science at the present is, monographs of the families prepared by specialists, in
which descriptions of all the species shall be given (not simply referred to), and accom-
panied by such synoptical tables and illustrations as will enable the student readily to
ascertain the names of any species which has been described.

At our last meeting I stated to you that the names of 281 persons are recorded in
the last edition of the Naturalists' Directory who are making Entomology their study in
North America, and that it was probable that a full list would extend the number to at
least 350. It now appears that half the truth was not told. A list kept by the Secretary
of the Cambridge Entomological Club, published in Psyche, vol. h\, p. 9 of Advertiser,
accompanying the numbers for Sept. -Dec, 1878, contained at the close of last year the
names of 762 Entomologists in the United States and Dominion of Canada. I am in-
formed by the Secretary that the list at the present time, without having been subjected
to a critical revision, contains 835 names.

As a record of the current literature of any science is virtually a record of the
progress of that science, may I ask your attention to a brief notice of some of the
publications of the year following our St. Louis meeting.

A work that might serve as a model in the illustration of insects in their relations
to the plants upon which they feed or frequent, is one of the unique series by Mr. Glover
of Manuscript Notes from My Journal, entitled, " Cotton, and the principal Insects
frequenting or injuring the plant." In its twenty-two quarto plates, engraved on copper,
is shown the cotton plant in every stage of development from the seed to the mature
plant, and in its various conditions as resulting from insect attack or from disease. In
association with these figures, twenty-four insects frequenting the plant are represented.
Several of the species are illustrated in an agreeable prodigality, giving enlarged views of
the egg, the larva at different stages of growth, the pupa, the cocoon, the perfect insect
at rest and in flight, its under surface, enlargements of parts, and the more marked
varieties of the larva and the imago. Although not so stated, it is believed that the
edition of these Notes was no larger than the others of the series, and consequently,
that only about fifty societies and individuals have been the fortunate recipients of
a copy.

The Natural History of the Agricultural Ant oj Texas is a volume of 208 pages and
24 plates, by H. C. McCook, treating at length of the habits, structure and architecture
of this interesting insect. The histological details have been worked out from prepara-
tions made by Prof. J. G. Hunt.

A volume, upon which Baron Osten Sacken has been for a long time engaged, has
recently been completed and published by the Smithsonian Institution. The Catalogue
of the Diptera of North America prepared by this author and published in 1858 was
simply a compilation of published names, not claiming synonymic accuracy. It con-
tained 1,800 species, but many of the number were too imperfectly described ior identifi-
cation. The new Catalogue is of such merit as to deserve more than a passing mention.
It is fully up to, and in itself materially advances, our knowledge of the Diptera of our
country. Its author modestly regards it as only critical in part — so far as the families
have been worked out into monographs, and as still remaining a mere list of reference
to earlier writers, in those families which have not been studied, or in which the existing
collections are to a great extent still unnamed, as in the Culicidce, Chironomidce, Cenopidce,
the group of Muscidce calypterce, and the section Asilina. Its critical character may be
seen from the statement, that of the 102 species of Tabanus enumerated in the old Cata-
logue, only 36 have been adopted in this.

An admirable feature of this Catalogue is that a large proportion of the species
which it records — over 2,000 carefully described and authoritatively labelled species —
are contained in the Collections of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge,
fwhere every possible care is given to them, and where they are accessible to the student
or comparison and study. Most of these are types of Loew and Osten Sacken, or their
determinations.

13

The remarks of the author on synonymy, nomenclature and priority, seem to me to
be most excellent and worthy of serious consideration. In an extended discussion
of the merits of the descriptions of Diptera of the late Mr. Walker of the British
Museum, he characterizes them as so extremely superficial — descriptive rather of the
specimen than of the species, that in his opinion, they should be entitled to no claim for
priority whenever they cannot be positively identified without an examination of the type
specimen. Thus, of twenty- six species of Dolichopus described by him, not a single one
could be recognized. The question suggests itself, to what extent might this rule be
extended to descriptions in the other orders of insects by this author, and in general, to
the writings of other authors.

In considering the number of Diptera, Osten Sacken believes, that rejecting those
descriptions which will probably prove irrecognizable, the number of described Diptera
of North America, north of Mexico, will hardly reach 2,500; that the undescribed
material at present in collections, if worked up, would perhaps double the number ; and
that when the long neglected order shall have received the attention given to the Coleop-
tera, it will equal if not exceed the latter, numerically.

Reference at the present to studies in the Diptera, naturally suggests the great loss
which Dipterology has sustained in the recent death — in April last — of the distinguished
Prussian Dipterist, Dr. H. Loew, long known as one of the most eminent cultivators of
this branch of Entomology. During the last twenty years he has been engaged in the
study of North American Diptera, and at the request of the Smithsonian Institution he
has prepared a series of monographs, three volumes of which (Parts i., ii. and iv.) have
been published by that Institution. While his removal from his work at this stage of its
progress, cannot but be deeply deplored, there is a consolation to be found in the know-
ledge that it is not to be wholly arrested, but that a worthy collaborator — Baron Osten
Sacken — remains to conduct it to a completion, we hope, of the plan proposed.

The series of DimmocJcs Special Bibliographies, now being published at Cambridge,
Mass., will prove to be of eminent service to the student who desires to avail himself of
the literature of our insects, so widely scattered through the various scientific and popular
journals, government surveys, and other publications. Two numbers of the series have
been issued — the first containing a complete list to date, it is believed, of the Entomo-
logical writings of Dr. John L. LeConte, and the second, those of Dr. George H. Horn.
A third, of the writings of Mr. S. H. Scudder, is nearly completed. I regret that it has
been thought necessary, in this series, to dispense wholly with the use of capitals in ail
scientific names, even in the family and ordinal divisions, and I believe that many of you
will agree with me in claiming for the royalty of science exemption from conformity to
an innovation based on mere convenience.

Prof. 0. V. Riley and J. Monell have contributed to the Bulletin of the U. S.
Geolog.-Greograph. Survey (vol. v., pp. 1-32) a paper entitled Notes of the Aphididce of the
United States, with Descriptions of Species Occurring West of the Mississippi. Part I con-
tains extended biological notes on the Pemphigina3, by Prof. Riley, and Part II., notes on
Aphidina? with descriptions of new species, by Mr. Monell. The paper, illustrated by two
plates, is a valuable contribution to our knowledge of these exceedingly interesting insects.

A special Report from the Department of Agriculture, entitled, The Silk-worm, being
a brief Manual of Instruction for the Production of Silk, has been prepared by Prof. Riley,
and largely distributed by the Department, to meet the demand from various portions of
the United States for information upon the important industry of silk-culture. The
Manual is quite full in the natural history of the Silk-worm, in the methods of culture,
and directions for reeling the cocoons. There seems no reason why this industry,
properly fostered, may not be made to add materially to the productive resources of our
country.

Abstracts of the papers presented by Prof. Riley at the St. Louis meeting of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, have been published in the Pro-
ceedings of the Society, and also in a separate pamphlet. Among these are Notes on
the Life-History of the Blister Beetles and on the Structure and Development of Hornia ; on the
Larval Characteristics of Corydalus and Chauliodes, and A New Source of Wealth to the
United States [Sericulture].

14

A Century of Orthoptera, commenced by Mr. S. H. Scudder in 1868, and continued
at intervals in vols. 12-20 of Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., has been completed during the
present year by the publication of the last three decades, in vol. 20, op. cit. The species
described pertain to the Gryllides, Locustariae, Acridii and Forficulariae. The several
parts as originally published have been reprinted in a pamphlet of 84 pages. Mr.
Scudder has also published (Psyche, vol. ii., p. 154) a short list of Orthoptera collected in
Appalachicola.

Entomological Notes, No. vi., by Mr. Scudder, issued the past year, is mainly a
reprint of papers upon the Orthoptera originally published in the preceding year. The
accompanyingindex furnishes a ready means of reference to the species contained in the
several papers.

In the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1878, Prof. Cyrus Thomas
reports upon a small collection of Orthoptera made in the Explorations and Surveys of
the San Juan region of Colorado. The same volume contains a report by Mr. H. Strecker,
on the Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera and Coleoptera from the same region, in which several
new species of Heterocera are described, and a few figured.

Of our Entomological serials, the Canadian Entomologist continues to sustain its
high reputation, and to merit the contributory aid which it is receiving from nearly all
of our American Entomologists, and from some of our European friends.

Psyche, the organ of the Cambridge Entomological Club, is near the completion of
its second volume. With the commencement of its third volume such improvements
are promised as will render it of still higher importance to every student of American
Entomological literature.

The Transactions of the American Entomological Society have reached the seventh vol-
ume. Although the Society has become a section of the Academy of Natural Sciences
of Philadelphia, it is proposed to continue the publication of the Transactions as at
present as rapidly as the limited means available for the purpose will permit.

The Bulletin oj the Brooklyn Entomological Society is continued. That of the Long
Island Society has been discontinued.

The second volume of the Butterflies of North America, by Mr. W. H. Edwards, is in .
course of publication. It continues to maintain the high reputation which it has com-
manded, from its admirable delineations of forms and colouring, and the exceedingly
interesting new biological details presented.

The North American Entomologist is a new candidate for favour and support, of
which two numbers have appeared. It is a monthly periodical, published at Buffalo,
N. Y., under the editorial charge of A. R. Grote. It purposes to present articles of value
both to the specialist and the agriculturist on the subject of North American insects, to-
gether with notices of current entomological literature,

Descriptions of the Noctuidae have been continued by Prof. A. B. Grote in contribu-
tions to the Canadian Entomologist and in the North American Entomologist. With a
diminution in the number of new forms of Noctuae presenting themselves, Mr. Grote has
directed his attention to the Pyralidae, and has published a paper in the Bull. U. S.
Geolog.-Geograph. Survey (vol. iv., pp. 669-705), entitled, A Preliminary Study of the
North American Pyralidce, in which a number of new species are described, the species
of Botis enumerated, and the venation given of certain genera of the Phycidae. A sup-
plement to this paper follows in the North American Entomologist, No. 2, pp. 9-12.

To the study of the Tortricidae — a family which has received scarcely any attention
in this country since the death of Mr. C. T. Robinson, Prof. C. H. Fernald, of Orono,
Me., has been devoting special and earnest attention. He has been able to examine
nearly all the material contained in the principal collections in this country, and during
the past winter has visited the larger collections in Europe for their study and a com-
parison with our forms. In England, the Tortricidae in the following collections were
critically examined by him : those of the British Museum, of H. T. Stainton, R.
McLachlan, C. J. Barrett and Lord Walsingham ; and on the continent, the collections in
Brussels, Berlin, Munich, Naples, of Prof. Zeller in Stettin, Dr. 0. Staudinger, MM.
Deyrolle and Ragenot and the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. The above amount of pre-
liminary work should certainly enable Prof. Fernald, as is his hope, to present us with

15

a rearrangement of this extensive family quite in advance of any heretofore proposed.
Prof. Fernald has prepared a synonymical list of our North American species, which is
nearly ready for publication.

The work of Mr. V. T. Chambers on the Tineida3 of the United States, has been
vigorously prosecuted, as may be seen in his frequent publications in the Canadian En-
tomologist. His papers on Tineina and their Food-plants, and Index to the Described
Tineina of the United States and Canada (Bull. U. S. Geolog.-Geograph. Surv., vol. iv.,
pp. 107-167), have been appreciatively received as very convenient for reference.

The comparatively small but difficult group of the Pterophoridaa has engaged the
attention of Mr. Charles Fish, of Oldtown, Me., and his studies have already made him
our best authority in these forms.

From the above references to special studies in several of the families of the Lepid-
optera, it will be seen that this attractive Order gives every promise of soon occupying
high vantage ground.

In the other Orders — it is quite unnecessary that I should refer in the Coleoptera
to the labours of Drs. LeConte and Horn. You will know of their untiring work,
which has made the field which they are so thoroughly working almost exclusively
their own.

In the Diptera, Mr. C. P. Whitney has published descriptions of a few species of
Tabanida?.

Mr. W. H. Patton has communicated some descriptive papers on Hymenoptera to
the Canadian Entomologist.

Mr. E. T. Cresson has published a catalogue of North American Apidae, with de-
scriptions of new species, comprising 108 pages of vol. vii. of the Trans. Amer. Ento-
log. Soc.

Some valuable lists of species collected in particular regions have been given us,
which are of service in extending our knowledge of Geographical Distribution. Among
these, in the Coleoptera, may be mentioned, a list by E. A. Schwarz of 1,457 Florida
species (Proc. Amer. Philosoph. Soc, v. 17, pp. 353-472) ; of 1,246 species from the Lake
Superior region by H. C. Hubbard and E. A. Schwarz ; by the same, of 1,787 species
from the lower Peninsula of Michigan (loc. cit., v. 17, pp. 593-666) ; by Dr. LeConte, of
220 species collected in the Eocky Mountains at an elevation of 6,000 feet and upwards
(Bull. Geolog,-Geograph. Surv. Terr., v. 4, pp. 447-480); additions to Messrs. Austin
and LeConte's Catalogue of the Coleoptera of Mt. Washington, of 89 species, extending
the number to 319, by F. Gardiner, jr. (Psyche, v. 2, p. 211) ; 316 species from Wallace
Co., Kansas, by F. H. Snow (Trans. Kans. Acad. Sci. vol. vi.,pp. 61-70) ; and additions
of 435 species to the Catalogue of Kansas Coleoptera, by E. A. Popenoe (ut. cit. pp. 77-
86), increasing the number to 1,711.

In the Lepidoptera, Mr. C. E. Worthington furnishes a list of 229 species of Noc-
tuidse from the vicinity of Chicago, 111., (Canad. Entomol., v. xi., p. 68); Mr. W. L.
Devereaux, a shorter list of species taken in Wayne Co., N. Y. (ut. cit., p. 105) ; Prof. F.
H. Snow, a list of 104 species collected in Colorado, by the Kansas University Scientific
Expedition in 1876.

The valuable biological studies of Mr. W. H. Edwards have been continued with
their wonted earnestness. Through the success attained by him in carrying a large
number of species of butterflies from the egg through their transformations, he has
secured their entire life-histories, several of which have been published during the past
year, and others illustrated in the volume of the Butterflies of North America. Of the
Satyridae, the larva of which are so rarely met with that I may venture to say many
members of this Club have not seen a living example, he has reared all of our Eastern
species with the two exceptions of Satyrus Pegale and Chionobas semidea. The interesting
experiments in producing change in the imago by the application of cold to the chrysalis
have been continued and been duly recorded.

A large number of biological papers have been contributed to our Entomological
journals. From those accessible to me at the time of writing I find contributions from
the following :— C. J. S. Bethune, J. Boll, Bobert Bunker, V. T. Chambers, A. J. Cook,
Charles Dury, H. Edwards, W. H. Edwards, J. H. Emerton, G. H. French, H. A.

16

Hagen, E. C. Howe, D. S. Kellicott, J. L. LeConte, B. P. Mann, T. L. Mead, C. V.
Eiley, W. Saunders, C. G. Siewers, Emma A. Smith, F. H. Snow, C. E. Webster, 0.
S. "Westcott, C. E. Worthington, and G. D. Zimmerman — a quite incomplete list of the
contributors to this department.

Kesults of anatomical studies of insects have been published by Messrs. C. F.
Gissler, J. D. Hyatt, E. L. Mark, and C. V. Eiley.

It would be inexcusable in a notice of biological work to omit reference to what is
being done in this direction at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge.
Under the hand of the eminent Curator of the Entomological Department, Dr. H. A.
Hagen, a biological collection of insects has been brought together that is far in advance
of any similar collection in the world. It was my privilege recently to give it a partial
examination, and when I say that I know not how to express my high estimation of it,
I give it but imperfect praise. No one, whose studies have prepared him for the appre-
ciation of such a collection, can examine it without wondering when, where and how
the material was obtained. As an illustration of the natural history of species in their
several stages, architecture, depredations, food-plants, diseases, parasites, etc., it is
difficult to see how its plan of arrangement can be improved. In consideration of its
high value, it is very gratifying to see that such unusual means have been resorted to
for its preservation, as, with a reasonable supervision and without the operation of
other than the ordinary causes of destruction, will extend its benefits to our successors
in coming centuries. In addition to the biological collection, two others have been
arranged : the one comprising the insects of North America, and the other those of the
world. Of the number of type specimens contained in these collections, there is not
the time at present, nor is it the occasion, for more than simple mention. The student
in American Entomology, who aims to be fully abreast of the most advanced progress
in his line of study, cannot neglect the means of information which the Collections and
Library of the Entomological Department at the Cambridge Museum offer him.

The published results of economic investigations during the year have been quite
limited. In consideration of the exceeding importance of these studies, it is painful to
have to record the fact of the issue of but one Annual Keport of a State Entomologist
—that of Cyrus Thomas. This second report of Dr. Thomas, forming the seventh in
the series of the Illinois reports, is a volume of nearly 300 pages. In it Dr. Thomas
discusses the depredations of some of the Orthoptera, Coleoptera and Hemiptera.
Prof. G. H. French, Assistant Entomologist, presents brief descriptions of a large
number of diurnal and nocturnal Lepidoptera and their larv®, with notices of their
habits, accompanied by analytical tables for their identification. Miss Emma A.
Smith, special Assistant Entomologist, offers the results of original investigations in
some species of special economic importance. The publication of this and the preced-
ing Eeport, without, as is evident, the opportunity of the revision and correction of
proof by the authors, is much to be regretted, as serious errors in the nomenclature
and elsewhere have thereby been given extensive circulation.

The Annual Eeport of the Entomological Society of Ontario, making the ninth in
the series, contains its usual amount of matter of interest to the Entomologist, and of
value to the agriculturist and horticulturist.

Several articles treating of insect depredations have appeared in our scientific
j ournals, which cannot now be referred to.

The United States Entomological Commission, continued by an appropriation by
the last Congress of $10,000, is actively engaged in its second year's operations. In
its investigations of the Eocky Mountain Locust, its labours have been almost entirely
confined to that portion of country designated as the Permanent region, with a view of
determining the limits of these permanent breeding grounds, and to obtain the requisite
data for the preparation of a map, and a scheme to be recommended to the Govern-
ment, by which the excessive multiplication of the species in that region, and the
consequent migration therefrom, may be prevented. It is understood that the recom-
mendation to the Government will be, that in connection with the authorities in British
America, efforts be made to restrain the extensive prairie fires in autumn which are
common to that region, and subsequently to burn them in the spring after the hatching

17

of the young locusts. This plan is believed to be feasible, as the breeding grounds are
not co-extensive with the so-called Permanent region, but are limited to the richer
valleys, plateaus and river borders within it.

The Commission will also, it is understood, in its forthcoming report, recommend
to the Government a scheme for a system of warning and prevention, through the aid
of the mounted police patrol of the Dominion Government, and our signal bureau and
military posts.

Having been favoured with a transcript of the subjects to be treated of in the
forthcoming Second Report of the Commission, and the assignment of subjects to the
respective members of the Commission, I Lave no hesitancy in giving assurance of a
volume of unusual interest and value. It is to be hoped that Congress will not repeat
the inexcusable blunder of ordering of it an edition by far too small to supply the
demand, or for the accomplishment of a main object in its labourious preparation — the
diffusion of the needed information among those to whom it could not fail of proving
beneficial.

The Commission is also occupied with investigation of the Hessian-fly and the
Chinch- bug — each of which are chargeable with annual injuries to the amount of
several millions of dollars.

The investigation of the natural history and habits of the Cotton-worm, com-
menced by the Department of Agriculture last year, has by direction of Congress, been
transferred to the Entomological Commission. Prof. Eiley has been pursuing its study
in Southern Texas and in the Gulf States, aided by special assistants, and it is believed
that discoveries have recently been made which will reduce the cost of destroying the
larvae to perhaps a fourth of what it has hitherto been.

Among the special subjects of study which have claimed attention lately, an inter-
esting one has been the pupation of butterflies. Observations made during the past year
on the pupation of some of our butterflies have shown us that we have been at fault in
accepting the account given of it by Reaumur over a century ago, and received and quoted
by subsequent authors. The most interesting operation in the pupation of the suspensi
butterflies is the withdrawal of the chrysalis from the larval skin, the casting off of the
skin with its attachment by the terminal legs to a button of silk spun for the purpose by
the larva, and the attachment and suspension of the chrysalis by its anal spine to the silk
button. Reaumur represented it as accomplished by the chrysalis in its extensions and
contractions grasping the larval skin between the segments, and by this means rnising
itself until it regained the button. Recently Mr. Osborne, an English Entomologist,
discovered a membrane serving as a suspensory agent in the change to the pupal state,
and for the first, questioned the account given by Reaumur. His observations were con-
firmed by those of Mr. W. H. Edwards, and followed up by additional observations on
large numbers of Nymphalidse and Danaidse, some of which have been presented in the
Canadian Entomologist. There seems to be no question of the existence of such a mem-
brane, and that it consists of the portion of the larval skin lining the region of the rec-
tum, caught upon two knobs conveniently placed for the purpose. Prof. Riley, in a
communication to lJsyche (vol. ii., p. 249) finds other means of chrysalis suspension — the
principal one being the shed intestinal canal, and accessory ones, the tracheal vessels of
the last pair of spiracles ; these Prof. Riley regards as the principal agonts in suspension.
In opposition to this, Mr. Edwards considers these ligaments as of but little, if any, ser-
vice, and finds the membrane to furnish all the requisite support. Additional observa-
tions are required to reconcile these different views.

The beds of fossil insects recently discovered in the Tertiaries of our western Terri-
tories are proving to be wonderfully rich in number of species and condition of preserva-
tion. From a single small basin exposed by a railway cut in the vicinity oi Green River
Station, Union Pacific Railroal, in Wyoming, Mr. S. H. Scudder in Fossil Insects of the
Green Hlver Shales (Bull. U. S. Geolog.-Geograp. Surv. Terr., iv., No. 4, pp. 747-776)
enumerates eighty species, representing all the orders of the Insecta exc3pt L jpi lopfeera.
An idea of the richness of these beds maybe obtained from the statement, that a two
hours' search was rewarded by the collection of fifty new species. We are glad to learn
that Mr. Shudder is engaged upon a general work on our fossil insects, which will form
2

18

one of the volumes of the quarto reports of the Hayden Survey — the heautiful typography
aud illustration of which causes us to regret the prospective speedy termination of the
series. As the Tertiary Shales of the Eocky Mountain region give every promise of
being richer in insect remains than any other country in the world, the material for this
volume will be more ample than any other student in fossil entomology has been able to
command.

For the evident omission of reference to much valuable work done during the period
reviewed, I ask indulgence. The time that I had allotted to the preparation of my sketch
was found, too late, to be quite insufficient for the extended bibliographical examinations
required for even an approach to completeness. I offer it only as a partial sketch, and
as such please accept it.

On motion, the thanks of the Club were tendered to the President for his able and
interesting address, with the request that a copy be sent to the Canadian Entomologist
for publication.

The Club next proceeded to consider the amendment to the Constitution proposed at
the St. Louis meeting, and after much discussion, the amendment was adopted in the
following form: —

1st — No resolution affecting important scientific questions shall be adopted at any
meeting of the Club unless there shall be present at least seven members who shall have
been enrolled at least one year previous to said meeting.

2nd — When any motion has been carried by the Club, such motion shall not be
rescinded at any subsequent meeting unless there shall be present at least seven
persons Who shall have been enrolled as members one year or more previous to said
meeting.

3rd — Five members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of ordinary
business.

The Secretary was instructed to draw up a list of members of the Club, to be em-
bodied in the record of its proceedings, including all those who had been present at pre-
vious meetings.

The second meeting was held at 4:30 p.m., the President in the chair.

Mr. Grote exhibited specimens of Pseudohasis eglanterina sent him by Mr. James
Behrens, of San Francisco, who had collected them on the top of Mount Shasta. These
differed from the ordinary specimens in being almost entirely black on the upper side.
Mr. Grote expressed the opinion that this variation was mainly due to the climatic in-
fluences to which they were subjected in this elevated situation.

Dr. J. G. Morris referred to the fact that certain Water Beetles carry with them
when they dive a globule of air underneath their bodies, and asked for information as to
what purpose it served. Mr. E. P. Austin said that this bubble was retained underneath
by the stiff hairs along the abdomen, and as it was known that the air gradually disap-
peared if the insect remained long under water, it was supposed that the air was gradu-
ally inhaled by the insect, which was thus enabled to lengthen its stay under the water.

Mr. B. P. Mann presented a list of the Entomologists of North America, and re-
quested the members to confer with him as to additions and corrections. Some beauti-
ful examples of coloured drawings of Noctuce by Mr. Pohlman, of Buffalo, were laid upon
the table for the inspection of those present, and were much admired.

Mr. Scudder called the attention of the members to a lepidopterous insect which
was doing much damage to the pines on the Island of Nantucket. Previous to the war
of 1812 the island was well wooded, but during that struggle the occupants were reduced
to such straits for fuel that they had burned every tree. For many years the island had
remained in a barren state, but some time ago plantations of Pines were begun, and a
broad belt of young trees of Pinus rigida from 10 to 20 feet high, with scrub Oaks, now
cover a large part of the island. The success of this experiment is seriously threatened
by the presence of the insect referred to, which is a Tortrix belonging to the genus Re-
tlnia, and closely allied to duplana, sylvostrana a,n&frustrana of Europe. The larva affects
the tip of each terminal bud and bores its way through this into the twig to the depth of
two or three inches, killing the terminal leaves and thus preventing the trees from mak-

19

ing any growth. The moth is double brooded, and has not been observed in that local-
ity beyond the precincts of the island. Mr. Scudder also presented a plate with enlarged
drawings of the insect and its work.

Mr. Comstock had met with the same insect on P. inops, and had found that the
tips of the branches of the Pines were usually covered with a web. He had also found
another species of Retinia infesting the twigs of P. rigida. This latter bores into the small
twigs of the tree, from which exude masses of resin. The larva lives within the branch
upon the wood, and before pupating forces its way through the mass to the outside.

Mr. Bassett had observed some fifteen years ago, about Waterbury, Conn., that the
common White Pine (Pinus strobus) was greatly injured at the tips of the branches by
Pissodes Strobi, but for the last ten years this pest had almost disappeared. Mr. Eiley
referred to another Tortrix affecting the Junipers en Long Island, Dapsilia rutilana, a
European species recently imported.

Prof. Fernald stated that he had received from Oregon and Washington Territory,
specimens of Retinia duplana and sylvostrana identical with the European forms, and
further referred to the fact that in America the species of Tortricidae are more abundant
in the West than in the East.

Mr. Grote called the attention of the membersto the ravages of Nephopteryx Zimmer-
mani, which he believed had inflicted more injury on young pines than any other insect ;
it is found throughout the northern and north-western parts of New York State. Mr.
Grote laid particular stress on the fact that the European pines imported and sold by
nurserymen are much infested, and desired to call public attention to this matter. With
regard to the use of Paris Green as an insecticide, he thought that it was doubtful
whether the injury caused by it was not greater than would occur from the Potato Beetle
were it allowed to go unmolested ; and instanced the loss of a stallion valued at $2,500,
poisoned by Paris Green, and also referred to the frequent injuries to animals and man
reported in the newspapers. This opinion was opposed by other members present, who
stated that but for the use of Paris Green or some such poison it would be impossible in
some sections of the country to grow potatoes at all.

Prof. Fernald referred to a Tortrix found in Maine, Tortrix nigridia, which had very
much injured the pines there ; he had collected a large number of the larvae and chrysa-
lids of this insect, and from them, besides the moths, had obtained many ichneumon
parasites and also several hair snakes. Prof. Fernald embraced this opportunity of
calling the attention of the members to the condition in which he had found the types
of the Northern American Tortricide. Many of them were being destroyed by the ver-
digris formed by the corrosion of the pins on which they were mounted, and in some
instances this verdigris has accumulated to such an extent as to burst the bodies of the
insects. To avoid this difficulty he has used japanned pins, and found that when thus
coated they remained free from corrosion.

Mr. Grote remarked that Scoliopteryx libatrix was very widely distributed in this
country as well as in Europe, being found here from Hudson's Bay to the Southern
States. He also referred to Mr. Grey's discovery that Limenitis arthemis, disip/nis, Ursula
and proserpina are connected by intermediate individuals, and that this indicated that they
had not long been separated from a common stock, and expressed the opinion that
arthemis was probably nearest the original form.

Mr. Lintner held that it was premature to conclude that the different species of
Limenitis are identical until it could be proven positively by rearing the one supposed
species from the eggs of the other.

Mr. Scudder exhibited a piece of a woody root which was represented as coming
from the interglacial beds of clay near Toronto, Ontario. This root proves by micro-
scopic examination to belong to a species of Juniper and is bored by an insect, probably
a Scolytus, but one which differs materially in its habits from any known species now
existing. Mr. Scudder also referred to the abundance of insect remains which he had
found in the peat deposits on the Island of Nantucket ; from one mass of about a cubic
foot he had obtained 300 fragments of Coleoptera, among which were several which he
had been unable to refer to any species now known to exist; a number of these speci-
mens were shown to the members.

20

Mr. Austin exhibited specimens of a wasp, Polistes metrica Say, infested with
parasites.

On motion the meeting was adjourned until 8 p.m.

EVENING SESSION.

Prof. Comstock exhibited specimens of a small Pyralid which is carnivorous, feed-
ing in the larval state on the maple tree bark lice, under the cottony matter secreted by
the lice. He had bred forty of the moths fed in this way.

Mr. Scudder drew attention to a very singular fossil, of which he had obtained
about 100 specimens, somewhat resembling the larva of an insect, but yet quite differ-
ent from anything hitherto known. His remarks were illustrated by a figure of the
object. It consists of only six segments.

Mr. Barnard exhibited specimens of Phymata erosa, which has proved quite
destructive to other insects ; they have been known to destroy quite a number of Pieris
rapce. Mr. Barnard exhibited a number of specimens which had been caught on the
burrs of the Burdock.

Prof, rliley stated that Pieris rapce was now quite common in Alabama ; it had been
seen as far as Selma, but had not yet reached Mobile. Mr. Scudder remarked that it
had been found in Savannah, Ga., two years ago.

Prof. Comstock had received specimens of the Colorado Potato Beetle, tnis year,
from Manitoba, and thought that this was the farthest point north it has yet reached.

Mr. Saunders made some remarks in reference to the capture of insects by the
flowers of a species of Bideiis, probably chrysanthemoides ; the insects which he had
observed thus captured were Dipterous, all of whom had been caught by the mouth ;
some were found dead, others still living, but unable to withdraw their proboscis.

In reference to the flight of butterflies, Mr. Lintner spoke of the enormous flocks
of Vanessa cardui which had been seen in Italy, Spain and Germany during the
summer.

Mr. Grote referred to an undescribed insect for which he proposes the name of
Oiketicus Abbotti; he had obtained the cases of this insect on the cotton plant in the
South, but had not seen the imago until he had reared it. This species is figured by
Abbot in unpublished plates in the British Museum ; it is referred to also in Harris'
Correspondence, edited by Scudder.

The election of officers then took place, with the following result : —

President. — S. H. Scudder.

Vice-President. — A. K. Grote.

Secretary. — B. P. Mann.

After some discussion it was agreed that in future it was desirable that the Presi-
dent and Vice-President hold office for one year only.

The meeting then adjourned until the afternoon of the followingday.

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON SESSION.

Dr. Morris mentioned an interesting case of retarded development which had come
under his notice, where a specimen of Papiliu asterias remained in the chrysalis state
two years and a half before the imago appeared.

Mr. Lintner remaiked that instances of retarded development were common among
the Bombycidse, and especially mentioned cecropia ; it also occurs frequently among the
the Sphingidffi, where a specimen will pass over one season until the next in the
chrysalis state ; this has been supposed to be a natural provision for the perpetuation
of the species.

Mr. Bassett inquired whether in such examples they were not uniformly females.
Mr. Lintner stated that in his experience both sexes were retarded.

Prof. Martin exhibited transparent specimens of gum copal in which were imbed-
ded Hymenopterous insects. He stated that copal is a fossil resin of the post-tertiary
period obtained chiefly from Mazambique; that he had found in this resin about fifty
species of insects, about one-third of which were Coleoptera, one-third Diptera and the

21

other third of the remaining Orders ; two of the latter were Lepidopterous, one a
Geometer, and the other he thought belonged to Zygaeuidae.

Mr. Bethune mentioned that he had found the larvae of the Colorado Potato Beetle
eating the leaves of the common Milk- weed, Asclepias.

Mr. Barnard had also seen one of these larvae feeding on Milk-weed, but in this
instance the larva was lighter in colour than usual. Mr. Lintner remarked that it was
unfortunate that the Potato Beetle would feed in the larval state on quite a number of
different plants, and in the absence of vegetable food would sometimes feed on one
another.

Mr. Saunders had observed this carnivorous propensity of the Potato Beetle larvae
on several occasions, and had seen the same among the Cut-wTorms, and in one or two
instances among larvae of the Lycaenidae. Mr. Scudder had also observed similar habits.
Prof. Comstock had noticed it especially in the Cotton- ball worm Heliothis armigera.

Mr. Lintner invited Prof. Comstock to give some details in reference to the present
plans and operations connected with his department at Washington. Prof. Comstock
stated that he was endeavouring to work up a biological collection of insects on such
a scale and in such a manner as shall be a credit to the Government. He has a large
number of breeding cages, and an assistant who devotes his whole time to the rearing
and mounting of insects. Special attention has been paid this year to insects feeding on
clover, and the collection now contains over fifty species known to be destructive to this
valuable crop. Prof. Comstock asked the aid of all Entomologists and assured them
that any insects sent him would be well taken care of.

Mr. Scudder urged that Entomologists should recognize the fact that it is of the
utmost importance that a collection as complete as possible should be formed in
Washington, and that it should assume a national character.

Mr. Barnard asked for some information as to the method of arrangement adopted
in the collection referred to. Prof. Comstock stated that he arranged the insects in then-
usual order and place ; with the insect, its usual food plant, and where it feeds on seve-
ral or many plants, a memorandum is placed with such specimen containing a list of
the plants ; by this method much duplication is avoided.

Prof. Fernald was asked to give some explanations regarding his work on the Tor-
tricidae. He began the study of this group two years ago, commencing with those species
found in Maine, but soon found that he could do nothing satisfactorily without taking
in all those found throughout the United States and Canada. He has also found it ne-
cessary to study the European forms, and is now engaged in examining all these struc-
turally, with the view, if possible, of improving their classification, and earnestly desires
help from collectors in all parts of the country, especially in reference to the larvae of
the different species. He thinks that the character of the head, thoracic shield and anal
plate will probably be of most value in separating the species.

Mr. Saunders reported that Papilio cresphontes had been found rather common both
in the larval and perfect state in several parts of Ontario this season. Dr. Morris said
that he had found Papilio ajax particularly local in its distribution, abounding in some
localities, but very scarce in others.

Mr. Lintner stated that Pholisora catullus had not been found about Albany until
three years ago, when a single specimen was taken ; this year it is one of the commonest
species in and about the city ; its food plant is Monarda punctata.

Rev. C. J. S. Bethune referred to the great abundance of Papilio philenor one sea-
son, many years ago in the neighborhood of Hamilton, Ontario ; since then he was not
aware that it had ever been found common in any part of Ontario.

A question was asked by Mr. Grote as to whether any of the species of Cucullia
ever come to sugar. In reply, Dr. Bailey stated that he had captured three species of
Cucullia and ten species of Plusia at sugar. Recently, when sugaring in a certain lo-
cality, he was surprised to find a large numberof Noctuids on decomposing animal mat-
ter, especially some partially decomposed deer hides.

Mr. Grote reported having taken Audela acronyctoiJes ; one male was captured this
month at light. He thought that this was the first time it had been taken in New York
State.

22

Mr. Saunders referred to the fact that in the location where he resided large numbers
of the larvae of Clisiocampa sylvatica had died from a fungoid disease, and asked whether
any of the members had tried solution of yeast as an insect destroyer, as lately suggested
by Dr. Hagen.

Prof. Comstock stated that he had fed several larvae on leaves dipped in yeast, but
so far the yeast-fed larvae had thrived remarkably well • his experiments had only been
continued but a short time, hence he was not prepared to give any definite opinion on
this subject.

The meeting then adjourned.

On Friday afternoon the closing session of the Club was held.

Dr. Morris stated that an apiarian in his neighbourhood had been severely censured
by some fruit-growers because his bees had pierced their peaches, grapes, etc., and
destroyed the fruit ; he asked whether the bees really were the original authors of the
mischief, or whether they only attacked such fruit as had been previously pierced by
birds, wasps and other insects. He knew that writers differed on this subject, and men-
tioned that Prof. Cook and Prof. Eiley take opposite sides here.

Prof. Macloskie thought that the mandibles of bees were not strong enough to tear
the outer covering of peaches or grapes. Prof. Comstock was of a different opinion.
Prof. Riley remarked that in some articles which he had published in the New York
Tribune he had proved that bees are the depredators, and made some further interesting
statements on this subject.

Dr. LeConte spoke of the destruction of some of our valuable forest trees by various
insects, and requested the members during the next year to collect facts and to report
them at the next meeting, so that the nature of their depredations may become fully
known and further remedies may be suggested.

Mr. Minot offered some very interesting remarks on the larvae of a number of species
of water insects, chiefly Dipterous, illustrated by many beautiful drawings of the larvae
highly magnified.

Mr. Lintner referred to the importance of the study of aquatic larvae, regretting
that so little was known of their habits, and hoped that Mr. Minot would continue his
studies in this direction.

From aquatic larvse the conversation turned in the direction of that tiny tormentor,
the mosquito, and marvellous accounts of its abundance in certain localities, and the
sufferings of man and beast from its bloodthirsty propensities, were related by Mr.
Scudder, Dr. Morris and others.

Mr. Eiley made some remarks on the Cotton Worm, and stated that he had bred
nine distinct parasites which preyed on this insect.

The time for adjournment having arrived, the members, after refeiring to the great
pleasure they had derived from the interesting sessions of the Club, unanimously ex-
pressed the hope that all present might meet again next year in Boston.

The following articles have been selected on account of their general interest from
the p iges of The Canadian Entomologist, where they have appeared during the past year
as original contributions.

OBNOXIOUS PESTS— SUGGESTIONS BELATIVE TO THEIR DESTRUCTION.

BY DR. H. HAGEN, CAMBRIDGE, MASS.

The question how to check the ravages of obnoxious insects is a very important one,
and I am very often asked for advice in special cases. While occupied with a close ex-
amination of the proposed remedies and looking through a large number of scientific
tracts, some of them fell into my hands and induced me to study them again. The
present communication is the result of those studies.

23

Somewhat more than twenty years ago the lower forms of some fungi attracted the
attention of many students, and especially of Dr. Bail, of Prussia. The reports of his
observations are scattered in different periodicals, and the final result of my study of
those reports was the conviction that a remedy for insect pests, offering several promi-
nent advantages, could be found in the easy application of the yeast fungus. Further,
that this remedy could be used probably against the famous Colorado grasshopper, for
the destruction of which the Government has appointed a commission appropriated with
$75,000 ; also, that the remedy could be tried in an easy way against the obnoxious
hairy caterpillars, against the potato bugs, and last, but not least, in every greenhouse
against leaf lice and similar pests.

Dr. Bail asserts that he has proved by many skilful experiments that four species
of microscopical fungi are merely different developments of the same species. One of
them, the fungus of the common house-fly, is the vexation of every housekeeper. The
dead flies stick in the fall firmly to the windows, or anywhere else, and are covered by a
white mould not easy to be removed. The second is the common mould, known to
everybody and easily to be produced on vegetable matter in a damp place. The third is
the yeast fungus, a microscopical species, and the basis of the work done by yeast of
fermentation. The fourth is a small water plant, known only to professional botanists.
Dr. Bail contends that the spores of the fungus of the house-fly develop in water in this
last species, out of water in mould, and that the seeds of mould are transformed in the
mash tub into yeast fungus.

The experiments made by Dr. Bail cover a period of more than a dozen years,
since the numerous objections which were made against his results induced him to
repeat again and again his experiments in different ways. I am obliged to state that
even now prominent botanists do not accept Dr. Bail's views, which he maintains to be
true and to be corroborated by new and sure experiments. This question, important as
it may be for botanists, is without any influence regarding my propositicn, as Dr. Bail
has proved that mould sowed on mash produces fermentation and the formation of a
yeast-fungus, which kills insects as well as the fungus of the house-fly. I was present
at the lectures of Dr. Bail before the association of naturalists, in 1861, which were
illustrated by the exhibition of mould grown on mash, on which the fungus of the
house-fly had been sown, and by a keg of beer brewed from such mash, and by a cake
baked with this yeast. Both productions were declared perfect by all who tasted them
— an experiment in which I did not feel obliged myself to join, as both are to be had
prepared without the fungus of the house-fly.

In a later communication Dr. Bail states that the use of mould has been the secret
in brewing formerly certain kinds of a strong and well-reputed beer.

For the so-called jopenbier in Danzig the mash was not used before the forests of
mould grown on its surface had sunk to the bottom — or, in other words, till the spores
of the mould were sown by themselves on the mash.

Dr. Bail has proved by numerous experiments that healthy insects brought in con-
tact with mash and fed with it are directly infested by the spores of the fungus with
fatal consequence. These facts, not belonging strictly to the main part of his experi-
ments, were observed first by chance and later on purpose. The most different insects,
flies, mosquitoes, caterpillars, showed all the same results. The experiments were made
in such a delicate manner that a small drop of blood taken with an oculist's needle from
the abdomen of a house-fly left the animal so far intact that the same operation could
be repeated in two days again. Both drops examined with the microscope proved to be
filled with spores of fungus.

More to the point are epizootics produced by this fungus and observed on insects in
the open air.

A really pestilential epizootic of the common dung-fly was observed in 1867. Not
only those, but many other insects, died in the same locality and in the same manner;
also other species of flies and gnats, the caterpillars of moths and of Phalsenids, and
the common hairy caterpillars of a moth which is very nearly related to the famous
hairy caterpillar of the Boston Common. Of some species the destruction was so com-
plete that the next year they were very rare. During those years the caterpillars of

24

two species of moths bad destroyed pine forests belonging to the State and valued at
several millions, and a larger calamity was imminent, when suddenly all caterpillars
died from the same fungus.

Similar observations have been made in other places in Europe and here. Mr,
Trouvelot formerly began in Medford, Mass., the raising of the Polyphemus moth for
silk, and was successful enough to get a prize in the Paris Exhibition of 18G7. Unfor-
tunately he brought home from Paris eggs of another species from China, and purported
to be superior for silk-raising in the open air. Those eggs proved to be infested by
fungus, and the caterpillars hatched from them died, but not those alone. All caterpil-
lars of the Polyphemus moth became infested, and even most of the other indigenous
species living on the twelve acres of shrub land which Mr. Trouvelot utilized for this
purpose, died rapidly. After two years of a similar calamity, Mr. Trouvelot was
obliged to stop his experiments, which might have developed, perhaps, a new source of
wealth for this country. A similar pest of an indigenous species of moth stopped only
last year the interesting observations of Mr. Siewers in Newport, Kentucky.

The common silkworm in Europe has been in recent times extensively affected by
a sickness called muscardine, which is also the consequence of a fungus. Similar fatal
epizootics have been observed on the honey bee, and in Brazil several years ago nearly
all the bees died from this cause. In Entomological journals are reported fatal
epizootics of leaf lice, of grasshoppers, of the cabbage butterfly and of the currant
worm, both imported here only a tew years ago, and both very obnoxious.

Considering those facts, which are doubtless true, and considering the easy way in
which the poisonous fungus can always and everywhere be procured and adhibited, I
believe that I should be justified in proposing to make a trial of it against insect calami-
ties. Nature uses always to attain its purposes the most simple and the most effectual
ways ; therefore it is always the safest way to follow nature.

Beer mash or diluted yeast should be applied either with a syringe or with a
sprinkler ; and the fact that infested insects poison others with which they come in con-
tact will be a great help. Of course it will be impossible to destroy all insects, but a
certain limit to calamities could be attained, and I think that is all that could reasonably
be expected. In greenhouses the result would probably justify very well a trial, and on
currant worms aud potato bugs the experiment would not be a difficult one, as the larvae
of both insects live upon the leaves, which can easily be sprinkled. But it seems to me
more important to make the trial with the Colorado grasshopper. I should recommend
to infest the newly-hatched brood, which live always together in great numbers, and I
should recommend also to bring the poison, if possible, in contact with the eggs in the
egg-holes, to arrive at the same results, which were so fatal to Mr. Trouvelot's silk-rais-
ing. After all, the remedy proposed is very cheap, is everywhere to be had or easily to
be prepared, has the great advantage of not being obnoxious to man or domestic animals,
and if successful would be really a benefit to mankind. Nevertheless, I should not be
astonished at all if the first trial with this remedy would not be very successful, even a
failure. The quantity to be applied and the manner of the application can only be known
by experiment, but I am sure that it will not be difficult to find out the right method. I
myself have more confidence in the proposed remedy, since it is neither an hypothesis
nor a guess-work, but simply the application of true and well-observed facts. I hear the
question — When all this has been known for so long a time, why was it not used long
ago ? But is that not true for many, not to say for all, discoveries ? Most of them are
like the famous Columbus egg.

A SUCCESSFUL MOTH-TRAP.

BY 0. S. WESTCOTT, RACINE, WIS.

Many attempts have been made to devise something by means of which to capture
the Noctuidae, but the results have been usually so meagre that the contrivances have
been abandoned in disgust. I have been using a contrivance this season which will

25

really abundantly repay one for the trifling trouble and expense involved in its construc-
tion. It consists first of a gallon glass jar, heavily charged with cyanide of
potassium. To the top of this is fitted a funnel, the spreading mouth of which opens
at light angles to the axis of the poisoned jar. The lower end of the funnel is four or
five inches below the mouth of the jar and has an opening three inches in diameter, the
funnel mouth being twelve or thirteen inches across. Opposite the mouth of the funnel,
and on the opposite side of the jar, is soldered to the funnel a sheet of tin so bent as to
thoroughly enclose a lamp. The lamp is supported by a piece of tin hinged to the outer
edge of this projection. The lamp being placed in position, the tin support is made to
rest upon the projecting part of the jar below its neck. Immediately in front of the light
is placed a sheet of mica. The whole contrivance is placed wdthin a tight wooden box,
and a tin flap is also arranged above the lamp chimney as a precaution against an un-
desired conflagration.

The moth attracted by the light, flies into the mouth of the funnel, is stopped by
the mica, and after fluttering a very short time, is so far overcome by the fumes of the
potassium as to fall within the poisoned jar, whence it cannot emerge. A projecting lip
of an inch or so in height is soldered to the lower edge of the mouth of the funnel in
such a way as to catch any insect that falls outside the mouth of the jar. It thus is
most likely to return to the light. I have taken with this contrivance hundreds of Noc-
tuidaa and Coleoptera, among the former many things — especially among the Tineidae —
entirely new to my cabinet.

A CHEAP ENTOMOLOGICAL CABINET.

BY W. H. HARRINGTON, OTTAWA, ONT.

I have recently been looking over the back volumes of the Entomologist, and have
found them, as I do the later numbers, very interesting and instructive reading. Among
other valuable items, I have noticed suggestions regarding the construction of cheap
cases for holding specimens, and as the question of expense is always an important one
especially to young collectors, I will, if you can spare me space, briefly describe the style
of cabinet I am now using, and which has been adopted by one of my friends.

Among the substitutes for cork mentioned by Packard (in his Guide to the Study of
Insects) are thin frames covered on each side with paper and fitted into the bottom of
drawers in a cabinet. Now I have gone a step farther, and discarding the drawers entirely,
have adopted the frames and adapted them to a cabinet without drawers. This cabinet can
be made of any size and be divided by upright partitions to suit the taste of the owner,
and the frames can run in grooves made in the sides and partitions before it is put to-
gether, or between movable strips tacked or screwed in afterward at suitable distances,
say two inches. The one I now use (a small one made as an experiment) is three feet
two inches wide inside, with two partitions, so that there are three spaces each one foot
in width. It is fifteen inches deep and two feet high. Placing the frames two inches
apart gives me twelve in each section, or thirty-six in all, and as each has a surface of
twelve by fifteen inches, I have an aggregate expanse of thirty-six square feet. The ad-
vantages claimed for this cabinet are its lesser weight and expense. It is easily handled
and can stand pretty rough usage without fear of damaging specimens, as the pins are
firmly held, and the frames, running in grooves or between strips, cannot stir when the
door shuts close against them. It does away with the expense of drawers, the cork alone
for which (thirty-six feet at 18 cents per foot) would be $6.48. The frames constructed
of thin stuff (say quarter-inch) cost at the most five cents each, and suitable stiff cart-
ridge paper is very cheap. If the frames are made slightly smaller than those mention-
ed one sheet will cover both sides of two frames. The paper is put on when damp, but
should not be too wet. The frames can be easily re-papered if needful, and if the sec-
tions are made of equal width, they will all be interchangeable, which will be found a
great convenience.

26

This manner of keeping specimens will, I think, be particularly useful to collectors
of Coleoptera. I send this, feeling that each member of the Society should contribute
his mite of experience and knowledge for the benefit of his fellow- workers.

NOTES ON A WINTER HOLIDAY.

B. W. SAUNDERS, LONDON, ONT.

^During a recent holiday, while on a trip South, I spent a day among the Entomolo-
gists at Albany, N.Y. To say that it was a pleasant day, an exceedingly enjoyable day,
would convey but a faint idea of the pleasures there experienced. Arriving early in
the morning, I made my way to the State Museum of Natural History, where under
the guidance of Messrs. Lintner, Meske and Hill, three veteran Entomologists, I had
the pleasure of inspecting the countless rarities contained in the collections of Lepidop-
tera made by those gentlemen in this vicinity. I have seen many collections in the
course of my wanderings, but for multiplicity of species, full series of rarities and
matchless perfection of individual specimens, it had never before been my pleasure to
witness anything that would compare with the valued stores contained in the cabinets
of these enthusiastic collectors at Albany ; and without fear of contradiction, it may be
said that the Entomologists resident there have contributed more towards our know-
ledge of the Lepidoptera native to the northern portions of America, than any other
equal number of collectors in the country. The enthusiasm they have long maintained
and their indomitable perseverance have enabled them to overcome almost every obsta-
cle and accumulate such wonderful series of specimens, especially by night captures at
sugar, as no less favoured Entomologist could look over without feelings almost akin to
envy. After one had seen scores upon scores of individuals of some rare Noctuid,
which in one's own collection had perhaps long been represented by a treasured frag-
ment, the question would frequently rise as to whether anything in this line be rare in
the neighbourhood of Albany.

During the day I was also privileged to see the magnificent series of Catocalas in
the collection of Dr. Jas. H. Bailey, and one could only regret that the day was too
short to do any sort of justice to the mass of material to be inspected. After labouring
busily from early morn until late at night, we parted at the railway station, with the
most pleasant recollections of a day happily spent amidst old and and newly-found
Entomological friends.

On reaching Washington, Nov'r 23, a brief visit was paid to the Entomological
rooms, in the Department of Agriculture, where I had expected to find my esteemed
friend, Prof. G. V. Riley, but unfortunately business had called him away from home.
Through the kindness of Messrs. Pergande and Howard I was shown very many things
of interest, especially in the way of insects in their earlier stages, both living in breeding
cages and preserved as blown larvae, and in this way a very pleasant and instructive
hour or two was spent. It was a source of grief to learn from our good friend, Chas, R.
Dodge, that " Field and Forest " was about to be discontinued for want of sufficient sup-
port. This valued periodical has done good service in the cause ol Natural Science,
awakening an interest in this direction in many minds, and in its decease we have lost
a valuable aid. It gave me much pleasure to find that veteran Entomologist, Prof. T.
Glover, with health almost restored, busily engaged in his Entomological work. Through
the affable kindness of Dr. T. V. Hayden, I was shown through the Department of the
Interior, that great national laboratory from whence has issued so many works invalu-
able to the naturalist in every field of labour. After lingering long among the many inter-
esting objects which claimed attention, I returned laden with useful works and pamph-
lets on subjects relating to Entomology, deeply impressed with the important work here
carried on by a great and progressive nation in the interests of science ; and with very
pleasant recollections of the great personal kindness shown me by the worthy and dis-
tinguished head of this most useful branch of the national service.

27

The Smithsonian Institution was also visited, with its immense collections and
innumerable objects of interest, and through the kindness and liberality of the Secretary,
some recent and valuable works on Entomology and kindred subjects were secured for
our Society's library.

Passing through Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia, we landed in Fernandina,
Florida, with its historic surroundings, on the 30th day of November, where everything
assumed a tropical aspect, the landscape dotted with palms, orange trees, magnolias,
live-oaks, and other evergreen trees, and the air so balmy as to at once suggest thoughts
of butterfly nets and collecting bottles. Of the latter a supply was at hand, but not ex-
pecting to meet with anything on the wing, insect nets were left folded away in their
wintry home. Many logs and chips were turned over in search of insect life, but very
little was found. Subsequently, while wandering about in Jacksonville, I saw several
butterflies on the wing, most of them unfamiliar ; that charming yellow Callidryas eiibule,
was recognized as it floated about among the beautiful roses, jessamines, poinsettas and
other flowers in the gardens, and one longed for a net that he might cultivate a closer
acquaintance with this and some of the other interesting species. An old friend,
Danais archippus, was frequently met with, and reminded me of summer at home.
Florida, however, is very poor in insects at this season of the year, but as summer ap-
proaches it is in many parts a paradise for the collector. During a week spent in this
land of flowers I travelled over 800 miles along its rivers and railways, seeing much of
its characteristic scenery, the most southerly point touched being Leesburgh, on Lake
Griffin, a little south of the 29th degree of latitude and 300 miles south of Jacksonville,
by tortuous river travel. Here butterflies were more abundant, and having landed with
a very pleasant party in an orange grove, amidst half a million of oranges on 2,500
large bearing trees, one was puzzled what to do first. The oranges were tempting, but
the sight of beautiful specimens of Agraulis vanillce, D. berenice, with charming Heliconias,
Theclas, etc., was still more overpowering, and with hat in hand, the butterflies were
vigorously pursued until several specimens had been secured, but with such imperfect
means of capture at hand, the beautiful insects were battered and torn, and ones cloth-
ing having become covered with malignant burs collected in the chase, it was thought
best under the circumstances — the first burst of enthusiasm being over — to devote more
particular attention to the orange question.

While vigorously consuming oranges, enquiries were made as to whether the trees
or fruit were subject to insect enemies. Beyond occasional specimens of the larva of
Papilio Cresphontes, I could not learn of any caterpillar which consumed the leaver, and
the only insect which seemed to trouble the orange growers at all was a species of Coccus
— Aspidiotus citricola — which attacks the bark and foliage of both the orange and lemon
trees, and occasionally, if very numerous, gives the tree a sickly appearance. But such
an effect was rare, and one could not help feeling astonished at the luxuriant and vigor-
ous growth of the average orange grove and the symmetry and beauty of the trees laden
with their golden fruit, in soil, in most instances, so poor that one wondered where the
nourishment came from. In our course up and down the Ocklawaha River, where the
trees are everywhere clothed with the beautiful Florida moss, Tillandsia usneoides, and
the swampy margins decked with brilliant asters and other composite flowers, many
Neuropterous insects were seen on the wing, but none were captured ; indeed, the catch-
ing of an insect seemed insignificant work in the midst of the excitement attendant on
the shooting of alligators, herons, ducks and other lar^e game, and at the close of the
week there were very few spoils wherewith to grace the Entomological cabinet. Now, a
few days later, amidst frosts and snow, the novel recollection of the recent heated butter-
fly chase, the cooling off under the shade of orange trees, imbibing the sweet rich juice
of the fully-ripened fruit, and the additional novelty of a sunburnt brow, all in the midst
of the month of December, are things not soon to be forgotten.

28

THE CLOVER-SEED FLY— A NEW INSECT PEST.

BY J. A. LINTNER, N. Y. STATE MUSEUM NAT. HIST., ALBANY.

Iii the summer of 1877, my attention was called to some " worms " which had been
discovered in the heads of red clover (Trifolium pratense), and were said to be preying
upon the seeds. They were found to be minute maggot-like creatures, hidden witbin
the seed-pods and entirely destroying the seeds which they attacked. Numbers of
them were subsequently detected in the examination of heads of clover taken from
several localities in the vicinity of Albany, and in Warren County, N. Y. I was unable
at the time to refer the insect to any described species, or to find any record of a similar
depredation on clover seeds in this country or in Europe.

The following season additional examples of infested clover heads were submitted
to me, which had been sent from Mr. George W. Hoffman, Presiden lof the New York
State Agricultural Society, from Elmira, N. Y. A number of the larvae were obtained
from these heads, and their careful examination enabled me to refer them to the Ceci-
dorayidse— of a species probably closely related to the well-known wheat-midge, Ceci-
domyia destructor. Several of the larvae were preserved in alcohol, and the larger
number placed in a pot of damp sand, in which they speedily buried themselves for
their transformation.

At the annual meeting of the N. Y. State Agricultural Society, in this city, in January
last, in a paper presented to the Society on some injurious insects observed during the
past year, I gave an account of this new depredator upon an important crop, and
described its larva as follows :

Cecidomyia leguminicola, n. sp. — Head subacute, subtriangular, slightly rounded
laterally on its posterior half, giving that portion a subquadrangular form ; a short
cylindrical horny ? process at its tip, and two longer antennal processes, cylindrical,
tapering apically. Body eriptical, moderately constricted at the joints, flattened on
the sides, rather rounded behind, delicately shagreened, laterally at about the middle of
each segment, a short fleshy papilliform process, with two short bristles of unequal
length near the posterior of the segment ; posterior segment bilobed, each lobe armed
with two short fleshy ? processes, of which the outer is the longer ; " breast-bone " of a
pale yellowish colour, its projecting end divided into two rather blunt, laterally rounded,
points. A dorsal row of processes similar to the lateral ones is suspected, but was not
definitely made out. Colour of the living larvae, pinkish, approaching orange ; length,
0.08 of an inch.

The reading of the paper elicited the information that the insect had committed
serious depredation upon clover-seed in Tompkins, Seneca and other counties in Western
New York, during the past year. In Seneca County, fields of clover which had been
kept for seed, proved to be not worth the cutting. It was also stated that a worm
similar to those in the heads had been discovered preying upon the roots, but these are
probably the same larva?, which having matured, had left the heads for their pupation in
the ground, where the Cecidomyidse larvae frequently remain unaltered for a considerable
length of time. , .

The extent of the ravages throughout our country of this newly discovered insect,
which promises to be of considerable economic importance, will be an interesting subject
of inquiry for the ensuing summer ; and the interesting question also arises, now that
its hidden covert has been detected, will the species also be discovered in Europe, whence
the red clover was introduced in this country.

I have been successful in obtaining examples of the imago of Cecid. leguminicola.
Anticipating failure (since realized) in my efforts to rear it from the larvae obtained by
me last year, I applied, in May last, to Mr. R. J. Swan, of Geneva, N. Y., who at the
annual meeting of the N. Y. State,.Agricultural Society, in January, had spoken of the
occurrence in very large numbers of the larvae in a clover field upon his farm, request-
ing that some of the surface soil from the field might be collected and forwarded to me.
A 'small box of the earth (containing also some of the clover roots) of about six inches

29

cube, was received by me on the 2nd of June, and spread out in a glass-covered case.
On the following morning a male and female were found in the box. Additional
examples were disclosed from the earth — about twenty-five in all — from that time to
the 27th of June, since when none have been obtained. They had undoubtedly com-
menced to emerge during the month of May.

Marked features of the species, which will serve in its recognition, are the genitalia
of the male, which are quite broad, projected on a pedicel, and arranged in an extended
pair of clasping organs; and the long jointed ovipositor of the female, of about twice
the length of the abdomen.

The antennas of the Cecidomyiae afford perhaps the best features for determination
of species. The following description of the antennae of the male of C. leguminicola
was drawn from fresh specimens just after death:

Number of joints seventeen in all — the basal one coloured and short, the next one
black, short and naked, followed by fifteen verticillate ones. Joints on penduncles as
long as the joints, subcylindrical with rounded ends, about one-half longer than broad,
rather thickly verticillate ; the longest hairs nearly three times as long as the joints,
and projected at nearly right angles to them ; the shorter hairs about equal in length
to the joints, some of which curve upward and have their tips nearly in the plane of
the succeeding joint; joints regularly and gradually diminishing in size to the terminal
one, which is about but one-half the size of the penultimate one, and of an ovate form.

The wings are clothed with numerous short, curved, blackish hairs, which give
them a dusky appearance ; ciliae paler, long. The abdomen is fuscous, marked on each
segment dorsally with black hairs forming a segment of a circle having the curve in
front. The thorax is black above, clothed with rather long hairs.

The insect is in all probability quite generally distributed throughout the State of
New York, and will be lound in adjoining States. On the 1st of July, examples of the
larvae were obtained from clover heads gathered by me on Mount Equinox, Vermont, at
an elevation of 2,500 feet above tide. Ou July 5th, although a late period for the larva?,
mature specimens were taken from clover growing within the city of Albany, from the
sidewalk of Western Avenue. The only example of the fly which has up to the present,
so far as my knowledge extends, been taken at large, was captured on the Hudson
Eiver, in the vicinity of Castleton, on the 16th of the present month (July), by Mr.
Dempster A. Lansingh, of Albany. The keen eye that could detect so minute an
object on the crowded deck of an excursion boat, deserves to be trained for use in
entomological science.

From information kindly communicated to me by Prof. Wm. H. Brewer, of Yale
College, New Haven, Conn., it is very probable that the existence of this clover pest
was known at least thirty years ago. He writes as follows :

" My father, Henry Brewer, of Enfield Center, Tompkins Co., N. Y., was an
enthusiastic grower of clover and clover-seed as far back as I can remember. Many
years ago — how long, I cannot definitely say, but certainly before 1818, it was known
to us that an insect attacked the clover, which hatched out a fly. Our belief then was
that the larva existed within the see>l. Oa two occasions I hatched out the flies and sent
them by mail to Albany, to the Entomologist there — once before 1818, and once later,
somewhere between 1851 and 1855. The fly was very small and very slender, but
having been found so many years ago, that is all the recollection I have of it. The
clover heads were not affected externally by its presence."

There cannot be much doubt but that the above insect is identical with the little
midge which has so recently commanded our attention, as the result of its multiplication,
or, as is more probable, from a period of its unusual abundance. Accepting their
identify, it is quite interesting that the first notice of the species, so far as known, comes
from a county which is believed to be suffering more from its depredations, at the pre-
sent time than any other portion of the State.

From the July number of the American Agriculturist, I learn, for the first time, that
Prof. Eiley has been engaged in investigations on this interesting insect. Tne article is
drawn from a conversation with Prof. B., and in part from a communication by him a
short time ago to the N. Y. Tribune. It contains a notice of the depredations, trans-

30

formations and appearances of the midge, and is accompanied by excellent figures of the
male and female with enlargements of parts, which will be of great service in its identi-
fication.

ON THE NEW CAKPET BUG.

BY DR. HAGEN, CAMBRIDGE, MASS.

(The accompanying figure 1
represents this insect in its vari-
ous stages : a the larva, b the
skin of the larva, c the pupa
and d the perfect beetle. This
cut appeared in our last ''An-
nual Report," but as the insect
is being rapidly disseminated, we
reproduce the figure here, so that
all our readers may become fa-
miliar with its appearance. W.S.)

Perhaps a few additions to Mr. J. A. Lintner's very interesting article will not be*
out of place In 1872 the late Mrs. W. P. L. Garrison came to visit the Museum, and
told me about an insect destroying the carpets iu Buffalo, N. Y., and named there "the
Buffalo pest " I had not then heard anything about the insect, and Mrs. Garrison alter
her departure, was kind enough to send me some living specimens from Buffalo I bred
them here in the Museum, and determined them as Authrenus scrophulance L. Ine tal-
lowing vears I had numerous inquiries from Cambridge and Boston m relation to this
carpet pest and I traced about three-fourths of all cases to a large carpet store in Wash-
ington St in Boston, where the carpets were bought, and what ought not to have been
done, they were directly laid in the rooms, without beating them before strongly and
disinfecting them in some way. ,

Mr Lintnerwas unable to find any record of its preying upon carpets or other
woollens in the Old World. But there exists enough in the literature Dr. H. Noerd-
linger, in his well-known book, " Die kleinen Feinde der Landwirthschaft, etc., 1855,
8vo. P. 90, states as follows : — m

"The common flower-beetle, Anthrenus scrophulance, 13 from April common on
manv flowers, especially on fruit trees and roses. It is common also in houses, etc.,
where it can become very obnoxious by the destruction of furs, clothes, animal collec-
tion* and even leather and dried plants. The obnoxious larva, which naturalists should
take care to avoid, is common in closets and rooms in the attic, where it finds dead flies
and from whence it likes to enter the other rooms."

I have taken Noerdlinger's book at random, but it would not be difficult to find
such notices in similar books. To show that this pest is not a new one, I add two older
authors taken at random. ,.,,,• -u

F W Herbst, Coleoptera, vol. 7, 1797, p. 828, says:-" Tins beetle is everywhere
verv common in rooms, on buds, and especially common on tulips. It destroys, as well
as its relatives, collections of insects and plants. Tbe larva lives in he houses, ike the
D*Z*m and [destroys all kinds of collections of natural objects, cloths furs, leather and
lZT» V variety of A ?cropkula™-«Uura ^a-is described from Europe by
Illiger 1798 p 398. F. Wiegmann, Handbook der Zoologie, 1832, p. dU» .— me
larva lives on animal matters, and is sometimes very injurious to hides."

I have ascertained this summer that the carpet bug eats of a piece of cloth consist-
ing half of worsted, half of cotton, only the worsted threads, and left the cotton threads

UmTmay add some words concerning the list of the obnoxious insects introduced from

31

Europe into America. It is, as I believe, overlooked that about three-fourths of the
insects enumerated are surely not originally European insects. They were iutroduced
into Europe from the East by the advancement and progress of culture, and in the same
way by the advancement of culture from Europe to America. The same is the case with
the common weeds, and some years ago, by carefully comparing the list of European
weeds in Prof. Batzeburg's work with the lists of the described American plants, I found
out that two-thirds of all European weeds are common in the United States, and perhaps
a part of the last third, of which I was not able to make certain. I myself was at first
much surprised to find in the middle of the prairie, near the railway to St. Paul, Minn.,
common European weeds. I should state that I share entirely in the wishes of the inhabi-
tants of N. America to receive and enjoy progress and advancement of culture, with-
out the accompauying drawbacks which nature seems to have so closely united with
them.

After all, I should state that it is remarkable that such pests as the Colorado beetles
emigrate very exceptionally from the west to the east; so the locust tree is even now
entirely free from pests in Europe, though imported a century ago and very common
everywhere. There are some American insects imported into Europe which have been
overlooked. Blatta Americana is common in all sugar refineries to Archangel, and
everywhere in large cities in store-houses. Termes fiacipes is probably also imported
from this continent. Blatta orientalis was imported from Asia to the west of Europe, and
made from there a well ascertained migration to the east again and through Siberia.
All insects finding it easier to live in the company of man, or by articles used and needed
by man, will of course follow him as well as dogs and rats.

Mr. Lintner has not mentioned Phylloxera, which has in Europe done more injury
and has caused more losses than almost all the other pests together.

NOTES ON THE HUMBLE BEES.

BY G. J. BOWLES, MONTKEA.L, P. Q.

(Read before the Montreal Branch of the Ent. Soc. of Ontario.)

Packard places the Hymenoptera at the head of the Class Insecta, on account of
the completeness of their transformations and the perfection of their instincts. This is
also the position assigned to this Order by Dana. Packard ranks the Bees (Apidse) at
the head of the Hymenoptera, thus placing them at the very summit of the insect crea-
tion. Cresson, however in his "Catalogue of the Described Species of N. A. Hymenop-
tera," has them a long way down the list, after the Ants, Wasps, etc. Who shall decide
when such authorities disagree ?

I wish to draw attention to the Humble Bees of this part of Canada, giving, as far
as I can, the names of the species found here and some notes on their economy, the lat-
ter chiefly taken from Putnam's paper published in 1863.

The genus Bmbus, says Swainson, appears to be a Northern and chiefly European
and American genus ; there are very few inter-tropical species, and very few Oriental.
Some of the tropical species, however, are very large, much larger than those found in
temperate slimates. As regards North America, Cresson, in 1863, enumerated 46 spe-
cies, of which the greater number are found in the northern part of the continent. I
have carefully tabulated his list, and find that the arrangement of their habitats is as
follows, beginning at the south : Mexico 6, Southern States 3, Middle 7, Western 5,
Kansas and Utah 8, California 2, New England 8, Canada 7, Hudson Bay 5, Arctic 13,
Sitka 3, Greenland 1, unknown 3, and one species from Antigua. The large number
from Arctic America is surprising, and would lead oneto think that the number given for
the more southern parts is not correct. The Arctic species, however, are peculiar to that

32

part of the continent, only three of them being found in Hudson Bay Territory, and only
one of them coming as far south as Canada. Many of the other species are also local,
but some are found over a wide area. Thus virginicus is found all over Canada and the
United States, east of the Eocky Mountains, vagans from Canada to the west, Jervidw
pennsylvanicus and separatus the same, and ternarius, the only arctic species found in
Canada (according to Cresson), seems to extend also over the North-Eastern, Middle and
far Western States. Britain possess about 40 species.

The common name, Humble Bee, is said to be derived from Hummel or Hummer
Bee, alluding to the noise made by the wings during flight. In Scotland the largest
species found there is called the Burabee.

In North America the Humble Bee is the nearest approach we have, as far as
indigenous Bees are concerned, to the Hive Bee. The latter (A. mellijica), however
has become naturalized on this continent in the forests to a considerable degree beyond
civilization, making its nests in hollow trees, or among the branches, sometimes under
ledges or in clefts of the rocks. It is said not to have been found to the West of the
Mississippi before i797, but in fourteen years it had advanced 600 miles further m that
direction. I have never heard of the Honey Bee becoming wild in Canada, but it
probably would if neglected when swarming takes place.

To return however, to the Humble Bees. They do not form communities so large
as Honey Bees, seldom more than two or three hundred occupying one nest, in some
species not more than fifty or sixty. The community is dissolved on the approach of
winter- the moles and workers die, and only females have the power of passing the
winter 'in a torpid state, among moss, in rotten wood, or in some other situation where
thev may enioy protection from frost and concealment from enemies— to perpetuate the
race by founding new communities in the ensuing spring. Workers are chiefly produced
in the earlier part of the season, males and perfect females m the latter part of it I lie
females are much less prolific than those of Honey Bees, and seemingly as a kind oi
provision for this deprivation, they, unlike the Honey Bees, live in the same community
without seeking to destroy one another, provided they belong to the same colony or nest.

Their nests are placed in different situations, some species having different habits
from others in this respect. Thus ot the English species, B. terrestris makes its nest in
holes in the ground, at the depth of a foot or more, floored with leaves and lined with
wax and often entered by a winding passage. Others, as B. lapidarius make their
waxen nests among stones ; others, as B. muscorum, among moss, which they mix and
ioin with wax. The nests are enlarged as the cjmmunity increases In the spring the
female or queen bee, having awaked from her torpid state, roams about until she finds
a suitable place for a nest. On deciding, she immediately collects a small amount of
pollen mixed with honey, and in this deposits from seven to fourteen eggs, gradually
adding to the pollen mass until the first brood is hatched.

As regards the Bees which I have examined, some were taken at Quebec by me
some years ago, and one or two species here. I have to thank Mr. Caulheld for the
principal part of the material.

There are certain differences between the sexes which render it easy to distinguish
them. Not to enter too scientifically upon this part of the subject, I give the principal

P°mTri°e femaleTmay be known by their large size, and the corbiculse or baskets on the
posterior tibiae, formed by a fringe of long hairs on each side.

The workers generally resemble the females very closely, the only observable differ-
ence being in the size, and this varies greatly. They may be found of all sizes from the
female downward., so that it is impossible to tell the difference in some cases.

The male is smaller than the female and larger than the generality of the workers.
It has one joint more in the antennae and one section more in the abdomen than the

6maCresson says a very conspicuous character to distinguish the sexes is this : In the
male the inner tooth of the tarsal claws is almost as long as the outer, in the female
the inner tooth is quite short compared with the outer. The posterior tibiae are without
baskets, but have a fringe of hairs on the outer side.

Apathus, Neivn.

The following remarks on this genus are from Mr. Cresson's " List of the North
American species of Bombus and Apathus" Proc. Ent. Soc'y Phil., 1863:

This genus is parasitic on that of Bombus, and resembles it very much in general
appearance. The characters with which to distinguish it from Bombus are as follows : —
The posterior tibiae are destitute of corbiculae -(or baskets) and are convex exteriorly ; the
basal joint of the posterior tarsi has no tooth at its base above. In the female the apex
of the abdomen curves under, and the apical segment beneath has the lateral margins
elevated. The mandibles have a single notch, while those of Bombus are distinctly
toothed. This genus has no workers.

The males may be distinguished from those of Bombus by the posterior tibiae being
exteriorly convex and thickly coated with short hairs. The males of the latter genus
have the exterior surface of the posterior tibiae concave in the centre, with a few scattered
hairs, and are fringed at the exterior margins.

The economy of our species is almost unknown.

List of Bees of the Genera Bombus and Apathus taken in the Province of Quebec.

Bombus, Latreille.

Yirginicus, Oliv. — 1 male, 4 females, 1 worker ; Quebec, Montreal.

Separatus, Cresson. — 1 male ; Montreal.

Yagans, Smith. — 2 females, 1 worker ; Quebec, Montreal.

Perplexus, Cresson. — 1 male ; Montreal.

Fervidus, Fab. — 1 male, 3 females, 2 workers ; Quebec, Montreal.

Pensylvanicus, DeGeer. — 1 female ; Montreal, Quebec (Provancher).

Terricola, Kirby. — 2 females ; Quebec, Montreal.

Ternarius, Say. — 1 male, 6 females, 2 workers ; Montreal, Quebec.

Flavifrons, Cresson. — 1 male, 3 workers ; Montreal.

Sylvicola, Kirby. — 3 workers ; Montreal.

Apathus, Newm.

Ashtoni, Cresson. — 1 male, 2 females ; Quebec, Montreal.
Elatus, Cresson. — 3 females ; Montreal.

INSECT DESTRUCTIVE TO PINE TREES.— NEPHOPTERYX ZIMMERMANI.

by d. s. kellicott, buffalo, n.|y.

This pine-boring Pyralid was described by Prof. A. R. Grote in a paper read at the
Nashville Meeting, 1877, of the American Assoc, for the Adv. of Science, and published
in Canadian Entomologist, vol. ix., 161. During the summer and autumn of 1878, and
again this year, I have made some observations upcn the occurrence, larval habits and
parasitic enemies of this moth, and am able to state concerning them some additional
facts of interest.

The moth, it appears, is pretty widely spread, and it seems rather odd that it should
not have been discovered until 1877, having been overlooked by our excellent economic
Entomologists. I have met with it in some one of its stages in the following localities:
It occurs not uncommonly in both foreign and native pines in and about Buffalo ; many
of the trees of this species in the Niagara St. Parks have been bored by it. I found it
quite abundant in small white pines of the forest at Chehtowaga, Erie Co., N. Y. At

3

34

this place I found many plants had been dwarfed and ruined by their ravages. It also
occurs, to what extent I am unable to say, at Hamburg and Clarence Center, in the
same County. I recently visited a portion of this State, Oswego Co. , formerly clad to some
considerable extent with white pine, and there are yet standing some virgin forests of
this splendid tree. In divers places in that county I found our borer ; it is so abundant
in one locality, at least, that it proves a grave enemy to the young pines of second
growth where the primitive trees have been removed by the lumberman. There is near
Hastings Center an " old slash" in which at least one-half of the many such small pines
have been injured ; indeed, in one neglected corner, among scores, scarcely one tree had
escaped. In this instance, also, many pines were stunted, while some thus weakened
had been broken off by the wind. In other localities where the pine is indigenous I
have been unable to find it, or else it was only occasional ; for example, at Portage,
where young pines are plentiful, and although the trunks bore masses of pitch closely
like those from the wounds by Zimmermani, yet a diligent search discovered but one
pupa skin, and of the identity of it I am not quite certain, as it was badly broken in re-
mo viug from the pitch.

^ April 12th last, at Hastings, I took many larvae of various sizes from .25 to .7 of
an inch in length when crawling, so there is no longer a doubt as to the winter stage.
None of these taken were "livid or blackish green,*' but dull white ; nor do the hairs arise
from a "series of black dots," but from light brown ones. I take it to be a case where a
naked hybernating larva is lighter than during the warm summer. Otherwise the cater-
pillars were as described by Mr. Grote.

In a clump of pines whose trunks were from 6 in. to 1 ft. in diameter many of the
larger ones had been "boxed," i. e., inclined incisions had been cut by the axe through
the sap-wood in order to catch the pitch exuding from the wound. Around the borders
of these " boxes " the galleries with both pupa skins and living larvae were plentiful. It
appears that the larva cannot penetrate the outer bark of other than quite tender trees ;
nor could I find evidence of their attacking the branches of larger trees, although I had
opportunity to examine such that had been felled during the winter just past. Since
this larva so readily take advantage of a wound, may it not stand related as a messmate
to other borers ? At both Chehtowaga and Hastings I found on trunks in the same neigh-
borhood masses of exuding pitch in which were larvae of an orange colour, attaining a
length of .45 of an inch, remaining through the winter, and going into pupa towards
spring, as I found them in both conditions April 12th and early in May. These larvae
are those of one of the pine weevils. It appears to me that Zimmermani may and
does take advantage of these wounds by the weevil, as it does of those made by the axe.

I have found the moth's galleries in both trunk and branch, both above and below
the whorls (usually below), sometimes completely girdling the stem, thus killing the
portion above ; in one instance I found a gallery passing from one whorl to the one
above.

Now, when the moth borer and the weevil work together and pretty much in the
same way, i. e., by cutting the inner bark and the cambium layer, thus scoring and
girdling the stem, to which culprit belongs the greatest amount of credit fdr mischief?
Both are guilty of enough to justify everlasting execration.

It remains to add a word about its insect enemies. The hymenopterous parasite
which Mr. Grote found to fill certain of the chrysalids, I have found in every location
where the moth is at all abundant ; there is another which I have found quite as abun-
dant. Early in April I obtained from the galleries of last year a number of brown
cocoons, about .4 of an inch long, nearly cylindrical, ends rounded, texture thin papery,
pupa visible through the cocoon. The skin and head of the victim was found at one end
of this cocoon, showing that the caterpillar was the host.

In a few days there appeared irom each cocoon a lively fly. Expanse of male, .G
in. ; of female, .7 in. Colour above black, legs yellow, underside of abdomen white with
a row of black dashes on side, front of male white, of female black. A white line ou
shoulder of each extends on to the costa. Ovipositor as long as the abdomen.

I shall presently refer the species for identification.

35

NOTES ON THE LARVA OF THE MAY BEETLE— LACHNOSTERNA FUSCA.

BY L. 0. HOWARD, WASHINGTON.

The following note may prove of interest as showing the numbers in which the
larvae of Lachnosterna fusca may exist in a lawn without perceptible damage to the grass
resulting.

On the 17th of September, while walking through the Capitol grounds a few hours
after a heavy shower of rain, I observed these larvae in great numbers upon the stone
pavement north and east of the Capitol building. I counted up to three hundred, and then
came to a spot where they were so thick that I had to give it up. I certainly saw thousands,
nearly all of which were dead, either from heat or from having been trodden upon. Upon
interviewing the Superintendent of the ground, I learned that at this season of the year the
grubs always make their appearance in like numbers after a hard rain. This gentleman
informed me, and his statement was corroborated by several others, that frequently
the sweepers of a morning in going over the walks would collect at the bottom of the
hill as many as a bushel of the grubs. The pavement is edged on both sides by a two-
inch curb, and the larvae falling over this are unable to return ; only those grubs inhabit-
ing the earth near the curb would reach the walk, and the great numbers killed in this
way after every shower afford an index to the immense number which the entire lawn
must contain. Yet, in spite of this most serious drawback, as one would naturally
call it, the grass over the entire plot is so fresh and green as to call for universal
admiration.

The movements of the larvae upon the smooth pavement were very interesting. The
characteristic bend of the body unfits them for walking on smooth surfaces, and every live
individual that I observed was upon its back, moving forward quite rapidly by the alter-
nate expansion and contraction of the segments. This mode of locomotion seemed strange
at first, but upon reflecting that the probable natural position of the larva in the earth is
upon its back with its legs grasping the grass roots, it seemed not so unnatural after all.
The strong transverse corrugations and rows of bristles upon the dorsum, taken in connec-
tion with the extremely business-like and natural air with which the larvae took this
position and the rapid progress which they made while in it, would seem to indicate that
the back is used for locomotion with these insects more than has perhaps been suspected.

OTTAWA FIELD-NATURALISTS' CLUB.

We are glad to learn that the Naturalists resident in Ottawa have organized under
the above heading, with the avowed object of paying special attention to the Natural
History of the Ottawa District. The Club is under the patronage of ' His Excellency the
Governor-General, and has an efficient staff of officers ; among whom we observe the names
of two of our esteemed contributors, J. Fletcher and W. H. Harrington, both enthusiastic
Entomologists, and we are pleased to see Entomology so well represented in this connec-
tion. It is intended to have occasional excursions during the summer, and evening meet-
ings during the winter for the pursuit and discussion of Natural History subjects. Al-
ready the Club has had one very successful excursion, the party numbering in all, ladies
and gentlemen, about forty. We should like to see such clubs organized in every city in
our Dominion. There is a growing fondness for this interesting study, especially among
our young people, and a little stimulus of this sort would materially aid in developing it.

OBITUARY NOTICES.

W. V. ANDREWS.

It becomes our painful duty to announce the death of one of our correspondents, Mr.
W. Y. Andrews, of Brooklyn, N. Y., who died on the 20th of October, 1878, after a brief
illness, resulting from a sudden attack of paralysis.

36

William Valentine Andrews, was born on the 11th of February, 1811, in Pilton,
Somerset, England. At an early age he entered the British service, and served as a pri-
vate in the Coldstream Guards, rising eventually to the rank of Captain. Subsequently
he resigned his commission and removed to Canada, where he resided for several years
in London, Ont., engaged in the book and periodical business. From thence he removed to
the United States and settled in Brooklyn, where he spent the last few years of his life
in the same branch of business, devoting his leisure time chiefly to the study of Entomo-
logy, in which he made rapid progress. He had a well arranged collection of Coleoptera
and Lepidoptera, and a small but well selected library of Entomological works. His re-
mains were interred at Rosedale Cemetery, New Jersey.

Since his decease his collections and library have been purchased by Mr. John
Akhurst, of Brooklyn, N. Y.

FREDERICK SMITH.

Another veteran in the Entomological ranks has passed to his rest. Frederick Smith,
the renowned English Hymenopterist, is no more ; he died on the 16th of February, in
the 74th year of his age, from exhaustion consequent on a painful and dangerous surgical
operation. He was born in London, England, in 1805, and in early life was apprenticed
to Mr. W. B. Cooke, an eminent landscape engraver, where he acquired a very thorough
knowledge of the engraver's art, which was of great use to him in after life. While still
a young man he became an ardent collector of bees and ants, and also devoted some at-
tention to the collecting of Coleoptera ; but it was not until 1837 that the first paper from
his pen was published, giving an account of the natural history of one of the Gall Flies.
From 1842 to the time of his death his publications were very numerous and of great
value. A most industrious man, a painstaking and methodical student, and an accurate
observer, he has done very much to advance our knowledge of the Order in which he
especially laboured. By his death Entomology loses a sincere and talented advocate and
an earnest votary, and Entomologists will greatly miss a friend who was ever ready to
impart his knowledge to others.

United States Entomological Commission.

The Entomologists composing this commission have during 1879 devoted their
attention mainly to an investigation in reference to the Hessian Fly, an insect which has
entailed untold losses on the agricultural community both in this country and the United
States. Early in the year the following circular was issued and widely distributed among
Entomologists and farmers. A large amount of information has in this manner been
gathered and we look forward with much interest to the appearance of the report on this
important subject.

Department op the Interior— Office of the U. S. Entomological Commission.

Providence, R. I., June, 1879.

Dear Sir, — The Commission desires your co-operation in obtaining facts concerning
the habits of the Hessian Fly, with statistics of losses occasioned in your town or county
by its attacks ; and accounts of the remedies best calculated to prevent its increase, and
to destroy it. In brief the habits of the Hessian Fly are as follows : In May and June
two or three small reddish-white maggots may be found embedded in the crown of the
roots of the wheat, at or near the surface of the soil, causing the stalks and leaves to
wither and die ; the maggots harden, turn brown, then resembling a flax-seed, and change
into little black midges with smoky wings, half the size of a mosquito, which appear in
spring and autumn, and lay from twenty to thirty eggs in a crease in the leaf of the
young plant. Specimens of the fly may be obtained by sweeping the wheat when three
or four inches high, with a gauze net. Please send me specimens of the fly, eggs, maggot

37

and "flax-seed," in vials of alcohol, which notes as to the date when found, and full
information as to the insect enemies and parasites.

The Wheat Midge is apt to be confounded with the Hessian Fly. It is a small,
mpsquito-like fly, orange yellow, with clear wings, which hovers over fields of young
wheat in June. It attacks the heads of the wheat, laying its eggs when the wheat is in
blossom. On hatching, the maggots crowd around the young kernels of wheat, causing
them to become shrivelled. The maggots in July and August descend into the ground,
spinning a round cocoon smaller than a mustard seed, remaining an inch below the
surface till the following June.

Information regarding the following topics is respectfully solicited ; to be forwarded
at the close of the season :

1. When, where, and how are the eggs deposited]

2. When does the maggot appear 1

3. When is the " flax seed" state of the Hessian Fly, or the seed-like cocoons of the
Wheat Midge assumed 1

4. At what date do the Midges appear in spring and autumn 1

5. Look for minute parasites in the eggs and maggots. They may be bred by
placing the eggs and maggots with the wheat in bottles covered with gauze, and the
parasitic flies preserved in vials of alcohol,

6. Give statistics as to abundance and losses in your town.

7. State the best preventive remedies, as deep ploughing or burning in the fall, or
the rotation of crops.

Specimens of wheat affected by these insects, and of the eggs, maggots and flies,
together with their parasites, in alcohol, are requested. When mailed, the alcohol can
be poured out, and cotton soaked in alcohol will keep the specimens wet until received.
Packed in a tin box they can be sent through the mail. Address as below.

Respectfully yours,

A. S. Packard, Jr., Providence, P. I.

CANADIAN CUT-WORMS.

By G. J. Bowles, Montreal.

The term " Cut-worm" is popularly applied to certain caterpillars or larvse which
have the habit of cutting the stems of young plants, either just above or just below the
surface of the ground. The name is also often given to the larva of the May-beetle, (the
" white grub,") and to wire-worms, &c. ; but it is especially appropriate to the caterpillars
of some of the night moths belonging to the genera Agrotis, Hadena, Mamestra, &c, which
are noted for the destructive habit above referred to.

In Europe there are many species of these insects, which at times prove very injurious
to vegetation. Some despoil the fields of wheat and other grains, others attack the vine-
yards, others again devastate the meadows, while others do great damage to root crops
and garden vegetables. These belong principally to the genus Agrotis, and in the same
genus are placed several of the American moths which produce our cut-worms.

The natural history of these worms is thus given by Mr. Riley, in his first Report,
(Missouri) :

" The parent moth attaches her eggs to some substance near the ground, or deposits
them on plants, mostly during the latter part of summer, though occasionally in the
spring of the year. Those which are deposited during late summer, hatch early in the
fall, and the young worms, crawling into the ground, feed upon the tender roots and
shoots of herbaceous plants. At this time of the year, the worms being small and their
food plentiful, the damage they do is seldom noticed. On the approach of winter they
are usually about two-thirds grown, when they descend deeper into the ground, and,

38

curling themselves up, remain torpid until the following spring. When spring returns,
they are quite ravenous, and their cutting propensities having fully developed, they ascend
to the surface and attack the first green succulent vegetation that comes in their way.
When full grown they descend deeper into the earth, and form for themselves oval
chambers, in which they change to chrysalids. In this state they remain from two to
four weeks, and finally come forth during June, July and August as moths, the chrysalis
skin, being in most cases so thin, that it is impossible to preserve it. These moths m
time lay eggs, and their progeny goes through the same cycle of changes."

The worms vary in size and markings, but they are all smooth, naked, and greasy
looking, and are of some shade of green, grey, brown or black, with a polished, scaly
head, and a shield of the same colour on the top of the first and last segments ; while
most of them have several minute shiny spots on the other segments, each spot giving
rise to a minute stiff hair. They also have the habit of curling up when disturbed.

The moths are of sombre colours, and fly generally at night, often entering lighted
rooms, even in large cities. The upper wings always have two more or less distinctly
marked spots, one round, the other kidney-shaped, and the lower wings are generally grey
or white, without spots.

The history of American Cut-worms has engaged the attention of some of our best
entomologists:— Fitch, Harris and Riley, amongst others, have studied them closely; the
last mentioned, however, being the only one who has fully surmounted the natural diffi-
culties in the way of rearing the larvse, caused by their restless and peculiar habits. In
the Report already quoted, Mr. Riley has given the life history of ten species, all of which
are found in Canada, and as a knowledge of the habits of our species is of considerable
importance to our people, I shall briefly notice in detail those which are most numerous
and destructive. .

As to the injuries caused by these caterpillars, they are so well known that it is hardly
necessary to recapitulate them. It is chiefly during May and June that they are found
to be most destructive, at the time when the young corn and other plants are a few inches
high, and the stems of cabbages and other garden vegetables are young and succulent.
Even the flower garden suffers from their attacks, and our balsams, pinks and other flowers,
are ruthlessly destroyed by them. And (what is of more interest to our fruit-growers)
some species (which are also found in Canada) have the habit in early spring, of ascending
fruit trees and destroying the young buds, both of the leaves and blossoms, thus disappoint-
ing the hopes of the fruit-grower, and sometimes killing the trees.

Agrotis devastator. — Brace.

The Devastating Bart Moth— Larva— The Glassy Cut-worm.— Riley.

This is one of the most common of our Cut-worm moths, and is distributed over a
wide area, being not only found in Canada, but also Sail over the Northern and Western
United States. .

The eggs are doubtless laid in the autumn, as when the worms are tound in
May, they&are nearly full grown. Mr. Riley calls it the "Glassy Cut-worm," from its
translucent glassy green body, in contrast with a very distinct hard polished dark brown
shield on the first segment, and a bright venetian-red head. There are several small
spots on each segment of the' body, and it is very sparsely studded with hairs.

This Caterpillar, figure 2. after Riley, is the " Cabbage Cut-
worm" of Harris, and often does great injury in gardens.
Their depredations are carried on for four or five weeks
in May and June, and they appear as moths from the latter
part of June until September. The larva feeds on wild
plants as well as cultivated, for Mr. Riley found the
specimen from which he reared the moth, "under a wild
endive plant, on the leaves of which it had evidently been
Fig. 2. feeding."

39

The moth is about If inches across the wings; the fore wings are dark ashen grey,
with a satiny lustre, and are crossed by four narrow wavy whitish bands, edged on each
side with black, there is a transverse row of white dots, followed by a row of black,
arrow-headed spots between third and fourth bands, and three white dots on the outer
edge near the tip ; the ordinary spots are edged with black and white, and there is a third
spot of oval shape and blackish colour, near the middle of the wing and touching the
second band. The hind wings are light brownish grey, with a blackish border. (Harris)
As is usual with moths of this genus, there is considerable variation in the intensity of
these markings.

Agrotis tesselata. — Harris.
The Checkered Rustic Moth — Larva — The Striped Cut-worm. — Fitch.

Common in Canada and the Northern States. This moth is evidently the same as
that so fully described by Dr. Fitch in his Ninth Report (New York), as Agrotis nigricans
Linn, variety maizi. The worm is notorious for its depredations in cornfields, as the name
— maizi — given to it by Dr. Fitch, indicates. It cuts off the plant about half an inch or an
inch above the surface of the ground, and thus many of the plants, though severed, may
survive the injury, and send up new leaves from the stump.

The striped Cut-worm, as Fitch calls it, is from an inch to an inch and a half in length.
Its ground colour is dirty white or ash grey, sometimes tinged with yellowish, the shield
on top of first segment is shining black, with three whitish longitudinal stripes, a whit-
ish line along middle of back, between two black ones, and on each side of the body three
dark and two pale stripes, sometimes another whitish stripe below the lowest dark one,
and all the under part of the body pale white. Head black with a white stripe along the
middle. (Fitch).

These worms attack the corn during the month of June, and after changing to chrysa-
lids in the ground, come forth in the moth state from the middle of July to the end of
August.

The moth is about 1J inch, in expanse, and is dark ash coloured, with but faint traces
of the ordinary bands. It may be easily identified by the two ordinary spots on the fore
wings being large and pale, and separated by a square black spot. There is also a trian-
gular black spot in advance of the smaller pale spot, and a small black spot near the base
of the wing. The hind wings are brownish grey, with a blackish border. It is a variable
insect.

Hadena arctica. — Boisduval.

Hadena arnica. — Harris. Hadena amputatrix. — Fitch.

Larva — The Yellow-headed Cut-worm. — Fitch.

Very common in Canada, East and West, also over the northern United States. It
is a larger moth than those previously described, and has greater pretentions to beauty.

This is another of the Corn Cut-worm moths. Dr. Fitch has named the caterpillar
the Yellow-headed Cut- worm, and describes it and its habits at great length in his Ninth
Report. The worm is of a smoky or livid brown colour, with a yellow or chestnut coloured
head, and a horny shield of the same colour on the first and last segments of the body. It
grows to a larger size than other Cut-worms, and is peculiarly destructive because it severs
the plant about an inch below the surface of the ground, thus destroying it irremediably.
They also attack the corn till a later period than the preceding species.

According to Harris, this worm has also the habit of climbing bushes and young trees,
to devour the buds, thus combining the habits of the ordinary Cut- worms with those of the
climbing species described by Mr. Riley.

The moth appears during July and August, and is a large one, measuring nearly two
inches across the expanded wings. The fore-wings are of a deep Spanish brown, variegated
with grey. The small ordinary spot has a grey border. The kidney spot is large, grey,

40

and very conspicious. There is a broad wavy pearl-grey or blue-grey band across the
hinder part of the fore wings, and also a narrow wavy band between the oval spot and
the shoulder. The hind wings are ash-coloured, with brownish margins, and have a pale
border, and a central blackish spot underneath. The body is brown and rust-red
Harris). The moth flies at night and often enters lighted rooms in the evening.

Agrotis telifera. — Harris.

The Lance Rustic — Larva — The Greasy Cut-worm. — Riley.

Very common in Canada, from June until October ; and also at least as far west a&
Missouri.

The greasy cut-worm, when full-grown is about one inch and a half in length, and
generally of a dull leaden brown, sometimes inclining to black. It has a faint dirty
yellowish line along the back, a more distinct one on each side, and below each of these,
two other indistinct pale lines. It has also eight or nine black shiny spots on each
segment ; the head is light brown with a dark spot on each side, and dark brown above,
and the shield on neck is dark brown, except a stripe above on each side. The sides and
posterior portions of the body are studded with short white bristles.

This worm is one of the most injurious of its kind, possessing the cutting propensity
in a very marked degree. In the Western States it is extremely destructive to corn,
tomatoes, tobacco, and many other cultivated plants, cutting them off about an inch above
the ground, and attacking plants of quite a large growth. It seems to act almost from
mere wantonness, one worm often ruining several plants in a single night, by severing
them one after the other. It is a very general feeder, and will thrive on apple or grape
leaves, when it can get nothing else.

The moth, figure 3, (after Riley) first described by Harris,
is rather a large insect, being about one and a half inches in
expanse. It closely resembles the Agrotis suffusa of Europe,
so much so that Mr. Norman in his list of Canadian Noctuidse
(Can. Ent. 1875) calls it by the latter name. (Mr Grote,
in his Check List, places both these names as synonyms, and
calls the moth Agrotis ypsilon, Rott.) The following is the
description by Harris : — The fore wings are light brown,
shaded with dark brown along the outer thick edge ; and in
Fig. 3. the middle also in the female ; these wings are divided into

three nearly equal parts by two transverse bands, each composed of two wavy dark brown
lines ; in the middle space are situated the two ordinary spots, together with a third oval
spot, which touches the anterior band ; these spots are encircled with dark brown, and
the kidney spot bears a dark-brown lance-shaped mark on its hinder part ; (whence the
name of the moth), the hindmost third of the wing is crossed by a broad pale brown band,
and is ornamented by a narrow wavy or festooned line, and several small blackish spots
near the margin. The hind wings are pearly white, and semi-transparent, shaded behind
and veined with dusky brown.

Mr. Riley states that he found the worms two thirds grown on the 22nd of May, and
that it becomes a chrysalis at the end of that month, though the moth does not make its
appearancce (in Missouri) until July. Mr. Norman's note on the species is: "Swarming
at sugar, flowers and light, from 2nd June until October." I myself took a fine fresh
specimen this year at Montreal, on the 1st October, at sugar. These facts seem to indi-
late that there are two broods of the insect each year, if not more.

Agrotis subgothica. — Haworth.
The Gothic Dart Moth — Larva — The Western Striped Cut-worm. — Riley.

Common in Canada, and the Northern and Western States. It was first described
in the year 1810 by Mr. Haworth, and is supposed to be an English insect ; but as it is

41

quite rare in England, and very common in America, Dr. Fitch and Mr.. Riley are of the
opinion that it is an American Insect, the eggs or larvae of which have been accidentally
carried to England.

The caterpillar of this moth much resembles that of Agrotis tesselata, described on a
previous page. The ground colour is a dirty white or ash-grey, and it has three broad
dark lines and two light narrow ones on the sides, and a light line edged on each side by
a dark one along the centre of the back. The head is black. Mr. Riley, (who describes
the worms as above), found them in an orchard and gives them the name of the
"Western Striped Cut-worm."

Their habits are not yet clearly made out but they are probably similar to those of
the next mentioned species, which Mr. Riley considers distinct, but Mr. Grote looks
upon as identical.

The markings of the moth are very conspicuous
and somewhat resemble those of Agrotis tesselata.
In figure 4 a represents the moth with the wings
expanded, b with the wings closed. The fore-
wings are greyish brown along the front edge,
the two spots are of the same colour, and the
black intermediate spot, which is square in tessa-
lata, is rhomboidal in this species, and joined to
the triangular spot on the inner side. There is
also a large black spot below the kidney-shaped
a- Fig. 4. b. one, and a long blackish dash, extending from

the base of the wing, about half-way down the wing near the inner edge, divided into
three spots by two narrow diagonal brown lines. Between this dash and the series of
spots near the outer edge of the wing is a light brown stripe, narrowest at the base. The
insect expands about an inch and a half, and appears during August and September.

Agrotis jaculifera. — Guenee.
The Dart-bearing Rustic Moth — Larva — The Dingy Cut-worm — Riley.

Mr. Riley has reared this insect from a cut-worm, which differs from that of the pre-
ceding species, (subgothica) only in the following particulars : It is never so large, it is
generally darker and of a more dingy colour, the longitudinal lines are less distinct, and
the back is of a more decided pale buff. The worms were found in the garden, and the
species had proved quite destructive in the vicinity.

The moth, like its very near relation, is common in Canada and appears in August
and September. The wings are marked in almost exactly the same way as subgothica,
but are much brighter in colour, although the larva is so much more dingy in appearance
than that of the former species. The lighter parts of the fore wings are almost silvery,
instead of brown, and the darker parts of a more decided black. The inner edge of the
wing is also much lighter. Mr. Riley also states that the chrysalis differs from most of
the others in being of a very light honey yellow, shaded with brown. The moth is taken
in July, August, and September.

Agrotis inermis. — Harris.

The Unarmed Rustic Moth — Larva — The Variegated Out-worm. — Riley.

Common over Canada, the Northern and Western States. This moth is one of the
largest of its genus, and so closely resembles the Agrotis saucia of Europe, that many
entomologists consider them identical.

We are indebted to Mr. Riley for a lengthened history of the insect, comprising
many interesting details. The caterpillar, (which he calls the " Variegated Cut worm ") is,
when full grown, nearly two inches in length. It is mottled with dull flesh colour, brown
and black, and has elongated velvety black marks on each side of the body. The head is

42

light grey and mottled. The worm is a very general feeder, thriving on cabbage and
grape-vine leaves, and even on the wild mulberry ; while some which had hatched in a
drawer, were found in a half grown state, having fed entirely on some apples which
happened to be in it at the time. The eggs of the insect have been found early in
Spring on cherry and apple twigs, and also on the leaves of the white mulberry, near St.
Louis, Missouri. This fact leads Mr. Riley to think that, in the Western States, the
moth is double brooded, as these eggs must have been laid by a female, which had passed
the winter either in the chrysalis or moth state, and the transformations of the insect are
completed by the spring brood in about thirty-five days. In Missouri the moths
appear during the latter part of June, which would allow ample time for a second brood
before winter. In Ontario, Mr. Norman records the capture of the moth on the 14th
August.

The worms have the climbing faculty to some extent, lying concealed during the day
under the surface of the ground, and ascending vines and other plants during the night
for the purpose of feeding.

The moth expands about If inches, and is marked as follows : The fore wings are
light brown, shaded in the middle and towards the hinder margin with dusky brown ;
they are crossed by four more or less distinct, wavy bands, each formed of two blackish
lines ; the kidney-spot is dusky ; and there are several blackish spots on the outer thick
edge of the wing. The hind wings are pearly white in the middle, shaded behind and
veined with dusky brown. The thorax is reddish brown, with the collar and shoulder-
covers doubly edged with black. The abdomen is grey (Harris). It is a very variable
species, as regards the depth of colour.

Agrotis messoria. — Harris. The Reaping Rustic Moth.
Agrotis Gochranii (?) Riley — Larva. — The Bark-sided Cut-worm. — Riley.

This moth is described by Harris as the American representative of the Corn Rustic
(Agrotis segetum) of Europe. It is in the list of the Entomological Society of Ontario,
but I cannot say whether it is abundant in Canada or not. It is found in the Province
of Quebec, but is not common.

Mr. Riley has described a moth under the name of Agrotis Cochranii, which Mr.
Grote considers to be the same as messoria. In case they should prove to be identical, I
give some extracts from Mr. Riley's very valuable article on Cochranii, on account of
the peculiar habits of the larvae, a knowledge of which is important to our fruit-growers.

The Caterpillar is one of the " climbers," and does great injury to the orchards in
Michigan, and States further west, being most injurious in those growing upon light, sandy
soils. The general colour of the worm is dingy ash-grey, bnt it is characterized more
especially by the sides being darker than the rest of the body. When young, it is much
darker, and the white, which is below the lateral band, is then cream-coloured and very
distinct. It grows to a little more than an inch in length. (Riley.)

The following graphic account of the depredations of this caterpillar is from the pen
of Mr. Cochran, of Calumet, Illinois; and is commended to the notice of the fruit
growers of Ontario.

"In the beginning of the evening its activity is wonderful ; moving along from limb to
limb swiftly, and selecting at first only the blossom buds, to one of which having fastened, it
does not let go its hold until the entire head is eaten out, and from this point, so thorough
is its work, no latent or adventitious bud will ever again push. From a six-year old fruit
tree, I have, on a single night, taken seventy-five of these worms, and on the ensuing
evening, found them well nigh as plenty on the same tree. When all the blossom buds
of a tree are taken, it attacks with equal avidity the leaf buds. It is no unusual thing to
find small trees with every bud that had pushed, from first intentions utterly destroyed,
and frequently young orchards the first season planted, on sandy grounds, lose from 50
to 75 per cent, of their trees; sometimes those remaining will be so badly injured as to
linger along a few years, fruiting prematurely each season, and then die, utterly drained

43

of their vital principle by this dreadful enemy. * * * It is far more

destructive to fruit trees than any other insect, infinitely more so than the canker-worm,
but unlike the other depredators of our orchard trees, it is easily kept in check, and at
small expense permanently eradicated."

Figure 5 (after Riley), represents both the
larva and perfect state of this insect. The moths
appear during July and August, and expand about
an inch and a half.

Mr. Harris describes messoria as follows: —
"The fore wings are reddish gray, crossed by
five wavy blackish bands, the first two of which,
and generally the fourth also, are double; the
Fig. 5. two ordinary spots, and a third oval spot near the

middle of the wing, are bordered with black. The hind wings are whitish, becoming dusky
brown behind, and have a small central crescent and the veins dusky. The head and
thorax are chinchilla-grey; the collar is edged with black; and the abodomen is light
brownish-gray."

Agrotis scandens. — Riley.

The Climbing Rustic Moth— Larva— The Climbing Cut-worm.— Riley.

This moth, described by Mr. Riley in his First Report, is also on the list of the
Entomological Society of Ontario. It is very common in the Western States, and the
larva is very injurious to apple and other fruit trees, devouring the blossom and leaf buds
in early spring, in the same manner as the species last described.

Even though it may not be common in Ontario, a knowledge of its habits is necessary,
as our fruit-growers are often not aware of the reason why so many of their trees dwindle
away and at last perish; and in many cases the loss may be caused by the attacks of this
cut-worm, or others of similar habits. .

The full-grown worm is nearly an inch and a half in length, and of a very light yel-
lowish grey colour, variegated with dirty bluish green spots, and when filled with food it
has a much greener appearance than at other times. In depth of shading, however, it is
variable ; and the young worm is of a more uniform dirty whitish yellow, with the lines
along the body less distinct, but the shining spots more so than in the full-grown ones.
There is a well-defined line along the back, and two lines along each side, less distinctly
marked. The head and shield in first segment are tawny ; the latter has a small black
spot on each side, and the head has two in front and two eye spots on each side. (Riley).

The following is an account of its habits -.-—They hide under the surface of the ground
during the day, but soon after dark begin ascending the trees to feed, remaining there the
greater part of the night. When filled with food, they seem to suspend themselves to the
limb by a thread, and drop to the ground. They seem to commence with the terminal
buds, and when these are all gone, betake themselves to the side buds, thoroughly destroy-
ing all that they attack, so that the tree, if a small one, is often fatally injured. Apple,
pear, peach and cherry trees are subject to their attacks and they are also very partial to
grape vines. Like the preceding species, they are most abundant in orchards growing on
light soils, and less frequent as the soil is more clayey ; the light soil affording them easier
access for purposes of concealment during the daytime.

The worms appear early in spring, and descend into the earth to become chrysalids
about the end of May, coming forth as moths during June and July.

The perfect insect is about an inch and a half in alar expanse, the fore wings are a
light pearly bluish grey, deepening towards the hind margin, and the hind wings are pearly
white. The usual markings are generally indistinct, with the exception of the kidney
spot and sub-terminal line. A black stain at the lower part of this spot forms a most dis-
dinctive character, but the peculiar colour of the moth easily separates it from other species
of its genus. At the same time it is, like nearly all the Agrotidse, somewhat variable in
colour.

44

Agrotis clandestina. — Harris.

The Clandestine Owlet Moth — Larva — The W Marked Cut-worm. — Riley.

Very common in Canada, the Northern and Western United States.

The larva of this moth fig. 6 (after Riley) is one of the climbers,

but does not possess the habit to a marked degree. Though it has

been caught eating apple buds, it seems to prefer low bushels, such as

currants, &c, and its more congenial food is garden vegetab es. The

bill of indictments against this worm is a heavy one, as ithas been

Fig. 6. found to attack wheat, young corn, buckwheat, young pumpkins, beans,

cabbages, and many other garden plants. In feeding, it frequently drags its food under

stones or into the ground, so that it may devour it at leisure.

The general colour of the worm is ash grey, inclining on the back and upper sides to
dirty yellow, and it is finely speckled over with black and brown spots. Along the back
is a fine light line, a light sulphur yellow line on each side, with a band of dirty brownish
yellow beneath. The distinguishing feature is a row of black velvety marks along each
side of the back, on all but the thoracic segments, and bearing a general resemblance, look-
mg from tail to head, to the letter W, whence Mr. Riley has given it its name. Head
black, with a white line in front like an inverted Y, and white at sides. It is about 1 \
inches in length. (Riley.)

The moth appears at the end of June. It is dark ash grey, with the usual wavy
bands faintly traced. The two ordinary spots are small, narrow, and generally connected
by a fine black line. The hind wings are dirty brownish white, somewhat darker behind.
It expands about an inch and three-quarters. The wings, when closed, overlap on their
inner edges, and cover the top of the back so flatly and closely that the insects can get
into very narrow crevices. During the day they hide under the bark of trees in the
chinks of fences, or the clapboarding of buildings. This peculiarity led Harris to give the
moth its specific name of clandestina.

Hadena subjuncta. — Grote and Robinson.

The Subjoined Hadena — Larva — The Speckled Cut-worm. — Riley.

This moth, placed by Mr. Ri-ley among the Cut- worm moths of Missouri, is also found
in Canada. The caterpillar, when full grown, is about an inch and a half long, grey, with
a tinge of rust colour on the middle of each segment, and is minutely speckled as with
pepper and salt. It has an interrupted white line on the back with a similar one on
each side and two spots on the back on the fore part of each segment. The head is light
shiny brown. It feeds voraciously on cabbage leaves during the night, lying concealed
and motionless in daytime.

The moths appear early in August, and are very distinct in appearance from those
already described. They are of a dull flesh-coloured shade, marked with greyish brown
and black. The ordinary spots are large, with a distinctly marked ring around them ;
and the abdomen is crested at the base. A full description of the insect is given by Mr.
Riley, in his first Report, page 85, which is copied from that of Messrs. Grote and Robin-
son. It is not very common in Canada.

Cel/ena renigera. — Stephens. C. herbimacula. — Guenee.

The Figure 8 Minor — Larva — The Small White Bristly Cut-worm. — Riley.

The moth bearing this name is a pretty little insect, the fore wings being brown,
variegated with lilac-grey, and mossy-green, and having a deep brown spot about the
middle, and a silvery line, somewhat resembling the figure 8, around the kidney spot. It
is much smaller than those previously mentioned, and has the wings broader and rounder
in proportion.

45

The full-grown larva is a dirty-white cut-worm, about three-fourths of an inch long,
covered with stiff yellow bristles, and is often found in flower gardens, where it is sup-
posed to feed on the roots of flowers. During August it becomes a chrysalis in the
ground, from which it issues as a moth in September, according to Mr, Riley, but Mr.
Norman (Canadian Eutomologist, 1875) records it as very common at St. Catherines,
Ontario, from 23rd June until October, and thinks there are two if not more broods of the
insect each year.

Other Cut-worms.

In the preceding pages we have noticed twelve species of these caterpillars, the his-
tories of which have been studied out. The reader will acknowledge that practical Ento-
mology is deeply indebted to Mr. Riley, when it is stated that ten of these histories are
the result of his researches. No doubt there are others which are injurious, but their
economy is yet unknown. Among these is one which Mr. Riley calls the " wheat cut-
worm," the moth of which he has not, as yet, succeeded in rearing. He gives an account
of it in his first report, and it may, perhaps, be found in Canada.

Remedies Against Cut-worms.

Natural. — The means which nature has provided to check the increase of these
worms, are, as in other cases, the attacks of predatory insects. Some of our well-known
friends, belonging to the beetle, bug and ichneumon tribes, prev upon them and do good
service. One of the most efficient is the larva of the fiery ground beetle (Calosoma
calidum, Fabr.), which has been styled the " cut-worm lion," on account of the energy and
activity it displays in hunting them. The larva is a flattened, black worm-like creature,
with six legs on the fore part of the body, and a pair of sharp hook-like jaws projecting
from the head, giving it quite a formidable appearance. It seeks the cut-worms even
under the soil, and when it discovers one, fixes its jaws in the worm's throat with the
grip and pertinacity of a bull dog, never letting go its hold until the larva succumbs and
dies. It then feeds upon the contents of the body, and after a rest, goes in pursuit of a
^esh victim.

Another beetle which preys upon them is the murky ground bettle (Harpalus cali-
J nosus, Say.), and several others of the Carabidae are known to have similar habits.

Among the bugs, the spined soldier bug (Arrna spinosa, Dallas) devours the worms
bodily, and is very serviceable in thinning the numbers.

There are also several of the Ilymenoptera, which in the larva state live internally
upon them, producing four-winged flies, some very small (Miciogaster), others quite large,
as the yellowish brown Ichnumeon, (Paniscus geminatus, Say.)

Poultry, particularly chickens, are also an efficient help in destroying them.

Artificial.— In order to keep cut-worms in check by artificial means, a knowledge of
their habits is essential. Thus we know that they always feed at night, and in the day
time conceal themselves under, but near the surface of the ground, in the immediate
vicinity of the plants they have attacked. A slight search is sure to reveal them, and
when found they are of course easily destroyed. This, though troublesome, is the most
efficacious mode of preventing their ravages.

Ashes and lime spread around the plants have been recommended, but their usefulness
is questionable. Soot seems to be more obnoxious to them. Fall ploughing is also sup-
posed to be a remedy, and has been extensively practised, but it must be done very late
m the season, when the worms are benumbed with cold, otherwise they will again descend
into the soil to the depth necessary for their protection from the winter.

A curious fact in the history of these worms, is, that they cannot crawl up a perpen-
dicular bank of earth. This fact has been utilized against them, and many have been

4G

entrapped in smooth holes made with a stick around the hills of corn or other plants in-
fested by them. Another plan is to strike a single deep furrow with the plough around
the field or garden to be protected, with the land side made perpendicular and without
breaks, thus forming a barrier which they cannot surmount and preventing them from
entering from the adjacent land.

Against the climbing cut-worms, vigilance is the main requirement for success. They
also feed at night, and many may be picked off the trees after dark, with the help of a
lantern. Some other plans have been devised, which are easily tried, and are so lucidly
explained by Mr. Riley, that I add his remarks in full : —

" From the orchard planted upon light, warm soils, they can be driven away entirely
by claying the ground about the trees ; a wheelbarrow full is well nigh enough for each
tree when spread around its base and as far as the limbs extend. This is the most
thorough and lasting. A small strip of tin, three inches wide, carefully secured around
the body of the tree, will effectually prevent their ascension ; if the tin is old and rusty it
will require to be a little wider. Each night, after the swelling of the bud, an hour or
two after midnight a slight jar of the tree will bring every one on it down, when they
can be caught in a spread sheet and destroyed. This will have to be followed up till the bud has
unfolded into the leaf, after which there is no longer anything to be apprehended from the
worm. The reasons why the clay is so efficient, are two-fold : 1st. The worms seem to have
an instinctive dislike to crawling over it ; 2nd. In dropping from the tree on to the hard
surface they are frequently disabled, and whether disabled or not, they cannot immediately
burrow into it as into sand, and they are all the more exposed to their numerous midnight
enemies, which are ever watching for them."

SPIDERS.

By the Rev. C. J. S. Bethune.

[In the following paper, the writer lays no claim whatever to any originality ; he
has simply endeavoured to compile from various sources an account of the natural history
of spiders that, he trusts, may afford interesting information to the general reader. The
books from which he has mainly drawn his information are Emerton's " Structure and
Habits of Spiders," (Salem, Mass., 1878) ; Rev. J. G. Wood's "Illustrated Natural His-
tory f Kirby & Spence's " Entomology ;" and Moggridge's " Harvesting Ants and Trap-
Door Spiders." The illustrations are all reproductions of the wood-cuts in Emerton's
excellent work, for permission to use which he is indebted to the publisher, Mr. S. E.
Cassino, of Salem.]

1 . — Introductory.

What is a Spider1? is the first question that naturally arises when we begin to talk
about the life-history of the class. Most persons would probably reply at once that a
spider is an insect. This is undoubtedly correct in the popular acceptation of the term
insect, and also accords with the derivation of the word (Latin — in and seco, I cut), sig-
nifying an animal whose body is divided into two or more segments almost entirely
detached from each other. Spiders, however, are not true insects, though they belong to
the same great division of the animal kingdom called the Articulata. As we stated in a
former Report (1872, "Beneficial Insects," page 427), insects are distinguished by the
following characteristics : — 1st. They have their bodies divided into segments. 2nd. They
breathe through openings in their sides (spiracles) from which proceed tracheal or wind-
pipes. 3rd. They have distinct heads, with jointed antennce, or feelers. 4th. When
adult they have six articulated legs. 5th. They go through a series of metamorphoses,

47

ending in a winged state. A spider differs from an insect in almost all these particulars-
1st. It is divided into only two segments. 2nd. It breathes, as a rule, through sacs in
the abdomen. 3rd. It has no distinct head separate from the thorax, and possesses no
antennce. 4th. It has eight articulated legs. 5th. It undergoes no distinct metamor-
phoses, and never attains wings. On all these accounts, then, we cannot scientifically call
a spider an insect, though it is often convenient to use the term in ordinary conversation.
A spider technichally belongs to the class Arachnida, which includes also the scorpions
and mites ; from the two latter orders it is distinguished especially by its spinning organs
and its faculty of making cobwebs and silk cocoons for its eggs.

2. — An atomy. *

any

The common
other species

round-web spider, Epeira vulgaris, Hentz, will serve as well as
to show the anatomy of spiders in general. Figure 7 shows the
under side of the spider; Figure 10 the upper
side ; and Figure 1 1 an imaginary section through
the body, to show the arrangement of the inter-
nal organs. To begin with Figure 7, the body is
seen to be divided into two parts connected only
by the marrow joint, A, just behind the last pair
of legs. The front half of the body, called the
Thorax, contains the stomach, the central part of
the nervous system, and the large muscles which
work the legs and jaws. The hinder half, the
Abdomen, contains the intestine, the breathing
organs, the principal circulating-vessels, the or-
gans of reproduction, and the spinning-organs.
Connected with the thorax are six pairs of limbs,
four pairs of legs, B B B B, a pair of palpi, C,
and a pair of mandibles, D.

The Legs are used chiefly for running, jumping
and climbing ; but the front pair serve often as
feelers, being held up before the body, while the
spider walks steadily enough on the other six.
One or both of the hinder legs are used to guide
the thread in spinning ; the spider at the same
time walking or climbing about with the other six
or seven. The legs are seven-jointed ; and on
the terminal joints are three claws, Fig. 8, A, B,
C, and various hairs and spines. In many spi-
ders a brush of hairs takes the placsof the middle
claw, as in the jumping-spiders, Fig. 9. Spiders
with these brushes on their feet are able to walk
up a steep surface or under a horizontal one, bet-
ter than those with three claws. The legs of
most spiders have amongst the hairs moveable
spines, which, when the spider is running about,
extend outward at a right angle with the leg, and
when it is resting are closed against the skin.
In front of the legs are the Palpi, Fig. 7, C C, — a smaller pair of limbs, with six joints,
and only one claw, or sometimes none. They are used as feelers, and for handling food, and in

* As the writer has stated at the outset that this paper is merely a compilation, he does not think it
necessary to indicate by quotation marks, or otherwise, those portions that are taken verbatim from the
authors referred to. Those who are familiar with their works will have no difficulty in verifying the pas-
sages should they desire to do so.

4cj

Fig. y.

the males carry the very

curious palpal organs,

which are employed in

the fertilization of the

female. The basal joints,

Fig. 7, E E, of the palpi

are flattened out, and

serve as chewing organs,

— they are called max-

illce.

The front pair oi

limbs, the Mandibles,

Fig. 7, D D, have two

joints, the basal one is

usually short and stout,

and furnished on the
inner side with teeth and hairs ; the other is a small, sharp
claw, which can be closed against the basal joint when not
in use. (See also Figures 19 and 20.)

The Abdomen, or hinder half of the body, is furnished, just behind the legs, with two
hard, smooth patches, which cover the front pair of breathing-organs, the openings to
which are two little slits at Fig. 7, H. At the end of the bo 1y are the spinnerets, which
will be described further on. There are three pairs of them ; but many spiders close them

together when not in use, so as to cover up the
middle pair. Sometimes the third pair of
spinnerets have several joints and extend out
behind the body like two tails. In front of the
spinnerets is a little opening, Figure 7, K,
which leads to air-tubes that give off branches
to different parts of the abdomen. At M,
Figure 7, are usually two coloured bands, or
rows of spots, marking the course of muscles
attached to the skin at various points along
these lines.

Let us now turn to figure 10, which repre-
sents the upper surface, or back of the same
spider. The head is not separated from the rest
of the body, as in insects, but forms one piece
with the thorax. On the front of the head are
eight simple eyes, O, which are differently
arranged in different spiders. At the back of
the thorax is a groove, P, under which is at-
tached a muscle for moving the sucking stomach,
Figure 1 1 , D. From this point radiate shallow
grooves, that follow the divisions between the
muscles of the legs. On the abdomen are
several pairs of dark smooth spots which
mark the ends of muscles extending downward
through the abdomen. The markings of this
spider are very complicated. The spot on the
middle of the front of the abdomen is a very
common one, and in some spiders extends the
whole length of the body. The waved lines on
each side are also common, and in long-bodied
spiders often form two bright-coloured stripes,
or rows of spots, running nearly straight the
whole length of the abdomen.

49

The following illustration, Figure 11, will convey to the reader a sufficient idea of the
arrangement of the internal organs of a spider, without any more detailed description.

Figure 11

Section of a spider to show the arrangement of the internal organs ;a, b, upper and under
lips of the mouth • e, c, the esophagus ; d, /, upper and under muscles of the sucHn. stomach
.stomach ; g, g, ligaments attached to diaphragm under the stomach; / lower nervo~t.'
hon; k, upper ganglion; I I, nerves to the legs and palpi; - branches of the stomach I
poison gland; o, intestine ; p, heart; R, air-sac ; S^; l, air-tube ; £, splnnSands!

3. — Classification.

Zzrzzsszs of the ™ imp™ famiii-f *£rff££

,. ,.The J^est known spiders belong co the family Mygalidce. They may beat once

tm gU{n mosLnil Tb °f, ^ ma'ldib,,eS and ^ fe"*le cWs which proceed f°rom
tliem. In most spiders the claws are set sideways (as in Epeira Figure 7 D V but ir H,i»

family ttey are bent downwards, and strike Vpnj J a lion would clutihTs victim

with his curved talons. The body
is usually very hairy and dark-col-
oured. Most species have only four
spinnerets, one pair of which are
long and are turned up behind the
abdomen ; they have four air-sacs
under the front of the abdomen,
instead of two, as other spiders. The
eyes are collected together on the
front of the head. They live only
in warm countries. Figure 12 re-
presents Mygale Hentzii, a species
found in Texas and Arizona. Many
wonderful stories have been told
about the ferocity of these huge
spiders, their power of catching and
eating small birds and other ani-
mals. These accounts were gener-
ally discredited and looked upon as
mere "travellers' tales," but of lata
years fresh evidence has been pro-
duced by naturalists in proof of the
former stories. The following de-
scription by Mr. H. W. Bates in his
interesting work, "The Naturalist
on the River Amazon, " (page 83),
sets forth the truth regarding these

monsters : —
Jfe. 12 ^"*

/>0

"At Cameta," he relates, " I chanced to verify a fact relating to the habits of a large
hairy spider of the genus Mygale, in a manner worth recording. The individual was
nearly two inches in length of body, but the legs expanded seven inches, and the entire
body and legs were covered with coarse grey and reddish hairs. I was attracted by a
movement of the monster on a tree-trunk, it was close beneath a deep crevice in the tree,
across which was stretched a dense white web. The lower part of the web was broken,
and two small birds, finches, were entangled in the pieces. One of them was quite dead,
the other lay under the body of the spider not quite dead, and was smeared with the filthy
liquor or saliva exuded by the monster. I drove away the spider and took the birds,
but the second one soon died. I found the circumstance to be quite a novelty to the
residents hereabouts. The Mygales are quite common insects ; some species make their
cells under stones, others form artistic tunnels in the earth, and some build their dens in
the thatch of houses. The natives call them crab spiders. The hairs with which they are
clothed come off when touched and cause a peculiar and almost maddening irritation.
Some Mygales are of immense size. One day I saw the children belonging to an Indian
family who collected for me, with one of these monsters secured by a cord around its waist,
by which they were leading it about the house as they would a dog !"

Other writers relate that the spiders of this family attack humming-birds, lizards,
cockroaches, ants, ets.

The Dysderidce constitute a small family of spiders which are
chiefly remarkable for possessing only six eyes, instead of the normal
number of eight. They are usually found under stones or in holes
in the earth ; they lie with their legs drawn up under them, but
are able to move very quickly when so inclined. Very few species are
known and none are common in America ; a few have been observed
in Europe.

The family of the Drassidce is spread over the greater part of the
world ; they vary very much in shape, colour and habits. Most of
them are dull coloured, while they all have the habit of concealing
themselves in silken cells that they construct under stones, in chinks
of walls, or on plants. They^are active creatures, and catch their
prey by chasing them, as they construct no webs. Figure 13 represents
a species of Drassus ; the double row of circles above represents
the mode in which the eight eyes are arranged on the front of the
head. Their feet have two claws and a bunch of flat hairs : the spin-
nerets usually project a little beyond the abdomen.

The Agalenidce are long-
legged, brown spiders, with two
spinnerets longer than the
others and extending out be-
hind the body. Figure 14 re-
presents A galena nosvia, the
common grass spider. The
members of this family are very
numerous on grass-fields and
commons, where they made flat
webs with a funnel-shaped tube
on one side in which the spider
waits, see figure 23. Many °of "the species are prettily marked ; they lay their eggs in dish-
shaped cocoons, which are attached to grass or other herbage, and are usually covered with
little bits of dead leaves, pieces of earth and other substances in order to conceal them
from enemies.

The next family, Ciniflonidce, much resemble the preceding, but are distinguished by
their peculiar spinning organs. They live in crevices in rocks, walls and stones, or
under loose bark, and near their hiding-place they weave nets of a most elaborate
structure, not flat like garden-spiders but enclosing large spaces in comparison with the
small size of the builder. The web is most intricate in its arrangements, and is connected

Fig. 14.

51

with the hiding-place of the spider by means of a silken tunnel, through which the crea-
ture darts when it feels the vibration of an insect in its web, and to the bottom of
which it retreats when danger threatens. The species of this family are very ml
building heir webs on stone buildings, often to their great disfigurement, Kl^Te
corners of windows, Ac. They are, no doubt, familiar to every observer '

_ The Lycosidce, or Wolf-spiders, live on the ground and take their prev in fair chase
instead of catching it m webs. They are mostly found among herbage, W bushes fallen
leaves, and similar localities, and if they should feel alarmed, they™ for safety under

stones, mosses, rocks, and into any accidental crevice in the
earth. They are fierce and determined hunters, chasino- their
prey wherever it may seek shelter. Some of them are
semi-aquatic m their habits, and are not only able to run
fearlessly upon the surface of the water, but can descend
along the aquatic plants until they are deeply immersed
breathing by means of the air which is entangled amono- the
hairy clothing of their bodies. They have long legs, the hind
pair being the longest; the head is high, and the eyes are
arranged m a peculiar manner, as shown at the bottom of
-tig. 15, which represents a species of Lycosa.
m The celebrated Tarantula spider belongs to this genus It
is so called from the town of Tarentum, in Italy, where it is
very common. There was a deeply rooted belief amon, the
inhabitants of that town and neighbourhood that if any one
were bitten by this spider, he would be instantly afflicted
000V \\ with an extraordinary disease called tarentismus, which exhib-

Fig 15 ited itself m one of two extremes, the one being; a profound

and silent melancholy, and the other a continual convulsive movement of the whoHody
It was also thought that this disease could only be cured by music, and thJa certa£
tune was needful in each particular case. The disease undoubtedly' ex Id and sprea
with great rapidity through the neighbouring towns and villages, affecting hundreds of
both sexes who came within the sphere of its influence, but the poor Tarantula Ser had

treer^t Wfl° ^ **?"* ** ^ *"** * the fidds 0r the *** chiding in the

t\ + 7? evidently a nervous disease like chorea and hysteria at the present dav

which tends to propagate itself among all exposed to its influence P 7'

Another species of Lycosa frequents dry and uncultivated soils and sinks in tho

ground a little pit of a depth varying with its size and the length of its rLdence The

interior of the cell it strengthens with a web. At the entrance of ths burrow it Ifts

watching for its prey, and as soon as an unfortunate insect passes within ranTit dar s

£Z%L%^ ltS tal°nS' ^ WS the VMm "* * * *»■ ^re fMtt

The females of this genus are extremely fond of their eggs and voun<r The e<^s avP

Zl fill \m &llke" C0C00nS of a &™*r form, which the^motheJ a ways dragYfboTt

•^ tTt'hl PAsg *em°Vertf n6S and I0Ut S—d without injury to theMcte^!

isms within. As soon as the young are hatched and emerge from the cocoon thev

transfer themselves to the body of their parent, where they cling in such lumber's ttt

.sometimes she is hardly visible under her swarming brood. They remain with their

" TL ZL Wlntel> aml 2 the f0Uring Spril'8 disPerSe t0 -LS own ting
The Attidce or jumping spiders, are the next on our list of families The bodv husn

tnem. When one of them sees a fly, or other insect, which it wishes to devour, it

52

° o o a

Fig. 17.
make no webs

for catching

sidles along quietly in the direction of its intended victim, keeping a most careful
watch and ever drawing nearer to its prey. As the fly moves, so moves the spider, until
the two appear to be animated by one common will. Slowly, but surely, it makes its way
to wares the unsuspecting fly, and then with a leap so quick that the eye can scarcely follow
the movement, it springs upon its prey, rolls perhaps over and over, and m a tew moments

emerges victorious from the contest,
its victim dead or dying in its grasp.
Even on a perpendicular wall the
spider will make these leaps. It is
i sure not to fall to the ground as it al-
ways draws a silken cord behind it
as it moves, and so, whenever it leaps
upon its prey, it is able to mount
again to its former post.

The family Thomisidce, or Crab-
spiders, are like the preceding, depen-
dent for their subsistence upon their
bodily powers and activity. The body
is usually flat, and wide behind. The Tig. 16.

front two pair of legs are longer than the others, and so
bent that the spider can use them when in a narrow crack.
Some of them, like crabs, walk better sideways than for-
wards. Like the running and jumping spiders, they
5 food. Fig. 17 represents a species of Thomisus, showing at
the bottom of the cut the arrangement in two rows of the eight small eyes. As in
many other families of spiders, the males are very much smaller than the females.

The next family, Theridiidce, contains the largest number of species, but the spiders
comprising it are usually small, with large rounded abdomens and slender legs. They us-
ually live upside down, holding on by their feet to the underside of their webs, asm fig lb,

^ which represents the common house llien-
=H dion, much enlarged. They make large
cobwebs of different shapes for different
species, and depend for food on what is
caught in them. They are found in all parts
of the world, and vary very greatly
in their habits. Some live under stones,
others are abundant in houses, hiding
themselves in shady corners, while the greater
number prefer the open air, the fields and
commons, spinning their elaborate webs over
Fi 18 the bushes, trees, or herbage. Their appear-

ance and habits must be familiar to every one. _ %

The last family on our list is the Epeiridce, or round-web spiders j it contains some of
the strangest members of the race. The individuals are usually large, with flat heads, and
eyes wide apart, and with short round abdomens. The upper and under surfaces of a
common species, Epeira vulgaris, are represented in figs. 7 and 10. They make webs
farmed of radiating lines crossed by other adhesive ones in a spiral or in concentric loops, as
in fig. 24. They live in the web, hanging head downwards, or upside down in a hole
near by. The webs are usually stretched perpendicularly from branch to branch of a tree,
er in the angles of verandahs, fences and other outdoor localities.

4. — Biting Apparatus.

Almost every one, we imagine, looks upon spiders with a certain degree of abhorrence
on account of the supposed poisonous character of their bite, and the ferocious, blood-
thirsty disposition ascribed to them. The popular opinion regarding them is, no doubt,
immenselv exaggerated; they do, of course, possess a biting apparatus and a poison
gland that we shall presently describe, but we do not think they are at all inclined to

53

make use of these except against their natural prey, viz., flies and other insects. Though
we have often been shewn marks and swellings on the limbs of children that mothers and
nurses ascribe to spiders, we have never caught a spider in the act of attacking a child,
nor have we found that others have done so. While we do not for a moment deny that
spiders may attack human beings, we should like a little more direct evidence before we
condemn the whole race.

The biting apparatus is shewn in fig. 19,

which represents the head and mandibles of

Epeira vulgaris, seen from in front. When not

in use, the claw is closed up against the mandible

between the rows of teeth ; but, when the jaws

are opened to bite, the claws are turned outward,

so that their points can be stuck into anything

between the jaws. Fig. 20 is the claw still

more enlarged, shewing; a little hole near the

point at «, out of which is discharged the poison-
ous secretion of a gland in the head, fig. 11, n. The ordinary
use of the mandibles is for killing and crushing insects, so that
the soft parts can be eaten by the spider ; and in this they are
aided by the maxilla?, fig. 7, e. They will sometimes chew Fig. 20.

an insect for hours, until it becomes a round lump of skin, with all the blood sucked out
of it ; this is then thrown away, the spider swallowing only such bits as may happen to be
sucked in with the liquid portion.

" If let alone" — to quote Emerton — " no spiders bite anything except insects useful for
food ; but, when attacked and cornered, all species open their jaws and bite if they can ;
their ability to do so depending on their size and the strength of their jaws. Notwith-
standing the number of stings and pimples that are laid to spiders, undoubted cases of
their biting the human skin are very rare ; and the stories of death, insanity and lameness
from spider-bites, are probably all untrue."

On the opposite side we may quote tjie Rev. J. G-. Wood, who says: "I can state
from personal experience that the bite of an angry spider inflicts a really painful injury,
not very dissimilar to the sting of a wasp. I have seen a lady's hand and arm swollen
so as to be hardly recognizable as belonging to the human figure, in consequence of a bite
inflicted by a large spider on the back of her hand."

Many experiments have been tried to test the effect of the bites of spiders on
animals. JDoleschall shut up small birds with two species of,Mygale, both»large and
strong spiders (see fig. 12); and the birds died in a few seconds after being bitten.
One of the spiders was left for ten days without food, and then made to bite another bird,
which was injured, but in six hours recovered. The same author was bitten in the
finger by a jumping spider. The pain was severe for a few minutes, and was followed by
lameness of the finger and gradually of the hand and arm, which soon went away
entirely.

Bertkau allowed spiders to bite his hand. On the ends of the fingers the skin was
too thick, but between the fingers they easily pierced it. The bite swelled and smarted
for a quarter of an hour, and then itched for some time, and for a day after itched when-
ever rubbed, as mosquito bites will. He also experimented on flies, which died in a few
minutes after being bitten.

Mr. Blackwall, to test the poison of spiders, made several large ones bite his hand
and arm, and at the same time pricked himself with a needle. Although the spielers bit
deep enough to draw blood, the effect of their bite was exactly like that of the prick of
the needle. No inflammation or pain followed, and both healed immediately.

Several spiders were placed together, and made to bite one another. The bitten
ones lived always some hours, and died from loss of blood ; and one spider, that had been
bitten in the abdomen so that some of the liver escaped and dried on the outside, lived
over a year, apparently in good health.

A large spider was made to bite a wasp near the base of the right front wing, so as
to disable it : but it lived thirteen hours.

54

A bee was bitten by a large spider, but lived three days.

A grasshopper was bitten, and held in the jaws of a spider for several seconds ; but
it lived in apparent health for two days.

Insects of the same kind were wounded in the same places with needles, and died in
about the same time as those bitten. From these experiments Mr. Blackwall was led to
believe that the secretion from the spider's jaw is not poisonous, but that insects die,
when bitten, from loss of blood and mechanical injury.

Dufour kept a Tarantula that soon learned to take flies from his fingers without bit-
ing him. Spiders of very different species may soon be taught to take food from the
hand or a pair of forceps, or water from a brush, and will come to the mouth of their
bottle and reach after it on tip-toe. Many stories are also told of spiders coming out of
their holes to listen to music, and of their being taught to come out and take food at the
sound of an instrument.

We may quote here the account of an observer of what a spider can eat in a day : —
' In order to test what a spider can do in the way of eating, we arose about daybreak in
the morning to supply his fine web with a fly. At first, however, the spider did not come
from his retreat, so we peeped among the leaves, and there discovered that an earwig had
been caught and was now being feasted on. The spider left the earwig, rolled up the
fly, and at once returned to his "first course." This was at half-past five a.m. in
September. At seven a.m. the earwig had been demolished, and the spider, after resting
a while, and probably enjoying a nap, came down, for the fly, which he had finished at
nine a.m. A little after nine we supplied him with a daddy-long-legs, which he ate by
noon. At one o'clock a blowfly was greedily seized, and then immediately, with an
appetite apparently no worse for his previous indulgence, he commenced on the blowfly.'

5. — Spinning Apparatus.

That, which more than anything else, distinguishes spiders from other animals is the
habit of spinning webs. Some of the mites spin irregular threads on plants, or cocoons
for their eggs ; and many insects spin cocoons in which to pass through the change from
larva to adult. In the spiders, the spinning organs are much more complicated and used
for a greater variety of purposes, — for making egg-cocoons, silk linings to their nests, and
nets for catching insects. The spider's thread differs from that of insects, in being made
up of a great number of finer threads laid together while soft enough to unite into one.

The external spinning-organs are little two-
jointed tubes on the ends of the spinnerets,
Fig. 7, L. Fig. 21 represents the spinnerote
of the same spider, still more enlarged to shew
the arrangement of the tubes. There is a large
number of little tubes on each spinneret,
and in certain places a few larger ones. Each
tube is the outlet of a separate gland.

. When the spider begins a thread it presses
the spinnerets against some object, and forces
out enough of the secretion from each tube to
adhere to it. Then it moves the spinnerets
away ; and the viscid liquid is drawn out and
hardens at once into threads, — one from each
tube. If the spinnerets are kept apart a band
of threads is formed; but if they are closed
together the fine threads unite into one or more
larger ones. If a spider is allowed to attach '"'its thread to glass, the end can be seen
spread out over a surface as large as the ends of the spinnerets, covered with very fine
threads pointing towards the middle where they unite. The spinning is commonly helped
by the hinder feet, which guide the thread and keep it clear of surrounding objects, and
even pull it from the spinnerets. This is well seen when an insect has been caught in a
web, and the spider is trying to tie it up with threads. She goes as near as she safely can,
and draws out a band of fine threads, which she reaches out toward the insect with one of

55

her hind feet ; so that it may strike the threads as it kicks, and become entangled with
them. As soon as the insect is tied tightly enough to be handled, the spider holds and
turns it over and over with her third pair of feet, while with the fourth pair, she draws
out, hand over hand, the band of fine threads which adhere to the insect, as it turns, and
soon cover it entirely.

It is a common habit with spiders to draw out a thread behind as they walk along ;
and in this way they make the great quantities of threads that sometimes cover a field of
grass or the side of a house. We often see the points of all the pickets of a fence con-
nected by threads spun in this way by spiders running down one picket and up the
next, for no apparent purpose.

Spiders often descend by letting out the thread to which they hang; and are able to
control their speed, and to stop the fltaw of thread at will. They sometimes hang down
by a thread, and allow themselves to be swung by the wind to a considerable distance, let-
ting out the thread when they feel they are going in the right direction.

Spiders in confinement begin at once to spin, and never seem comfortable till they can
go all over their box without stepping off their web. The running spiders, that make no
other webs, when about to lay their eggs, find or dig out holes in sheltered places, and
line them with silk. Species that live under stones or on plants, all line their customary
hiding-places with web to which they hold when at rest. Several of the large running
spiders dig holes in sand, and line them with web, so that the sand cannot fall in ; and

build around the mouth a ring of
sticks and straws held
threads.

Some spiders make a great, irregu-
lar nest constructed of grass and
leaves drawn together with silken
threads. Fig. 22 represents a nest
of this kind made by a Dolomedes :
it is four or five inches in diameter
and contains the egg-cocoon. The
young hatch and ramble about in
this nest for some time ; the parent
spider remains near, usually holding
on under the nest, as represented in
the illustration.

together

by

6. — Cobwebs.

The simple nests and tubes that have been already mentioned are, for the most part,
made by spiders which spin no other webs. The larger and better known cobwebs for
catching insects are made by comparatively few species. On damp mornings in summer
the grass-fields are seen to be half covered with flat webs, from an inch or two to a foot
in diameter, which are considered by the weatherwise as signs of a fair day. These
webs remain on the grass all the time, but only become visible from a distance when the
dew settles on them. Fig. 23 is a diagram of one of these nests, supposed, for convenience,
to be spun between pegs instead of grass. The flat part consists of strong threads from
peg to peg, crossed by finer ones, which the spider spins with the long hind-spinnerets,
swinging them from side to side and laying down a band of threads at each stroke. At
one side of the net is a tube leading down among the grass-stems. At the top the spider
usually stands, just out of sight, and waits for something to light on the web, when she
runs out and snatches it, and carries it into the tube to eat. If anything too large walks
through the web, she turns round and retreats out of the lower end of the tube, and can
seldom be found afterwards. In favourable places these webs remain through the whole
season, and are enlarged, as the spider grows, by additions on the outer edges, and are
supported by threads running up into the neighbouring plants.

Similar webs are made by several house-spiders, the mode of construction of which
is thus described by Kirby and Spence : —

56

" The weaving spider which is found in houses, having selected some corner for the *
site of her web, and determined its extent, presses her spinners against one of the walls,
and thus glues to it one end of her thread. She then walks along the wall to the opposite
side, and there in like manner fastens the other end. This thread, which is to form the
outer margin or selvage of her web, and requires strength, she triples or quadruples by a
repetition of the operation just described ; and from it she draws other threads in various
directions, the interstices of which she fills up by running from one to the other, and con-
necting them by new threads until the whole has assumed the gauze-like texture which
we see.

Tig. 23.

"The webs just described present merely a simple horizontal surface, but others
more frequently seen in out-houses and amongst bushes possess a very artificial appen-
dage. Besides the main web, the spider carries up from its edges and surface a number
of single threads, often to the height of many feet, joining and crossing each other in
various directions. Across these lines, which may be compared to the tackling of a ship,
flies seem unable to avoid directing their flight. The certain consequence is, that in
striking against these ropes they become slightly entangled, and, in their endeavours to
disengage themselves, rarely escape being precipitated into the net spread underneath for
their reception, where their doom is inevitable.

"But the net is still incomplete. It is necessary that our hunter should conceal her
grim visage from the game for which she lies in wait. She does not, therefore, station
herself upon the surface of her net, but in a small silken apartment constructed below it,
and completely hidden from view. ■ In this corner,' to use the* quaint translation of Pliny
by Philemon Holland, ■ with what subtiltie does she retire, making semblance as though she
meant nothing less than that she doth, and as if she went about some other business ! nay,
how close lieth she, that it is impossible to see whether any one be within or no !' But
thus removed to a distance from her net and entirely out of sight of it, how is she to
know when her prey is entrapped1? For this difficulty our ingenious weaver has pro-
\ ided. She has taken care to spin -several threads from the edge of the net to that of her
hole, which at once inform her by their vibrations of the capture of a fly, and serve as a
bridge on which in an instant she can run to secure it."

These webs, if let alone, are repeatedly enlarged till they are a foot or two wide, and
remain till they collect dust enough to tear them down by its weight.

Many spiders that make cobwebs live under them, back downwards, and many are so
formed that they can hardly walk right side up. The webs of Theridion (Fig. 18),
usually have at some part a tent or thicker portion under which the spider stands, and
from this run irregularly simple threads, crossing each other in all directions and held in
place by threads above and below. Such loosely constructed webs are often made in
houses, in corners of rooms, under furniture and in cellars. The same spider occasionally
spins out of doors on fences, but never on plants. / When it has caught an insect and tied
it up, it gradually hoists it up into its nest, sometimes a considerable distance.

57

7. — Geometrical Webs.

These familiar structures are the work of the family JSpeiridce (Figs. 7 and 10).
The process of making them can be observed in any garden ; it is, of course, very different
from that described above in the construction of cobwebs. The net is usually fixed in a
perpendicular or somewhat oblique direction, in an opening between the leaves or branches
of some shrub or plant, in a window-frame or fence, or some such open wooden structure,
where there is a hole or crack in which they can hide when necessary.

" It is obvious," to quote Kir by and Spence's description, "that round the whole extent
of the net, lines will be required to which can be attached those ends of the radii that are
furthest from the centre. Accordingly the construction of these exterior lines is the
spider's first operation. She is careless about the shape of the area which they enclose,
but is guided by the distance or proximity of the points to which she can attach them.
She spares no pains, however, to strengthen, and keep them in a proper degree of tension.
With the former view she composes each line of five or six or even more threads glued
together ; and with the latter she fixes to them from different points a numerous and
intricate apparatus of smaller threads. Having thus completed the foundations of her
snare, she proceeds to fill up the outline. Attaching a thread to one of the main lines,
she walks along it, guiding it with one of her hind feet that it may not touch in any part
and be prematurely glued, and crosses over to the opposite side, where, by applying her
spinners, she firmly fixes it. To the middle of this diagonal thread, which is to form the
centre of her net, she fixes a second, which in like manner she conveys and fastens to
another part of the lines encircling the area. Her work now proceeds rapidly. During,
the preliminary operations she sometimes rests, as though her plan required meditation.
But no sooner are the marginal lines of her net firmly stretched, and two or three radii
spun from its centre, than she continues her labour so quickly and unremittingly that the
eye can scarcely follow her progress. The radii, to the number of about twenty, giving
the net the appearance of a wheel, are speedily finished. She then proceeds to the centre,
quickly turns herself round, and pulls each thread with her feet to ascertain its strength,
breaking any one that seems defective and replacing it by another. Next, she glues im-
mediately round the centre five or six small concentric circles, distant about half a line
from each other, and then four or five larger ones, each separated by a space of half an
inch or more. These last serve as a sort of temporary scaffolding to walk over, and to
keep the radii properly stretched while she glues to them the concentric circles that are
to remain, which she now proceeds to construct. Placing herself at the circumference, and
fastening her thread to the end of one of the radii, she walks up that one, towards the
centre, to such a distance as to draw the thread from her body of a sufficient length to
reach to the next ; then stepping across, and conducting the thread with one of her hind
feet, she glues it with her spinners to the point in the adjoining radius to which it is to be
fixed. This process she repeats until she has filled up nearly the whole space from the
circumference to the centre with concentric circles, distant, from each other about two
lines. She always, however leaves a vacant interval around the smallest first spun circles
that are nearest to the centre. Lastly, she runs to the centre and bites away the small
cotton-like tuft that united all the radii, which being now held together by the circular
threads, have thus probably their elasticity increased ; and in the circular opening result-
ing from this procedure, she takes her station and watches for her prey."

Some species, however, do not entirely surround the radii of their nets with
concentric circles, but leave one radius free, which serves as a sort of ladder for access to
the net. Others, again, spin spiral lines from the centre to the circumference, as shewn
in Fig. 24. In this case, when the radii are finished, the spider begins at the centre to
spin a spiral line across them, a, a, a, in Fig. 24; the turns of the spiral being as far
apart as the spider can conveniently reach. She climbs from one radius to the next?
holding her thread carefully off with one of the hind-feet till she gets to the right point,
and then turns up her abdomen and touches the radius with her spinnerets, thus fasten-
ing the cross-threads to it. The figure shows her in this position. When this spiral
has been carried to the outside of the web,,* she begins there another and closer one
of thread of a different kind. While the first thread was smooth, the latter is

58

30vered with a sticky liquid which
soon collects on it in drops, and
makes it adhere to anything that
touches it. After going round a few
times this spiral would come in con-
tact with that first spun, but as the
spider comes to the first she bites
it away. By beginning thus at the
outside, the spider is able to cover
the whole web with adhesive threads,
and, without stepping on it, take her
usual place in the centre. She usually
is careful enough to spin beforehand
a thread from the centre to her nest,
and sometimes stays there, with one
foot on the thread, so as to feel if
anything is caught in the web. When
she feels a shake, she runs down to
the centre, feels the rays to see where
the insect is, and runs out, and seizes
it, or ties it up as already described.
We have described the web as con-
sisting of one regular spiral ; but this
is seldom the case. It is usually
Fig. 24. wider on one side than the other, or

below than above, as in Fig. 24, where outside the spirals are several loops going partly
round the web. The web of Zilla consists entirely of such loops going three-quarters
round the web, and returning, leaving a segment without any cross-threads, in which is
the line from the centre to the spider's nest. Most of the JEpeiridce are brightly coloured,
and make no attempt at concealment when in the web. Others have odd shapes and
colours, and hang in the web in such positions that they look like anything but ani-
mals. Some species draw up their legs against their triangular abdomens, and ^look like
bits of bark fallen into the web. Others are long and slender, and when at rest, either
in the web or out, lay their legs close together before and behind their bodies, so as to
look like straws. Others have oddly shaped abdomens under which the rest of the body
is concealed.

As the spider stands in her web, and feels a slight shake, such as would be caused
by a sudden wind, she draws her legs together, pulling the rays tighter, and so making
the whole web steady. If, however, the spider is frightened, and has no time to escape,
she throws her body back and forth as a man does in a swing, and thus shakes the web
so rapidly, that the spider can hardly be seen. The most usual habit> when alarmed, is
to drop to the ground, and lie there as if dead.

8. — Flying Spiders.

Every one has, no doubt, observed in summer and autumn long threads with one
end attached to the bushes, and the other blowing out in the wind ; or bits of cob-web
(often termed "gossamer") carried along by the currents of air, with occasionally a little
spider attached to them. To account for these, various fanciful theories have been in-
vented. The old and very absurd notion was that gossamer was made of dew scorched
by the sun ! Others imagined that spiders were able to force the thread from their
spinnerets, like water from a syringe, in any direction they chose.

If a spider be put on a stick surrounded by water, she manages in course of time to
escape by means of a thread carried across to some object beyond. To find out how this
was done, Mr. JBlackwall tried some experiments. He put spiders on sticks in vessels of
water, and they ran up and down, unable to escape as long as the air in the room was
still. But, if a draught of air passed the spider, she turned her head toward it, and

59

opened her spinnerets in the opposite direction. If the draught continued, a thread was
drawn out by it, which at length caught upon something, when the spider drew it tight
and escaped on it. If the air was kept still, or the spider covered with a glass, she
remained on the stick till taken off.

These experiments have been repeated, and show that
the spider does not shoot or throw the web in any way,
but takes advantage of currents of air, and allows threads
to be blown out to a considerable distance.

There is a still more curious use of this method of spin-
ning threads ; that is, in flying. Small spiders, especially on
fine days in the autumn, get up on the tops of bushes and
fences, each apparently anxious to get as high as possible,
and there raise themselves up on Tiptoe, and turn their bodies
up, as in Fig 25, with their heads toward the wind, and spin-
nerets open. A thread soon blows out from the spinnerets,
and, if the current of air continues, spins out to a length of
two or three yards, and then offers enough resistance to the
wind to carry .the spider away with it up into the air. As
soon as she is clear, the spider turns around, and grasps the
thread with her feet, and seems to be very comfortable and
contented till she strikes against something. Sometimes
they rise rapidly, and are soon out of sight ; at other times
they blow along just above the ground.

This habit is not confined to any particular kinds of spiders, but is practised by
many small species of Erigone, and by the young of many spiders of ail families, that
when adult would be too large for it. The majority of spiders that fly in autumn are the
young of several species of Lycosa, that seem to spend the greater part of October in trying
to get as far above ground as possible. The best places to watch for them are garden-
fences, where they often swarm, and can be seen more distinctly than on bushes.

It is still unexplained how the thread
starts from the spinnerets. It has been
often asserted that the spider fastens the
thread by the end, and allows a loop to blow
out in the wind ; but in most cases, this is
certainly not done, only one thread being
visible. Sometimes, while a thread is blown
from the hinder spinnerets, another from
the front spinnerets is kept fast to the
ground (fig. 26) ; so that when the spider
blows away, it draws out a thread behind it
entirely independent of the one from which
it hangs. Sometimes, instead of a single *
thread, several are blown out at once, like a long brush.

Fig. 26.

9. — Water Spiders.

One of the most curious and interesting of the spider family is the Argyroneta aquatica,
or Water-spider, which lives for the greater part of its life beneath the surface of water.
Kirby and Spence give the following description of its habitation : —

"It is built in the midst of water, and formed, in fact, of air ! Spiders are usually
terrestrial, but this is aquatic, or rather amphibious ; for though she resides in the midst
of water, in which she swims with great celerity, sometimes on her belly, but more fre-
quently on her back, and is an admirable diver, she not unfrequently hunts on shore, and
having caught her prey, plunges with it to the bottom of the water. Here it is she forms
her singular and unique abode. She would evidently have but a very uncomfortable time
were she constantly wet, but this she is sagacious enough to avoid ; and by availing her-
self of some well-known philosophical principles, she constructs for herself an apartment in

60

which, like the mermaids and sea-nymphs of fable, she resides in comfort and securit
The following is her process. First she spins loose threads in various directions attached
to the leaves of aquatic plants, which may be called the frame-work of her chamber, and
over them she spreads a transparent varnish resembling liquid glass, which issues from the
middle of her spinners, and which is so elastic that it is capable of great expansion and
contraction ; and if»a hole be made in it, it immediately closes again."

The next operation — that of filling the nest with air — is thus described by Mr. Bell
(Journal of the Linnsean Society) : " After the nest has been made as large as half an
acorn, she goes to the surface, and returns (in the instance observed, as many as fourteen
times successively), and each time brings down a bubble of air which she lets escape into
her nest. The bubble is held by the spinnerets and two hind-feet, which are crossed over
them, and is obtained in the following manner : — The spider climbs up on threads or plants
nearly to the surface, and puts an end of the abdomen out of water for an instant, and then
jerks it under, at the same time crossing the hind legs quickly over it. She then walks
down the plants to her nest, opens her hind-feet, and lets the bubble go."

To go on with Kirby and Spence's account : — " In about a quarter of an hour she has
transported as much air as suffices to expand her apartment to its intended extent, and
now finds herself in possession of a little aerial edifice, I had almost said an enchanted
palace, affording her a commodious and dry retreat in the very midst of the water. Here she
reposes unmoved by the storms that agitate the surface of the pool, and devours her prey
at ease and in safety. Both sexes form these lodgings. At a particular season of the year
the male quits his apartment, approaches that of the female, enters it, and enlarging it by
the bubble of air that he carries with him, it becomes a common abode for the happy pair.
The spider which forms these singular habitations is one of the largest European species,
and in some countries is not uncommon in stagnant pools."

The water-spiders run about on aquatic plants and catch the insects which live among
them. They lay their eggs in the nest, and the young come out and spin little ntests of
their own, as soon as they are big enough. The hairs, with which their bodies are covered,
keep the skin from becoming wet as they go through the water ; and in the nest, which is
like a diving-bell, they are as dry as if it were under a stone, or in a hole on dry land.

The Rev. J. G. Wood states that the water-spider " is a tolerably common species in
England, being especially fond of inhabiting quiet and rather deep ditches, when it is well
sheltered, and the stream is not rapid enough to endanger the security of its domicile. It
is necessary that the water-plants to which the nest is fixed should be sufficiently firm to
prevent the nest from being swayed to one side, as, in that case, the air would escape,
and the water make its entrance. Owing to the vast number of these spiders that have
been sent to the London markets — where they are sold to those who possess fresh-water
aquaria — the species is not now nearly so plentiful as used to be the case, and, indeed, it
has been almost extirpated from several localities where it was formerly seen in great
numbers."

10. — Trap-Door Spiders.

Comparatively little was known about these very curious spiders until the publica-
tion of Mr. Moggridge's very interesting work, in which he records with great minuteness
the observations he made in the south of France.

The following illustration, Fig. 27, represents the principal kinds of nests that
these spiders construct. The most northern genus of this family, Atypus, makes a strong
silken tube, part of which forms the lining of a hole in the ground, and part lies above the
surface, among stones and plants, Fig. 27, A. The mouth of the tube is almost always
closed, at least when the spider is full-grown.

Another genus, which lives in warm countries, makes tubes lined with silk and closed
at the top by a trap-door. A common species in California, Cteniza Californica, is
brought thence by travellers. It digs its hole in a fine soil that becomes, when dry,
nearly as hard as a brick ; but the spider probably works when the ground is wet. The
holes are sometimes nearly an inch in diameter, and vary in depth from two or three
inches to a foot. The mouth is a little enlarged and closed by a thick cover that fits

61

tightly into it, like a cork into a bottle. The cover is made of earth fastened together with
threads, and is lined, like the tube, with silk, and fastened by a thick hinge of silk at one
side, Fig. 27, B. When the cover is closed it looks exactly like the ground about it.
The spider, when alarmed, holds on the inside of the door with its mandibles, and the two
front pairs of feet ; while the third and fourth pairs of legs are pressed out against the
walls of the tube, and hold the spider down so firmly that it is impossible to raise the
cover without tearing it.

Fig. 27.

Trap-door nests : A, nest of Atypus ; B, nest with thick door ; C, nest with thin door ; D, branched nest ;
E, nest with two doors ; F, branched nest with two doors ; G, nest with two branches.

One of the European species, described by Moggridge, makes a thin lid to its tube,
and lets it rest on the top of the tube, Fig. 27, C, covering it with leaves, moss, or
whatever happens to be near at hand, so that it is not easily distinguished.

A second species differs by constructing two or three inches down the tube another
door, Fig. 27, E, hanging to one side of the tube when not in use; but, when one tries to
dig the spider out from above, she pushes up the lower door, so that it looks as if it were
the bottom of an empty tube.

Another species digs a branch obliquely upward from the middle of the tube, closed
at the junction by a hanging-door, which, when pushed upward, can also be used to close
the main tube, Fig. 27, F. What use the spider makes of such a complicated nest, nobody
knows from observation ; but Mr. Moggridge supposes that when an enemy, a parasitic
fly, for instance, comes into the mouth of the tube, the spider stops up the passage by
pressing up against the lower door ; but, if this is not enough, it dodges into the branch,
draws the door to behind it, and leaves the intruder to amuse himself in the empty tube.
The branch is sometimes carried up to the surface, where it is closed only by a few threads ;
so that, in case of siege, the spider could escape, and leave the whole nest to the enemy.

In these nests the spiders live most of the time, coming out at night, and some species
in the daytime, to catch insects, which they carry into the tube and eat. The eggs are
laid in the tube, and the young are hatched and liye there till they are able to go alone,
when they go out and dig little holes for themselves. As the spider grows larger the
hole is made wider, and the cover enlarged by adding a layer of earth and silk : so that
another cover is made up of a number of layers, one over the other, on top of the original
little cover.

Moggridge relates (page 118) how a Nemesia Meridionalis constructed a trap-door in
captivity, after he had placed it on a flower-pot full of earth, in which he had made a
cylindrical hole. " She quickly disappeared into this hole, and during the night following
she made a thin web over the aperture, into which she wove any materials that came to
hand. The trap-door at this stage resembled a rudely constructed, horizontal, geometrical
web, attached by two or three threads to the earth at the mouth of the hole, while in this
web^were caught the bits of earth, roots, moss, leaves, etc., which the spider had thrown

62

into it from above. After the second night the door appeared nearly of the normal
texture and thickness, but in no case would it open completely, and it seemed that the
spider was too much disgusted with her quarters to think it worth while to make a
perfect door."

These spiders are accustomed to put on their door moss like that which grows around
it, so as the more effectually to conceal it from observation. In one case where Moggridge
(had cut out a little clod of mossy earth about two inches thick and three square on the
surface, containing the top of the tube and the moss-covered cork-like door of a Nemesia,
he found on revisiting the place, six days later, that a new door had been made, and that
the spider had mornted up to fetch moss from the undisturbed bank above, planting it in
the earth which formed the crown of the door. Here the moss actually called the eye to
the trap which lay in a little plain of brown earth made by his digging.

The food of the European trap-door spiders consists largely of ants and other wing-
less insects, and they have been known to eat earth-worms and caterpillars. Mr. Mogg-
ridge has often seen them, even in the daytime, open their doors a little, and snatch at
passing insects, sometimes taking hold of one too large to draw into the tube. One time he
and some friends marked some holes, and went and watched them in the night. The doors
were slightly open, and some of the spiders' legs thrust out over the rim of the hole. He
held a beetle near one of the spiders ; and she reached the front part of her body out of
the tube, pushing the door wide open, seized the beetle, and backed quickly into the tube
again, the door closing by its own weight. Shortly after, she opened it again, and put
the beetle out alive and unhurt, probably because it was too hard to eat. He next drove
a sow-bug near another hole ; and the spider came out and snatched it in the same way,
and kept it. None of the spiders came entirely out of their holes, and they were only a
little more active than in the daytime.

11. — Growth of Spiders — their Eggs and Cocoons.

Persons unfamiliar with spiders find it hard to tell young from old, and male
from female. This is caused, in part, by the great differences between different
ages and sexes of the same spider, on account of which they are supposed to belong
to distinct species.

The adult males and females are only distinguished from each other, and from the
young, by the complete development of organs peculiar to each sex.

The males are usually smaller than the females, and have, in proportion to their size,
smaller abdomens and longer legs. They are usually darker coloured, especially on the
head and front part of the body \ and markings which are distinct in the female run
together and become darker in the male. In most species these differences are not great ;
but in some no one would ever suppose, without other evidence, that the males and
females had any relationship to each other. The most extreme cases of this kind are
Argiope and Nephila, where the male is about a tenth as large as the female.

The female of one of the common crab spiders is white as milk, with a crimson
stripe on each side of the abdomen • while the male is a little brown-and-yellow spider,
with dark markings of a pattern common in the family to which it belongs.

When the female is prepared to lay her eggs, she makes a little web and drops them
upon it ; then she covers them over with silk, forming a cocoon, in which the young re-
main till some time after they are hatched. The laying of the eggs is seldom seen, for
the spider does it at night and in retired places, and often in captivity refuses to lay at all.

Many spiders make their cocoons against a flat surface, where they remain attached
by one side. Attus rnystaceus spins, before laying, a thick nest of white silk on the under
side of a stone. In this she thickens a circular patch on the upper side, next the stone,
and discharges her eggs upward against it. They adhere and are covered with white silk.

Epeira strix spins, before laying, a bunch of loose silk ; she touches her spinneVets, draws
them away a short distance, at the same time pressing upward with the hind feet ; then she
moves the abdomen a little sideways, and attaches the band of threads so as to form a loop.
She keeps making these loops, turning round, at the same time, so as to form a

63

Fig. 28.

rounded bunch of them, into the
middle of which she afterwards lays
the eggs, as in Fig. 28. The eggs,
which are like a drop of jelly, are
held up by the loose threads till the
spider has time to spin under them a
covering of stronger silk. Epeira
vulgaris makes a similar cocoon up-
ward, downward, or sidewise, as may
be most convenient

Most of the Theridiidce make cocoons of loose silk, held up in the
webb by numerous threads. Some hang the cocoon by a stem, -Fig. 29.
The large species of Argiope makes a big pear-shaped cocoon
hanging in grass or bushes, Fig. 30. A stem of loose brown silk is
first made, and under this the eggs attached (at any rate this had been
done in onewhich had been abandoned unfinished) ; then
a cup-shaped piece is made under the eggs ; the bunch
of loose silk is spun over all, and finally the paper-like shell.
These cocoons are made late in the summer and the young
stay in them till the next season. Many cocoons of irreg-
ular shape may be found in cellars and other retired places
during the winter ; the eggs contained in them are hatched
in the following spring.

The hatching occupies a day or two. First the shell, or
rather the skin, cracks along the lines between the legs, and

Fig. 29

Fig. 30
comes off in rags ; then the creature slowly stretches itself and creeps out. It is now
pale and soft, without any hairs or spines and only small claws on its feet ; but in a few
days it gets rid of another skin and begins to look like a spider. The eyes become darker
coloured, marks on the thorax become more distinct, and a dark stripe appears across the
edge of each segment of the abdomen ; the hairs are long and few in number. Before the
next month, the brood usually leaves the cocoon and for a time they live together in a
web spun in common. As the spider grows large it has to moult from time to time ; as
many as nine moults have been observed in a species of Tegenaria that lives for several
years.

Many species, and among them some of the largest, live only one year, hatching in
the winter, leaving the cocoon in early summer and laying eggs and dying in autumn.
Other species seem to require two years for their growth ; hatching in summer, passing
their first winter half grown, growing up the next summer, but laying no eggs till the
second spring. Some species are found adult at all seasons, and may live several years.
After spiders have passed their second moult, they usually live in the same places, and
follow the same habits, as the adults.

Several house spiders have probably been imported, like rats, and are found all over
the world ; while other very common species never spread beyond the countries where
they are most abundant.

THE PEA WEEVIL (Bruchus Pisi).

By W. Saunders, London.

The pea weevil, or pea bug as it is more commonly called, has become a very serious
evil in Ontario, and prevails at present to such an extent as to entail enormous losses on
the farming community, since peas are cultivated over a greater or lesser area on almost
every farm. This insect, which is believed to be a native of America, was first noticed in
Pennsylvania, attacking the pea early in the present century, and from thence has gradu-
ally spread over the whole of the Northern Uuited States and Canada ; it has also been
carried to Europe where it has firmly established itself in the southern portions, and in

64

England, although it is not nearly so abundant and destructive in Europe as it is
with us.

This beetle, Fig. 31, a, is a little more than one-tenth of an inch long, of a rusty,
blackish colour with a whitish spot on the hinder part of the
the thorax, and several of the same colour on each wing case
behind the middle ; also a white spot shaped somewhat like
the letter T on the tip of the body. In the cut, the in-
sect is much magnified ; the small outline figure at the side
shews the natural size.

As soon as peas are in bloom the pea weevils are on the
wing, and when the young pods are formed the females de-
posit their eggs on the surface, fastening them with a glutin-
ous fluid, secreted from their bodies. These eggs are very
small, much longer than wide, pointed in front and blunt
behind, and of a yellow colour. The young larva, which is
hatched in a few days, is of a deep yellow colour with a
black head. It eats its way at once through the tender pod,
'Fig- 31. and directly into the. first pea it meets with, the wounded

portion closing up in the growing pod, and leaving but a mere speck in the pea to mark the
place of entrance. The larva feeds on the growing pea and consumes its substance, usually
avoiding any injury to the germ, so that infested peas will generally germinate as readily as
those which are free from the bug. The soft, whitish fleshy grub, Fig. 31, b, when full
crrown, eats a circular hole on one side of the pea, not quite through to the surface, but
leaves the thin skin unbroken. It then changes to a chrysalis, and finally to a beetle
within the pea, and when the beetle is ready to escape it has only to eat its way through
the thin skin which the larva had left covering the hole.

Few persons are aware how many insects they unconsciously devour while* indulging
in the luxury of early green peas. In this instance, as in many others, " Where ignorance
is bliss 'tis folly to be wise." Some console themselves with the idea that the fat little
creatures having fed on nothing but green peas, are only green peas in a modified form,
and besides this they are cooked. A very small discoloured spot on the pea indicates the
presence of an occupant, and if the pea be opened at this point the whitish footless grub
will be found within.

Sometimes, especially during an unusually warm season, many of the weevils will
escape from the peas in the fall, but usually they remain *in them during the greater
part of the winter, and many do not issue until after the peas are sown as seed in the
oround. Hence we see how easily this pest may be introduced into a district hitherto
free from it, by sowing infested peas. All seed peas should be carefully examined, and as
the insects diminish the weight of the peas in which they lodge nearly one half, an expe-
ditious and moderately safe way of separating the sound from the unsound peas is to throw
them into water when most of the good peas will sink while the infested ones will float

A very effectual remedy, and one which would be very successful were it generally
adopted, is to keep seed peas in tight vessels in a dry place over one year before planting
them during which time, if any of them contain bugs, these will escape and perish with-
out having opportunity to propagate.

It has also been recommended to scald the peas about to be sow-n by dipping them
for a moment or two in hot water before planting, by which means the weevils are killed
and the sprouting of the peas quickened.

As the duration of this insect in the beetle state is limited, peas sown late are much
more likely to escape injury than those planted early. Harris, in his " Insects Injurious
to Vegetation, " mentions an instance of a gentleman who sowed his peas on the 10th of
June for six years in succession, and never found an insect in them during that period.

A very effectual method of getting rid of this pest from any section of country
would be for the farmers to mutually agree to sow no peas for one year. At a
recent meeting of the County Council in London, Mr. Henry Anderson, of Westminster,
presented a memorial to that body, setting forth the importance of this subject, and ask-
in" the Council to petition the Legislature to pass an Act giving County Councils the

65

power to prohibit entirely the growing of peas in any one section for a season. Such a
course faithfully carried out and followed by a careful selection of seed the next season,
would doubtless almost, if not entirely, eradicate the pest from such district for a time,
and thus effect a large saving to the community ; hence it is most desirable in the interest
of our farmers that some such permissive restrictive measure be enacted. Unfortunately,
in this instance, either from want of proper information on the subject, or perhaps under-
rating its importance, the Council declined to take action in the matter.

SCARAB^aiD^E— DIGGERS.
By James Fletcher, Ottawa, Ont.

The members of the family of beetles, which bear the above name, have been objects
of peculiar interest to mankind for thousands of years. This is chiefly owing to the fact
that the typical species of the family to which it belongs, played such an important part
in the religion of the ancient Egyptians, and also on account of those very habits which
gave rise to the devotion and adoration lavished upon it by that remarkable people.

These beetles belong to a division of the insect world to which Latreille gave the
name of Lamellicornes or leaf-horned, which corresponds with the Linnaean genera Lu-
canus and Scarabceus, and are easily distinguished by having the antennae, which are gen-
erally short and nine or ten jointed, terminated by a large club-shaped organ, composed
of, as a rule, three of the apical joints, which are formed into a series of flat plates, and
open like the rays of a fan or the leaves of a book, or of which the basal joint of the club
is hollowed so as to form a kind of cup receiving the subsequent joints; in others the
terminal joints form a kind of comb. The form of these insects is robust and heavy, and
the males are often to be known at first sight by the presence of singular horns on the
head and thorax, and by the great size of the mandibles. So different an aspect is given
to the males by these organs that, in some instances, it seems almost incredible that they
can belong to the same species as the females, and it has frequently happened that the two
sexes have been recorded as two different species.

This division is one of very great extent, and embraces within its wide, but clearly
defined limits, insects of the most various characters. It comprises the largest and hand-
somest of the beetle race, and at the same time some individuals very small and sombre in
appearance. Strangely enough, too, it includes within its ranks some of the most bene-
ficial and some of the most destructive of all insects ; hence, as well as from the immense
number of species, and the consequently important role they must perform in the economy
of nature, they were placed by Linnaeus and Fabricius at the head of the Coleoptera, or
sheath- winged insects (/<oAeos — a sheath, and irrepa — wings.) This arrangement, however,
has not been adhered to by later authorities, and they are now placed immediately before
the Buprestidce.

The majority of these insects, and especially the gigantic species, to be mentioned
later, are inhabitants of the tropics.

The two Linnsean genera, above named Lucanus and Scarabceus, constitute the two
primary groups into which the Lamellicornes are divisible, and to which Dumeril gave
the sectional names

Priocera (Lucanus), club of antennae serrated.

Petalocera (Scarabceus), club of antennae lamellated.

The first of these or the family Lucanid^e, Leach, corresponds to the Linnean
genus Lucanus, and is distinguished by having the antennae abruptly bent into an angle
about the centre, generally composed of ten joints, and terminated by a pectinated, fissile,
or sub-serrated club. A striking characteristic, too, of this family is the exserted and un-
usually developed mandibles of the males, which gives them a most ferocious aspect, and
from which the popular names of stag-beetles, horn-bugs and flying-bulls have originated.
These organs in some instances (e.g., Chiosognathus Grantii of Chili), equal the entire
length of the body. They are capable of biting with great force, and the females, not-
withstanding that they are furnished with very small mandibles in comparison to their

5

66

larger mates, are considerably the more formidable of the two, their short, thick, sharp-
pointed mandibles, being provided for the purpose of boring holes in bark to deposit their
eggs, are very strong.

This family is represented in Ontario by a small number of
insects, the most typical of which is Lucanus dama, Thunb. (Fig.
32), which is a large, smooth, brown beetle, of little more than
an inch in length. The jaws of the male are very long, and finely
pointed and are curved like a sickle and bear on their inner
edge, near the middle, a small sharp tooth. The head, to bear
these large mandibles, is necessarily large ; in the female it is
much smaller and narrower, and is densely covered with punc-
tures which give it a rough appearance. The eggs, which are
yellow and oval, are laid in a hole, made by the female, in the
bark of a tree, near the root, about the end, of July, when this
beetle should be sought for. The grubs live in the trunks and
roots of several sorts of trees, but chiefly in old apple trees, willows
and oaks ; they are long, thick, nearly cylindric white grubs, of
Fig. 32. a very flesny consistency, closely resembling, in general appearance,

the larvae of the Scarabceidce, but they are distinctly separated by certain characteristic
points in their internal structure, and by their bodies being destitute of the transverse fold-
ings so conspicuous in the latter. The larvae of the Lamellicornes are remarkable for having
their bodies curved, so that the end of the abdomen is drawn under the body, which pre-
vents them from crawling on a flat surface and necessitates their always lying on their sides.
The larva of Lucanus dama has a horny rust-coloured head furnished with two powerful
jaws, which it employs in gnawing the wood, upon which it feeds and which it reduces to a
kind of tan. The antennae are short. It has six reddish articulated legs, which are attached
to the first three segments of the body. When mature it forms a cocoon out of the minute
chips and debris which it has itself made during its life. In this cocoon it undergoes its
transformation to the pupa and perfect insect. In the pupa state the large mandibles or
horns of the male are folded down over the breast. Rosel, who studied thoroughly the
European representative of this family (Lucanus ccrvus) and discovered that the male and
female were one species and not two, as previously believed, says that that insect lives six
years as a larva. The injury which they cause is sometimes considerable, as they bore
not only into the solid wood but also into the roots of trees.

It is supposed that the larvae of these insects are what were eaten by the Romans, as
a great delicacy, under the name of Cossus.

The name of Pectinicornes or "comb-horned," has been proposed for this family, but
so far it has not been generally accepted by entomologists.

The Petalocera of Dumeril (Scarabceus of Linnaeus) or second division of Lamellicorn
insects, is one of immense extent, being divided into more than 700 genera, comprising
some 6000 species. They are distinguished from the foregoing family by having the
antennae not abruptly bent into an angle, eight, nine or ten jointed and terminated by
a large mass, composed of several, generally three, plates, which shut and open at will. In
some species these plates are flat, so as to be placed side by side, in others the basal one
is hollowed so as to form a sort of box in which the intermediate plate is enclosed. The
mandibles do not exhibit any striking sexual variations ; but the head and thorax of the
males in some of the groups, are armed with horns and protuberances of the most
bizarre and diversified appearance, of which it is very difficult to conceive the uses.
The antennae of the males too, are occasionally developed more than those of the females.
The mentum is large and horny. The body is generally more or less convex, the legs
robust and as a rule toothed on the outer edge.

These insects are almost all of them vegetable feeders, the greater part subsisting
upon it when in a state of decay. Some in the perfect state feed upon leaves and flowers,
and their larvce upon the roots of grass, etc., often causing great damage. In the colours
of these insects we find a conformity to their habits ; those that burrow under ground are
generally of black and obscure hues, while those that frequent leaves and flowers are often
splendidly attired. The origin of the name Scarabaeus is doubtful ; the word never occurs

67

but in the writings of Latin authors ; yet Fabricius and Olivier give its derivation from
the Greek o-Ka7rrw — to dig, which MacLeay doubts, considering it to be of Etruscan origin,
adding that it may have been obtained from the Greek o-Kapi^aofxai — the verb Siaa/capi^c-at
being properly applied to the actions of animals which scratch or dig up the earth with
the claws. Pliny gave a description of the sacred beetle of the Egyptians under the
name Scarabceus ; and in -later times Linnaeus applied it in a general way to the whole of
the Lamellicorn beetles, placing the gigantic horned species, at the head of the genus.
The Rev. J. G. Wood writes as follows : — " The Latin word Scarabaeus is nothing but a
corruption of the Greek word Kapapos — a crab. It was also employed to designate the cuttle-
fish, on account of its mode of crawling, the name being composed of two Greek words,
signifying 'to walk on the head.'" By Aristotle, it is applied to an insect which is evi-
dently the stag-beetle ; but Linnaeus was the first who gave it to the ground-beetle, and it
has been so universally employed that it will continue to hold its place.

It is possible that the name may have been applied to these beetles by Pliny, from
the fact that the female of the sacred Scarabaeus, when it is rolling the balls of dung, in
each of which it has deposited an egg, to the place where it has dug its burrow, does so
by walking backwards and pushing the ball before it. Now from the size of the ball,
generally over an inch-and-a-half in diameter, it actually has almost to stand on its head
when it places its feet on the top to roll it.

It would be impossible to do more, here, than mention briefly some of the most in-
teresting sub-families and species of this extensive family of insects, the members of which
exhibit such great variations in the form and arrangement of the various organs of the
body, although preserving a characteristic appearance, and conjoined with it the lamellate
antenna! club and fossorial legs.

They have been conveniently divided into three divisions by De Geer.

1. Those which live upon or beneath the surface of the earth, or " ground beetles."

2. Those which in the perfect state are found upon and devour the leaves of trees, or
" tree-beetles."

3. Those which in the perfect state frequent flowers, or "flower-beetles."

To the first group belong the most useful of insects, who in providing for the per-
petuation of their species, at the same time till and manure the soil and dispose of offen-
sive matter. This will be better understood by a glance at their life histories.

In Ontario we sometimes meet with a fine ground beetle, named Canthon loevis,
Drury, which belongs to the same sub-tribe (Ateuchini) as the Egyptian Scarabaeus, to
which it bears great resemblance. A noticeable feature of these insects is the length of
their hind-legs, and the proximity of the bases or coxae to the end of the body. This
peculiar structure is of particular service to them. Their mode of depositing eggs is very
remarkable. The female having discovered a deposit of fresh cow-dung, at once seeks for
a suitable place, and digs out a pit about 18 inches deep ; she then returns and gathers
together exactly so much of the material as will amply supply one grub with food, and
in the centre of this she deposits an egg. She then proceeds to form it into a round ball ;
at first it is quite wet and soft, but by turning her back to it she works it backwards, in
the hot sun-shine, by means of her long hind-legs, over dusty or sandy soil, and it gradu-
ally becomes rounder and harder, by taking up some of the dry dust as it goes along.
When she arrives at the hole, she previously prepared, if her ball is dry and hard enough,
she drops it in and covers it up ; but if it is not sufficiently hard, she takes it for another
short circuit, during which it picks up more dry dust and gains the required consistency,
and then brings it back to the hole and buries it. If the day is wet or even cloudy,
these insects will not work at all. Occasionally intervening objects render this task of
transportation exceedingly difficult ; but she works away with the utmost patience and de-
termination, and is generally successful ; sometimes as a last resource when obstacles of unus-
ual magnitude have to be surmounted, she will call in the aid of one or two other beetles. It
is curious, too, how cheerfully they seem to work for each other, and although it is almost
impossible to induce one of these insects to abandon the ball which contains her egg, yet
if when two females are engaged in depositing eggs at the same time, the balls are changed,
neither seems to be aware of the deception, and they labour as contentedly for each other'a
egg as if it were their own.

There are also several species of another sub-tribe (Coprini), closely allied to the
Ateuchini, which possess somewhat similar habits. They differ chiefly by frequently
having the heads of the males armed with a large curved horn, and by having the middle
and hind tibiae gradually thickened, which unfits them for transporting the balls of
material which serve for the food of the larvae; though some of the species do construct
balls, they bury them in the place where they are formed. Notwithstanding that these
insects live in such unclean localities, they are remarkable for their constant state of
glossy cleanliness; this is due to an oily fluid which they secrete, and which prevents all the
nasty things they live amongst from collecting upon them or staining their coats.

The type of this group (Scarabaeidae), is the renowned Ateuchus Sacer, or Sacred
Scarabaeus, of the Egyptians, perhaps the most celebrated of insects. It was wor-
shipped by them as a god, and dried specimens of the actual beetles or models of all
sizes and in every possible material, from the commonest stone to the most precious metals,
have been frequently discovered in Sarcophagi, or rolled up in mummies and other ancient
relics found among the monuments on the borders of the Nile. For common use they
were made very small, and some were pierced so as to form necklaces for the women,
others were used as seals, as is shewn by the inscriptions beneath them. Plutarch states
that the military caste made use of the figure of a Scarabaeus as a seal, and Horappollon
explains this by asserting that this insect peculiarly represents man, since (as was formerly
believed) "there are no females of its species." A male wishing to procreate, said the
Egyptians, takes some of the dung of an ox, and having fashioned it into the shape of
the world, rolls it with its hind legs from east to west, and places it in the ground, where
it remains twenty-eight days. On the twenty-ninth day the ball is exhumed and thrown
into the water,, where it opens and another male comes forth. Some of the models of the
Scarabaeus which have been found are of very large dimensions — one in the British
Museum, carved in granite, is about four feet in length. There are several smaller
specimens cut from marble, porphyry, agate, lapis-lazuli, garnet and gold.

Representations of it are to be found everywhere throughout the whole land of Egypt,
carved upon the temples, tombs, monuments and obelisks.

The reverence shewn to these insects seems to have been called forth by many causes
in their imaginative minds. Being an agricultural people, and knowing the habits of the
Scarabaeus, they worshipped it, because they could appreciate how, by the manner in which
it provided for the welfare of its own offspring, it also benefited them by fertilizing the
ground, and removing from the surface obnoxious matter. Its sudden appearance in great
numbers on the sandy margins of the Nile, after the fall of the water every year, together
with its extraordinary motions whilst rolling along its globular balls of dung, were re-
garded as mystically representing the resurrection of the soul, and the motions of the earth
and sun. It, with the earthen ball containing an egg in the centre, was also regarded as
an emblem of fecundity, and to this day, the beetle is eaten by the women of Egypt. On
account of the shape of the egg-ball, and the wonderful care bestowed upon it by the
parent beetle, it was employed as an emblem of the Creator's watchful care over the
world.

In addition to these, a short mention must be made of two other families of ground
beetles which are much commoner, and which from that account perform the useful work
of their kind much more fully than the above-named interesting species. These two fam-
ilies are the Geotrupidce or earthdiggers, and the Aphodiidce, or cow-dung frequenters.
They do not form balls of the food for their larvae, but burrow straight through the mass
and down into the earth below ; they then bring down some of the material from above,
and deposit an egg in it, in the same way as the others. Two w^ll known instances of
these families are Geotrupes blackburnii, a small, blackish beetle with a green lustre, of
about one-half or three-quarters of an inch in length, and Aphodius jimetarius, a small
cylindric-shaped insect, with coral-red elytra, which is always to be seen about manure
heaps in spring, and although it is one of the commonest of our insects, was only intro-
duced from Europe a comparatively small number of years ago.

To the second division of the Scarabaeidae, namely, the "Tree-beetles," belong a large
number of insects, whicn are perhaps even more injurious than their near relatives, the
ground beetles, are beneficial. These are of much greater interest to the farmer than

69

any other class, and as several of them are of large size and very common, they annually
destroy an enormous amount of produce. The greatest amount of injury is done during
the larval state, which they spend in the ground consuming the fibrous roots of plants.
The most injurious of these beetles, on account of the great amount of damage they have
done, have already called forth very full descriptions in our annual reports, consequently,
it is not worth while again to take up space by describing them. Among the most promi-
nent are :

The May-bugs or Chafers, which were all included by Fabricius in the genus
Melolontha, a word used by the ancient Greeks to distinguish the same kind of insects,
which were supposed by them, as the name implies, to be produced from or with the
flowers of apple trees. They are, I have no hesitation in saying, the most injurious insects
in the world. The accompanying figure
(33) gives a faithful representation of these
insects in their different stages, and they
may be easily recognized from it; they are
already too well known, I fear, to farmers.
In fig. 33, No. 2 the larval stage, known as the
"White Worm," which is the greatest depre-
dator, is also represented. It is a soft white
worm with six legs and a brownish head;
the body is very fat, and is about an inch
and a half long. It lives for several (as a
rule three) years in this stage, during which
time it destroys everything that comes within
its reach in the way of roots of plants. It
has been found to be very injurious to the
roots of strawberries, potatoes, corn and other
vegetables, but particularly so to grass. They
have been known to abound in such pro- Fig. 33

digious numbers that they ate all the roots of the grass in a pasture, and the plants could be
rolled up from the surface as if they had been cut off by a turf -cutter's spade. The pupa
stage of this insect is also shewn. The insect itself is scientifically known by the name
of Lachnosterna quercina, Knoch. A full and most interesting account of this insect is to
be found in the Annual Report of 1872, and in the same report also will be found an

article by Mr. Saunders treating of the "Hose-bug," Macrodactylus subspinosus

Fab. (fig. 34), an insect also belonging to this division, which has proved very

destructive to grape vines in some localities.

There is another beetle which feeds entirely on the wild and' cultivated vines,

but never occurs, I believe, in sufficient numbers to cause very material damage;
Fig, 34 this is the spotted vine beetle or Peli-
dnota punctata, Linn. It is a large handsome
beetle, of which Fig. 35 is a life-sized represen-
tation, the colour of the smooth elytra or wing
cases is reddish-brown and each of them is
decorated with three conspicuous black spots.
The thorax, which is of a deeper colour, also
bears two more rather smaller ones. The
jaws and scutellum are both black and its legs
and under surface are of a dark metallic green.
The Larva, Fig. 35, &, is a large fat grub much
like the white-worm but may be at once identi-
fied by a distinct heart-shaped swelling, Fig. d;
on the last segment ; the colour too, is of a
purer white, and the skin is less wrinkled. It
has been found feeding upon the rotten stumps
and roots of pear trees. Towards the end of
the summer the larva forms a cocoon of ehips Fig. 35

70

of wood and about a fortnight after, the perfect insect emerges, and may be found on
grape vines in Western Canada, during the months of July, August and September. To
this division belongs the beautiful Goldsmith Beetle, Cotalpa Lanigera, of which an inter-
esting account appeared in the February number of the Entomologist, written by Mr.
Saunders. As many of the readers of the Annual Report do not read that periodical
I insert it.

" This is, without doubt, the most beautiful of our leaf -eating beetles. It is nearly an
inch in length (fig. 36), of a broad oval form with the wing cases of a rich yellow colour,
with a pale metallic lustre, while the top of the head and thorax gleams like burnished gold
of a brilliant reddish cast. The under surface has a polished coppery hue
and is thickly covered with whitish wool ; this latter characteristic hav-
ing suggested its specific name lanigera (wool-bearer).

" This insect appears late in May, and during the month of June. It
is distributed over a very wide area, embracing most of the northern
United States and Canada, and although seldom very abundant, it is
rarely that a season passes without more or less of them being seen.
During the day, they are inactive, and may be found clinging to the under
side of the leaves of trees, often drawing together two or three leaves —
which they hold with their sharp claws — for the purpose of concealing
Fig. 36. themselves. At dusk they issue from their hiding places and fly about

with a buzzing sound among the branches of trees, the tender leaves of which they devour ;
the pear tree, the oak, poplar, hickory, silver abele and sweet gum all suffer more or less
from their attacks. Like the May bug, this beautiful creature is often attracted by light,
and flies into open windows on summer evenings, dashing in a bewildered sort of way against
everything it meets with to the great alarm of nervous inmates. In some seasons they
occur in considerable abundance, and may be readily captured by shaking the trees on
which they are lodged in the day-time, when they do not attempt to fly, but fall at once to
the ground.

11 The beetle is short-lived. The female deposits her eggs in the ground during the
latter part of June, and having thus provided for the continuance of her species, dies. The
eggs are laid during the night singly and at different depths, the number probably not
exceeding twenty in all. They are very large for the size of the beetle, being nearly one-
tenth of an inch in length, of a long ovoid form and white tranluscent appearance.

" In less than a month the young larva is hatched ; it is of a dull white colour, with a
brown polished horny head, and the extremity of the abdomen lead colour. The mature
larva is a thick, whitish, fleshy grub, very similar in appearance to that of the common
May bug, familiarly known as ' the white grub.' It lives in the ground and feeds on
the roots of plants, and on this account it is sometimes very destructive to strawberry
patches.

" Several years are required to bring this grub to maturity ; finally it reaches its full
growth in the fall, and changes to the perfect beetle early the following spring." I have
• never met with this insect nor the spotted vine beetle in this part of Ontario.

The last division, of "Flower Beetles," is very poorly represented in Canada, and the
individuals rather small. They are, however, striking in appearance. They belong chiefly
to the genus Cetonia and its allies, and are easily distinguished from the other scarabsei-
ans by their lower jaws, which are generally soft on the inside and are provided with a
flat brush of hairs with which they collect the pollen and juices upon which they feed.
Most of the brightly coloured kinds are diurnal, the dull ones nocturnal. Of
the Canadian diurnal flower beetles, the Euryomias are perhaps the most typ-
ical. This genus was separated from the Cetonias by Lacordaire on account
of the structure of the oral organs. We have two in our fauna ; E. inda,
Linn (Fig. 37), a rare insect in this part of Canada ; but common enough in the
West and in the United States to occasionally do much damage to the peach
crop, by boring into the fruit just when it is ready for the market. The other
Fig. 37. species, E. fidgida, Fab., is also common in Western Canada ; I have taken it
in numbers near London, Ont., on the flowers of Viburnum pnbescens, Pursh, in the month
of June.

71

Of the nocturnal flower-beetles the two Osmodermas may be mentioned. These are
large insects, remarkable for giving out an odour like that of Russian leather. They
conceal themselves during the day in crevices of bark and hollow trees, where they feed
upon the sap that flows from the bark. The name is derived from two Greek words —
'oo-ynTJ, an odour, and Sepfxa, the skin. 0. scabra, Beauv., or the rough Osmoderma is
rather the smaller of the two, and is about three-quarters of an inch long, with wide
roughly-granulated elytra, and a considerably narrower thorax. When resting with their
legs extended and almost straight, they have a very stilted, unlife-like appearance. The
colour is deep purplish-brown, with a bronze lustre. The larvae, which resemble those of the
May-bug, may be found in the decayed portions of living apple and cherry trees, where they
considerably quicken the work of destruction already begun. 0. eremicola, Knoch, or the
Hermit Osmoderma, is slightly larger and of a deep mahogany brown colour, perfectly
smooth and highly polished. The male may be known by the presence of a deep pit in the
middle of the thorax. In other respects it is like the last.

There is a very remarkable group of Cetonidce, known by the name of Goliath
beetles, to which Linnaeus gave the name Goliathus, and placed them first in the whole of
his arrangement of coleoptera. As the name implies, they are of very large size, some
reaching the gigantic proportions of over four inches in length. What adds to their size,
too, is that they are correspondingly broad.

A most interesting account of these beetles is to be found in the Rev. J. G. Wood's
charming book, "Insects Abroad." He describes Goliathus Druryii, one of the largest
and most beautiful, as follows : —

"Its length is four inches and a quarter, and the breadth exactly two inches. The
head, which is furnished with two curious projections, is greyish- white, except the horns,
which are black and deeply-punctured ; the thorax is black, and upon it are drawn a num-
ber of creamy-white stripes ; the elytra are warm chocolate with a velvet-like surface, sur-
rounded with a belt of the same creamy-white as that upon the thorax — below, it is black
with a mixture of green ; the tibiae of the first pair of legs are much flattened and deeply
punctured; they are of a reddish hue. Those of the hind pair are furnished on the inner
side with a dense ridge of golden hairs with a silken gloss ; the tarsi are black. For many
years this was the rarest of insects, only one specimen was known, which was picked up
dead, floating in an African river. Of late years, however, several have been brought to
England from the west coast of Africa, and among others a magnificent specimen of a
cocoon containing the perfect insect. This is now in the British Museum, and is about
the size of a swan's egg. It has very thin walls, but is strengthened round the middle
exteriorly by a remarkable raised belt.

NOTES ON VARIOUS INSECTS.
By Wm. Saunders, London.

In the following remarks, reference will be made to some insects which, on account
of their frequent appearance, or their curious or beautiful structure, are objects of interest
to every observer of nature, and also to insects to which the writer's attention has been
specially called during the past year.

Dytiscus Harrisii (fig. 38). This is one of the carnivorous water beetles, known as
" Diving Beetles" or " Water Tigers," a strong, sturdy creature of an oval flattened
form, with oar-like swimming legs, covered with long hairs. It is very active in the
water, darting and diving about in different directions with great rapidity, the form
of its body with sharp sides enabling it to cut through the water with great ease.
They may well be called the sharks of the insect world, for there are few things that live in
the water which are safe from their attacks. They are especial enemies of the larvae of
other aquatic insects ; they feed also upon tadpoles, molluscs and small fish, and when
pressed by hunger they do not hesitate to devour one another. They may be kept in
an aquarium and fed on water insects and small pieces of raw meat, which they suck
greedily.

72

\f

Fig. 38 represents this species very correctly ; it is black with a
broad margin of pale yellow on each side, and stripes of the same
colour across the front of the head and on both the front and hind
margins of the thorax ; there is also an irregular yellow line cross-
ing the wing covers near the tip. The under side is somewhat paler
with reddish markings. Examples of this insect are often brought
to us during the summer by persons who have found them in tubs
or barrels of water and who were puzzled to know how they could
get there. Beneath their hard wing covers they have a large pair
of membranous wings, by the use of which they can fly with great
ease ; by this means they are enabled to travel from pond to pond
in search of their prey. When wishing to change their location
they crawl out of the water (usually towards evening) either up
some reed or other water plant, or to the margin of the pond, and
suddenly open their wing covers, expand their wings and rise into
the air almost perpendicularly to a great height. Their descent is
nearly as sudden and direct, and they often, when descending, drop
into the water with considerable force. It would appear that they
are enabled to distinguish the water from a considerable height by
for sometimes they have been known to drop with violence upon
which they had evidently mistaken for water.
The female lays her eggs in the water, where they soon hatch into young larvae, pos-
sessing the ferocious disposition and voracious appetite of their parents. The larvae grow
rapidly, and when mature are about two inches long, with large flattened heads armed
with sickle-like jaws, with which they seize other insects and hold them while they suck
their juices ; they sometimes quickly snip off the tails of young tadpoles, and are known
to attack young fishes and suck their blood. Many years ago, when searching with a
dip-net in a pond for the larvae of Dragon-flies, we caught one of these savage creatures,
and supposing it could be as safely handled as the libellulae larvae, took hold of it, when it
quickly turned and buried its sharp jaws in the flesh of one of our fingers, making the
blood flow quite freely. These larvae breathe through their tails, which they protrude
into the air for that purpose, When full grown and about to assume the pupa state, the
larva leaves the water, and burying itself in the earth, constructs there a round cell with-
in which it undergoes its change, and if this occurs in summer, it appears in two or three
weeks as a perfect beetle ; but if in autumn it remains in the chrysalis state all winter,
transforming to a beetle in the spring.

Fig. 39 represents another of our large water beetles, Hydrophilus
triangularis. This species is entirely black, and so strong and muscu-
lar as to be difficult to hold in the hand when captured. The relation-
ship of this tribe of insects (Hydrophilus) with the preceding one
(Dytiscus) is very close. There is much similarity of form and a close

Fig. 38.
its glassy surface,
glazed garden sash,

resemblance in habits ; their method of

however, is differ-

ent, for while in Dytiscus both paddles are moved simultaneously, in

Hydrophilus they are moved alternately, hence the stroke of the latter is

much less effective. We are not aware that anything has been written

on the early stages of Hydrophilus triangularis, but in Europe the

life history of a closely allied species, Hydrophilus piceus, has been

carefully traced by several observers, and there is little doubt but that

our species has similar, if not identical habits. The female of H

piceus has the singular habit of spinning a silky cocoon for her eggs,

one side of which is furnished with an upright, bent, horny point, an Fig. 39.

inch long, which is supposed to be serviceable in conveying air to the interior. These

eggs, some fifty or sixty in number, are placed in an upright position and in regular order

in their receptacle, which is round and flattened and attached to some water plant at the

surface of the water. In warm weather the larvae are hatched in from twelve to fifteen

days, when they escape at the lower part of the cocoon, which is closed only by a few

threads. They undergo three moultings, and when full grown measure nearly three inches

73

in length. The head is horny and of a very singular form, its lower surface being convex,
while its upper surface is flattened. Its sharp and formidable jaws are well adapted for
seizing and securing its prey. They are said to attain their full growth in July, when
they leave the water, bury themselves in the earth, where they undergo their changes in
a manner similar to that of Dytiscus.

The Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio turnus.)

This beautiful in-
sect has been more
than usually com-
mon in some dis-
tricts of our Pro-
vince during the
past year, and al-
ways attracts atten-
tion from its size
and its majestic
flight, floating
through the air as
it does in the most
stately manner. The
butterfly, Fig. 40,
measures about four
inches across, when
its wings are ex-
Fjg. 40 panded ; the body

is black above, margined with pale yellow, the wings yellow banded with black, the hind
pair powdered on their outer margin with patches of blue scales.

The caterpillar (Fig. 41) is rather a strange
looking creature, of an olive green colour, with
a whitish bloom and a prominent eye-like spot
on each side of the fourth segment. It feeds
chiefly on the apple, cherry, thorn and bass-
wood. For a more detailed description of this
insect we refer our readers to the report of
our Society for 1873.

Fig. 41.

The Achemon Sphinx (Philampelus achemon).

fFig. 42.

In our report for 1872
we published a descrip-
tion of this insect which
is a very beautiful and
attractive creature in
the perfect or moth state
(Fig. 42), and a very odd
looking object as seen
in the larval condition.
Quite recently Dr. John
H. Gamier, of Luck-
now, Ont., has written
us in reference to this
insect, which he has
found injuring his grape
.vines. He found sever-
■al of the larvse feeding
on a Rebecca vine, for

74

which they seem to have a marked preference. He fed them in confinement and put in
leaves of Rebecca, Delaware, Massasoit, Concord, Creveling, Salem and Martha, but they
would eat only Rebecca leaves.

The caterpillar
(Fig. 43) varies much
in colour. When
young it is usually
green with a long
curved horn rising
from the last segment
but one, but as it be-
comes more mature,

in moulting the horn disappears, and its place is occupied by a dark polished tubercle ; the
colour also changes frequently to a pale straw or reddish brown, shading at the sides into
a rich brown. It has six irregular cream-coloured spots along each side.

When full grown it descends to the ground,
and burrowing underneath, changes there into
a chrysalis, Fig. 44, of a dark shining mahog-
any brown colour.

The moth (Fig. 42), which appears towards
Fi&- 44- the latter end of June, is of a rich brownish-

grey colour, variegated with light brown, and with the dark spots, shewn in the figure,
deep brown. The hind wings are pink, with a band of dark spots and a broad
border behind.

Catocala ultronia.

grey

In the genus Catocala is included a number of very beautiful moths, many of them
of large size, and restricted in their disJ ribution to the northern portions of America.
Most of them have the hind wings red, oanded with black, and hence have received the
common appellation of " Red under- wings." Some few species, however, have the red
ground replaced by white, or by plain black, or dark brown edged with white, but these

latter are greatly in the minority and much
less frequently met with than those with
red hind wings. The fore wings are
usually of varying shades of rich gray or
brown.

In Catocala ultronia (Fig. 45) the fore
wings are of a rich umber colour, darkest
along the hind margin, with a broad dif-
fused ash-coloured band along the middle,
not extending to the apex, which is brown;
&' ' there are also several zigzag lines of brown

Fig. 45. and white crossing these wings. The hind

wings are deep red with a wide black band along the outer margin and a narrower band
of the same colour across the middle. The cilise which border the wings are partly white
and partly brown.

The larva feeds on the leaves of wild plum and is also found attacking the cultivated
varieties. When full grown, which is about the 20th of June, it is nearly two inches
long-, a leech-like creature with its body thickest in the middle and tapering towards each
end. When at rest it adheres so closely to the bark of the branch and so nearly resem-
bles it in colour, that it is difficult to detect. The body is of a dull greyish-brown, studded
with brownish dots and rows of dull reddish tubercles. On the top of the ninth segment
or ring there is a stout fleshy horn, nearly upright, about one-twelfth of an inch long,
pointed and similar in colour to the body, but with an irregular greyish patch at each
side. On the twelfth segment there is a low fleshy ridge margined behind with deep
reddish brown and an oblique stripe of the same colour extends forward nearly to the

75

spiracle on this segment. The terminal segment is flattened and has a number of small
pale reddish and blackish tubercles scattered over its surface. Along the sides of the
body close to the under surface there is a thick fringe of short fleshy-looking hairs of a
delicate pink colour.

The under surface is also of a delicate pink, of a deeper shade along the middle, be-
coming bluish towards the margins with a central row of nearly round black spots which
are largest from the seventh to the eleventh segments inclusive. The anterior segments
are greenish-white tinted with rosy pink along the middle, with a dull reddish spot at
the base behind each pair of feet.

When about to change to a chrysalis the larva makes a rough enclosure by drawing
together fragments of leaves and fastening them with silken threads, within which it
undergoes its transformation and appears as a moth in about three weeks afterwards.

;The moth is on the wing during the greater part of July and August, is attracted by
light and comes freely to sugar. All the insects of this family are night-flyers and expose
their brilliant hind wings only in flight. When at rest the grey or dull brown upper
wings overlap and cover up the gaily -tinted under wings like a very flat roof.

The Io Moth. — (Saturnia io.)

The caterpillar of this moth is very pretty and is well represented in Fig. 46. It is of a

very delicate pea-green colour, with a broad white
stripe on each side, bordered with lilac below. The
body is covered with spreading clusters of green
bristles tipped with black, and when the larva is
handled these bristles sting like nettles. Judging
from the number of communications we have had
concerning this insect during the past year it must
have been very common in many quarters.

While quite young these catepillars feed in flocks,
and have then the curious habit when moving from
place to place of marching in regular procession like
tiles of soldiers ; when full grown, they lose this
habit and feed singly. They are very general
feeders and will eat corn, willow, hazel, sassafras,
wild cherry, elm, and a number of other trees and
plants. When full grown the larva crawls to the
ground, where, among loose leaves and rubbish, it
forms a rough outer covering, and within this a
slight cocoon of tough brown silk.

Fig. 46.

The moths are very hand some, and are remarkable for the difference between the sexes

both in size and colour. The male (Fig.
47) is the smallest, and of a deep yellow
colour, with darker reddish lines and
spots. The hind wings are broadly
shaded with purple next to the body; near
the hinder margin is a curved purplish
band, and within this again is a smaller
one of a dark purple or violet colour. In
the centre of this last band, and in the
middle of the wing is a large round blue
spot with a whitish centre and a broad,
border almost black. The body is a
deep yellow, a little darker on the
thorax ; the antennae are broadly toothed.

Fig. 47.

76

The
larger

varies much in
a deep purplish brown to an
ochreous red. The fore wings
are covered by similar wavy-
lines ; the inner margin is of a
darker colour ; the hind wings
are marked very similarly to
those of the male. These
moths fly only at night.

female (Fig. 48) is
than the male, and
colour, from

Fig. 48.

lative curr

Fig. 50.

The American Currant Borer (Psenocerus super notatus).

The accompanying cut (Fig. 49) represents an enlarged view of a native currant
borer, Psenocerus supemotatus ; the small outline figure shews the
natural size. It is a beetle belonging to the family of longicorns,
Cerambycidce, which doubtless had its home originally among the wild
currant bushes of our woods, but a more extended and inviting field
having been opened for it by the planting of the cultivated varieties
in our gardens, it has taken kindly to them, and although not so
destructive as the imported currant borer, Egeria tipuliformis Fig. 49.

(Fig. 50), has in many instances, proved quite troublesome. In nearly all
our gardens numbers of the currant stalks annually perish, and were it not
for the vigorous growth of new shoots from year to year, the bushes would
soon be destroyed. If one of these stalks is split asunder, the cause of its
death is manifest, for through its whole length it is found to be more or
less eaten away, the hollows being filled in places by a fine sawdust-like
powder. This is sometimes the work of the imported currant borer (Fig. 50), and some-
times the work of the native species (Fig. 49).

Early in June the parent beetle of the native currant borer deposits her eggs upon
the currant stalks, where they soon hatch into tiny grubs, which burrow into the heart of
the stem, and feeding on its pith, reach full growth before the close of the season. They
are footless grubs, which measure, when full-grown about half an inch in length. The
head is scarcely half as broad as the body, is of a dark brown colour, with black jaws.
The body is whitish with some brown dots along each side, and is slightly clothed with very
fine short hairs. When full-grown, and about to change to a chrysalis, the larva gnaws a
channel through the woody fibre to the outer bark, so that when changed to a beetle it can
make its escape by merely rupturing the bark. The cavity thus made is filled with little
chips to prevent the bark from being prematurely broken, and below this stuffing the
insect constructs a bed of short, woody fibres, packing the passage below with a finer ma-
terial resembling sawdust. Within this enclosure, which is about half an inch in length,
the larva changes to a chrysalis, and reposes until the fully formed beetle is ready to
emerge ; then gradually drawing away the obstacles to its egress, it finds its way to the
end of the passage, and gnawing a small round hole through the bark, effects its escape.

The Beetle is black with the edges of the wing covers and the thorax pale chestnut
brown. On each wing cover there is a rather large white spot beyond the middle, and
two smaller anterior spots, which are sometimes ash-grey and sometimes yellowish. The
antennas, which are snorter than the body, are pale brown, thickly clothed with short
ash-grey hairs. The under side is black and sparsely covered with short grey hairs.

Dr. Fitch describes two parasites which he found attacking this pest in the larval
state, one a small ichneumon fly, the other that of a small two- winged fly. Hence, secluded
as it seems to be within the centre of the currant stem, it is unable to escape the acute
instincts of its enemies, who searching it out, feed on its body and cause its death.

77

As these worms remain in the dead stalks throughout the winter, their destruction is
easily compassed by breaking off all the dead wood to the surface of the ground and burning
it.

The imported currant borer is a pretty little wasp-like moth with a bluish black body
crossed by three narrow golden bands. It flies only during the warmer part of the day and
is very active in the hot sunhine. The female lays her eggs singly near the buds, and when
hatched the young larvae eat their way to the central part of the stem as in the insect
just described, but instead of being footless this grub has sixteen feet, which are of a brown
colour while the body is fleshy white.

ON THE ELATERIDuE OR CLICK-BEETLES.
By W. Hague Harrington, Ottawa.

This extensive and interesting family of Goleoptera has hitherto had but little atten-
tion devoted to it in these Annual Reports. Yet, it is one which deserves more than the
passing mention or description of a species, and the present paper is intended to call the
attention of our Agricultural readers to a large group of insects, which are now in some
measure destructive, and which may become far more so in the future. The facts will be
presented in as plain and untechnical a manner as is consistent with the scientific require-
ments of the case.

These beetles belong to the thirty -fifth family in Le Conte's classification of Coleoptera,
and are a sub-division of the Serricornes of Latreille, being classed with the Sternoxi
(sharp-breasted). They are very nearly related to the family Buprestidce, which were so
fully described in last year's Report by Mr. Fletcher, differing, however, from the Bu-
prestians in being much more flattened and elongated, and less hard. They also have the
hinder angles of the thorax prolonged in sharp points, which prevent any lateral move-
ment of it. The thorax in most cases is very loosely articulated to the meso-thorax, al-
lowing considerable motion upward or downward of the front part of the body.

The pro-sternum (breast-bone) of the Buprestians was mentioned as being prolonged
backward into a point or spine, and this spine-like pro-sternal process forms one of the
most striking characteristics of the click-beetles. Our great teacher in scientific nomen-
clature, Linnaeus, gave to these beetles the" name Elater, (from a Latin word meaning to
" bound,") but this name is now strictly limited to one of the many genera comprised
in the Elateridce.

The family is one very easy to determine, as the species preserve a marked resem-
blance to each other, varying but little in general shape, and going to no extremes in size
or colouring. Glancing at a collection of them, it will at once be seen that there is a pre-
ponderance of dull black or brownish species, with occasional touches of red or yellow,
but none are . so brilliant as forcibly to individualize themselves by mere gay tints.
Roughly, they may be said- to vary in size from a quarter inch to two inches.

They have been named click-beetles, skip-jacks, spring-beetles, snap-bugs, clickers,
snap-beetles and blacksmiths, from their power of leaping from their back, or from the
clicking noise which attends such a performance. By the celebrated Swammerdam they
were called grasshopper or locust-beetles.

As already stated, they belong to the great tribe of Serricornes, or " saw-horned"
beetles, so named because the inside of the antennae presents a notched appearance, from
the joints having the tips more or less projecting. Their antennae are eleven-jointed, ex-
cept in a few rare instances where an extra joint is found, and are placed widely apart.
In some genera they can be laid back under the thorax in grooves excavated along the
margins of the pro-sternum so as to be beautifully hidden and protected. The great ma-
jority of genera have these members of moderate length, and but slightly serrate ; but in
some few genera they are longer and pectinate, especially those of the males.

Click-beetles have rather short and slender legs, which can be folded very closely to
the body when the insect is alarmed. One of their most marked peculiarities of structure
is the spine into which the pro-sternum is produced. It is to be found between the first

78

pair of legs, and usually lies so hidden in a groove excavated for its reception in the
meso-sternum, that its use and importance might at first sight not be apparent. When
however, the beetle falls, or is placed upon its back on a surface too smooth for any
projection to be reached with its short legs, the service rendered by this curious piece
of mechanism will soon be seen, for when the beetle has vainly endeavoured to right itself
by the use of its feet, and finds itself as helpless as a turtle in a similar predicament, it
bends back its thorax and head until its arched body rests only on the back of the head
and the tips of the elytra (wing-covers). By this movement the spine is released from
the groove or socket into which it so neatly fits ; then by smartly bending up the
thorax again the projection is forced back into its receptacle. This is not so easily
accomplished as its withdrawal. It appears to catch for an instant upon the
margin of the groove, but by reason of its elasticity bends and springs in with a
sudden jerk, producing the snap or click which is heard. The consequent sud-
den impact of the elastic elytra on the hard surface tosses the beetle several times its own
length into the air, the height being greater as the substance on which it rests is smoother
and harder. If it does not fall upon its feet the operation is repeated until the desired
effect is accomplished.

Elaters may be roughly classed in two groups according as the larvae are found feed-
ing on the roots of plants (usually under ground) or in old and decaying wood, or under
bark. The majority of the first, and a few of the second class are decidedly obnoxious
insects, while the rest are more or less beneficial.

The eggs of the root-feeders are thought (although the fact has, so far as I know,
never been actually determined by observation), to be laid on or among the roots or
stalks of plants, either in the ground or just at its surface. They are very minute globu-
lar, or partly oval bodies of a yellowish-white colour and produce almost invisible slender
grubs, which even when full grown are seldom more than an inch long.

In England these grubs have received the name of " wire worms," from their slender-
ness and hardness, and the same term is applied to them in this country. It is also in-
correctly applied sometimes to the millepedes or myriapods, such as the Julus, which is
found under stones or in wet wood, etc., and is often from two to three inches long. These
are not true insects and are easily distinguished from the larvae of the clickers by their
many feet, the Julys, for instance, having over fifty pairs.

The larvae of elaters more nearly resemble in shape the well known meal-worms, or
grubs of the beetle called Tenebrio molitor. They have twelve segments besides the head,
and have six true legs ; also a prop-leg or tubercle on tne least segment. They are semi-
cylindrical, being rounded above and flattened beneath, and are cased in a very hard,
horny covering, which affords them a most efficient protection from the attacks of their
smaller enemies, and also enables them to burrow easily and rapidly through light soils.

Such larvae as live in decaying or old wood are broader and more flattened and in
some cases much larger than the earth burrowers. The eggs are probably laid in crevices
of the bark or wood in which they undergo their transformations. These larvae may be
said to be beneficial in so far as they, with those of many other tribes of insects, aid in
destroying and removing the decayed and prostrate vegetation, and thus make way for
new growths.

I am not aware that any very marked damage has as yet been inflicted upon the
crops in Canada by the larvae of these beetles, but in the British Islands they have been
accused of committing alarming depredations on grain, root crops and garden produce of
various sorts. Much attention has been given to them by Curtis in his exhaustive trea-
tise on " Farm Insects," and also by many other well-known entomologists. A number
of species are described, four of which appear to be specially obnoxious and destructive.
The larvae live some years, perhaps as many as five, and moult, as do caterpillars, three
times before entering the pupa state. This change takes place in a small cell some dis-
tance under ground, and in a few weeks the beetles emerge to a higher but much briefer
existence, and are found upon various flowering plants, etc.

The four species so notorious for their ravages belong to the genera Athdus and
Agriotes of Fschscholtz, which are represente 1 in this country by a number of species,
having probably similar habits to their old world kindred.

79

There is scarcely any land free from them or any crop that is not subject to their
voracity. They occur wherever grass will grow, being particularly harboured among clover
roots, and are always prevalent in meadow and pasture-lands, seeming to thrive best in
the vicinity of swamps and woods. When lands are broken up the first crops sown are
often almost totally destroyed by the larvae which infest it and remain in it for some
years afterwards.

Young oats, wheat, rye, barley, etc., suffer much from being partially or entirely cut
off below the surface ; the wireworms destroying manifold the amount actually devoured.
Wood says that while only eating one-tenth as much as a similar sized caterpillar, each
wireworm destroys ten times as many plants. Hops, cabbages and many root-crops are
also injured ; turnips, perhaps, more than any, as they are cut off when young, and have
the roots badly eaten into when larger, as many as twenty or more grubs having been
found at one turnip.

Conflicting opinions are held as regards the liability of potatoes to be attacked.
Some even propose the use of slices of these tubers, among other substances, as traps to
entice the wireworms to in gardens. On the other hand evidence has been often adduced
to prove that land sown with potatoes was in a great degree cleared of infesting larvae,
which it was asserted do not touch the potatoes and are consequently starved out.

In gardens, the wireworms destroy salads, etc., and the gardener has also often to lament
the loss of his beautiful flowers, such as carnations and lobelias. The list of cultivated
plants attacked by them could be greatly lengthened, and it is fortunate for Canadian
farmers and gardeners that as yet they are not so abundant and destructive here. Never-
theless considerable damage is done to many crops on this continent, and the late esteemed
Dr. Asa B. Fitch (one of the greatest of American Entomologists) has treated of wire-
worms — see his 11th Report — almost as exhaustively as Mr. Curtis. It appears that
Indian corn, one of the largest and most important crops grown in North America, is the
greatest sufferer, especially when (as is usually the case), it is the first crop planted in new
land, or when the season is cold, wet and late. The seed corn is attacked by the wireworm,
which bores its way into the kernel and is often found half buried therein when the hills
are examined. Upwards of thirty or forty have been found in a single hill, and nearly
the whole of the seed planted is sometimes destroyed. The still more valued cereal, wheat,
does not escape serious attacks, and, as in England, all crops are more or less liable to be
damaged. An exception may be made in favour of buckwheat, which has been strongly
asserted to rid the land of them, but there are doubts as to its efficacy in so doing,
as well as many objections to it as an uncertain and inferior crop. All kinds of
grasses, from the choicest timothy to the coarsest swamp sedges seem to be the chief
and favourite diet of wireworms ; so that grass and meadow lands are badly infested
for a year or two after being broken up.

Dr. Fitch was of opinion that the wireworms of this country do not live more
than two years (instead of five), as it is only for that length of time that new fields
are so much infested with them.

As the country becomes more densely settled, and, through the breaking up of the
waste lands, they are gradually deprived of their natural food-plants, they may come to
be equally abundant and voracious amongst us as in England, so that it may be well
briefly to mention the measures adopted to destroy them there.

Foi gardens or small lots hand picking is most strongly recommended as the surest
way of ridding them of these vermin ; but where labour is so scarce and dear as in this
country, such a measure is hardly feasible. By this method 18,000 wireworms were ga-
thered from a field of one and a half acres, and in another instance over 60,000 from an
area of three acres. Women or boys were employed to traverse the rows of plants, loosen
the soil around the roots, put all the wireworms into jars, or other suitable vessels, and
press down the soil around the roots.

One of the most successful remedies on a large scale is a mixture consisting of two
parts of quicklime, three parts of soot, and one part of coarse or refuse salt. This is used
as a top-dressing, being applied immediately after compounding, and should be well rolled
in. It has the advantage of being perfectly harmless to the crops. Indeed it is a most
excellent and powerful fertilizer, as well as a destroyer of all kinds of insects and many

80

weeds. Refuse from gas-works, nitrate of soda, rape-cake, and chloride of lime, mixed
and spread with manures are highly recommended, and the sowing of soda-ash or guano
broadcast when planting.

A previous crop of white mustard is claimed to clear the land of them, presumably
by starving out, for the roots of the mustard are extremely acrid, and of course occupy the
soil to the exclusion of any more nutritive ones. A close grazing by sheep seems benefi-
cial where pastures are badly infested, perhaps because the surface is trodden down too
hard for the larvae to work through, or because the beetles are prevented from laying their
eggs, or have them destroyed. The same result is also obtained by compacting the surface
by heavy rollers.

There are also means of striking directly at these pests which at the same time are of
more general utility, and whose adoption cannot be too strongly urged. Aside from any
mere questions of a taste for order, neatness and beauty, the practical wisdom and advan-
tages of keeping land thoroughly worked and cleaned are plain to everyone ; it does not
pay to leave neglected a single square yard of the farm.

The larvae of these beetles, in common with hosts of other insects, find a pleasant
refuge in the uncultivated patches left about the farm, and under or among stones and
other rubbish. Farmers cannot bear this too constantly in mind, and they should strive
to have their fields, as well as gardens, free from all unnecessary disfigurements of such
kinds. The entomological collector may delight in the rank growth of all manner of
shrubs and plants along the fences and ditches of his neighbours, for he generally finds a
rich variety of specimens thereon ; but what is his gain is usually the owner's and the
country's loss.

Leave no such strips along the fence-rows, nor of stubble in the fields. Let all loose
boards, stones, logs, brush and rubbish of every kind be removed, and thus, as far as pos-
sible, prevent insect foes from harbouring about the fields ; there will be plenty of them
without furnishing such breeding and hiding places.

Above all, learn to protect all their natural enemies, among the most powerful of
which are the birds. It is really disgraceful (and saddening to such as love and value
these bright little creatures) to see the merciless way in which they are shot and trapped
around this city (Ottawa), and I fear the same indiscriminate " slaughter of the innocents"
takes place all over the land. All those that are known to be insectivorous should be
vigorously protected and encouraged, even if occasionally they do exhibit a tendency to a
vegetarian diet and pilfer a few berries and seeds.

Robins, thrushes, blackbirds, sparrows, etc., may be always seen searching and peck-
ing vigorously among the grass for elaters and other insects, while numerous species are
searching for them in all other situations. It has been estimated that an English rookery,
of 10,000 rooks, consumes annually about 200 tons of worms and insects. Now, our
much-abused crow, a brother of the rook, is just as active and voracious a bird, and feeds
its young (according to Fitch) almost solely on elaters and their larvae. Thousands of
these are probably consumed by the young crow before it even leaves the nest to hunt for
them itself.

Toads and frogs live also mainly upon insects, and being nocturnal in their habits —
as are so many insects — they form the night relay, working to save the crops while the
birds are at rest. Turkeys, ducks and other poultry may profitably be allowed to run in
grain fields at suitable seasons, while among root crops they can seldom do any harm, and
devour immense numbers of all kinds of insects.

In breaking up new land it is well to burn the turf, and the destruction of many in-
sects, in their various stages, is undoubtedly accomplished by the process of burning so
generally in use in this country.

When the elaters reach the perfect state, they are entirely harmless beetles (except
that they lay the eggs for future broods), and are found upon flowers, grass, stumps, trees,
fences, etc., and when they are approached they have a very common habit of dropping
from their resting-place, so that it is often almost impossible to find them. They walk
slowly, but can fly well, and do so both by day and night, seldom, however, making
long flights, rather preferring to remain in the vicinity of their former feeding grounds.
As it is not proposed to attempt in this paper any scientific classification or descrip-

81

tion of the many genera and species comprised in the family Matericlce, the remainder
of this paper will be devoted to a few brief remarks on some of the more interesting for-
eign and native ones.

Westwood states that the Elaters are less rich in species than the Buprestians, but
that they are more generally distributed. About four hundred and fifty North American
species are given by Le Conte in his classification, of which, perhaps, one-fourth are found
in Canada. During the past summer I collected in the immediate vicinity of Ottawa
fifty species, while of Buprestians I only obtained about half that number.

There are perhaps no click-beetles that in form, size or markings are striking when com-
pared with many other families of beetles ; they vary but slightly in shape, are of moderate
size, and of dull hues generally. One genus, however, (Pyrophorus, containing 30 or
more species) is indeed worthy of notice from the power of light-emitting possessed by
its members. If sombre by day they are the brightest of all insects when darkness
shrouds the world. I have before me a specimen of P. noctilucus, the celebrated " fire-
fly " of the West Indies and Central America, called by the Spaniards cucujo. Figure
51 represents this insect both at rest and on the wing. It is nearly an inch and a-half
long, (the elytra being exactly an inch from base to tips,) and has a tawny grey appear-
ance, caused by a covering of short yellowish hairs on a black surface.

Fig. 51.

Its most important features are two smooth, convex yellow spots, or tubercles, on
the thorax — one on either side — from which at night, when the beetle is alive, streams a
strong greenish light, far surpassing that of our own " fire-flies," or, correctly speaking,
" fire-beetles." When the beetles are on the wing another patch beneath the body emits
a bright orange-tinted light.

These beetles and their larvae feed on the sugar-cane and do great damage to the
plantations, being in some places very numerous, so that the air at night is starred in
every direction with their myriad meteor-like fires. The natives, ever ready to connect
the visible with the unseen, call them, not unpoetically, the vehicles of departed souls, or
in other places they are said to be the souls themselves flitting about the earth they have
left, so that to kill one might be to crush the soul of a departed friend. Such beliefs in
connection with certain insects, snakes, and other animals have often been prejudicial to
savage welfare by protecting obnoxious creatures from destruction.

6

82

P.* pysoderus is a much smaller beetle, being but three quarters of an inch in length.
Its colour is a dark brown ; the hinder angles of the thorax are produced in acute spines,
and the tubercles are not prominent. It is common in the Southern States and emits a
light equal in intensity to that of our native " fire-flies," but constant instead of inter-
mittent.

In the Phillipine Islands is found a very large species of Elater, called Oxynopterus
(sharp- winged) Cummingii. It is a large, reddish beetle and the male has fine pectinate
antennas. The prosternal spine is stated by Wood to be as large as a crow-quill, and three-
fourths of an inch long, so that its powers of leaping and clicking must be well marked.

The genus Pachyderes is distinguished by having the thorax twice as broad as the
elytra ; Semioti has the tips of the elytra spined ; and the males of Macromalocera, from
Swan River, Australia, have the antennas as long or even longer than the body.

Of seventy species found in Great Britain, the largest is Ludius ferrugineous, a dirty
red beetle about an inch long.

Turning now to Canadian beetles, the first sub-family is named Eucnemidce, and
comprises a few small compressed beetles found under bark or on leaves, and rather un-
common. Wood says that the prothorax in these species fits too tightly against the base
of the elytra to admit of them leaping, but Le Conte claims for some a feeble power to
do so. The second sub-family Cerophytidce consists also of a few species of small beetles,
living under bark, and rarely, from their size and habits, seen or captured.

The third and last bears the family name — E 'later idee— and includes all of our re-
maining species. Of these the largest and most striking examples are contained in the
genus Alaus (meaning " dull " coloured). There are four species found in Northern
America, viz. : Melanops, Gorgops, Occidatus and Myops, of which the two last (at least)
are found in Canada. A. occidatus (Fig. 52), must be familiar to
nearly all my readers, and is the largest of our Elaters, varying in
length from one and a quarter inches to one and three quarters.

Its general colour is a deep glossy black ; the under surface of the
body, and the legs being thickly powdered with white. The broad,
almost square, thorax is also powdered (but usually much rubbed),
with the exception of two large, oval spots of a rich black velvety ap-
pearance, and rimmed with white so as to seem like great staring eyes,-
often causing the thorax to be mistaken for the head by those ignor-
ant of an insect's construction. These beautiful markings have deter-
mined its specific name ; for occidatus is simply the Latin form of
"eyed." The elytra are marked by longitudinal, impressed lines,
and are sprinkled with bright white spots, of the same powdery
substance which covers the rest of the body.
In early summer it is found crawling slowly, or sunning itself on trees, fences, build-
ings, paths, etc., and is easily captured. In Duncan's "Transformations of Insects" the
larva is shown crawling on the ground, and the pupa in a cell beneath the surface, but
Dr. Harris states that "it undergoes its transformations in the trunks of trees." He
found them in old apple trees — the larvae feeding upon the wood. The following is a por-
tion of his description : —

" These larvae are reddish-yellow grubs, proportionately much broader than the other
kinds, and very much flattened. One of them, which was found fully-grown early in
April, measured two inches and a half in length, and nearly four-tenths of an inch across
the middle of the body, and was not much narrowed at either extremity. The head was
broad, brownish and rough above."

Soon after the grub was found it cast its skin and entered the pupa state, and at the
proper time emerged as a beetle.

A myops is a somewhat smaller and less robust beetle, and varies more in size, some
in my collection being only one inch long. In general appearance it is much like occula-
tus, but is not nearly so handsome an insect. The markings are less distinct, the colour-
ing more greyish, and the eye-like spots on the thorax are much smaller and duller, whence
it has received its name of myops, or the " short-sighted " alaus.

It is much more common in this neighbourhood than occulatus. To show how readily

83

these thoracic markings are mistaken for the elater's eyes, and the loose articulation of
the thorax for the neck, I may just mention that a friend of mine brought me, one day
this summer, a fine large my ops, which he had just found on his window-sill, remarking
that he was afraid it was dead, because "its neck seemed broken." I told him to lay it
on its back upon my table, and the sudden snap with which it nearly sprang into his
face quite startled him. The Indian name for aa elater (according to Dr. Fitch) is " neck-
breaker," or " the insect that breaks its neck," which gives a very good idea of its chief
characteristic.

Perhaps the most abundant of our elaters is a dark brown one, about half an inch
long, named Melanotics communis. The larvae feed in wood, transform in the autumn, and
the beetles winter under bark or in crevices, and are very common in spring. Limonius
plebejus is also a brownish beetle, which is even more numerous in this vicinity.

Occasionally large glossy black elaters are found under stones in damp localities.
These belong to the genus Melanactes and are remarkable for having luminous larvae.
Several species of Corymbites are numerous on pine-trees in summer, as C. ceripennis,
C. hieroglyphicns and C. triundulatus ; the latter is also said to feed on the flower of the
rhubarb. C. vernalis, & pretty beetle with a black thorax, and yellow elytra marked by
five black spots, may be found sometimes in large numbers on blossoms of the choke-
cherry.

In the fourth volume of the Canadian Entomologist, an interesting account of the
wheat wire-worm, Arjriotes mancus, is given by Mr. J. Pettit, of Grimsby, Ont., a very
careful observer. Mr. Pettit says :

" For many years an insect, familiarly known among farmers as the ' wire-worm,'
has committed ravages from time to time among the wheat crops in different parts of the
Province. As the history of this insect has not hitherto been traced out, I am happy to
be able to make public through the pages of the Canadian Entomologist, the following
description of its larval and pupal states.

"In the fall of the year 1870, so unusual an amount of damage was inflicted upon the
wheat crops in this vicinity by this wire- worm that I was led to try and breed it to the
perfect state with a view to ascertaining what species it was the larva of. By digging

I <p about the roots of the wheat plants, I obtained

were

3A\ y\AA\A\ \ \ \ \ \\\\\\\vm_7 I & aoouL uie roots oi one wueau plants, ± out
~^°X •?[-•: 1,^71 5 "J^i^KN^T} T^F Ol a^ou^ a dozen specimens (Fig. 53) which
~r / / / / / r/ // // ///' ////// 1 Tn Xs nlaoed with a few wheat nlants in a lar^e fl

placed with a few wheat plants in a large flower-
Fig. 53. p0t} where they were kept supplied with food
by planting occasionally a small quantity of wheat. With the first cold weather they
ceased to eat, and were then placed in a sheltered situation until the return of warm
weather in spring, when they were restored to the breeding-cage. They soon gave evi-
dence of being alive, and possessing unimpaired appetites ; their
rapid consumption of the wheat plants rendered it necessary to
renew the supply quite as often as before. They were fed in this
way until the month of July, when my absence from home caused
them to be neglected ; on my return there was not a vestige of
food left. Thinking that the worms had probably died of starva-
tion, I paid no further attention to them until the 26th of August,
when, on removing a part of the earth from the pot, a pupa (Fig.
54) was disclosed, and on the 3rd of September the first imago ap-
peared, which proved to be a specimen of Agriotes mancus (Say).
Fig. 54. As only two more specimens came out during the remainder of Sep-
tember, I turned the earth out of the pot and carefully examined it. The inspection re-
vealed seven specimens of the imago in the little cells in which they had transformed, and
one larva.

" Among the larvae collected, I had noticed one less than half the size of the others
and evidently much younger, which would account for the one still in the larval state. It
had attained, however, a size fully equal to that of the others when first brought in during
the previous autumn ; and hence I have formed the opinion that the larval state does not
last longer than three years. This opinion has since been strengthened by the observation
of a large number of larva which appeared readily separable into two sizes, corresponding

84

to those originally collected for breeding. Westwood, in his ' Modern Classification of
Insects,' (vol. 1, 238), states respecting the larva of an allied species (A. obscurus) which,
in Europe, feeds upon the roots of wheat, rye, oats, barley and grass, that according to
Bjerkander, a Swedish naturalist, ' it is five years in arriving at the perfect state.' Cur-
tis, in his 'Farm Insects,' (page 16,), makes a similar statement upon the same authority,
and adds that those which he had himself fed for ten or twelve months scarcely increased
in size during that time. As already stated, however, I am of opinion that our species is
by no means so long lived, but that it attains maturity in three years, a period quite long
enough, the agriculturist must think, in which to inflict damage upon the crops."

Fig. 53 shews the larva or worm magnified to about twice its natural size, and Fig.
54 the chrysalis under and upper side, also magnified — the hair line between them gives
the natural size.

The perfect beetle is about seven-twentieths of an inch long, the body black, punc-
tured with minute dots, and covered with very short hair, the head is large and black, the
antennae and feet reddish.

Adelocera is a genus comprising rather large beetles of a roughish, and often frosted,
or rusty, appearance. Their larvae feed in decaying wood and are generally found upon
stumps, trees or fences.

The last genus which I shall mention here, viz. : — Pityobius, is remarkable from
having twelve-jointed antennae, which in the males are beautifully bi-pectinate ; that is
they have on each side spines, or branches, projecting from the joints. There are only
two species known in Canada — P. anguinus and P. Billingsii — and the beetles are exceed-
ingly rare, while but little is known of their habits.

P. anguinus "is of a dull black colour, with short brown hair." P. Billingsii (named
after its discoverer, the late Mr. Billings, of Ottawa), has rich and rather glossy black
elytra, longitudinally lined, and wider than the thorax. The head and thorax are also
deep black but are roughened ; the legs and under parts are less black. The head is
nearly square above ; the eyes are very prominent, being far more conspicuous than in
any other of our elaters, which I have seen.

The specimen now before me is about one and a quarter inches long and is decidedly
the handsomest click-beetle in my collection. It is probably the second specimen captured
and the only one now in a Canadian collection. The larva of this beetle lives in decay-
ing wood, for I found a pupa almost in the heart of an old rotten log, two years ago.
Unfortunately the wood in which I kept it was allowed to become too dry, and in conse-
quence the elytra never expanded properly and the specimen was destroyed.

Let me conclude with a few words of advice, which have often been spoken by others,
but which will bear repeating. Every farmer and gardener will consult his best interests
by paying close attention to all the insects which he finds about his land, and by striving
to learn something of their habits. When a strange insect or larva is discovered,
endeavour to place a specimen in the hands of the nearest entomologist, who will be always
glad to inform you whether its habits are injurious or beneficial to plant-life, or, if they
are unknown to him, to try and find out what they are.

THE PLUM CURCULIO (Conotrachelus nenuphar).
BY B. GrOTT, Arkona.

[Figure 55 represents this insect in its various stages, a the larva, b the chrysalis, c
the perfect beetle all magnified. The hair lines at the sides shew the natural size.]

For some considerable time past I have closely watched the operations of this
familiar insect, and my only apology for bringing again this hackneyed theme to the
notice of the public, is that the growing importance of the subject appears to demand it.
I purpose to shew in this paper that our fruit is at present in more danger from the
depredations of this insect, than from any other single enemy operating on it. Not-
withstanding all that has been said and written about this pest, and the good advice
which has been given for its destruction, yet comparatively little is done systematically

85

to destroy it. With the view therefore of directing
special attention to the losses resulting from neglect of
the remedies at hand, I shall as briefly as possible review
the whole subject of this insect and its work, as well as
the remedies which have been suggested for it. This in-
sect was first described by Herbst, a German Entomologist,
as early as the year 1797. It is a foreign aggressor but
the date of its introduction is not known. It is thus ably
described by Dr. Harris, in his "Insects Injurious to Vege-
tation," a work that should be in the hands of every fruit-
grower and agriculturist :

" This weevil, or curculio as it is often called, is a little
Fig. 55. rough, dark-brown or blackish beetle, looking like a dried

bud when it is shaken from the trees, which resemblance is increased by its habit
of drawing up its legs and bending its snout close to the lower side of its body,
and remaining for a time without motion, and seemingly lifeless. It is from three-
twentieths to one-fifth of an inch long, exclusive of the snout, which is rather
longer than the thorax and is bent under the breast, between the fore legs, when at rest.
Its colour is dark-brown, variegated with spots of white, ochre-yellow and black. The
thor ax is uneven ; the wing covers have several short ridges upon them, those on the
middle the of back forming two considerable humps of a black colour, behind which there is a
band of ochre-yellow and white. I have found these beetles as early as the 1 Oth of March, and
have frequently caught them flying in the middle of the day. They begin to sting the
plums as soon as the fruit is set, and continue their operations till the middle of July, or
as some say, until the first of August. In doing this the beetle first makes a small cres-
cent-like incision with its snout in the skin of the plum, and then turning round, inserts
an egg in the wound. From one plum it goes to another until its store of eggs is ex-
hausted, so that where these beetles abound not a plum will escape being stung." There
is some difference of opinion among Entomologists as to the number of broods matured in
a season, but I think that with us there is but one brood, and these the result of insects
emerging from the ground in early spring.

Its relation to fruit culture is very intimate, and the whole aspect of fruit growing is
affected more or less by the existence of this troublesome foe, to the great discouragement
of plum, apricot and nectarine culture, estimable fruits where they can be successfully
grown. We cannot, as some have done, tolerate this insect as a serviceable thinner of
the fruit, for we have found it to be a most relentless destroyer. The female insect makes
a crescent shaped incision in the fruit and deposits there a tiny egg which soon hatches ;
the young and tender grub at once works its way to the germ of the fruit and revels in
its nutritive juices. The seed germ being mutilated, a vital point is attacked, the fruit
loosens its hold on the tree and soon falls to the ground. This is exactly what is needed
by the larva for its development and subsequent escape. If the fruit had dried up and
maintained its hold on the tree the grub would probably have perished. On the ground
the fruit is kept cool and moist and as soon as the grub is fully grown it leaves the fruit
and enters at once under the soil where it is shortly changed to a chrysalis and patiently
waits in obscurity its perfect development.

Its rapid increase is a matter of concern to all growers of the plum as it is spreading
rapidly over every part of the Province where this fruit is grown. At a recent
meeting of the Fruit Growers' Association of Ontario one of the members present ob-
served that " A few years ago there were no curculios at Goderich, now they are there in
full force ; and plum growers are discouraged. It is not yet at Owen Sound, but it
will be by and by." Thus it is gradually widening its field of operation and annually
increasing in numbers. On my own grounds as well as on those of my neighbours,
this fact has been painfully evident during the past year ; not a tree has escaped, and
even the peach, cherry, pear and apple were attacked.

So far as we know in this country the curculio is almost exempt from the attacks of
insect enemies. In the report of the Entomological Society for 1876 mention is made
of two parasites which have been discovered by Prof. Riley operating on this insect in

86

Missouri, namely, Sigalphus curculionis (Fig. 56) and^Porizon conotracheli (Fig. 57). I
am not aware that these friendly insects have yet been taken in Ontario, but it is quite
possible that they may be working unobserved among us. A detailed description of
both these insects may be found in the Report for 1876.

Fig. 56. Fig. 57.

As already stated the curculio does not scruple, in the absence of the plum, to attack
the peach, pear and apple. I was greatly amused during last season in watching the
little Turk at his work upon our young pears and apples. I had a favourite pear tree the
fruit of which I had never before seen, which blossomed nicely and set some five speci-
mens, leading me to hope that I should be able to test their qualities when mature, but in
a few days, lo the crescent ! the familiar distinguishing mark of our fruit enemy was
already seen upon them, and in time they all fell prematurely from the boughs. In many
instances the same insect was noticed working upon the apples. As I was gathering in
my winter apples, a few days ago, I came to a Northern Spy tree, a very large propor-
tion of whose fruit was exceedingly ill-shaped, especially all around the lower branches.
The fruit was disfigured by deep indentations and corresponding swellings or knobs.
Upon examination it was found that those indentures on the fruit contained the mark of
the familiar crescent of the plum curculio which probably will account for their deformed
appearance. It would appear that the insect had cut the tender skin of the young fruit,
which had interfered with the circulation and development in that place. The egg de-
posited had not hatched, or if it had the little grub had died. The crab-apples were by
far the worst affected ; scarcely a sample matured on many fine trees, and a number of
fine young Tetopsky apple trees were totally deprived of their promising crop by the
same enemy. Under such circumstances constant vigilance is necessary to secure a crop of
fruit, and if the annual increase of insect life goes on unchecked it is easily seen that
good fruit will become scarce and more expensive.

The remedies which have been recommended are numerous, and may be divided into
two classes, viz., those that kill and those that merely deter. Under the first class may be
mentioned jarring the trees and gathering up the insects. This is by far the best remedy at
present known. P. Barry, in his excellent work " The Fruit Garden," says that this method
was first recommended by David Thomas, forty years ago, and that on their extensive grounds
it is successfully carried out. Mr. Downing also speaks highly of jarring, and recommends
that it be repeated daily as long as the insects continue to make their appearance. Re-
peated trials have proven beyond question that this rather tedious mode is a very effec-
tual one if persisted in. At a late meeting of the Fruit Growers' Association of Ontario, at
Sarnia, Mr. James Lambert, of Sarnia, said : " He had tried the jarring plan with three trees
and these were breaking down with fruit." Page 33, of 1 878. In the November number of
the Gardener's Monthly, just at hand, it is related of Mr. Cobleigh and Mr. Willard, of
Geneva, N. Y., who are noted and j extensive plum growers, " They practice shaking the
trees, but their method is different from any one we have met with before. They have
two light frames on which light muslin is spread. They look like huge barn doors but
they are very light. These are placed under the trees when they are to be shnken.
Then they have a long handled sort of crutch ; the arm-rester as we would say if it were
a crutch, being nicely padded to prevent injury to the bark. This is pushed up and the
branches jolted and the "little Turk " comes down and is killed by the boys when it falls on

87

the muslin. This is better than the old plan of striking on the trunk. It has to be done
every day, and it would be as well twice a day. Mr. Cobleigh finds it takes two hours
and-a-half to shake 1,600 trees. Abundant evidence is forthcoming to establish the effi-
ciency of this remedy.

Another method suggested is to plant the trees in swine or chicken yards, a plan
which has also been highly recommended. At the meeting of the Fruit Growers' Associa-
tion already referred to, Mr. James Dougall, of Windsor, said, " I find that a hen and
her chickens cooped under the trees, devour a great many curculios, and secure me a crop
of plums." We would, however, rather allow the fowls free roving over the fruit yard at
will. The Hon. Mr. Vidal, of Sarnia, said that " Mr. Baubee made a hen-yard around
his plum trees, and had no more trouble with the curculio." Mr. Barry says "planting
the plum orchard adjoining the hog-pen is probably the easiest and best way of securing
a crop of plums." Mr. J. J. Thomas in his admirable work, The American Fruit Cul-
turist, page 155, says, " experience has thoroughly established the efficiency of this method"
(the confinement of swine among the trees of the plum orchard), and adds, " geese and hens
are to a limited extent useful in repelling or destroying the curculio." Again the late
Dr. Kirtland, of Cleveland, Ohio, says, " This insect in one season destroyed every plum
on my farm, excepting the crop of one tree in my swine lot ; that tree is bending under its
load of fruit." Here we have excellent evidence of the efficiency of this remedy ; we
would say, plant your plum trees together in a lot by themselves, and securely fence them,
then as they begin to bear fruit, keep a sufficient number of hogs or fowls in the yard
during the curculio season. Some cultivators are in favour of keeping hogs thus confined
in the orchard during the whole of the summer season, as it is thought they greatly bene-
fit the soil by their constant rooting and stirring of it. These two are doubtless the most
valuable and efficient remedies known.

Careful picking up of the fallen fruit should, in every case, be attended to
where hogs or fowls have no access, and this before the larvse of the curculio have
had time to escape into the ground. After being gathered they should be burnt or other-
wise boiled or steamed and given as food to swine.

The second class of remedies are those which merely deter the insect from attacking
the fruit. Planting-the plum trees on hard, clay soil has been recommended as a preventa-
tive measure. Mr. Downing says, "we have never known an instance of the curculio
being troublesome in a heavy soil." This statement has been confirmed by observation in
my own neighbourhood, where I have noticed that on heavy clay soils a crop of plums
can usually be secured, and there are hundreds of acres of just such soil where I
believe that thousands of bushels of fine fruit might be annually produced.

It has also been recommended to plant plum trees close beside water-courses to pre-
vent the attacks of curculio, and there are many who have faith in it ; we have seen trees
so planted perfectly loaded with fine fruit, although there was no water flowing at the
time. There are some, however, who deny the efficacy of this measure. J. J. Thomas
says " it was formerly supposed that the instinct of this insect would prevent it from de-
positing eggs on branches hanging over water, but recent experiments prove that it pos-
sesses no such sagacity."

Covering the ground under the tree with lime, plaster, ashes or salt have been used
to prevent the attacks of curculio, and in many cases with apparent success. Yery
recently Mr. M. Watson, of Thedford, told me of a friend of his who had tried plaster ;
he covered the ground under the tree with it and saved his crop of plums. There is also
evidence that salt is useful when properly used. Mr. Downing refers to instances where
it has been used, with complete success; he says, " the best method of applying salt for the
plum weevil is to strew it pretty thickly over the surface when the punctured plums com-
mence to drop." The use of lime is advocated in a similar manner ; some also are in
favour of ashes.

Employing offensive odours in the form of smoke from oil or tar has also been well
spoken of, but these measures are of very doubtful efficacy, and if the insects were thus
driven from one part of the fruit crop they would usually take to another.

Making the ground hard and difficult to penetrate under the trees by plastering with
mortar or paving with stones or shells are measures which have been advocated. Mr.

88

A. Watson in the American Home Garden, says that the most promising remedy is to
"pave closely under the tree with clam or oyster shells, the instinct of the insect leading
it to avoid depositing its eggs in fruit from which, when they drop, its progeny can find
no safe retreat." Mr. Downing speaks of plum trees growing in hard trodden court-
yards which usually bear plentiful crops. Some have also recommended the use of chips
and small pieces of wood placed around the trees as traps for the curculio, but it is very
doubtful if any of these methods will ever take the place of jarring.

NATURE PRINTED BUTTERFLIES.

By James Fletcher, Ottawa, Ont.

The season of warm days, flowers, and butterflies is over now, and the look-out is
cold, bleak and bare. Apparently there is little for the scientific lover of nature to do in
the way of collections at this time of year ; such however is far from being actually the
case, as all who have collected will testify. It is in fact one of the busiest seasons for
collectors. All the treasures gathered during the summer months have to be gone through.
In the first place those known have to be taken out and sorted away into their proper
places in the cabinet ; the remainder then have to be re-sorted and divided up into sets
according to the families to which they appear to belong, and after this they have to be
examined critically and if possible identified. It frequently happens that a collector of
butterflies has an opportunity of capturing a large number of some local species, in one
day, and finds it impossible or irksome to set them all before they become too dry, as they
will in a very short time in hot weather. When they are once dry, too, one is apt to think
that as they can get no worse they may safely be put aside until some more convenient
occasion to be relaxed and set up, but this convenient occasion, like a good many others,
is sometimes very long coming, and many valuable specimens are thus lost. An
accident which occurred to the glass of one of my butterfly cabinet drawers lately,
was the means of reminding me of a process shewn me some years ago by a Cap-
tain Lloyd, of the English Navy. The accident referred to was the -breaking of the
cover of one of my cases which contained some rare butterflies, in consequence of which
it was impossible to close the door of the cabinet tightly. My horror can be better
imagined than expressed when, upon opening the door and pulling out this drawer, about
a fortnight afterwards, I found that there was not a single perfect specimen in it — a
mouse had got in and what was once a neatly arranged case of butterflies was now
nothing but a chaos of nibbled bodies, loose wings, pins, and labels. I had not the heart
at first to throw out these fragments and so wipe out entirely the pleasing recollections
each brought up in my mind of rambles through the woods and in the country ; so care-
fully gathering up the wings I put them away in a little box. The idea then struck me
of printing them as I had seen my old friend do them — and as I think it would be a very
convenient way for Entomologists and agriculturists to send butterflies for 'dentification,
when spare duplicates are to be had, I am induced to send a description of the modus
operandi. Take the insect in your left hand, holding it beneath the thorax, then with a pair
of sharply-pointed scissors cut off the wings as close to the body as possible ; occasionally,
unless the scissors are very sharp, some of the muscles are torn away from the thorax with
the wings, these must be carefully removed ; arrange the wings in pairs and put them
with the body on one side in some convenient place where they may be easily got at when
you are ready for them. Now take a piece of white paper of the size required, and fold it
in two like a sheet of note paper, then with a camel-hair brush lay on a thin wash of per-
fectly clear gum arabic, fold down the upper half and pass the hand lightly over it so as
to spread the gum evenly between the two sides ; now re-open it, and taking up the wings
with the tip of the brush, the lower ones first, arrange them carefully in the position
wanted, leaving space enough intervening between the two pairs to paint in the body
afterwards. Spare no pains in arranging the wings ; this corresponds with " setting " for
a cabinet. I have seen many good collections of insects, made by amateurs, rendered al-
most useless by the want of a little thought on this point. The proper position for a but-

89

terfly to be set in is that which it takes when sunning itself. Oopy nature, and you cai. .
go wrong. When the wings are quite even, gently fold down the upper half of the paper
and put your specimen under a heavy weight or in a press until quite dry — I generally
leave mine for some hours at least. When it is quite dry take it out and place it against/ a
window-pane, so that the butterfly may be clearly denned against the light. Now, very
carefully draw a line with a black lead pencil round the edge of the wings, then lay it down
on an even surface, and paint with clean water all over the part outside and up to the out-
line. After a few minutes the water will saturate the paper and dissolve the gum ; the
two sides will, then separate easily, and this being done it will be found that on one side
is a perfect representation of the upper side of the butterfly, on the opposite another of
the uE &r side, and loose between these a perfectly clear horny membrane ; the explana-
tion of this is, the upper ends of the scales are adhering to the gum, and what we now
look at are the lower ends or roots. When painting with water, to dissolve the gum,
great care must be taken not to let it run over the outline on to the wings, or else the
scales will not adhere to the paper, but will remain on the membrane.

The work is not yet finished, however ; a most important part has still to be done ;
this is the filling in of the body and antennae ; the easiest way to do this is with a fine
pen and some water-colours. Place the body, from which the wings were severed, before
you and copy it, taking particular notice of any characteristic markings, as for instance,
the colour of the eyes, legs, or antennae. When finished, cut it out with a pair of sharp
scissors, paste it in an album and write a short description of its capture, giving the date,
locality and any other interesting circumstances connected with it. I have found it is
easier to put in the antennae after the prints are gummed into the collection as on account
of their fragility, they are difficult to cut out neatly. Should the collector happen to be
an artist, a most beautiful collection may be made in this manner by painting pretty
designs with flowers for each species, and gumming the butterflies in, in natural positions ;
of course too, its scientific value will be materially increased if those plants are introduced
to which the insect is most partial, and when possible, a sketch of the larva and pupa is
added.

The chief advantages of this process are, the ease with which it is done ; the great
convenience with which the specimens are preserved or transmitted through the post for
identification or exchange ; their great durability, for they will stand much rougher
handling than specimens preserved in the ordinary way ; and more important than all these
the fact that if you have only one specimen, you can shew both the upper and under sides
at once, and also the membranous skeleton of the wings, which can thus be very easily
examined and makes a beautiful object for the microscope ; moreover, if you have only an
imperfect specimen it is possible to preserve a good likeness of it by filling in the wanting
parts with water-colours ; and further, it does not matter how old your specimens are ; I
have some prints which I have taken from butterflies collected in India more than twenty
years ago which are quite as good as others printed on the same day that the insects were
caught here.

SPCL SJS 354,6 CX F7*3 ^7^'^