ae SNE (NS . ee he aS id CAT Wet Sake eR Eas WAY i Spas : Hes INA LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. Ws ee Rin) ee __ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ns ZN) YS Ss" 2 ‘i eo A Lis BAS items ‘op ait Kee gM af a tle oe ee Sic oS co = x iz NS Gi fm a] aN = aN r= uy | ye oan ly Peas on rat. 1A MA re ‘ Aaa ah ae ont? COR eR tas ane PEON oth 4 Dg = aye CaN. | Way 4 i. i hts Ly as H aN LY bad Bane ak We, oe a ay RWad meals Na Gem ag Ah se PANS eae cal te ee 432 OTT fie See he i ign Ob == Fig. 17.—FIXED MARKER. Fig. 18.—ADJUSTABLE MARKER. between the trees will be the length of the radius of a circle, which can be easily swept with a cord of that length, or by a marker for this purpose. The fixed mark- er is made by nailing two light strips to stakes the width apart for the distance from tree to tree. The adjustable marker has one of the stakes movable on a bar, and fast- ened with a key at any de- sired distance. I have found no way so convenient as to make a tri- angle of narrow boards the desired length, nailed at the ends, and with braces from each point to the middle of the opposite side, fastening well at the intersections. Having a base line, I move this triangle along from one tree to another, making holes and setting trees at the points. Repeat the oper- ation for each row till the trees are all planted. Besides the gain of about one row in seven over squares, Fig. 19.—MOVABLE TRIANGLE. 46 QUINCE CULTURE. the quincunx plan allows of cultivation all ways, which keeps the ground in fine condition with the least labor. Laid out in squares fifteen feet apart, an acre will take Fig. 20.—LOCATING BOARD. two hundred trees ; in quincunx, at the same distance, it will take two hundred and twenty-two trees. At twelve feet in squares it will take three hundred and two, and Cages ‘ nul LL Ae AMS 4 i f et Sa in a ee fi WN ‘ ff iy ] 2 ae ne ng =e T= Wii wT, Ay Fig. 21.—LOCATING BOARD IN USE. in quincunx three hundred and seventy. At ten feet in squares it will take four hundred and thirty-five, and in quincunx four hundred and ninety-seven trees for an acre. at ee ne TRANSPLANTING THE QUINCE. 44 After the peg is placed for the location of the tree, it will be found convenient, when the triangle is not used, to have a board seven or eight feet long with a notch on one side in the middle and a hole at each end equidistant from the notch. Place the board so that the notch will receive the peg, and stick a pin through each hole. Lift the board, leaving the pins, and dig the hole for the tree. Replace the board on the pins, and set the tree in the notch, and it will be sure to stand where the marking peg was driven. With pins enough to do this, the entire orchard may be laid out before a tree is set. CHAPTER VIII. TRANSPLANTING THE QUINCE. No part of culture is more important than transplant- ing, and, as generally practised, none is done so badly, or with less regard to the principles involved. The digging often robs the tree of nearly all its fibrous roots, and the planting crowds what few are left into the smallest hole that will hold them ; so that, between the careless digger, and the thoughtless planter, the tree dies; or, if it lives, makes a feeble growth, and never affords satisfaction to any one. ; _ How and when to transplant are the two chief points on which depend success or failure. In taking up a tree great care is necessary to preserve all its roots, large and small. If every root and rootlet could be preserved in- tact, and then well placed in the new location, there would be but little check to its growth. The nearer we come to this the better the prospect of success. The length of the roots being reckoned equal to the hight of the tree, we can tell about how far from the base of the tree 48 QUINCE CULTURE. we should begin to dig to get under the outer portion of its roots. What is commonly called a forked spade is the best implement I have used, as it does not cut the roots, and bruises them but little. The digger should stand with his side toward the tree, and this fork will then go down so as to lift the roots entire, by work- ing from the outer ends to the tree. The larger share of fibrous roots will be found comparatively near the surface. As soon as the tree is dug, earth must be thrown over Fz me FES SESS = C4 {. FL ey’ Fig. 22. GOOD AND BAD DIGGING. its roots to keep them from drying by sun or wind. A cloudy day is desirable, and is all the better if damp and without wind. If the tree has been raised from seed it will have a tap- root ; but if from a cutting there will be only laterals to care for. If any roots are bruised or broken in digging, it will be well to pare off the bruised parts smoothly, and cut the ends of broken roots with a slant upward, so that the callus formed will emit roots downward from these cut ends. The hole for the tree should be about two spades deep, TRANSPLANTING THE QUINCE. 49 and wider than the roots are long. In most soils it pays to dig a hole from four to six feet across to plant a one year old tree, and still wider for older trees. Throw out the subsoil by itself, and either spread it around on the surface, to be acted on by sun, rain, and frost, or to be re- moved for other uses. The top soil is then filled into the bottom of the hole, and the tree set on this so as to be a hitle deeper than it was before. Fill in among the roots with rich soil rather than manure ; for though it may be well rotted, it will be generally too dry, and if fresh will injure by the fungi it produces. Rich manuring on the top of the ground after the tree is planted will promote a vigorous growth. When the hole is nearly filled, a very liberal mulch of leaves, straw, or any such material should be well spread in, and covered up with earth. It will prevent the tree from suffering in drought, promote the absorption of nitrogen from the air, and by rotting become a good fertilizer. If the tree has large roots, great care is needed to insure them against hollows that produce decay. A little water may be needed to make sure that the earth presses against every part. After the operation is well performed, watering on the surface will not be needed, as the mulch prevents evaporation. If so watered at transplanting as to get the earth well pressed against the roots, and then properly mulched, trees will never need watering again, except by natural rains. How much room to give the quince depends on cir- cumstances and surroundings, and the form of head de- sired. Such writers as Cole, Thomas, and Downing rec- ommend six, eight, ten, and twelve feet apart. I have tried them all, and decided on fifteen feet as being close enough for the highest success. By studying the possi- bilities of this fruit, we must decide how wide we will plant. Sometimes a quince tree exceeds all expectation. In 1857 there was a quince tree near Geneva, New York, 50 QUINCE CULTURE. that was thirty feet high, with a trunk six feet around, and had branches extending over a circle seventy-five feet in circumference, It was thought to be the largest quince tree on record. I have read of a tree on a thorn root that produced five bushels a year. On this root the quince is long-lived. But { have seen the trees over sixty years old on their own roots, and still bearing well. The size of a tree most desirable for transplanting must necessarily vary with circumstances. As a rule, young and thrifty trees will grow best, because they lose _ a smaller proportion of their fibrous roots. Large trees are more likely to be checked by transplanting, because of the greater loss of roots. If the tree to be trans- planted has not been cut back go as to reduce the top to a good proportion with the roots before being set, it must not be forgotten afterward, as much depends on this. If there has been a great loss of roots, as’ is often the case, it is better to reduce the top very severely, perhaps to one or two buds of the new wood. The tree will be larger at the end of the season’s growth, and of better form. A suitable preparation of the ground is more conven- iently made before the trees are planted. No pains should be spared to so prepare the ground that it will exactly supply every want of the trees, and at once push them into a vigorous growth. If not well prepared then, no after labor can fully supply the deficiency. The importance of thorough work was illustrated by the experience of a man who had a hundred trees to set, and going from home for a day, left a man to plant them in his absence. Returning at night, he was offended with his help because he had only set nine of the hundred. So he discharged him, and next day planted the ninety- one remaining himself. But, to his surprise, when they bore, the crop from the nine was worth more than that TRANSPLANTING THE QUINCE. 51 of the ninety-one. In tree planting, as elsewhere, “ haste makes waste.” If worth doing at all, it is worth doing right. , The quince should not be planted in grain or grass, and especially a clover sod. Low, hoed crops, like beans or turnips, can be cultivated among the trees when small, because their culture necessitates fertilizing and stirring the ground; but as soon as the trees get large, nothing else should be allowed to grow among them. If the ‘roots happen to get frozen while above ground, they will die if thawed in the air; but if buried in the soil, and TWO METHODS OF HEELING. allowed to thaw there, they will live and grow. To freeze and thaw in the earth does them no apparent harm. If a tree has become dry and shriveled in transpor- tation, its plumpness may be restored by burying both top and roots for a few days; but if put in water, it may become water-soaked, and so fail. The stem and branches of a newly transplanted tree may be greatly benefited by watering before the leaves appear, especially when there has been much loss of the roots. When the trees come to the planter from a nursery, it is best to heel them in at once; for there is no way in which they can be kept so well as in the earth. Once properly heeled in, the planter can take time to plant each tree. 52 QUINCE CULTURE. Trees received in the fall for spring planting can be kept in this way in good condition, and will be ready to plant earlier than where the planter waits till spring be- fore ordering them, because in the hurry of spring work some must necessarily wait. If trees are heeled-in in bundles, those inside are not pressed by the earth, and become dry. If the trees slope toward the south, they will not thaw out as soon in spring, as the tips shade the ground toward the sun. Heeling-in erect is only recommended where there is danger from mice. The place for heeling-in should be high enough to secure freedom from all danger of the trees becoming water-soaked. A sheltered situation is most desirable. CHAPTER IX. WHEN TO TRANSPLANT—KEEPING A RECORD—EF- FECTS OF WINDS—STRAIGHTENING TREES. THE best season to transplant is when the sap is compar- atively dormant, between the fall of the leaves in autumn and the development of the buds inspring. To decide in- telligently what is the best time to transplant we should, as far as possible, take into account the various agents that influence vegetation, such as the relative warmth of the soil and atmosphere, and the mildness or severity of the climate in winter. Then, again, the nature of the soil will be an important consideration, as also the facility for doing the work in the best manner, The greatest difference between the mean temperature of the earth and the air is in October, when the earth a foot below the surface is from a degree to a degree and a half WHEN TO TRANSPLANT, ETC. 53 above the mean temperature of the air. Some soils are much warmer than others, and serve as a natural hot-bed for the roots of the newly-set tree, encouraging the for- mation of a callus on cut and bruised roots as well as the emission of many new roots, and so preparing for a vigorous start in the spring, as well as a successful win- tering. The greater cold of the air prevents the buds from starting until the warmth of spring, when vegeta- tion generally becomes active. Where the climate is too cold for the newly-set trees to carry forward the healing of cut and bruised roots, which is the case where winter sets in early, and the ground freezes as deep as the roots extend, there will be great danger from fall planting. The freezing and thawing of all heavy soils operates greatly to the disad- vantage of all newly-planted trees. In warm, dry, and sandy soils, if the setting is well done any time before winter begins, or even during the mild spells of winter, success is a reasonable expectation. The soil is cold in the spring, and is much more slowly heated than the air, which stimulates the buds, and new leaves are developed more rapidly than the roots, and, as a consequence, the reduced roots of the transplanted tree are heavily taxed to supply the needed moisture. Now unless the top was cut back in pro- portion to the roots, the tree will suffer, and may die. Often the spring-set tree leaves out as well as the fall-set tree, but suddenly dries up and fails because the roots can not supply moisture. It does not matter whether a tree is Just set, or has been long established, if moisture does not get into its top as fast as it dries out the tree will die, in the summer or winter, fall or spring. Trees set in the fall are in more favorable circumstances to get the benefit of the winter and spring rains to settle the earth among their roots ; and being thus established, they are ready to commence new growth in the first warm 54 QUINCE CULTURE. days of spring. Now where this is delayed till spring, it is often quite late before the ground is ready to work ; and if the season be backward, it is all the more impor- tant to have them in their places. Nurserymen generally not only send out the first choice in the fall, but give the trees a more careful handling, as they have more time at command. If not ready to set the trees, it may be better to secure the stock and heel in till ready. Spring planting will suit better than fall in Northern latitudes, where the ground freezes very deep, or where the soil is heavy and heaves with frost. At the North the trees are liable to be thrown up by alternate freezing and thawing, and the roots are often injured by being saturated with water in a heavy undrained soil. If the situation is very much exposed, staking may save the rootlets from being twisted off. If delayed till spring, always do this work as early as the circumstances will allow. KeEEpPInc A Recorp.—When different varieties of quinces have been planted in the same orchard, it will be useful to preserve a record or map of the location of each variety, as the labels on the trees soon fade, and memory is not to be trusted in years of change. Such a record will be found valuable for the use of new propri- etors, and, in case of the death or removal of the planter, will be of much importance. No system of labeling can be of equal value. Errects or Winp.—Whether winds will benefit or injure trees will depend on their character, and the degree of force with which they move. ‘The swaying of the limbs and branches of trees as they are moved by the common winds that blow in every direction are beneficial, serving for them the purpose that exercise does for the animal creation. All know that exercise strengthens and promotes growth, and only becomes injurious when it is PROPAGATION OF THE QUINCE. 5d excessive. So with the motions of trees produced by winds, especially during the growing season. ‘The mild wind blows And beauty glows,”’ but when the storm king rides on the wings of the wind in the sweeping hurricane, what was a benefit becomes an injury. Experiment has shown a diminished growth in the part of a tree not moved by the wind, and that wind-breaks are very desirable to prevent excessive sweeps of winds and storms. STRAIGHTENING LEANING TREES.—Trees in an or- chard are often seen out of an erect position, which may arise from winds or other causes. In all such cases it will add to beauty and the convenience of culture to straighten up the leaning trees. This is easily done by setting a stake a little distance from the tree, and then fastening the tree to it with a wire or cord, thus securing it in a perpendicular position during the growing season. I have found a single year’s growth in the desired posi- tion all that was necessary for permanence. It is best to do this when trees are quite small; or, if large, when blown over, without delay. -CHAPTER X. PROPAGATION OF THE QUINCE. THE quince may be multiplied from seeds, cuttings, and layers. The seed of a species will always produce its kind, but the seed of a variety is uncertain. If propa- gated from layers or cuttings, or by grafting or bud- ding, the trees will always be of the same variety as the parent tree. 1. PRopAGATION BY SpEDS.—AIl the recent varieties 56 QUINCE CULTURE, of merit seem to be chance seedlings, which suggests that seed should be selected from the best specimens of the choicest varieties, that there may be still further im- provement. Quince seed for planting should never be allowed to get thoroughly dried before it is planted. If not convenient to plant when taken from the fruit, preserve it in moist sand till spring, when, in a well- prepared seed-bed, it should be covered two or three inches deep, and treated as other seedlings. Any one desiring to improve the quince by seedlings will do well <= oy Se a & Pet /}— elle >" \S <= Wuhhgilde Fig. 26.—LAYERING. to study the theories of Van Mons, of Belgium, and Knight, of England, as described by Downing. 2. PROPAGATION BY LayeErRs.—It is a very simple operation to bend down a limb, and keep it covered with moist earth till it is rooted, and then cut it from the parent tree. If the bent branch is partly cut off or slit up under a bud, or twisted like a withe at the lowest point, it will help both the bending and rooting. A wire twisted around the layer just below the bottom bud in the ground, and holes punched through above and below PROPAGATION OF THE QUINCE. 57 the wire, may help; or the holes may be made through the layer in the buried portion to stimulate its rooting from the callus of the wounds. The bark is sometimes cut nearly around the layer just below a bud, and bits of wood removed below this cut to induce the formation of a callus, from which roots are emitted. It is some- times necessary to fasten down stiff branches with a forked peg or a weight. Young shoots of thrifty trees make the best layers. arly spring is the best time to put down layers, that they may be well rooted by autumn. Mound Layers or Stool Layers differ from the others \ ZZ Ss ZZ, cS \Ze AX Db SS Fig. 27.—MOUND OR STOOL LAYERING. by having the earth heaped up around them instead of being buried in the earth. The sprouts from stumps or around growing trees, being well banked up, will readily root as high as moist earth presses against them. 3. PRopAGATION BY CuTTINGS is probably the best method of multiplying quince trees. Cuttings of large branches are better than those of small shoots. The amount of wood seems to measure the vital force to form both roots and tops. From twelve to fifteen inches 1s a good length, enabling us to plant deeply, and so guard against drought. Small cuttings may be cut shorter, and 58 QUINCE CULTURE. have a piece of apple or quince root grafted on to push them. ‘The chief thing is to guard against the exhaus- tion of sap by evaporation until roots are formed. Fa- cilities for regulating light, heat, air, and moisture with precision will enable us to succeed with a succulent cut- ting furnished with a few leaves. When the air is By my PAK NA) Wa A= ery Yj YY Lp WL Flg. 28.—LARGE CUTTING. Fig. 29.—ROOT-GRAFTING. warmer than the earth, buds are excited more than roots; and when the ground is warmest, root growth is most ex- cited. Hence the custom of burying cuttings inverted during the winter, to keep the buds dormant while a callus is forming for the emission of roots. In preparing the small cuttings to receive the pieces of roots grafted on them, the chief thing is to have their 7" ~~ ©. 3S PROPAGATION OF THE QUINCE. a9 cut ends fit, so that the inner bark shall match at least on one side and at the end of the cutting. These grafted cuttings may be quickly dibbled in. making a hole deep enough to receive the whole length except a bud or two above the surface. Holding the cutting in the hole at the right depth with the left hand, push the earth firmly against the cutting with the -dibble, as you would in planting a cabbage. For lack of such firming the earth there are many failures. The fall, after the leaves have dropped, is generally preferred for taking the cuttings ; but they may be taken 8 \ Fig. 30.—ROOT CUTTING, much later. I have had some cuttings grow in the open air, which were made in May, after the trees were growing. Root Cuttings a foot or so long are best prepared be- fore the buds sweil in spring. I have trees from pieces of roots cut off by the plow as late as June. Plant at an angle of about forty-five degrees, or as near as you can to their natural position. 4, PROPAGATION BY GRAFTING is successful where the inner barks of both stock and cion are made to fit to- gether. A union forms most readily between varieties of the same species; next between species of the same genus, and is limited by genera of the same natural order. By this law one variety of quince will do best grafted on 60 QUINCE CULTURE. another ; and next on the apple, white thorn, and June- berry. On the white thorn it escapes the borer. The choice of wood for cuttings is last year’s growth from near the center of the tree. Be sure they are from healthy and vigorous trees. If trees are propagated from bearing wrood they will come into fruit sooner than if from blind wood. Here is a rea- son for the difference in the bearing age of trees from the same parentage. Spring is the best time for grafting, except the root grafting already described. In March we work by the methods best suited while the bark adheres to the wood, and later by those suited to a bark easily separated from it. Cleft Grafting is the most common method, and is done by cutting off the stock smoothly, and splitting it il iN on? Fig. 31. SPLITTING KNIFE AND CHISEL. Fig. 32.—CLEFT GRAFTING. Fig. 33.—SPLICE GRAFTING. down from an inch and a half to two inches, according to the size of the stock and the thickness of the cion. Into the cleft set the cion, with the end cut wedge- shaped, the outer edge a trifle thickest, and so placed that the liber or inner bark of the graft and stock shall PROPAGATION OF THE QUINCE. 61 match ; then bind and cover all exposed parts with wax or clay, and the work is complete. Splice Grafting or Whip Grafting is only adapted to small stocks. If the stock and cion are of the same size, they will make a perfect match. If one is larger than the other, they will match on one side and end. Cut each with a slope about an inch and a half long, and make a tongue for convenience in matching the parts. Bind to- gether and wax well. Saddle Grafting is a modifi- cation of whip grafting easily understood by the illustration. | Side Grafting is a simple way of propagation free from some of the objections to cleft grafting. It isa very convenient method of inserting a limb to restore a balance to the head, or provide shade for exposed Fig. 34.—SADDLE GRAFTING. Fig. 35. ies SIDE GRAFTING—TWO METHODS. parts. The first method is like budding with the bud extended to acion. The second is like cleft grafting, in a cut on the side of a tree or limb. Crown Grafting differs from side grafting by having 62 QUINCE CULTURE. the stock cut off as in cleft grafting. It is specially ser- viceable for stocks too large to split, and is best done CROWN GRAFTING. when the bark will slip. The stock is not split, but the tongue of the cion is slipped down under the bark as in budding. The advantages of cions with only one or two, buds are, that they do not dry as soon as longer cions, they CT Fig. 39.—BUDDING KNIFE. afford less leverage to winds, and are less liable to be injured by birds lighting on them. i) WH) a i Fig. 40.—BUDDING KNIFE. 5. PROPAGATION BY BUDDING follows the same law of affinity observed in grafting. ‘The buds may be taken ' a 7 ¢ PROPAGATION OF THE QUINCE. 63 from wood of the crowing shoots well matured, or from the preceding year’s growth. A cion too late for graft- it { Fig. 41.—STICK OF BUDS. : Fig. 42.—cUTTING A BUD. ing may be treated as a cutting till its buds can be used. The bark ofa quince tree can be raised for the insertion of a bud most of the growing season. The best place to insert it is near a bud, or where a bud has become a branch, as the supply of cambium is there most abundant. The bud, with its shield of bark, is cut from above or below, beginning to cut half an inch off, and so cutting as to leave a thin piece of wood under the bud. On the stock cuts are made like a [T. The corners of the bark . being lifted, we slide the bud to its place, and complete the operation by winding a ligament of bass or raffia around the stock above and below the bud, tying it securely. Fig. 43.—TRAINING A Failure may arise from injury to 5 eas cappateabeaies the cambium in cutting and raising shoot; B, place to cut off the Stock afterward. 64 QUINCE CULTURE. the bark of the stock, from too narrow a cross-cut to receive the shield of the bud, from using immature buds, from the shield being too short (it should be at least an inch long), and from being loosely tied, so as to dry out. The south side of a stock is dryer in summer, and so is to be avoided. CHAPTER XI. PRUNING THE QUINCE. In a natural condition we may regard it as a rule that the tree will maintain a harmonious relation of all its parts. The roots and branches will correspond with each other. Every twig, bud, or leaf removed from the top, and every fiber and spongelet cut off from the roots, will hurt or help the tree. No one is competent to re- duce the roots, or diminish the leaves and branches, unless he possesses enough knowledge of the laws which regulate the action of the organs of vegetation to foresee the effect which will follow such removals. J. Lindley truly says: ‘‘ If well-directed, pruning is one of the most useful, and, if ill-directed, it is among the most mis- chieyous operations that can take place upon a plant.” 1. PrRuNING AT TRANSPLANTING.—As already stated elsewhere, all bruised and decayed roots should be re- moved ; but the case is different with healthy roots. We must remember that every healthy and unmutilated root which is removed is a loss of nutriment to the plant, and that, too, at a time when it is least able to spare it; and there can not be any advantage in the removal. The top should always be cut back at this time, so as to preserve a balance in its proportion to the reduced roots. If we infringe on the reciprocal action which naturally exists PRUNING THE QUINCE. 65 between the roots and branches, evil results will surely follow. The accumulated life-force sets the roots to forming new spongioles, and the buds to developing their leaves; the elementary substances, which the roots absorb, are acted on by the leaves,and the new mate- rial thus prepared extends both the roots and branches. If transplanting has been well performed, the tree will need little more pruning than would otherwise be desir- able to promote a more vigorous growth; but if the roots have suffered in being dug, there will be a decided ad- vantage in cutting back the new shoots to the fewest Wits iW) Sh HM) vA i} ill ; Fig. 44,—PRUNING SHEARS. buds that will give the desired form to the head of the tree. 2. PRUNING FOR Form.—The intelligent and observ- ing horticulturist will find, by starting with a young tree, that he can secure almost any form desired, by judicious pruning. Trees make the most vigorous growth from terminal buds. By cutting off the shoots by upper and under buds the new growth will be upward or downward ; and side buds will give a growth to the right or the left. Keeping in miné the general principle that limbs must not grow so as to cross and chafe each other, I have settled into the practice of cutting back all my trees annually, begin- ning when they are one year old, and following them up as they increase in size and multiply their branches. The 66 QUINCE CULTURE. eut should be made far enough above the bud to insure its not drying out, and near enough to grow over the end as the tree enlarges. The age of the tree, and its thriftiness or feebleness, must be taken into account in determining how far back to cut. The quince tree is naturally inclined to grow into a bushy head, but it, also pushes up one or more leaders, and can be trained into a regular tree-form if that be desired. To secure an upright growth, cut back the leader to an inside bud. ‘To spread out branches, cut so as to leave the bud on the outside. Clean off a large portion of the little twigs that multiply and die along neglected branches, and besides saving resources, you will Fig. 45.—BuDS AND BRANCHES. improve the smoothness and beauty of the limbs. The fact that so many of these die along the limbs is Na- . ture’s admonition to prune the tree. It is quite com- mon for the buds along a vigorous shoot to develop threefold, and it will add to the beauty and symmetry of the form to begin with the young tree and rub off all but the strongest bud ; and where limbs are not wanted, rub all off. This will direct the energy of the tree into the most desirable channels. It is worth while to go over a tree for this purpose a number of times during the growing season, because one strong shoot is worth more than two or three feeble ones having - the same amount of material divided between them. PRUNING THE QUINCE. 67 At a (fig. 45) are triple buds at a favorable age to easily rub off supernumeraries. At they are so far developed -as to need the knife to cut off the extras. At c we have the vigorous shoots growing as desired. How much to cut back each year is a matter of judg- ment. Inashoot from one to two feet long, cut back about half the length. A growth of three to five feet may be reduced a little more than one-half. Treated in this way, the tree pushes vigorous side shoots, and makes a lower head, which is less affected by winds, is more convenient to keep in order, the fruit is easily gathered, and however heavy the crop, the branches are so stocky they never break. If a cone-shaped head is desired (and this is the ideal form of many), it can be secured by leaving the lower branches longest. The natural flow of sap to the upper branches will be diminished, and increased in the lower, and thus their growth will be proportionally increased. If the branches are nearer than four to six inches, cut out those worst situated, or - least likely to be fruitful. A judicious thinning and shortening of crowded and irregular branches will promote both thrift and fruitfulness. When a shoot pushes go strongly as to attract to itself too much of the nutriment of the tree, pinch off the end, and repeat the operation till its buds push like those on the other shoots, till, by compelling an equal distribution of nutriment, all shoots grow in like proportions, if not equally. 3. PRUNING To PromoTE GrowTH.—When a stunted tree is cut back judiciously, the remaining buds may be expected to grow with renewed vigor, because the forces of growth are concentrated on a smaller number of buds, The inner bark of a feeble tree is thinner, and the sap vessels smaller; the more concentrated growth thickens the bark and enlarges the sap vessels; and so there isa more ready flow of all the nourishing fluids, and a consequent increase of growth. In the laboratory of the leaves the 68 QUINCE CULTURE. sap is matured, and as it descends through the bark to the roots it deposits the matter which is added to the tree ; while the part of the sap not thus expended goes into the alburnum, and joins the upward current, com- municating powers unknown to the recently absorbed fluid. What is thus true in regard to a feeble tree is yet more manifest in stronger and older trees. To secure all the benefit, the pruning should be done in the winter, when there is the greatest amount of vitality stored up for use the coming season. In the latitude where the ground seldom freezes deep, the tree continues to absorb food by its rootlets, which is dis- tributed over the branches. But when the prunings are wanted for cuttings, they will be found that much stronger for the same reason. I have never taken off cuttings for propagation earlier than December or Janu- ary, though I have no doubt of their success when taken earlier. I can not too strongly recommend a severe pruning of feeble young trees, both in the nursery and orchard. If we leave only a bud or two, the concentration of vigor may restore a healthy growth to the tree, which will continue as long as other conditions are favorable. 4, PRUNING FOR FRUITFULNESS.—The general law is, that excessive growth and great fruitfulness can not co-exist in the same plant. Accordingly, a number of devices are employed to so far change the growth as to secure the formation of fruit buds. ‘‘'The buds of fruit trees which produce blossoms, and those which afford leaves only, in the spring, do not at all differ from each other, in their first stage of organization, as buds. Hach contains the rudiment of leaves only, which are subse- quently transformed into the component parts of the blossom, and in some species of the fruit also.” From the freaks in Nature’s mode of operation, it is plain that, while the various parts of a blossom differ both in ap- PRUNING THE QUINCE. 65 pearance and office from the leaves, yet, under some cir- cumstances, they all assume the same appearance and office. Accepting this idea, we are still unable to ex- plain how or why a given course of treatment causes a tree to convert a part of its buds into flowers, by forming their leaf-scales into calyx, corolla, stamens, and pistils, while its other buds become branches clothed with nothing but leaves. The period of fruitfulness varies in different species of plants, and in different varieties of the same species. It is often in our power to advance or retard these periods by our methods of cultivation. ‘The law as stated by Lindley is, ‘‘ Whatever produces excessive vigor in plants is favorable to the formation of leaf-buds, and unfavor- able to the production of flower-buds; while, on the other hand, such circumstances as tend to diminish lux- uriance, and to check rapid vegetation, without affecting the health of the individual, are more favorable to the production of flower-buds than of leaf-buds.” (a.) Root Pruning, if performed at the right time, checks too vigorous growth in highly cultivated trees and renders them fruitful. How far from the trunk of the tree to cut off the roots must be determined by the size of the tree. Wm. Saunders recommends from three to six feet from the stem, according to the size of the tree, and to perform the operation by digging a circular trench, so as to cut off all the roots. He says: ‘‘If done in August, the supply of sap will immediately be lessened, -- the wood-maturing principle accelerated, and fruit-buds formed. The operation has been performed in spring with but little benefit, but if done in the fall can not fail in producing the desited results.” F. P. Gasson cuts off the roots of a tree four inches in diameter, within two feet of the trunk, only leaving a circle of roots four feet in diameter ; and this, too, after the leaves have fallen in autumn. He fertilizes liberally in the fall with solid fo QUINCE CULTURE. manure. The following spring and summer he waters well with rich liquid manure, especially if the weather be dry; and besides, gives an annual dressing of lime. Asa result of this treatment his trees make short, stiff wood, well supplied with fruit buds. He thins out the small and poor fruit, and then allows the trees to bear full crops. The pruning is done every second year, widening the circle of roots at each successive pruning. The unproductive tree is sometimes brought into bear- ing by being transplanted. The check to growth stops the leaves from consuming the nutriment accumulated in the branches, and which they would have expended in making more wood, and so nutritious matter accumulates and fruit-buds are formed. ‘The same principle is seen to operate in the abundant crops that follow the years — PRUNING THE QUINCE. 71 when trees have their crops destroyed by late frosts. An excessive crop so far exhausts the nutritious matter stored in the branches, that the tree takes an off year to recover and lay up for the next. (b.) Pruning the Limbs to promote fruitfulness must of necessity be done in the summer, when it will reduce the young wood-growth, and so lead to such an accumu- lation of sap in the branch as will organize the remaining buds to produce fruit. ‘If of two unequal branches the stronger is shortened, and stopped in its growth, the other becomes stronger; and this is one of the most useful facts connected with pruning, because it enables a skillful cultivator to equalize the rate of growth of all parts of a tree.” | This shortening of the growing twigs should be done when they are so tender they can be pinched off with the thumb and finger. If the next bud immediately pushes into another extension of the shoot, it will be necessary to pinch off again a little further on, even to the third G2 QUINCE CULTURE. or fourth time. An excess of wood is the occasion of barrenness oftener than is supposed. ‘The tree exhausts its strength in sustaining and extending its woody fiber at so many points, that it has little vigor left to form fruit-buds or mature a crop of fruit. Nature intimates this sometimes by all at once dropping off all the fruit that is set after an abundant blossoming. The outer branches are most fruitful as a rule; and if the head is kept open the fruit is better. The two pictures of one of my trees are an illustration of such an experience. This tree, now eight years old, Fig. 48. Fig. 49, BAD AND GOOD PRUNING. RESULT OF BAD PRUNING. grew about sixteen inches from the cutting the first year, and was then transplanted, and cut back to within six inches of the ground. The second year it made a growth of four shoots of about five feet each; and these, in turn, were cut back to about three feet, throwing out the side shoots that form the head. When five years old it stood eight feet and five inches high before it was pruned. It has borne since it was three years old, the last crop being one hundred and twenty quinces, the two largest filling a quart can. The longest shoot grown with this crop was six feet and four inches, in the midst of several others only a little shorter. PRUNING THE QUINCE. 73 T have thus far treated of pruning as it should be done with the knife or shears, before the limbs are large enough to need a saw. But when trees have been neglected till large limbs are to be cut off, it is im- portant that they should be so cut as to give a good prospect of healing over; else they may be the occasion of decay going into the very heart of the tree. If the cut is made several inches from the body, there is no possibility of healing over, and decay is inevitable. On the other hand, if the limb is cut so as not to leave a | projecting stump, it may grow over entirely in a few Fig. 50.—DECAY FROM BAD Fig. 51.—RIGHTLY PRUNED PRUNING. BRANCHES HEALED OVER. years, especially if well waxed or painted. As a rule, if the limb cut off is an inch or more in diameter, it is well to cover the wound. Gum shellac dissolved in alcohol to the thickness of paint is as good as any thing to apply. It is very adhesive, soon hardens, keeps out the air and water, and is not affected by weather changes. It is too thin to hinder the lip of the growing bark from closing over the wound. Grafting wax, or a composition of equal parts of resin and tallow, melted and applied with a brush or swab, has been successfully used. A medi- cated tar, made by dissolving half an ounce of corrosive sublimate in half a gill of spirit, and then heating and 74 QUINCE CULTURE. mixing in tar, is found excellent. If too thin to handle conveniently, mix in a little whiting or chalk dust. Sal ammoniac or spirits of hartshorn will dissolve the corrosive sublimate more easily than the spirit. It is an insecti- cide, and when a gallon of soft water is used in place of the tar it is a good wash to kill all insects and their eggs on the bark. If nothing better is convenient, a little grease of any kind will have a good effect on the wound. If a limb bleeds when it is cut off, it may be worth while to apply Anight’s Composition of four parts scraped cheese with one part of shell lime, or other pure lime, pressing the composition strongly into the pores of the wood. With this he found he could instantly stop the flow of sap in the largest branch. The worst time to prune is when the sap begins to flow actively in the spring. By contact with the air it sours and becomes poison to the bark. We ought not to close this topic without suggesting, that when the smaller limbs and twigs are cut off a good sharp knife is not always the most desirable implement to use. It often slips and injures what is not intended to be cut away. Small limbs can be pruned more rapidly with a good pair of shears. peekii Wee CHAPTER XII. PROMOTING FRUITFULNESS WITHOUT PRUNING. 1. Tu1s may be done by restricting root growth by pruning or cutting in the roots, as described on a former page, and need not be repeated here. 2. Bending down strong-growing branches without fruit-buds, has been found to retard the circulation of the sap sufficiently to induce fruitfulness. The pendant form becomes fixed by a single scason’s growth, and may be so skillfully arranged as to secure symmetrical and FLOWERS AND FRUIT. 75 ornamental trees. July and August are favorable months to tie down. The branches are secured to pegs driven in the ground. All kinds of trees and plants-may be in- duced to flower and fruit, no matter how luxuriant their growth, by a judicious use of the bending process. 3. Ringing the branches. ‘his is done by taking off a ring of bark wide enough to arrest the circulation of the sap, com- pelling it to accumulate above the ring. The same effect is often produced by a ligature made of wire. The effect is to produce early maturity in the fruit and an increase in its size, but at the ex- pense of its quality. ‘l’here seems, how- ever, to be no use for this operation on the quince. 4, Grafting is a method of inducing early fruitfulness. A cion from a young seedling may be grafted on the limb of a bearing tree, and thus be brought into a fruitful condition much sooner than if left on the seedling stock. This is advantageous in testing new varieties. RINGING. =O CHAPTER XIII. FLOWERS AND FRUIT. It has long been observed that a very full blossoming often results in but little fruit; sometimes none at all. Why is it thus? A variety of causes may operate to _ produce the failure of fruit. If the weather be so un- favorable as to prevent the blossoms from performing their appointed work, failure is inevitable. When the weather is very dry while the trees are in bloom the fruc- tification is often too imperfect to set the fruit, and the blossoms dry up and drop off. Or, on the other hand, . 76 QUINCE CULTURE. if there happens to be a long wet spell just at the time of blossoming, I have observed that the beating rain pre- vents the blossoms from performing their natural office of fructifying, and failure follows. For the pollen of the stamens to become perfectly matured, it is necessary that the blossoms have a few days of favorable weather after they are expanded, to enable them to fulfill their office. A tree may appear to have but a few blossoms, but with favorable weather for all to become perfected, so that each produces fruit, there may be an excellent crop. Asarule we want our trees to carry too much. Again, blossoms will be found to fail because of the severity of the preceding winter. It may destroy the germs of the fruit without killing the other parts of the blossom. In such cases, all will appear to go right for a time; but, as with other things in nature, the antecedent cause will ultimately produce its legitimate effect, and the beautiful blooming proves to be only the forerunner: of disappointed hopes. Still again, a tree may blossom abundantly, and the fruit set and grow for a while, but all at once the whole falls off. This may arise from the tree being too feeble to sustain the crop set. Like aman with too heavy a load for his strength, he carries it all a little way, and then drops it exhausted. Once more, it will be noticed that some varieties are more likely to fail after a full blossoming than others growing near them. ‘This is chiefly owing to the differ- ence of vigor and fruitfulness in different varieties. A study of the peculiarities of the different varieties is of great importance to the cultivator. It is a matter of interest to observe that the great number of blossoms provided for in the economy of nature is to secure the certainty of fertility. Many will dry up and disappear as soon as they have done their fructifying work, while those attached to the stems bearing the fertilized fruit THINNING THE FRUIT. va do not so soon disappear. The petals retain their color and stand out with prominence so long after the others have withered away as to suggest a second blossoming. — Oe CHAPTER XIV. THINNING THE FRUIT. THE story is told of a man who said it took him thirty years to get moral courage to prune his fruit trees. A large proportion of cultivators never attain the courage of their convictions in this matter. By far the most ex- peditious method of thinning fruit is to prune judi- ciously. In some varieties, after having pruned quite severely, there is too much fruit set to be carried to maturity, and a large thinning out is a necessity to pre- vent the trees from overbearing. 'T'o many, it seems an unjustifiable waste to pull off the finely-set specimens ; and with a serious doubt as to the wisdom of the oper- ation, they allow their trees to overbear. As an inevi- table result, the fruit is small and inferior, the trees " are overtaxed in the effort to mature more than they are able to perfect, and, as a consequence, they must have an off year to rest and recuperate. We hardly realize that a tree is overbearing till the fruit has at- tained considerable size, and then we hate to pull off enough to relieve the strain. I sometimes take off half or two-thirds, and then there is a plenty left to be of the first quality. The number of bushels will be about the same, and the quality of the fruit greatly improved. In years of abundance the large fruit will sell when the small finds no market at any price. This difference in the market value of fine fruit and that produced by overbearing trees shows the great importance of properly thinning, 78 QUINCE CULTURE. The thinning of quinces should not be done till we can judge pretty well which would fall of them- selves; and this generally shows quite well by the time they are as large as a man’s thumb. Whether this natural thinning is the effect of insect stings, or of dry weather reducing the moisture below a sufficiency, or of a natural selection securing ‘‘ the survival of the fittest,” is not always easy to determine. Besides all these reduc- tions, it will often be best to remove many others from very prolific trees. If, for any cause, thinning has been delayed till the fruit is quite advanced, still it is best to do it, and relieve the strain on the tree. By combining with this thinning of the fruit a thorough cultivation of the soil, a poor variety may excel a better one that is neglected. ‘This will be more especially observable in young trees. ‘They seem to be more easily affected than’ when older. But even the old trees seem to be rejuve- nated and show fruit improved beyond their possibilities under neglect. It is hardly necessary to say that deformed and imper- fect specimens are first to be removed, with any that show signs of insect stings; and that all wormy fruit should be destroyed or placed where the worms will die. Deep burial in the earth will generally kill them ; so will fire or water. If taken as early as it ought to be, the green fruit will have little value as food for any kind of stock. CHAPTER XV. GATHERING AND MARKETING. Ir the trees have been properly pruned annually, it will be a long time before they are too high to reach the fruit from the ground. When, in time, the fruit is GATHERING AND MARKETING. "9 borne too high to reach, a common step-ladder will be found convenient. A cheap and convenient step-ladder may be made out of two pine boards, six inches wide and one inch thick, for sides. The steps should be of the same width, and mortised into them, with a wider board for the top. The bottom should be wide enough to stand firmly, and the top only wide enough for standing room, with a basket for the fruit. : The stave basket, being smooth inside, and therefore less liable to bruise the fruit, is preferred to the old splint or chip basket. The size used to be for five half Fig. 53.—A CHEAP STEP-LADDER. Fig. 54.—STAVE BASKET. pecks, but now it is generally forfour. The old standard crate for shipping fruit was eight inches wide, fourteen deep, and twenty-three and a half long, outside measure. The ends and partition were cut from three-quarter inch pine, seven and a half wide by fourteen inches long. The bottom and top were six and a half wide, and three- eighths of an inch thick. The sides were of four slats of the same thickness, and twoand a half inches wide. The whole crate consisted of thirteen pieces, often with a planed end for marking. These proportions are varied, some being wider and shorter, or narrower and deeper, 80 QUINCE CULTURE. according to the choice of the shipper or maker. Crates being seldom returned as ‘‘ empties,” they are about enough less in capacity than the bushel to cover the cost of the crate. Baskets are now returned, but probably will not be much longer. For marketing, as well as for home use, quinces should not be gathered until fully ripe, as they do not, like ap- ples, pears, and peaches, ripen up in color and flavor after they are picked. If gathered too early the quince is comparatively worthless. If the cultivator of the quince does not desire at once to dispose of his fruit, the later ripening sorts can be kept for a long time by being care- fully spread out in a cool chamber till the frost necessi- Fig. 55.—FRUIT CRATE. tates their removal to the cellar. With proper care quinces may be kept till April in common cellars. Of course, with retarding-house conveniences all fruits may be kept at will. As a rule, it will be found that the best time to use or sell quinces is soon after they are ripe. If kept too long the demand for them, as with most other fruits, ceases, and they are not sought for. There is always a market for quinces in the large cities, and, if the quality is good, at paying prices; but often the best market will be in some of the smaller cities and towns. ‘The producer will find it advanta- geous to look out for such markets before the fruit is ripe, so as to know just where to send it when ready. There is a class of customers who always want the best fruit, and are willing to pay for it. ‘The best is found in the end to be the cheapest. Tip Pe THE PROFITS OF QUINCE CULTURE. 81 CHAPTER XVI. THE PROFITS OF QUINCE CULTURE, THE profit of quince raising depends, first, on the vari- ety raised, some being too unfruitful to ever yield profit- able crops ; next, on the skill and care of the cultivator, the best varieties being unprofitable when neglected ; and, lastly, on the demands of markets. Hitherto there has been a market for even poor quinces; but as crops increase, only good fruit will be in demand at paying prices. N. Ohmer, of Dayton, Ohio, reported, in 1869, that he had two acres in quinces; that three-fourths of an acre, ten years planted, had yielded crops six years regularly; and that in 1868 he gathered from three-quarters of an acre 300 bushels, which he sold at $2.50 a bushel, whole- sale. A New York cultivator of the Rea’s Mammoth raised on a third of an acre a crop worth $500. I have found a ready market for quinces when well put up in both tin and glass cans, at paying prices, in the markets of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and smaller cities. My first planting of the Meech’s Prolific was only eight feet apart, quincunx, and the trees averaged half a peck when five years old; doubled it the next year, and trebled it when seven years old. Taking one year with another, my entire crop has averaged $2.50 a bushel. I found, when the trees were aehe years old, that they averaged $1.22 a tree that year, boing about $450 an acre. The Rea? s has yielded a crop next in value to the Prolific at my place in Vineland, N. J. By the report of the New Jersey Horticultural Society for 1884, it will be seen that C. L. Jones had a yield of 782, making seven and a half bushels, from two trees in his yard at Newark. He sold many of them at $6 a hundred, realizing $22.50, besides having 200 for himself 82 QUINCE CULTURE. and friends. ‘T'he two trees had been ten years planted, and show what can be realized from the most favorable conditions of growth and marketing. From the prices reported in several other States, the successful cultivator of this fruit could not fail to make it profitable. CHAPTER: XVI. DISEASES OF THE QUINCE. DISEASES in trees arise from a variety of causes, such as insect depredations, loss of vitality from bacteria, and fungi preying on the living tissue; or there may be organic disease reproduced from unhealthy stocks and seeds. One form of existence is destroyed to produce another. The elements of life by death and decay enter into new forms of life. Disease in one department of nature may provide for a want in another. The chief known causes of disease in quinces are bacteria and fungi. 'They are both low forms of vege- table life, the first multiplying by the division of a single cell, the second producing several spores inacell. Of the various bacteria, each acts in a way peculiar to itself. Some produce disease, some act as ferments, others assist in the ripening of fruits, and still others aid in the re- generation of organic matter to form cell-structure. The fungi are cellular, flowerless plants, which receive their sustenance from the earth or the organized bodies on which they grow. They differ from other plants, in general, in chemical composition, being chiefly nitrogen instead of carbon; and in their method of growth, ab- sorbing oxygen and giving out carbonic acid. All the higher forms of plant life may have one or more of these low forms to prey on it as a parasite by its absorbing DISEASES OF THE QUINCE. 83 roots or mycelium, or live within it asa saprophyte. A healthy tree possesses sufficient vigor to resist the attacks of diseases, and may grow on successfully when a feeble tree would be destroyed. A fungus may be so concealed in the tissues of a plant on which it is thriving, that its presence will only be known by the mycelium cropping out with spores on the surface. 1. Quince Briieaut.—It seems to be well established that this disease, also called fire blight and twig blight, is the same as the pear blight in the pear and the apple blight in the apple. The disease has been produced in the June-berry (Amelanchier Canadensis), the English Haw- thorn (Crategus Oxycantha), and the Evergreen Thorn (Crategus Pyracantha), by inoculation, and may prob- ably be so produced in any member of this family of trees. Every part of the tree above ground is subject to its attacks. It may extend only to tender twigs, or it may entirely destroy the tree. The presence of this disease may be recognized by the granular appearance of the bark on the tender twigs, accompanied by the exuding of a gummy substance, of a peculiar odor, quite sticky to the fingers in the morning after a heavy dew, and drying up so as to glisten in the sun, when it forms into granu- lations on the discolored bark. This gummy substance, as seen through a microscope, resembles filamentous threads, each being strung with sacks of bacteria, ready to burst and scatter their infinitesimal germs by the aid of the lightest breeze, or to be washed to the earth by summer showers. The author was aided in examining this gum from a blighted twig by Prof. J. B. Ellis, author of ‘‘ North American Fungi,” and it was found that so little as could be picked up on the point of a pen- knife, put into a drop of water on the glass slide of his microscope, revealed an innumerable number of spores, or bacteria, too small to be described. The stomata of a leaf, examined at the same time, was large enough to 84 QUINCE CULTURE. take in a dozen of them at once. Hence the ease with which the disease may be spread. Prof. J. C. Arthur, botanist of the New York Agricul- tural Station, who has given much time to the study of this disease, suggests that ‘“‘The bacteria escape from the tissues in the slimy drops that ooze out from the diseased parts, especially in damp weather. They are washed off and freed from the viscid part by rains, and upon becoming dry are taken up by the winds. Being now suspended in the air,a damp day, dewy night, or light rain would bring them in contact with the delicate surface tissues of fresh cracks or wounds, in the most favorable way to introduce the contagion. ‘This is quite in accordance with the fact that the disease usually starts at the ends of the branches, but also appears sometimes — on the larger limbs, and even the trunks. It also ex- plains the fact that the rankest growers are most subject to attack, these exposing more tender surfaces, and, upon the disease obtaining a foothold, furnishing more succu- lent tissues.”” Insects are almost sure to carry the disease wherever they go, after contact with these exudations. The theory that ascribes the blight to bacteria is so well proved that it is needless to notice the older theories which obtained before 1880, when Prof. T. J. Burrill, of Illinois, began experiments to demonstrate this. ‘* The bacteria connected with pear blight are all of one kind, and of only one kind: not the bacteria of putrefaction or of animal diseases, but a kind that have never been found anywhere except in blighted fruit trees. These have been named Micrococcus amylovorus. The former word, the generic name, means very minute bodies; the sec- ond, or specific name, means that they are lovers of starch. They are very minute vegetable organisms, and live on starch or similar substances. They multiply by dividing into two, like the figure 8; these divide again, this process of division and subdivision going on very rapidly.” DISEASES OF THE QUINCE. 85 ‘The bacterial theory seems to account for all the phenomena connected with this disease. The bacteria found in the disease will produce it from inoculation in about a week; and by the second week the stem and leaves of the twig will be dead, and by the third week the disease will be extended down the limb, marking its progress by the brown bark and blackened leaves peculiar to the blight. | Bacteria may enter through the flowers as well as the tender tissues of the growing twigs, or any opening in the older bark of the trunk and limbs. No visible effect is likely to be seen for several weeks. In June, and on- ward for a number of months, it may be seen as branch after branch reveals its presence. It grows very slowly in cold weather, and rapidly in warm and moist weather. I have found the annual salting of both quince and pear trees, when done before the spring growth begins, to operate as a preventive; but can not say there will be none in the future. Later salting has not always pre- vented it. When the disease is manifest, no time should be lost in removing and burning the diseased portions. Be sure to cut far enough below the affected parts to re- move all the disease. So long as there remains any portion of the trunk or branches not encircled with the blight, the tree may re- cover, I have trees that have done good service for several years, which were all destroyed except a strip on one side. ‘The diseased parts were cut away, splitting off the blighted wood from one side of the trunk, and the rest has grown well, now nearly covering the split portion. Accepting the bacterial theory of the disease, we might propose to control it by spraying the trees with some antiseptic ; but in practice the best thing we can do is to prevent it as far as possible, and diligently destroy every trace of the disease. | The microscope shows that both leaves and fruit are 86 QUINCE CULTURE. more or less protected by a coating of natural varnish, sup- posed to be wax or silica. Whatever it may be, it is best to observe what soils and fertilizers supply it. Ashes and lime are found to improve the quality of fruit, and it may be assumed, also, that they increase the vigor of growth, and so aid in resisting the attacks of bacterial and fungoid diseases. 2. ORANGE Rust (Restilia awrantiaca, Peck; Cen- tridium Cydonia, Ellis).—This fungus affects the stems and fruit of the quince in June and onward. In asingle Fig. 56.—STEM AT A BUD AS AFFECTED BY THE RZSTILIA AURANTIACA, instance I have seen it on the leaf stalk. The spores are of a beautifnl orange color, globose in shape, with a membranous envelope, and are produced in sacks or pustules, which form an enlargement on the stems, re- sembling the black knot of plum and cherry trees. The little blackened quinces remaining on the trees after the leaves have fallen, attest its destruction of the fruit, and warn us against its neglect. Once in a while a stem survives its attacks, and so of the fruit. As the disease progresses the granules burst, forcing their sides upward, DISEASES OF THE QUINCE. 87 and opening out with a multitude of cups, notched at the edge, and shedding a profusion of yellow dust, which, as it falls, reminds one of the shower of sparks from an ascending rocket. The cups are bell-shaped, edged with a pretty fringe around their margins; and are so nu- merous as to entirely girdle the twig or half cover the fruit. These cups, called peridia by mycologists, appear to have burst through the outer covering of the bark on Fig. 57.—STEM BETWEEN BUDS AFFECTED BY THE RAISTILIA AURANTIACA. the twigs and the skin of the fruit. The cups some- times rise a tenth of an inch above the surface, with the lower parts attached to the substratum. The bursting peridia shed a liberal shower of their golden dust around them, which is scattered by the winds, carrying the spores, or, more strictly, the protospores, because they produce the true spores or fruit, so that each grain of this dust is the seed of more of these epiphytal plants. Before the oidium or fungus bursts out in the clusters of cups so prolific of dust, the surfaces of affected parts show numer- 88 QUINCE CULTURE. ous little elevations or pustules, which become ruptured as ripeness is attained, when the fungus pushes through the opening, at the same time bursting by radiating fissures, and forming a fringed edge of the cups. The fringed edges are often recurved, revealing the orange spores crowded together within. At first, and while contained within the peridium, they are concatinate or Fig. 58,—FRUIT AND STEM AS AFFECTED BY THE R&HSTILIA AURANTIACA. chained together; but when dispersed they are scattered about the orifice, and often mixed with the colorless cells from which they have issued. A slice of the fruit cut out before the fungi are matured - enough to burst the cells, shows the yellow color of the dust in its granular formation, as confined by the cellular substance of the cups. Fach of the protospores con- DISEASES OF THE QUINCE. 89 tained within the peridia may germinate, and produce not only one, but many vegetative spores, which are ex- ceedingly minute, and may be regarded as the embryos of a fresh crop of fungi. If a vertical section be made, the fungi will be seen to spring from beneath, the spores or protospores being clustered at the bottom. ‘The tooth- like fringe is only a continuation of the cellular substance of the cups. It is possible that the fluid parts of the spores are absorbed by the growing plant, and as the result, the plant has become inoculated with the virus, which is so destructive as often to discourage the horticulturist. It Fig. 59.—SPORE OF THE RZS- TILIA, MAGNIFIED 400 DIAMETERS. Fig. 60.—ALLORHINA NITIDA. requires a great stretch of the imagination to reach the possible limit of their mysterious increase and consequent injury. The spores of the festilia aurantiaca are from. twenty-five to thirty thousandths of a millimeter in diameter. The only effective remedy yet discovered, is to gather and burn the affected parts of stems and fruit before the spores are scattered to spread the disease. The Restilia aurantiaca on twigs attracts the com- mon green and brown dung beetle, Allorhina nitida. It isa scaribeide about the size of the common brown May beetle, and very strong. ‘This beetle, though a friend to 90 QUINCE CULTURE. the quince cultivator, sometimes eats into corn and vyari- ous fruits. 3. QUINCE LEAF BRowNNESS (Morthiera Mespili vy. Cydonia, C. and E.).—This fungoid disease of the leaves is indicated by reddish-brown spots, which show on both sides of the leaf, with a small black speck in the center of each spot, which speck, on being magnified, appears to be four spores in one, each of the four being elliptical, and ending in a thread as long as itself. The Fig. 61.—LEAVES AFFECTED BY MORTHIERA MESPILI. rounded spots extend into coalescing brown patches, sometimes covering a large part of the leaf. The en- largement of the spots is due to the extension of the mycelium of the spores, which, as the disease progresses, kills the leaves, and they drop to the ground. The older leaves generally show the disease first, and from them it extends toward the ends of the branches, sometimes nearly defoliating the tree. It occurs on trees of every age. In studying this disease, Soraner put some spores on a DISEASES OF THE QUINCE. 91 healthy pear leaf, which there germinated, and in two weeks produced the brown spots with the black specks in the center. In the winter he found on the fallen leaves Fig. 62.—MORTHIERA MESPILI, MAGNIFIED Fig, 63.--MYCELIUM OF 400 DIAMETERS. THE FUNGI MAGNIFIED. what he thought to be the same fungus, producing an- other set of spores (ascospores), which became ripe in April and May. Such fungi are able to grow slowly through the winter, ready to spread the disease on the new leaves in the spring. He also found the fun- gus capable of wintering on the bud-scales, without entering on a second stage of development. Young and weakly trees are more susceptible to its attacks than stronger growing trees. The pear and thorn are also subject to its attacks. The only sure remedy is to gather and destroy the leaves. 4, YeLLow Lear Spots (Hendersonia Cydonice, C. and EK.).—This is another fungus on quince leaves, resembling the Morthiera mespilt, except that the spots on the leaves are yellow and produce a thick- ening of the leaf, with a development on the under side of the spots like the bursting of the cluster cups of the Res- tilia aurantiaca, only smaller. The Fig. 64. ; : HENDERSONIA CY- spores are elliptical, marked with three powza, wagyirrep bars across, dividing them into four 400 DIsMerers. 92 QUINCE CULTURE. parts, as shown in the cut. The destruction of affected leaves is recommended, especially as many of them are also affected with both of these fungi together. 5. Lear MrintpEew (Podosphera tridactyla, Wall).— This disease consists of a parasitic white mildew spread- ing interlacing filaments over both surfaces of the leaves, but developed most perfectly on the upper side. The disease appears in June, producing a multitude of color- less spores, which spread the fungus rapidly to other leaves and trees. Late in July it produces its fruit Fig. 65.—LEAVES AFFECTED BY THE HENDERSONIA CYDONIA. as so many dust-like dots of regular form and size. These round, dust-like specks are the sacks which contain the resting spores, which withstand the rigors of winter, and reproduce the leaf mildew the next year. It is most thrifty on the leaves of a vigorous tree; but, with the favor of shade, may thrive on a weakly tree. It is also found on the leaves of apple trees, and proves very injurious to cherry leaves, often causing them to fall prematurely. Sulphur dusted on the leaves when they are wet is recommended as a remedy. DISEASES OF THE QUINCE. 93 6. Lear Buicut.—This is very unlike the leaf blight of the apple and pear. The specimens examined have not yet revealed to us the cause. It first appears on the edges of the leaves ; sometimes on one side only, but more generally reaching nearly all the way around the leaf. At first it is of a reddish brown; but as it extends inward toward the mid vein, it gradually assumes a deeper hue, till at last itis almost jet black, and covers very nearly all the blade of the leaf. As the disease progresses the Fig. 66.—LEAF BLIGHT. edges of the tenderer leaves curl upward, and eventually the whole dies and falls. _ 7. QuINCE Ror (Spheropsis Cydonia, C. and E.).— This disease usually begins at a few points on the surface of the fruit, and spreads regularly in enlarging circles until the whole fruit is decayed. As these spots enlarge, the centers grow dark, and soon may be seen as a mass of black points, which contain a multitude of brown spores, each capable of spreading the disease. A sound quince 94 QUINCE CULTURE. being inoculated with a piece of the surface of one dis- eased, the spores germinated, and the rotting slowly progressed to the twenty-second day, under a bell glass, when the decayed spot was an inch and a half in diam- eter, and showed fruiting points of the disease. So long as the wax-like covering of fruit remains per- fect, it is difficult for the spores of disease to affect it ; but the sting of an insect, the abrasion of a chafing limb, or a bruise will make a way for the germs of disease to enter. Hence the importance of great care in handling the fruit. No other preventive is known for this disease. 8. Bark Bounp or HipE Bounp.—This may arise from the depredations of scale insects weakening the vitality of the cells, or it may arise from an undue reduc- tion of the top in pruning or grafting, producing a dis- proportion between the leaves and the numerous cells under the bark, by which their expansive force is weak- ened too much to push out the bark ; or injury to the roots may so far weaken the power of these cells that they become unequal to the task required of them. Pro- vision is made for the expansion of the bark by the forma- tion of cork-like cells, called saber cells, which expand so as to rupture the outer bark, and allow a proper enlarge- ment of the growing tree. Every tree has its own suber cell, and so the rifts in the bark of each are according to its own peculiar character, no two appearing just alike. When, from any cause, the tree has become bark bound, a slit of the knife will help in doing what these cells failed to perform. The slit should be very carefully made, lest, instead of helping, it injure the tree by its severity. Be very sure the malady exists before the remedy is applied, or great harm may follow. WINTER-KILLING. 95 CHAPTER XVIII. WINTER-KILLING. THERE is a difference in the hardiness of quince trees. Some varieties endure severe freezing better than others. A variety that lives one winter may die the next because of the changes surrounding it; and so a tender variety may live, when one naturally more hardy dies. Sudden changes often work disastrously. This was seen in the winter of 1853-4 in a belt of country extending from New York to Michigan. Quince trees and pear trees on quince stocks were greatly injured by rapid successions of very warm and intensely cold weather. The result was, that nearly all the trees that were not sheltered were de- stroyed, or so weakened that they continued to die till late in the summer. The warmth had promoted sap circulation, and the sap, suddenly freezing, formed little crystals in the wood, which lacerated the fibers by every motion of the swaying trees. This cause may be supple- mented by such a freezing and thawing of the limbs and branches as dries the life out of them. In all such cases the injury to trees will be in proportion to the eXpos- ure, and so the protection of good wind-breaks is of great importance. In that season of such widespread loss, those trees that chanced to be sheltered from the winds escaped. It was also observed that the loss was not so great with trees on clayey soil that shed off the water, as on sandy soil that was filled with water. Trees transplanted in the fall, too late for the cut roots to heal, and for all to resume their normal func- tions, may in consequence fail to supply their tops with needed moisture, and they will become shriveled and winter-kill in consequence. The newly-set tree badly planted may suffer by the frost lifting its roots out of 96 QUINCE CULTURE. their places, in which case it is likely to be winter-killed. A mulch sufficient to protect the roots from freezing during the winter is a wise precaution, not only to pro- tect the newly-planted trees from intense cold, but will be a safeguard against winter-killing in those well estab- lished. It has been found highly beneficial to trees to haye a mantle of snow cover the ground all winter, be- cause it protects the ground from sudden changes. A . winter rain freezing on the limbs will do little harm, unless accompanied by winds, because there is no danger of drying out the sap. The cold may be severe enough to weaken the vitality of fruit-buds, and they may all drop off after they have blossomed. Trees are able to endure greater cold in a dry atmos- phere than in a moist one. In elevated situations, trees will endure a severer temperature than in valleys or low down the hill-sides. It will operate favorably to so cultivate the trees as to secure an early growth and ripening of the wood, that it may be in the best condition to endure the severity of winter frosts. When stimulated to grow very vigorously late in the season, the young wood is more likely to suffer than that produced earlier in the season. The thermometrical and hygrometrical conditions act together, and the hardiness of trees will be determined by the power of the tissues to withstand the pressure that will burst them if they contain too much sap, or to shrivel them by drying out their a and so de- stroying their vitality. A wise precaution against winter-killing in sections where there is danger, is not to cultivate late in the season. The culture that stimulates a late growth of soft wood that does not ripen before the severity of winter sets in is to be avoided. The immature wood is easily injured, the grain is ruptured by freezing and thawing, and the disorganized cells in spring are no INSECT ENEMIES. 94 longer able to perform their office. Secure an early growth of wood, that will ripen in time to be ready for all changes of weather, and you will have the satisfaction of having done wisely. CHAPTER, XTX. INSECT ENEMIES OF THE QUINCE. -ENTOMOLOGISTS have estimated that, on an average, there are from four to six insect enemies to each variety of plants. The insect enemies of the quince exceed this average, but are not so numerous as the enemies of the apple. Quite a portion of them are alike the enemies of both. ATTACKING THE TRUNK AND BRANCHES. 1. THE ROUND-HEADED APPLE-TREE Borer (Saperda candida, Fabr.; Saperda bivittata, Say).—This is an American insect, first described by Thomas Say in 1824. Trees growing on high ground are, other things being equal, more largely infested than those on low land. In its larval state it is called the Round-headed Apple-tree Borer, to distinguish it from a flat-headed species, which also preys on the apple, but not on the quince tree. In its imago, or perfect state, it is commonly known as the Two-striped Saperda. The full-grown larva is about an inch long, cylindrical in form, fleshy, and tapering from the head to the tail. The round head is of a chestnut- brown color, horny, and polished. The jaws are quite black, and fitted to cut the fiber of wood much as it is cut in boring with an auger. The chrysalis is lighter colored than the larva, and is marked by transverse rows of minute spines on the back, with a few at its extremity, which probably aid it in casting off its pupa skin. The 98 QUINCE CULTURE. insect, in all its stages, will be readily recognized by the accompanying illustrations. During the months of May and June this beetle emerges through a.round hole, having completed all its changes from the egg to theimago. It comes out in the night, and hides during the day among the leaves, which are now its food. The sexes pair at night, after which the female deposits her eggs in the bark at the collar of the tree. The eggs are the size of a small pin-head, and may be looked for from May till August. Their entire Fig. 67,.—Larva. Fig. 68.— Chrysalis. Fig. 69.—Beetle. ~ ROUND-HEADED APPLE-TREE BORER. two weeks from the laying of the eggs, they hatch into a larva, which penetrates through the bark to the sap-wood the first season, where they form a burrow, and may often be detected by the discolored appearance of the bark of young trees, or by the fine-grained castings they have pushed out of their holes. They remain in the tree three years, becoming each year more destructive. Be- fore the end of this time, as they approach the comple- tion of their larval growth, they cut a passage through the heart-wood of the tree, extending it outward to the bark. These passages are cut very direct up to this point for a future exit, or they may be found turning abruptly back in any direction, With an instinct bor- INSECT ENEMIES. 99 dering on intelligence, the larva now fills the upper part of its hole with its woody dust against the bark ; then turns round and fills it below with woody fibers of the heart-wood, when it again turns its head upward, and there rests till, in the next spring, the matured larva casts off its skin and reveals the chrysalis. In three weeks more the pupa has become a beetle, the soft parts soon harden, and in a few days it makes its way through the castings in the upper end of its passage, cuts a smooth round hole through the bark, about three-six- teenths of an inch across, from which it escapes. Remedies.—The best remedy is to prevent the beetle laying the eggs in the bark of the tree. This may be done by wrapping petroleum paper, or any like substance, around the collar of the tree, letting it reach from the ground high enough to protect it. Alkaline washes have been found distasteful to this insect ; and a wash of strong soap-suds thickened with washing-soda_ will keep it away. Wash as early as May and June, and keep the ground clear of grass and weeds for a harbcr. I have found clean culture a good protection when neglected trees were badly infested, and some were de- stroyed. A good formula for a wash is two pounds of soft soap and a quarter of a pound of sulphur in a pail of water. Apply with a swab or brush. Christopher Shearer, a very successful horticulturist of Pennsylvania, recommends a wash of four gallons of whitewash, two quarts of clay, two quarts of fresh cow dung, and one quart of strong lye, with water enough to mix well. Scrape the earth away from the collar of the tree, and apply with a swab or brush in May and August, reaching well up the tree. Return the earth that was removed. He finds it effective with the peach and apple trees as well as the quince. The main thing is to prevent the laying of the eggs, and this does it. Harris recommends plugging up their holes with cam- 100 QUINCE CULTURE. phor. Downing advises to heap ashes or lime about the collar of the tree. He would protect nurseries by wash- ing young trees with a solution of a pound of potash to a gallon of water. If the larve have already got into the trees they should be dug out or destroyed in their holes. Annealed wire or small strips of whalebone have been found useful to run into the holes. Besides the summer examinations, it is well to look over the trees in the fall and winter to make sure the larve are not in them. 2. THe QUINCE SCALE (Aspidiotus Cydonie, Com- stock).—This is an enemy found on quince trees in Florida. The scale is gray, and somewhat transparent. The shape is convex and the size only about six hun- dredths of an inch across. The remedy is a strong solu- tion of potash or soft soap, applied with a swab or brush. 3. THE WooLLy APHIS (Aphis lanigera or schizoneura, Hausmann).—The downy plant lice, now placed in the genus Lriosoma, are among the most destructive species. This aphis was imported on fruit trees from Europe, and yet in England it is called the American Bight. It is most commonly found on apple trees in the colder sec- tions. It was on the quince tree in an apple orchard at Northamp- ton, Massachusetts, where it at- tracted my attention some years ago. The tree had numerous shoots like those that spring up around apple trees, and these were abundantly infested. I am thus particular in giving the location, as I have not seen it on quince trees farther south, and have not seen any notice of it on the quince by other writers. It. may be readily recognized by the woolly covering from which it takes its name, Fig. 70.—WO@LLY APHIS. INSECT ENEMIES. 101 (See figure 70.) The numerous punctures they make ‘in the bark of the tender shoots produce warts or ex- crescences on the bark, till the limbs become sickly, the leaves turn yellow and drop off, and sometimes the whole tree dies. Remedies.—The lady-bugs and their larve, the larve of the Syrphus and lace-winged flies, ard the little chal- cid fly (Aphelinus mali, Hald.), all feed on these plant- hice. The old bark should be scraped off wherever it makes a harbor for them, and then with a stiff brush they should be treated to a solution of lime and sulphur (five pounds of lime to one of sulphur in two gallons of water, heated till the sulphur is dissolved). The earth at the roots, as far as practicable, should be exchanged for fresh soil. A pound of potash in a gallon of water is effective. Another application is made, melting three ounces of resin with the same quantity of fish oil, and applying it warm with a paint brush. Spiders spin their webs over and feed on them at their leisure. 4, THE SEVENTEEN-YEAR CICADA, commonly called Locust (Cicada septendecim, Linn.).—This insect de- rives its name from the time it requires to pass through its several changes. The long intervals at which they appear, and the little damage they do to the quince, make any extended description of the seventeen-year locusts, however interesting, quite unnecessary here. It may be found in any good work on entomology. The damage done by these insects can not be prevented. They can not eat, and the only injury they do above ground is confined to the small branches in which they deposit their eges ; but when they go over a whole tree in this way it becomes a serious matter. These branches die and fall off, and there is nothing to do but trim off the rough ends with a smooth cut. In the larva state they do much injury to the roots of trees. The birds, poultry, ete., destroy many. The plow destroys more in culti- 102 QUINCE CULTURE. vated grounds. ‘The work of these interesting insects, however, is confined chiefly to our native woods, and their numbers, consequently, can not easily be reduced. CLIMBING CUT-WORMS (4grotide). Cut-worMs are the caterpillars of widely-spread species of nocturnal moths. Most of them confine their depreda- tions to young and succulent plants, which-they cut off just above or below the surface of the ground. Four species of this numerous family are in the habit of ascending trees at night, and doing serious damage by eating off the growing twigs and foliage. Or- chards in light sandy soil are most liable to their Fig. 71.—MOTH. attacks. While the several species differ in size, in color and markings, both in the larva and imago state, they are much alike. In their general appearance they are smooth and naked larve of some shade of gray, green, brown, or black, with dusky markings. The female lays about 600 eggs on the twigs of the trees, where they do their mischief. They eat at night, and are, therefore, seldom seen. Having finished their nocturnal meal, they fall to the ground, and hide in the earth. 5. THe VARIEGATED Cut-Worm ( Agrotis saucia, Hub-. ner). The moth, with wings expanded, measures about an inch and three-quarters across. The fore wings are grayish brown, marked with brownish black, The hind INSECT ENEMIES. 103 wings are white and pearly, shaded toward the margin with pale brown. The chrysalis is of a deep mahogany brown, with dotted markings on each side, and sharp Fig. 72.—CHRYSALIS OF THE VARIE- GATED CUT-WORM. saeee : ry Sens Ota ERE alse Fig. 74.--EGGS OF THE VA- Fig. 73.—LARVA OF THE VARIE- RIEGATED CUT-WORM, GATED CUT-WORM. a, Magnified; 6, Natural Size. pointed at the tip. The larva pupates in the ground, where it forms a smooth, oval, earth cocoon. The larva becomes full grown by the middle of June, when it is of Fig. 75.—LARVA AND MOTH OF THE DARK-SIDED CUT-WORM. a dull flesh-color, mottled with brown and black, hay- ing elongated velvety black markings on the sides. 6. Tae DARK-sIDED Cut-Worm (Agrotis Cochranii, Riley). The moth is light gray, marked and shaded with brown, and smaller than the Variegated. The larvais a little over an inch long, with dark ashen gray sides and 104 QUINCE CULTURE. lighter color above. The chrysalis in the earth cocoon is about seven-tenths of an inch long, yellowish brown with darker brown markings. 7. THe Ciimpinae Cut-Worm (Agrotis scandens, Riley) is very seaininaca to buds and tender stems and leaves. The body of the moth is about seven-tenths of an inch long, and the spread wings meas- ure nearly an inch and a half across. The fore wings are of a light bluish gray with darker markings. ‘The hind wings are pearly white. The Jarva is about an inch and a half long, of a light yellowish gray, varie- gated with dull green. It hasadark line along the back, with fainter lines along the sides. ‘The spiracles are black. ‘The chrysalis is brown. Fig. 76.—AGROTIS SCANDENS. 8. THe MAmzEsTRA Picta, or W-MARKED CuT-WorM (Agrotis clandestina, Harris), feeds on succulent plants, low bushes, and the buds of trees. It is supposed to have two broods a year. The first transformation of the Fig. 77.—W-MARKED Fig. 78.—MoTH OF W-MARKED CUT-WORM. CUT-WORM. chrysalis to the moth occurs about the first of June and the second near the end of August. The fore wings are of a dark ash-gray, marked by deeper colored lines, mak- ing their zigzag course a distinct W, near the outer hind margin. ‘The hind wings are a dull white, faintly tinged INSECT ENEMIES. 105 with brown on the outer edge. The chrysalis is of the shining brown color common to the species. The larva is light yellow, variegated with three broad, black, longi- tudinal stripes, one on each side, the other on the top of the back. The head, belly, and feet are tawny. The lateral black stripe consists of numerous transverse black marks on a pure white ground. On account of its stripes, Dr. Melsheimer called it the zebra caterpillar. It does not conceal itself in the ground until it is ready to pupate. Remedies.—The common red ants capture and kill them. Insectivorous birds devour them. As prevention “" ¥ SB b (Fe } “ cin i LS Ff 1 Sie ecu) ele oe M ox NI 44 Fig. 79.—CALOSOMA SCRUTATOR. Fig. 80.—CALOSOMA CALIDUM. is better than cure, we may attract the moths by little bonfires, and destroy them. We may attract them by cider, and water sweetened and flavored with vinegar. We may keep the larva from climbing the trees by fastening around them strips of tin or zinc like inverted funnels. Cut-worms, like other caterpillars, have de- stroyers in the Tachina flies, and the Ichneumons are their parasitic enemies. I discovered one of these climb- ing worms a few years ago in the very process of destruc- tion by parasites. The worms crawled through the skin, - leaving no visible mark, and then spun their cocoons on 106 QUINCE CULTURE. the stem that supported the cut-worm. Further obser- vation showed that they pupated ten days before coming forth to repeat their work of destruction. The female of this parasite lays about 100 eggs, which shows that they are capable of doing much good service. ‘The car- nivorous beetles Calosoma scrutator and Calosoma cali- dum (Fabr.) are very active in hunting and eating all the species of cut-worms. The latter is a very beautiful beetle, with copper-colored spots on the wing covers. Their aid as destroyers of noxious insects a be better known and appreciated. ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 9, CATERPILLAR OF THE HANDMAID MOTH, or THE YELLOW-NECKED APPLE-TREE CATERPILLAR (Datana ministra, Drury).—Of all insects that prey upon the leaves of quince trees, 1 have found the caterpillar of the Handmaid Moth most destructive. As one of Fig. 81—EGGS OF MOTH. its names suggests, it is also destructive of the foliage of the apple and also of the cherry. The eggs are laid on the under side of a leaf, selecting one near the end of atwig. They are fastened in nearly straight rows to one another as wellas to the leaf. They vary from about 150 to 180, each the size of a small pin head. They hatch at varying times from July onward, occasional broods com- ing out as late as September, At first they only eat the .. INSECT ENEMIES. 107 pulp of the leaf, leaving a pretty network of veins ; but in a few days they devour the whole leaf, and when full grown sweep every thing before them. Side by side in solid phalanx. along the twigs and branches, they feed MOULT. MOULT. M\ ///7 Be /2—- MET OND ay Wi: BI) Ss le 4 ys Fig. 84.—BEFORE THE THIRD MOULT. Fig. 86.—AFTER THE FOURTH MOULT. gregariously, resting between meals in the same order, with both head and tail recurved over the body. If touched or otherwise disturbed they at once throw their heads from side to side in a spiteful manner, or let them- selves down by a. silken thread, always double, which they rapidly spin out of their mouths. Their bodies are Fig. 88.—CHRYSALIS. Fig. 87.—LARVA AT REST. well covered with long, soft, whitish hairs. They moult four times, and attain their full growth in five or six weeks, and are then about two inches long. A black stripe extends along the back, and three black stripes 108 QUINCE CULTURE. alternate ‘with four yellow ones on each side. With expanded wings the moth measures about two inches across, sometimes two and a half. The sexes have some points of difference. The an- tenn of the male have two rows of fringe beneath, with very short hairs nearly to their tips. In the female the antenne are naked. She is larger than the male. heir color is a light brown. ‘The head and a large square spot on the thorax are dark chestnut brown. ‘The hairs on this spot can be erected so as to form a kind of crest. The fore wings are slightly notched on their hinder margins, with from three to five transverse brown lines, and one or two dark spots in the middle (sometimes Fig. 89.—HANDMAID MOTH. Fig. 90.—PARASITIC FLY, lacking), and a short, oblique, dark line near the outer margin. In repose, the hinder part of the body is raised up, and the fore-legs stretched out before the body. The illustrations will aid in recognizing them at every stage of their life history. Remedy.—They are easily found by the naked limbs they have stripped of their foliage, and also by their droppings on the ground, and when found can be pulled off and crushed. ‘The Tachina flies deposit their eggs in them. A small Ichneumon is also known to prey on them. 10. THe Fatt Wes-Worm (Hyphentria textor, Har- ris).—The appearance of web-tents in trees after the tent caterpillar of early spring has disappeared, has raised the question whether there be not a second brood, INSLCT ENEMIES. 109 But the tént caterpillar of spring only preys on a few kinds of trees, while the later sort are ready to work over a very wide range. They are much smaller, and eat very much longer. The fall web-worm is a caterpillar of the family of Arctians or Tiger moths. The name Hyphantria means a weaver, and is very appropriate and descriptive ; for the first thing they do when hatched is to spin a web on the leaf where they are hatched, under which they eat the pulp of the leaf. Their webs are so closely woven as to hold their excrements as a fine powder. The moth is white, with tawny yellow fore-tnighs and dark-colored feet. The antennez of the males are doubly feathered beneath, and those of the female have two rows of teeth on the under side. ‘he expanded wings meas- FALL WEB-WORM. ure about an inch and a quarter across. In repose they are not crossed on the back, but are roofed or sloped down on each side of the body. It only flies at night, when it lays its eggs on leaves near the end of the twigs, during June and July. In the North there is but one brood a year, but in the South there is often a brood in June and another in August. These caterpillars feed on the quince, apple, pear, and a good many other trees and shrubs. They attain their full growth in about three months, when they separate to seek places of conceal- ment, where they pupate in thin and almost transparent cocoons, in which they remain through the winter as chrysalids. The full-grown caterpillar is over an inch long, with a slender body. Their general color is gray, with a tinge of greenish-yellow. Trees defoliated by 110 QUINCE CULTURE. them are likely to be barren, because it is too late to form new foliage with fruit buds. Remedy.—Gather and destroy them in their webs. The Spined Soldier-bug (Podisus spinosus, Dallas) pierces their bodies with its beak, and sucks them empty. There are birds that pierce their webs and destroy them in spite of their concealment. 11. THE Bac-Worm, BAsket-Worm, or Drop-Worm a, Larva; 6, Chrysalis; c, Female; @, Male; e, Female bag opened; jf, The : Worm and its Bag; g, The Young.. Fig. 94.—THE BAG-WORM, BASKET-WORM, OR DROP-WORM. of the United States has a range from Alabama on the south to Massachusetts on the north. The Germans call it Sack-trager (sack-bearer). It feeds on almost every variety of trees, including the quince. The names apphed to this caterpillar are significantly descriptive. No sooner is it hatched than it begins to make a bag- like house on a tender leaf. Standing on the leaf, with its little tail turned up, it spins a silken ring around it- - self, fastening bits of the leaf on the outside, and adding to the lower edge of the ring as they increase it upward, INSECT ENEMIES. FU. until it reaches the tail, forming a sort of cone, as at fig- ure 94, f. As the caterpillars increase in size they enlarge their houses upward, until the elongation makes their bags so large and heavy they hang to one side, instead of being upright, as atf. They are full grown about the end of July when hatched the last of May or early in June. The habit of the full-grown worm of letting itself down by its silken threads, suggested the name of Drop-worm. When they travel they extend the head and enough of the body to use three pairs of legs, each provided with a strong claw, while the five pairs of very short legs within their case retain a strong hold with clinging hooks. They moult four times while growing. At each time they ¢lose the mouth of the sack, and retire for two days to cast off their skins. In closing the bag, a hole 1s always left at the end large enough to throw out their excrement and their cast-off skins. The body is cylin- drical and soft, and that portion usually concealed in the case is lightercolored. At maturity they fasten their bags securely to the twigs of the tree, instinctively avoiding the leaf-stalk that will fall. Then they line them with soft silk, and turn round, with their heads toward the lower orifice, where they wait to cast their skins and be- come chrysalids. Up to this change the sexes have been alike in appearance ; but henceforth they are easily dis- tinguishable. The male chrysalis has the form of ordi- nary chrysalids, being about half the size of the female. The female chrysalis has no sign of encased wings, legs, — and antenne, appearing asa naked, yellowish bag of eggs with a ring of soft light brown hair near the tail. After three weeks the male chrysalis works down to the end of his bag, and, hanging half way out, bursts his skin, and emerges as a moth with a black body and glossy wings, as at d. The male jis proportionally stout bodied, with along abdomen, and broadly pectinated antenne. ‘The female has neither wings nor legs. The bag-worm is 112 QUINCE CULTURE. exceedingly hardy and vigorous, and readily adapts itself to any food available. Kemedies.—There is no surer method of destroying them than to gather the cocoons as they hang on the trees and burn them. They are easily seen during the winter. This is emphatically applying the ounce of prevention that will save the pound of cure. Two insect friends aid us, both ichneumons. The Cryptus inquisitor (Say) is about two-fifths of an inch long. The Hemiteles thyri- dopteryx (Riley) is about one-third of an inch long. Fig. 95. Fig. 96.— Male. Fig. 97.—Female. CRYPTUS INQUISITOR. HEMITELES THYRIDOPTERYX, Five or six of these sometimes occupy the body of a single bag-worm. After destroying the worm, they spin for themselves, within its cocoon, small white cocoons. 12. THe Corn Emperor Motu, tHe Io Emprror Morn (Hyperchiria Jo, Linn., Saturnia Jo, Harris, Hy- perchiria varia, Walker).—The common name of this moth probably came from its feeding on corn and for- aging on both trees and veg- etables, a ‘very uncommon habit with insects. It not only feeds on the quince, but Fig. 98.—LARVA OF THE CORN : EMPEROR MOTH, a wide range of trees and vegetables. The moth is very beautiful, and only flies at night. The sexes differ both in size and color, the male being the smaller. His color is a deep yellow, with purplish brown markings. His INSECT ENEMIES. 113 fore wings are marked with a zigzag line near the base, and two oblique wavy lines near the outer margin, with other spots on the middle forming the letters A, H, all of a purplish red color. The hind wings are hairy, and Fig. 99.—CORN EMPEROR MOTH, FEMALE. purplish red next to the body, with a narrow curved band of like color near their posterior margin, and within this band there is a curved black line. On the middle of the wing is a black spot with a bluish center, on which there is a silver-white line. The upper side is ochre- yellow ; the head and thorax purplish brown. The an- tenne are broadly pectinated, while in the female they Fig. 100.—cORN EMPEROR MOTH, MALE. are feathered very narrow. The anterior wings of the female are purplish brown, or a faded cream color. The zigzag and wavy lines across them are gray, and marked in the middle with a brown spot, surrounded by an irregular 114 QUINCE CULTURE. gray line, and towards the base are covered with a thick wool-like covering. ‘lhe posterior wings resemble those of the male, as do also the head and thorax. ‘The ex- panse of the wings is from two and three-quarter inches to three inches and a half. Soon after pairing the female lays her eggs in clusters of twenty to thirty. The eggs are top-shaped, flattened at the top and compressed on the sides; about one- twentieth of an inch in diameter, and creamy white, with a yellowish spot above, which gradually increases in color as they come to maturity, when it is almost black, and the yellow larva show through the sides. Beginning their work as early as June and extending it nearly through September, it is easy to see that they may do ereat harm. The broods remain together till near ma- turity, when they separate for pupating. The full-grown caterpillar is two and a half inches long, pea-green, with a broad brown stripe, edged white, low down on the body. Beginning with the fourth ring, there is a brown triangular spot on the under side of each. The breath- ing pores are yellow, ringed with brown. Hach segment of the body is dotted with little warts, armed with clusters of branching spines. ‘The prick of these sharp spines irritates the skin like the sting of nettles. Up to the age when they separate, the groups move in a regular order, guided by the thread spun by the leader. They moult four times, attaining maturity in August and Sep- tember, according to the time they were hatched, when the caterpillar will measure two and a half inches in length. The full-grown larva descends to the ground, where it draws together leaves or any other convenient material for an outer covering, within which it makes a cocoon of tough, gummy, brown silk, in which it changes to a chrysalis. Remedies.—If not discovered before they are half grown, when together, they can be readily found and INSECT ENEMIES. 115 destroyed after they separate, by their large droppings. The larve are attacked by two parasites; one a very small, unnamed, four-winged fly, the other the Long-tailed — Ophion (Ophion macrurum, Linn.). 13. THe VaporeR Motu, THE WHITE-MARKED Tvs- sock MotH (Orgyta leucostigma, Smith and Abbr.).— This moth takes the name Orgyia from « word signifying ove a y, ee = ae eS A - Fig. 101.—1Larva OF WHITE-MARKED TUSSOCK MOTH. to stretch out the hands, on account of its resting with the fore legs extended. The English name, Vapor Moth, is applied as descriptive of the males ostentation sly flying by day, or vaporing, when most other moths keep con- cealed. The name White-marked Tussock Moth is ap- plied as descriptive of the four little hairy tufts on the Fig. 102.—Pupa. Fig. 103.— Male. WHITE-MARKED TUSSOCK MOTH. back of the caterpillar. On each side is a row of smaller tufts of fine, yellow hairs. A narrow dark stripe runs along the back, and & wider dusky stripe runs along each side. There are two long black plumes on the first ring and one on the top of the eleventh ring. They are 116 QUINCE CULTURE. something over an inch long at maturity. The body is bright yellow, and the head coral red. Though not gregarious, they are often numerous enough to be very destructive to the foliage of the quince and other trees and shrubs. There are two broods in a year. The first hatch about the middle of May, and the second late in July. The first brood complete their growth by the middle of July, spin their cocoons on the Jeayes or branches of trees, and enter into the chrysalis state. The chrysalis has little downy hairs, and three oval clusters of bran-like scales on the back. They pupate eleven days, when the female comes forth wingless, and the male with wings that expand an inch and three- eighths. The wings are ashen gray, crossed by darker wavy bands on the upper pair, which are also marked bya black spot near the tip, and a very small white crescent by the outer angle. Their antenne are broadly pectinated. The body of the female is a very thick, oblong oval, in distinctly marked sections, and of a lighter gray than the male. She waits on the outside of her cocoon for the coming of the male, and after meeting him lays her eggs in an irregular mass on the top of the cocoon, which is spun between the leaves, and then covers them with a frothy looking substance, which hardens to brittleness, and is then impervious to water. After laying her eggs she drops to the ground and dies. The young larvae, when seriously disturbed, let themselves down by silken threads ; and when the danger seems past they climb up the threads to regain their former situation. Remedies. —The leaves attached to the cocoon show where their eggs are laid, so they can easily be found during the winter, and destroyed. There are nine species of two and four winged flies that are known to be para- sites of this insect in the larval state. 14. Pear-TREE Siua (Selandria [| Blennocampa] Ce- rasi, Peck).—This caterpillar is called a slug, from its INSECT ENEMIES. jeer appearance in the larva state. The name Blennocampa signifies a slimy caterpillar. Its favorite trees are the pear, cherry, and quince, and it is sometimes found on the plum and mountain ash. Ordinarily there are but few on a leaf, but sometimes the leaves are fairly spotted with them. Thirty have been counted on a single leaf. Professor Peck, of Massachusetts, wrote its natural history in 1790 with such critical accuracy that little has been since added to our knowledge of its life history. It is now quite generally spread over the country. This slug comes from the eggs of a saw-fly, about one-fifth of an inch long, resembling the common house-fly. Its body is glossy black. The first two pairs of legs are clay- Es — ; = cS SSS Ly SO meme XK matt): eee tes CZ. wet YA , Fig. 104.— Female. Fig. 105.—Zarva. PEAR-TREE SLUG. colored, with dark thighs. The hind legs are dull black with clay-colored knees. The wings are transparent, shghtly convex, and uneven on the upper side, with brownish veins. They reflect the changeable colors of the rainbow, with a smoky tinge in a band across the middle of the first pair. The female is provided with a saw-like appendage, with which she cuts a curved incision through the skin of the leaf, in which she Jays her eggs singly, and gener- ally on the under side, from about the middle of May into June. In fourteen days they begin to hatch. At first the slugs are white; but goon a slimy matter oozes through the skin, and covers their backs and sides with an olive-colored, sticky coat. The head is small, of a dark 118 QUINCE CULTURE. chestnut color, and is entirely concealed under the body, which tapers almost to a point at the tail, which in re- pose is turned up a little. They have twenty very short legs, a pair under each segment, except the fourth and the last. They grow for twenty-six days, casting their skins five times, and eating them every time till the last. . After the last moult they show a clean yellow skin, free from viscidity. They now show the head and segments of the body very plainly, and are about half an inch long. In a few hours after this last moult, they leave the tree and burrow a few inches in the ground, where they form little oblong-oval cavities, lined with a sticky, glossy substance. In these cells they pupate; and in sixteen days the change is complete from the worm to the fly, which bursts the cell and crawls out to seek its mate. The flies of the first brood lay eggs for a second in July and August, and the second brood go into the ground in September and October, where they remain till the next spring, when they in turn change to flies. Where they are very abundant the foliage is entirely de- stroyed, and before the trees can again clothe them- selves with leaves, it is too late to perfect fruit buds, and barrenness must follow. If they are allowed to continue their work year after year, the trees not only become barren, but die. Remedies.—We may catch the flies if we see them laying their eggs, for they are not very shy. Saunders says, if the tree is shaken while they are at work, ‘‘ they fall to the ground, where, folding their antenne under their bodies and bending the head forward and under, they remain for a time motionless.” Powdered hellebore in water, an ounce to two gallons, or either of the poisons, white arsenic, London purple, — or Paris green, a teaspoonful to two gallons of water, or air-slacked lime, or ashes, or any dry dust, or slug-shot, sprayed or dusted on the leaves, all seem to be effective. INSECT ENEMIES. 119 I have found the dry earth under the treeg all-sufficient, if applied before they are ready to go into the ground, and the poisons may therefore be avoided. __ A very minute ichneumon fly, a species of Encyrtus, deposits an egg in the egg of the saw-fly; and from this tiny egg a maggot is hatched, which lives on the ege of the slug-fly, and when it has consumed it, becomes a chrysalis, and then a fly. Prof. Peck found that many eggs of the second brood were destroyed by “this atom of existence.” The Vireo and. Cat-bird eat them from the leaves. In dusting tall trees a sieve fastened on the end of a pole is a convenient implement. An old tin can well punctured with holes is a very cheap sieve for the purpose. 15. THE PotypHemus Motu (Telea Polyphemus, Sim; dAttacus Polyphemus, Harris). It is called Poly- phemus after one of the giants in mythology bearing this name. It is one of the largest of the native American silk worms, belonging to the genus Attacus. The wings of the female spread fully six inches; those of the male a little less. It is of a dull ochre-yellow color, clouded with black in the middle of the wings. On each of the fore wings, near the center, there is an eye-like spot transparent in the center, crossed by light lines, and surrounded by rings of white, red, yellow, and black. Before the eye-spots of the hind Wings are large blue spots, shading into black. On the front margin of the fore wings there is a gray stripe, which crosses the fore part of the thorax, and near the base of these Wings are two short red lines, edged with white. At their tips are also two small dark spots. The hind wings are cut off almost square at the corners, and near their margins have wavy lines like those on the fore wings. The an- tenne of the males are very broadly pectinated ; of the females, lightly feathered. The combinations of form, color, and markings make them very beautiful. 120 QUINCE CULTURE. Finding the larve every year on some of my quince trees, I have studied their habits with a great deal of in- terest. So far as I know, I am the first to prove that Fig. 106—THE POLYPHEMUS MOTH, FEMALE. they have two broods a year. Packard is certainly mis- taken when he speaks of ‘‘ our native species bearing but a single crop of worms,” for this one is double-brooded. The chrysalis that winters in the cocoon is proportion- ately short and thick, of a reddish brown, and —— Fig. 107.—THE POLYPHEMUS MOTH, MALE. marked in cylindrical rings. The larve of the first brood only pupate about twenty days, spinning their cocoons in June and July, according to the time they were INSECT ENEMIES. 12F hatched ; for the cocoons that winter, vary considerably in the time of bringing out their moths. They generally come out late in May and on into June. Then they lay their eggs, usually singly, on the under side of leaves, each moth laying several ~ hundred, which hatch into caterpillars in ten or twelve days. The eggs are one- tenth of an inch across, much flattened, and of a color approaching to white. Fig. 108.—cHRYsaLIs OF POLY- At first the abdomen of the eran) aoe: female is so heavy with the abundance of the eggs that she flies only short distances. The caterpillar is a shade of green so near like the leaves around it, one often has some difficulty in discoy- ering it, even after he has found where to look by its i : mat NN IS x | 4 Ni \ Ke NAW ASS AWAY Sz \ AN (oa Fig. 109.—woRM OF THE POLYPHEMUS MOTH. large droppings, and also because of its habit in repose of clinging to the under side of the twig with the back down; and the length of the body is so greatly contracted as to hunch up the segments. It has twelve large segments, each nearly as thick as a man’s finger when the body is shortened to two inches ; but when ex- 122 QUINCE CULTURE. tended to three inches, as it often is in traveling, the thickness is greatly reduced. I'he worm moults four times, at intervals of ten days, and then a fifth time after twenty days. Soon after the last moult it draws a few leaves together, within which it spins a short, thick cocoon of pure silk. In confine- ment I have found it spins enough of its cocoon in a single night to entirely hide itself; but it evidently con- tinues to spin much longer on the inside, as its motions indicate. Like all its congeners, it spins a double thread from its mouth, gumming it enough to make it strongly adhesive, not only to all points of attachment, but to all parallel and intersecting threads. When finished it is Fig. 110.—-cocooN OF THE POLYPHEMUS MOTH. water-proof. It pupates soon after the cocoon is com- plete, and in about twenty days the moths of the first brood appear. The twelve segments of the larva are each marked with three side rows of very bright yellow spots. ‘lhe seven segments in front of the posterior also have a very bright line or bar, slightly inclined forward, and reaching from the dot of the upper row to that of the lower row, and passing the dot of the middle row. On the back is a row of small hairy elevations, one on the top of each segment. The head is pale brown, the spi- racles pale orange, and the V-shaped band around the tail is a purplish brown. The feet of the first three seg- ments are sharp claws; the next two segments are foot: INSECT ENEMIES. 123 less, followed by four with very strong powers of attach- ment; then two more are footless. The terminal segment has pale brown feet. They feed on the oak and elm as well as the quince. Harris was mistaken in saying that the ‘‘ outer covering of leaves which fall off in the autumn bear the enclosed tough oval cocoons to the ground.” I have always found those on the quince fastened securely around the stem, so as to avoid the danger of falling to the ground. The second brood spin their cocoons in August and September, and these furnish the winter quarters for the chrysalids. Fig. 111.—LONG-TAILED OPHION. As soon as they are out of the cocoon the limp wings ‘unfold, and they crawl to some place where they can hang avd dry, all which takes place in an hour, when they can fly. . Remedies. —At the annual pruning, such cocoons as have escaped previous gathering should be looked for and destroyed. During the summer and fall, the larve may be subdued by hand picking, the place of their loca- tion being found by their large droppings. Insectivorous birds and poultry feed on them. It is estimated that four out of five of the larve of this moth are destroyed 124 QUINCE CULTURE. by its parasitic enemies. The largest, and perhaps the commonest, is the Long-tailed Ophion (Ophion macru- rum, Linn.). It is a large yellowish brown ichneumon, that lays its eggs on the skin of the larve, to which they adhere by the gum surrounding them, and hatch in a few days. A two-winged tachina fly is also often found as a parasite on this caterpillar. Its larva is a fleshy and foot- less grub, of a translucent yellow, and about half an inch long. 16. Corron Turr (Lagoa crispata, Packard).—This is a very singular variety of the caterpillar family, which derives its name from the crinkled, woolly hairs on the fore wings of the parent wa moth. The thorax and lower part of the sides are a We slate-colored, dusky orange. It makes its cocoon by inter- weaving its long hairs with Sees its silk. The cocoonis long, ees TEE cylindrical, and dense. The ee A era cee ee skin of the very thin pupa hen ie is found protruding from the cocoon after the moth has escaped. When I first saw the Lagoas on the quince trees, the caterpillars were about athird of an inch long and looked like so many tufts of white cotton. Hence the common name I have given it. After they had moulted, and grown to about three- quarters of an inch in length, they appeared less hairy, the back being wide in proportion to the length, with the corrugated parts conjoined, reminding one of a trilobite. 1%. THE APPLE-TREE ApuHIs (Aphis mali, Fabr.; Aphis malifolie, Fitch). The name Aphis means to exhaust, and is well applied to this little insect, which proves itself a great exhauster of vitality on all trees on which it lives, They have small heads, armed with Gar xa F INSECT ENEMIES. 125 three-jointed beaks, which puncture the tender foliage, and through which they suck out the juices of plants. Their eyes are round, without eyelets. Their antennz are long and tapering. Their legs are long and slender. There are but two joints to their feet. Their wings are nearly triangular, and the upper wings, longer than the body, are nearly twice as large as the lower. In repose these wings cover the body like a steep roof. Ihe most wonderful thing about them is the way they multiply. The males die soon after they pair in autumn. The females lay their eggs on the bark near the leaf buds, and then die. In spring, when the leaves begin to grow, the eggs hatch and they begin their depredations. All Fig. 113.—THE GREEN APHIS. the young lice are wingless females. In ten or twelve days they attain to maturity, and by a viviparous genera- tion they begin to give birth to a daily increase of about twenty. This second generation are also wingless fe- males, and soon multiply by the same process as did the first. ‘Thus they multiply throughout the season, with- out the appearance of a single male, till in autumn they produce a brood of both sexes, as well as the viviparous form already described. During the summer, some of the females acquire wings, and, dispersing to other trees, found new colonies. They are generally wingless, but when winged, look like the males, with a black head, thorax, and antenne, black dots in a row aiong each 126 QUINCE CULTURE. side, black nectaries and tail appendage. The neck is green, the body is yellowish green, striped often with a deeper green. ‘The young are almost white. The wings are transparent, with dark veins. When they become gorged with sap, the excess is thrown out through two little tubes, which project, one on each side, from the anterior part of the body. These are their nectaries, through which they eject a honeyed fluid known as honey dew. ‘To feed on this, a variety of ants and flies will be found to visit them. The ants, with whom they live on friendly terms, stroke the aphides with their antennz to induce them sooner to void this sweet liquid, which they hastily devour. Experiment has shown them capable of producing eleven generations in seven months, when frost closed the opportunity. In a heated room they continued to repro- duce a constant succession, without the intervention of males, for four years. Even then there was nothing to show why it might not have been continued still longer. Dr. Burnett considers this anomalous mode of increase as a process of budding, and that the whole series, like the leaves of a tree, constitute only one generation, resulting from the previous union of the sexes. Réaumur proved one capable of increasing to six thousand millions in five generations. The leaves of trees infested with aphides soon become distorted, or curled back so as to have their tips touch the twig whence they sprung, thus pro- tecting them from the sun and rain. ) Remedies.—The eggs aailbe destroyed by a wash of caustic lime or soda. The young may be destroyed by alkaline solutions, and by tobacco water, made by boiling a pound of stems in a gallon of ma r.- Twigs can be bent into it with but little waste of the solution. Small birds in winter hunt over the trees for its eggs, and in summer for the lice. The Jchnewmon fly deposits her egg in the aphis, and this soon produces a destroyer, os artpiee & “INSECT ENEMIES. 127 The Aphis-lions and the Lace-winged flies produce larvee which destroy them in abundance. Myriads of aphides are destroyed by Lady-birds and their larve. There are nearly a hundred species of Lady-birds, all of which are our helpers. I have found the large black ant of great service. They concentrate on limbs infested with lice, and clean them off. I count each nest of ants worth a dollar a year as insecticides. The Syrphus flies (Syrphus politus, Say) lay one egg in a group of plant lice, which hatches out a footless, eyeless, flattened, wrinkled, green and purple maggot. Their bodies are supple, and their mouths are provided with a triple-pointed dart, with which they pierce the aphides, and suck them dry. A black aphis appears some years in considerable num- bers on my quince cuttings, just in time to destroy open- ing buds. Later I have found it in large numbers on the young shoots of growing trees. I have not yet determined with certainty its position in the aphis family. is 18. Katy-pDID, THE BROAD-WINGED KATY-DID G yr- tophyllus concavus,Say; Platyphyllum concavum, Harris). —Platyphyllum means a broad wing, and is used to dis- tinguish this from the Southern Katy-did, which belongs to the genus Phylloptera. Itis a green grasshopper of the order Orthoptera, and derives its common name from the note of the male, which is produced by a kind of taboret. The triangular overlapping part of each wing-cover forms a strong half-oval frame, in which a thin, transparent membrane is stretched. The friction of the taboret frames against each other when the wing-covers are opened and shut, produces several distinct notes closely resembling articulate sounds, and corresponding with the number of times the wing-covers are opened and shut. In the stillness of the night these notes may be heard a long distance, as rival notes answer from adjacent 128 QUINCE CULTURE. trees. with emphatic assurance ‘‘ Katy did, she did.” These notes are continued all night. The body is pale green ; the wings and wing-covers are of a deeper shade. The legs are also green, and very long. ‘The thorax is rough, marked by two slightly transverse furrows; and being curved down a little on each side, with a slightly rounded elevation behind, somewhat resembles a saddle. The insect is about an inch and a half long, the female having a projecting ovipositor. ‘The wings are shorter than the wing-covers, which, with their strong midrib and regular venation, much resemble a leaf. These large wing-covers are both oval and concave, and inclose the body within, meeting above and below at their edges like the two parts of a bivalve shell. The piercer of the female is broad, laterally compressed, and curved like a cimeter ; and in both sexes there are two little thorn-like projec- tions from the middle of the breast between the fore legs. The antenne are very long and slender.. They attain maturity in September and October, when the female lays her eggs in two intersecting rows of eight or ten each, along the twig of the tree, the bark being rough- ened under them. ‘The eggs are slate-brown, about one- eighth of an inch across, shaped much like flax-seed, and overlap each other like shingles. They are gummed securely to the twig. They hatch in the spring. Remedy.—Gather the broods of eggs on the twigs at the annual pruning; or capture and destroy the mother before she deposits her eggs. They are often found on grapevines, both eggs and insects. 19. THE OBLONG-WINGED Katy-pip (Phylloptera oblongifolia, De Geer) is so similar in habits of feed- ing and laying its eggs as not to need any separate — description. 20. THE LEAF-CruMPLER (Phycis indigenella, Zeller). —The common name of this insect is a very appropriate {NSECT ENEMIES. 129 one. In its larval state it draws a few leaves together, within which it prepares a place of abode, and in which it winters when about one-third grown. With opening spring it resumes activity, and leaves its case in search of food, and continues to grow till the early part of June, when it shuts itself up in its case, and becomes a reddish brown chrysalis about four-tenths of an inch long. As a larva it was a third longer. As a perfect moth it comes out in about two weeks, with wings expanded to seven-tenths of aninch. The body of the larva is a dull Fig. 114.—c, Head of Larva, magnified ; d, Size of the Moth. Fig. 115. THE LEAF-CRUMPLER. greenish brown, with a horny plate on the top of the first segment, and a flattened dark prominence on each side, below the plate. Hach of the other segments is marked by a number of dark dots, each giving rise to a single brown hair. The head is a dark reddish brown. There is only one brood a year,from eggs laid in July. There is a striking contrast between the markings of their two pairs of wings. The fore wings are pale brown, with patches and streaks of silvery white. The hind wings are plain brownish white. The under side of both pairs 130 QUINCE CULTURE. is paler. Besides the quince, it feeds on the apple, cherry, plum, and sometimes the peach leaves. Remedies.—Gather and destroy the cases in which they hibernate. A small Ichneumon fly is a parasite on it; and the two-winged Tachina fly (Tachina phycite, Le Baron), which closely resembles the common house fly, also preys on it. ATTACKING THE BUDS. 21. THE TARNISHED PLANT-BuG (Lygeus lineola- ris, P. Beauv.).—This injurious insect is about one- fifth of an inch long. The males are generally darker than the females, the colors in both varying from a dark brown to a greenish yellow brown. ‘The head is yellowish, with three narrow reddish stripes. The beak is about one-third the length of the body, and is folded under it when not in use to puncture the buds, and suck out their juices. These punctures seem to poison both the buds and young leaves. A whole branch is sometimes seen to wither and die from their injuries. The thorax has a yellow margin, with several yellowish lines running lengthwise. Behind the thorax is a yellow V-like mark, rather indistinct. The legs are yellow and the wings dusky brown. When handled they emit a disagreeable odor. They do their mischief in — about three weeks. They lay their eggs on the leaves. The young bugs are wingless, and of a green color. Otherwise they resemble their parents. They are in- jurious to the quince, pear, apple, plum, cherry, ete. Remedies.—They are sluggish, early in the morning, and may then be shaken off and destroyed. Fig. 116.—TARNISHED PLANT-BUG ( Enlarged). INSECT ENEMIES. 131 ATTACKING THE FLOWERS. 22. THE PHAR-TREE BLISTER BEETLE (Pomphopea enia, Say). This beetle is a little over half an inch long, with head and thorax punctated, and a little hairy. The roughened wing cases are marked with two slightly elevated lines. The color is a greenish blue. They eat the entire flower except the stamens. They sometimes eat the tender leaves at the end of the limbs. Besides the quince, they eat the blossoms of the plum, cherry, etc. The remedy is to jar them down early in the morning, and destroy them before the sun warms them to activity. 23. A BEETLE just about the size of the asparagus beetle, Fig. 117. Fig. 118. PEAR-TREE BLISTER BEETLE. CHRYSOMELIANS. but with yeilow-striped wing-covers like the cucumber beetle, is a Chrysomelian that sometimes riddles the petals of the quince. It eats the buds before the petals have ex- : panded. They feed singly or in groups, and when dis- turbed, hastily fly away. I first found them on the quince in the spring of 1887. ATTACKING THE FRUIT. 24, THE CURCULIO (Conotrachelus Crategt, Walsh). —This beetle is an indigenous insect. Its home is the wild haw, from which it has come to be very injurious to the quince. It is a little larger than the plum curenlio. The color is ash-gray, mottled with ochre-yellow. It has a dusky, almost triangular spot at ” 132 QUINCE CULTURE. the base of the thorax above. The wing-covers have seven narrow longitudinal elevations, with two rows of dots between them. Its piercer is folded under the thorax when not in use. It feeds on the quince both in the larva and imago, burying itself entirely in the fruit. Occasionally it attacks the pear. In May the beetles come from the chrysalids, pair, and commence laying their eggs in June. In piercing the fruit they make a cylindrical hole a little larger than the egg, and enlarged at the base. In this the egg is laid, and hatches in a few days. The larva burrows through the growing fruit near the surface, seldom penetrating to Fig. 119.—quince curcurio the core. At maturity it leaves (Greatly Entarged). the fruit through a cylindrical opening, after which it buries itself in the earth two or three inches deep, and remains unchanged till the following May, when it pupates and becomes a beetle. Remedies.—Jarring the beetles off the trees on sheets and killing them, if thoroughly done, will prove effective. Gathering and destroying the fruit that falls, or that which does not fall if it has been stung, will be helpful in destroying them. There are several caterpillars besides those named that prey on the leaves of the quince, which we have not yet been able to name with certainty. One isa large and nearly black caterpillar ; and another is small, and mot- tled like some of the span worms. BIRDS—TOADS—RABBITS—MICE. 133 CHAPTER XX. BIRDS—TOADS—RABBITS—MICE. Brrps.—Much might be said of the value of ‘poultry in the orchard to destroy insect enemies. Insectivorous birds are also valuable allies for the horticulturist ; but: in merit our domestic fowls outrank them all. It is ad-. vantageous to raise fruit and fowls together. It will be to the advantage of both if the fowls are in number pro- portionate to their field of operation. Poultry are supposed to omit from their bill of fare some of our insect friends, and it is probable the birds do likewise ; but all insects are devoured by the toad, which will clear your room of cockroaches over night, just as he will your gardens of the vilest of your insect foes. I find a movable fence, in sections that can be put to- gether whenever it is wanted, a very convenient thing for poultry. It may be made of lath nailed on scantling. Others are using netting of wire cloth, and find it satis- factory. It is to be hoped that the laws protecting in- sectivorous birds will be generally respected, and that our song birds will be left to multiply in our orchards and gardens. The English sparrow is an enemy to be destroyed, for doing more harm than good. RopENts.—There are two rodents that deserve notice as enemies of the quinee, apple, and pear. 1. THE Hare or Gray Rassit (Lepus sylvaticus).. —The hare, or rabbit, as it is commonly called, injures young trees by cutting off the tops and by gnawing the bark from those too large to eat off. This is often a very serious damage in both the nursery and the orchard. They multiply rapidly, and sometimes become formidable. Remedies. —They are easily caught in traps and snares. They may also be poisoned by strychnine, a small portion being placed on pieces of carrot, of which they are very 134 QUINCE CULTURE. fond. The bark may be protected by smearing it with blood, or rubbing it with liver, or smearing it with tobacco water, or lime water, with enough copperas added to turn it green. A little cheap glue will make the wash stick to the bark. Thick paper around a tree will keep them from gnawing the bark. Charles Down- ing recommends a paint made of a handful of flowers of sulphur, half a spadeful of soot, a spadeful of fresh cow dung, with a spadeful of hot slacked lime, applied on a dry day. He says English gardeners set upswabs dipped in melted sulphur among the trees in their nurseries. 2. Mrapow Mics (Mus arvicole),—Meadow mice are SAVING GIRDLED TREES. known by various names in different parts of the country, such as short-tailed field mice, ground mice, ete., and are sometimes called moles, although they are very dif- ferent from them. They are covered with long gray hair, have very thick heads, and very short tails. They all burrow in the ground. The greatest damage done by meadow mice is gnawing off the bark of fruit trees. They do this most when the ground is covered with snow. Like the rabbit, they multiply rapidiy. Their hiding places may be found in brush heaps, under stacks of grain and hay, and similar places. Remedies.—Burn the brush heaps. Set the rails up on end so as not to make a shelter for the mice, and keep USES OF THE QUINCE. 135 cats or adog to hunt them. Hawks catch them by day and owls by night. Skunks, foxes, etc., also help to lessen their numbers. But, after all, they will multiply rapidly if grass and weeds are left in the orchard. The rabbit remedies will also answer for mice. ' Girdled trees may sometimes be saved, if the injury is discovered before the wounds get dry, by banking the tree with moist earth. A more certain way is by insert- ’ ing a row of cions around the girdled place, either by halving them and inserting the ends under the bark above and. below, or by using strips of bark for the same purpose. The edges of the bark should be cut smooth and even to insure success. In either case they should be well protected by grafting wax. CHAPTER XXI. MEDICINAL AND ECONOMIC USES OF THE QUINCE. Every part of the quince is useful. Its scarcity and consequent high price have kept it in the good house- keeper’s list of luxuries. But when its cultivation be- comes more general, it will come within the reach of all, and be in still greater demand. In the first century of the Christian era the old Roman Columella said: ‘‘ Quinces not only yield pleasure, but health.” A modern writer of note says: ‘‘ Medicinally, the quince is cooling and strengthening. The juice is good against nausea. The ripe fruit eaten raw is said to be good for spitting of blood; also for swollen spleen, dropsy, and difficult eine ‘‘The quince in the Materia Medica,” according to Lewis and Woodville, ‘‘is astringent and stomachic. The juice in nausea is to be given in doses of a spoonful or two; so in vomitings, inodorous eruciations, and some kinds of alvine fluxes, In the London Pharmacy this juice 136 QUINCE CULTURE. was formerly ordered to be made into a syrup called Syrup- us Cydonareun. or syrup of quinces} and was prepared by digesting three pints of the depurated juice with a drachm of cinnamon, half a drachm of ginger, with half a drachm of cloves, on warm ashes for six hours, and then adding a pint of red port and dissolving in the strained liquor nine pounds of sugar. But the only preparation of the quince it now directs is a mucilage of the seeds, made by boiling a drachm of these in eight ounces of water till it acquires a proper consistence. This has been recommended in apthous affections and excoriations of the mouth and fauces. It may be more pleasant, but less efficacious than that of the simple quince.” In 1831 Henry Phillips reported the cure of a severe case of asthma at Horsham, in Sussex, England, by using quince wine. 1. QuINCE WINE is made of equal parts of quince juice and water, with three and a quarter pounds of sugar to the gallon, added before it is fermented. The seeds are taken out before the fruit is crushed or grated. If the water is omitted, the medicinal value will be greatly increased. 2. QUINCE SYRUP, made by eine the richness out of the fruit, and dissolving, in the water used, sugar enough to give it a good heavy body, will be found delicious for the soda fountain. Without the soda it is a planus summer drink in water. 3. QUINCE WATER, made by pouring hot water over the dried fruit, and letting it steep awhile, is a good substi- tute for tamarind water. It is most acceptable to in- valids desiring a cooling acid drink. 4, BANDOLINE is made by covering the seeds with forty to fifty times their bulk of warm water, which soon pro- duces a mucilage used by perfumers and hair dressers. Many ladies prepare it for themselves to keep their hair in place. It can be perfumed with any kind of odor. USES OF THE QUINCE. 137 By the addition of a little alcohol it can be kept for a long time. It is this use of the seeds which causes the great demand with druggists. 5. Quince PRESERVES are made by first cooking the fruit soft, and then adding as many pounds of pure sugar as there were pounds of the raw fruit, and simply scalding it through thoroughly. The importance of not adding the sugar to acid fruits till after they are cooked soft has not been sufficiently understood. It is estimated to require double the sugar if it is put into the fruit at first ; be- cause the conversion of the cane sugar into glucose or grape sugar lessens its sweetening power very greatly; some say more than one-half. The receipts in the cook books give Terie for a long and tedious process to do what is so short and simple by this method. ‘To prevent mould on jars of preserves or jellies, they should be kept in a cool place and covered closely from the air. A thin paper covering, wet with alcohol or lard, and gently pressed on the sweet- meat, is a safeguard; or cover with a thin film of lard without the paper. Melted paraffine poured over the confections serves the same purpose, and is very easily removed when they are used. 6. QuINCE MARMALADE is made by cooking the fruit soft, crushing to a pulp, and adding sugar to taste. Boil slowly, stirring constantly to prevent sticking or burning. When it falls off a spoon like jelly, it is done, and can be molded in cups and covered the same as jelly. One- third sweet apples may be added without more sugar, and still the flavor will be sufficient to suit many tastes. %. QuINCE BUTTER is made much like the marmalade, except the addition of sugar. This is a favorite fruit confection in the Philadelphia market. 8. QuINCE ComPpoTE.—Pare a dozen quinces, cut them in halves, and take out the cores. Put in a preserving vessel enough clear syrup to cover them, and add the 138 QUINCE CULTURE. juice of ‘two lemons. Heat the syrup, and add the quinces, boiling well together. Drain the fruit, and pack it inacompotier. Leave the syrup to thicken a little, and pour it over the quince. 9. QUINCE SAUCE is made by simply stewing the fruit soft, then mashing and adding sugar to taste. The ad- dition of one half apples or pears will greatly increase the quantity and yet leave a good quince flavor. 10. QuINCES CANNED, or bottled as sauce, are as suc- cessfully put up as any other fruit for similar use, only remember to cook soft before adding the sugar, as, be-— sides the sweetening, there will be a toughening of the fruit. I canned a large quantity in glass jars (the Light- ning can preferred), first packing them full of the raw fruit, then filling with water, and boiling till soft in a common wash boiler on my cook stove. The safety of the jars was secured by a very thin skeleton frame of wood on the bottom of the boiler. After the fruit was soft, the jars were lifted out, and the water poured off, and half a pound of dissolved granulated sugar added for each quart jar. This made a rich, heavy syrup, which was returned to the fruit in the jar. Replacing the jars in the boiler, they were soon boiling again, when they were ready to seal. Lastly, they were inverted, and left so till cooled. By this last process it was easy to discover if the jar and sealing were perfect; if not, bubbles of air would press in and show at once on the surface. 11. BAKED QUINCES are a favorite with some. Wash and core, then fill with sugar,and bake ina dish or pan con- taining a little water, to eat hot or cold with cream and sugar. Or, having cut in halves, without paring or cor- ing, boil till nearly tender, and then, covered with sugar, bake in a hot oven, basting often with the syrup made by the sugar and water in which they were boiled. When done put a lump of butter on each half. Turn the syrap over them, and serve as before. USES OF THE QUINCE. #39 12. SwEEeT PickLEs.—Prepare as for preserves. Cook tender in water, drain well, and simmer for five minutes in a syrup of good vinegar, covering the fruit, and add sugar, one and a half pounds to a pound of quinces, with spices of cinnamon, allspice, mace, and cloves to suit one’s taste. The water in which they were boiled can be used tomake jelly. Apint of vinegar to seven pounds of fruit is a good proportion for sweet pickles to keep well. 13. QUINCE JELLY, when well made, is unsurpassed. Most housekeepers use the parings and cores of such as have been used for some other confection. It is better to leave out the cores, as the mucilage around the seeds may make the syrup ropy, and hinder success. The skin, with what adheres, contains the part of fruit richest in pectine, and so is best for jelly. Indifferent fruit should be cooked with the skins for jelly. Apples may be used to increase the quantity of jelly without seriously reduc- ing the flavor. Cook the apples, and then the quinces in the same water. The color of all jellies may be kept light by shortening the time of boiling ; and this may be done by dividing the fruit into three or four parts, cook- ing them successively in the same water. By the time the last is cooked, and the pulp pressed and syrup strained, the sugar can be added ; by measure rather than weight, bulk for bulk. When the sugar is added to the syrup a scum will rise, and should be removed. No more skimming is necessary till it is done, when another skimming will leave it entirely clear. ‘The exact jeliying point in the process must be determined by trial as the boiling pro- ceeds. Longer boiling may reduce it toa syrup again. As soon as the jelly is done, let the heat subside a little, and pour into cups to mold it for use; and in a few minutes after, run a spoon around the top of the cups to gather the film, when each will be perfectly smooth and glassy. Preserve from mould as above described for preserves. INDEX. Adjustable Markers) 2226 -32- 45 | Buds, Latent: -2..-2. 3-2 aeeeee 17 Age of Quince Trees---.--.-..--- Leaf::. ... -Y coke eee 69 Agr EE ee cme SORE oes 102 Threefold ~ one ae 18 Agqrotis clandestina.....-------- 104 | Butter, Quince. .=i<455.ceeee 137 Cena hse oe 103 | Calosoma calidum..------------ 106 WOT rece hice Se ae eee 102 serutator -..-. 22 22-e ee 106 geandena rs obo, sdk Se 104 | Caterpillar of Handmaid Moth.106 Aid from. others. - 8. 2 e242 4 10 | Yellow-necked Apple-tree - .106 Aim of Author in Writing----- 12 | Cellular Tissue. --_-_2c.oee 18 Allorhina nitida.22- 2-2-2. <=-- 89 | Chaleid Fly...-..-- Soe 101 Anpers, Giinee. oe sees 21 | Champion Quince---..---.----- 24 Ants, Blapktass< s6u5 Sess} Se 127 |-Chinese Quince: -2- 4-2 Sayaaeee 22 | ot Re ON ne 105 | Chrysomelians -. ------------- 131 Aphelinus mi@li_u 5222 {222% - = '2- 101 , Cicada septendecim._-_----.----- 101 AORIGES 5. oo 100, 124,127 | Conotrachelus Crategi.--.------- 131 Aphis tantgeraes = o> 5 ee 100 | Compote of Quince. -_-_.-------- 137 NGESe. 225 Paes ope 127 | Corn Emperor Moth. ------ 2 ober To] a eS ae i Ne 124 |. Cotton Tufte. --32. 2 eee 124 Nia falie@ 22h 22 Los oe 125 | Crate _...2-. 34 ee echizoneurd 22 2s 2s ese 100 | Crops, average yield, value, etc. 81 WaOlty ites as. oe ba eae 100 | Cryptus inquisitor__---------.- 112 Apple-tree Aphis-.---.----..-- 125 | Cultivation . 2... -2=2235eeee 42, 43 tree Borer, Round-headed _97, 98 Curculio. ..-.. =. <. 63-2 13 or Orange Oemee-o2os-256 22 | Cuttings, length and how to Ayelighe So ss See 109 lant... 2s: 2 2 QSOS 26 rea, 3 ieee te ee 18, 86. | Cutting back. _..2=-5eeeeeee 50 Aspidiotus Cydonia------------ 100 | Cut-wor ms, Climbing----- 102, 104 Attacus Polyphemus ---- - ------- 119 Dark-sided .. 2.222 os 103 Average yield of Meech’s Pro- Mamesira Picta_..- 7-2 =e 104 iifie: Quinees 222 2222224 Variegated . 22-2 2,223eeeaee 102 Bacieriast ceo. es oe 82, 85 W-marked : 2 .2c33ee eee 104 BAS Worm. hose. Sen 2 tee 110. Remédies for. ..2 222556328 105 Baked (}Quipees: +2222. -4-.- 3 138 | Cyrtophyllus concavus---------- 127 HaNAGnne 2. ob Sa ee 136 | Datana ministra. = =e _.-106 Barkepounes: 0 U2. SS eee 94 | De Bourgeaut Quince-------.-- 25 Basket for Shipping ----------- 79 | Decay, Occasion of....-------- 73 Baskeb-worm. 252228852422 110 | Digging the Tree_-.=3222-2e 47, 48 Bectles. 455225644 se0 ce e 106. | Diseases... .--2 5.222 2.c ee 82, 92 hinds, Vale Ob. ost = te 99 | Encyrtus .-_.--222252 ee 119 When tolook for---------- Le Equalizing the Growth-------- 71 Wales eee tere ee ee Eriosoma. .-- -id-= 2 eee 100 Brads, Hlowerss2 cs se eee 69 Evaporation from Soil ------- 42, 43 (140) INDEX. 141 Pixeess of Wood...2. 222.252 5<2. 72 | Insect Enemies — Polyphemus Fall Web-worm ----------- 108, 110 Moth \ ote ee 119, 123 Fertilizers, Artificial-------- 36, 40 Quinée Seale.. 2o2- 2) 295 100 Liquid -Manure-.-.---------- 70 Spined Soldier-bug.-_-_.-__-- 110 @ glumes Te US iad Se ae 70 Tarnished Plant-bug. -__-___- 130 rs CG Pe Lo ll Saeed Fe Se Se ae ae 37 Vaporer Moth! < 26 45°38 115° GWEES eee se See esse 2 19 eee marked Tussock Fontenay Quince. ------------- Pane eae ne NOL cms ke ee ae ee PGT hye ee ee on oc Shee 80 Yellow-iiecked Apple-tree Mepis sk es Se SOs aa Mothvsc: oe Seas 08-110 Weriket ime 922 - Se - oe 80 | Insect ene BRerad Weber 106, 130 isomine, 2 ee ke ee 70, 78 Allorhina nitida_...----- _ 89 Wax-like Covering of --- 86, 94 Aphis-lions. eos 127 Fruitful Branches, Which are?_ 72 Calosoma scrutator --- ----- 106 Hitler GQumee.s 2.2.22) 25 cahdumn 2 so 106 pig e es ene OS Se eS 82 @hatcid Bly -. 22222255222 101 Gathering Fruit too early------ 80 Cryptus inquisitor......--- 112 Pb andemarketing 222222 79, 81 Dune Beetles =. See 89 Girdled Trees saved__-_-_------- 135 DRC TER Sos ee Op Aaa ys Ee 119 Good Pruning illustrated ---- -- 72 Hermiteles thyridopterys ---.112 Perak Clefiy uc! .. eae 2 60 Ichneumons ---- -- 1 , 112 Crengii tos o.oo ee 61 Lace-winged Flies_______-_- 127 for early Fruitfulness- - ---- 75 (hady-binee i) see eee 127 Nadie eyo lic Reus oe 61 Long-tailed Ophion-------- 115 re 2) ea Lo ee A eae 61 Red Aube 28st one oY eee 105 Splice or Whip-_---=.-+-2-- 61 Syepis, dies 222 see ee 127 a GE oe Ur ee 60 Tachina Bites. 2.2 32 106,108 SATE L057 0 | ei lg 133 | Tachina phycite _---------- 130 Grain or Grass, Do not plant in- 51 | Japanese Quince-------------- 27 ee He = S20 Se eS Lodgy dellys Qumece. sles ee eee 139 HMezline Wounds 222.2. 222-2 73, 74 | Katy-did, Broad-winged------- 127 Heeling in, Sloping and Erect_- 51 Oblong-winged------------ 128 Hendersonia Cydonia yeas cere SL Keeping auheceerd=-a-~. 2 Dees 54 emiteles thyridopteryx_... .-.112), Keeping, Fruit-__--.-_--==--222 80 p@e-pound 22. 20. 22s 94 | Knowledge necessary to Suc- Hastory of Quince: 2_2.----_- 13-16 GCGGSee eee ee ee Hyphantria textor--------- 108, 109 | Lace-winged Flies-----------.- 127 meeypercnirid Os = One ee 112. | hady-pirdayes: os oe oe 127 © GT ys ea Sle gO a ee BIAS egoanerispgid. 3202. Se 124 fichneumons —_--.-22-2_. 105, 106 | Largest Quince Tree on Record_ 50 Insect Enemies-----------< wes ISI | bavertne: 22k ese. ee Se 56, Aphides (for var. se Laying out the Orchard----- 45, 47 aphides)-------- 101, 124, “197 heat. Bhehtiss. 3 Si Se ae 93 Apple-tree Borer, . Round- Leat Cranmplerve: 22222 =. ss ieee 128 ee ee ee LS 07, 9S: | beak Mildew: <2225 4 ee 92 Bag, Basket or Drop-worm- 110°} Teaves a see eet eae 18 Caterpillar of Handmaid Lenticelles] 2 442.2 ae 17, 29 Meth a2 aoe ts 108,110 | Lepus sylvatious....2---<24--22- 133 Wenonm Putte: = 205 .oess 1244) Bite. foreers ese lcs SE eee 9 Chrysomelians _-...2---.-- SL} s BAe 20 tat et ee ol eae -70, 86 Corn Emperor Moth------- 112 | Lindley’s Law for Leaf and HPCC me eee ee) 131 Flower-buds 22222222222 69 Cut-worms:. 222-52. _- 102,105.|: Liquid’ Manure: .<222 22-2 322. 70 Fall Web-worm.-_---___- HS; 110: | Vocatine + Board =. f225 2 47 ‘Katy-did___.._..._.~ 127,128 | Locust, Seventeen-Year- --__- eth. Leaf Crumpler---.--- (apes 128 Long-tailed Ophions <2 115 “LOU ETLTS ESSAI eR ee ee 1 | Lygeus lineolaris__.....--.---- 130 Pear-tree Blister Beetle__.-131 | Mamestra Picia....-....-.--_-- 104 (D1 ee ge aR oe LLG." Manwal needed <= tess _ 142 MANES et coe asc teeccens 36, 40 Common Sources of- ------ 39 Dneuieal: 2 se i ee Recessity Of; 3. 246.5.ee 36 DOU So Ao eee 80 LAPUA RIG aoe id ig the tet 137 Meadow. .Mice.o...6-2. eet 134 Medical Uses of the Quince----135 Meech’s Prolific Quince- --- - --- 27 Mice, Meadow .--=-=2-=~=.= 13 Parts. of:' Tree. 2. ae eee 17 Curculio _...-c2.4 >a 131 Scale... ..6.454-5 355 ee 100 Rot _. ...=22 253.4255 93 Tress, Ornamental --------- 11 Rabbit, The Gray =. 22 eee 133 Reestilia awrantiaca---------- 86, 89 _ Rea’s Mammoth Quince ------- 32 ' Receipes: ..... 22. Soe 136, 139 | Quinces, Baked ------------138 Quince Bandoline --------- 136 Butter ..5-(:- 0322 137 | Canned 2::. 2. 223 138 Compote... ..hes2eeme 137 delly -=..2 cee 139 Marmalade ... “33ec2= 137 Preserves: 2.222 eees 137 Sauce . . ee eae 138 Sweet Pickles------.-- 139 VU). 2. -<<265ee= eee 136 Water ....2.32aeeee 12 Wine ....._ 23335 13€ Red Ants .... -=-2335_ seen 105 Renee for Aphides-101, 126, 127 Bag, Basket, or Drop-worm. 112 Borers 99 Caterpillar of Handmaid Moth -...- is. sean 108 INDEX. 143 Remedies for Emperor Moth_--114 ; Syrphus Flies_-...------------ 127 Carentan fe ee soe, 132 | Syrphus politius.......---.-52.- 127 Cu wrormis. 2 a 10531 Syrup, Qainee © ee 136 Fall Web-worm ----------- 10S") Pachina, Wltes. 2 305523. 105,108 Rea y- are 2 So) eee 128 | Tachina phyciie._.-...-------- 130 est “Crumpler. 20 s223.-* 150 | Tarnished Plant-bug---------_- 130 ICE Eee Se ee Ee 194 | Telea Folyphemus.._._.------ =. 119 Pear-tree Blister Beetle----131 | Thinning Fruit, when, which . Pear-tree Slug. ___----- 18,119 70,77, 78 Polyphemus Migth ee 123 | Thyridopteryx ephemereformis__110 HIHOMS sae See se ee SS Poa] SeImer MOPRS 2. Sh. ae 109 Rie ieee ican A Weel eee ot TO0Sta Roadie? 082 ge re ee 133 Spined Soldier-bug -------- Ose irenehimpy se. ec as 41 Tarnished Plant-bug ------ 130.1. Fransplanting 2. 202. Hee 49, 70 Vaporer or White Tussock to bring into Bearing- ---- 70 UVB Gi ER es So ee he 1 @are in’ Planting -.._2- = 2 50 Restoring Withered Trees ----- ol Cnitine Back? => 2 25. 2ts3 50 Ringing Branches for early Keeping a Record_.------- 54 TCT cee ee a ee eee gee SR 75 Preparing Ground __:.----. 50 eeplewns ss SS at 133 Size for Transplanting -_-_- 50 IGE a ao 8 SE ee 17, 48 URES the a Seat 52, Mapes ek pee rahe 17 | Unfavorable Weather- ------- 75, 76 Ger diee Soe) SS he oe ae ie Vaporer Mothsis. 22 Pee HHS POOb NOME bMeS J9221, 45220 3) oe | Vabielies 2: erik oo Beet es 20, 32 Gratempy . 2 20 5 2 58 SANEROCO RS at een 152 i oe uber oe 21 Pruning, how, when_.------ 69 Apple or Orange: 2.22615" 22 Oi seis oe cei a Se ee 93 Champions hs ee 24 Round-headed Apple-tree Borer 97 @hinesG 2222 5 a ee 25 Sem iraeen 660s ask) Tee. 110 De Bourceaut® = 222s 25 Salt as a Fertilizer__-_-_ pRiteepees 3 37 Fontenay or New Upright 25 Saperda bivittata._...-.-.------ 97 Wublep 2524 5353s es 25 CUNO 2c Re ES 97 JEPAHERE SNe Se ee ae 27 Bene re i AOS are 112 Meech’s; Prolifie 2. 9252 27 IC CC ERCG P55 oa eG 138 Missouri Mammoth. -----_- 29 SEU Si a ali IO eT ames none 55 Musk or Pineapple_------_- 30 Selandria Cerasi _.__....------ 116 ears teil hit ee Oh aa eee 31 Shears better than Knife-----_- 74 Portugal Joueeee Se apher e se, eS 31 recA NSE A eS I i Sr, ete 33, 35 Rea’s Mammoth_-_-________- 32 Byraining 2 ee ee 35 Sweet, Oumee 2 22. ee 32° Effect on Quality of Fruit. 35 What Constitutes a Variety 20 How kept Moist ----------- 35 Seedlings Numerous- ----_- 21 Efe. selected. 222205). 22 34 | When to sell Quinces.________- 80; LUN SS See ae Ae 30 | White-marked Tussock Moth__115 Spheropsis Cydonice ----.------ 93-) Winds; Eifeetiof 25.22.2228. 54 Spined Soldier-bug------------ DRO") WW Ge BOs on es a 5 ee 136 Sprouts from Stumps 2 es eee 157 | Winter-killing, Causes, Protec- AE DSS cee Se eee 79 tection. against - 2 ae 95, 96 Resilene ee foe BON ELS Se 18.) Wood 222238 oie ue ne eee 18 BLoglduavers 08 22222255 nt | Woolly Aphisa so) 375 38 100, 101 Straightening Trees_-_-_.-------- 55 | Wounds from Pruning: ----_- 73, 74 ember, Celigns 3 128 os. ae wes 94 | Yellow Leaf-spots_-___-.--__._- 91 Bweet Pickles .2-.25) 2.2... -.- 139 | Yellow-necked Apple-tree Cat- emecn. Quinee: 9 5. =... 32 erpillar’ 2c 22 eee 106 OUR LATEST BOOKS. HOME FISHING AND HOME WATERS........ ....... -50 By Servs Green. ‘the Utilization of Farm Streams ; Management of Fish in the Artificial Pond; Transportation of Eggs and Fry, etc. Cloth, 12mo. AB C OF AGRICULTURE... .......05)00.0csscserunseeeenee -50 By Mason C. WELD, and other writers. A Valuable and Practical Manual. BROOM-CORN AND BROOMES...........06.cccceee cece eee -50 New and Revised Edition. Cloth, 12mo. THE WINDOW FLOWER GARDEN...................... 75 By Junius J. Herricu. New and Revised Edition, Cloth, 12mo. 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