Trees, Fruits and Flowers of Minnesota, 1916. Various

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СКАЧАТЬ large bushes of Rosa Rugosa (you see this year, we had neither the ubiquitous potato bug, rose bug, caterpillar or any other varmint to war against); quite a number gave us blooms all summer. Then most of them threw out strong new plants, as do the raspberries, from the roots. On the whole, with our bounteous harvest of grain and so forth in this blessed country, we can be thankful we are alive.

      Keep Youth on the Farm.—"What can we do to keep our young people free from the deceiving lure of the city and contented to remain on the farm?".

      The following was prepared by C. W. Kneale, of Niwot, Colo., a student in civics in the Colorado School of Agriculture, as a part of his regular class work. Young Kneale, although a student, has some excellent ideas which "Father" and "Mother" might do well to ponder carefully:

      "Get good books, magazines and farm papers for them to read.

      "Have some kind of lodges for them to go to, such as the Grange.

      "Arrange it so they can have a party or entertainment once in a while.

      "Go with them to church every Sunday.

      "Arrange it so they can have one or more picnics every year.

      "Teach them how to do all kinds of farm work, by giving them a small tract of land to farm for themselves and showing them how to raise their crops, and have them help you with your work.

      "Give them a horse which they can ride or drive when they haven't anything to do, or when they want to go anywhere.

      "Teach them to love and be kind to animals."

Ravages of the Buffalo Tree Hopper.

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      "Mr. Latham recently sent me some twigs of apple tree very badly injured with what we call the buffalo tree hopper. These scars are made entirely by the female in the act of egg-laying. This process of egg-laying takes place from the last part of July until the leaves drop in the fall. The eggs hatch the following spring. The young forms do not feed at all upon the apple but get their nourishment by sucking the juices from the weeds and grasses in the immediate neighborhood of the orchard.

       The Buffalo Tree Hopper and its work

      "The injury of this particular tree hopper is bad because the insect in egg-laying makes two slits, side by side, afterwards poking the eggs beneath the bark. As the tree continues to grow, the area between the slits dies, making a very rough appearance of the bark and an area into which spores of disease and bacteria may enter. The twig that is badly scarred very often dies, and sometimes young trees just set out are marked so badly that they succumb.

      "The only practical remedy against such a pest is clean cultivation of the orchard, as one can readily work out from knowing the life history. It is possible that some of the sprays like Bordeaux mixture, or self-boiled lime-sulphur, sprayed and kept active on the trees during the month of August would deter these hoppers from laying eggs. However, we have had no practical experience along this line, although we do know that trees under clean cultivation are not affected."—A. G. Ruggles, Head of Section of Spraying and Tree Insects, University Farm, St. Paul.

      Minnesota No. 3 Strawberry.—A communication from Peter Jackson, Cloquet, says: "I had my first trial of the Minnesota No. 3 strawberry last year and they did finely. I had one hundred twenty-five quarts from sixty plants." Who can do better than that?

Growing Tomatoes in Northern Minnesota.

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REV. GEO. MICHAEL, WALKER, MINN.

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      Sow seed in hotbed about April first, in rows five inches apart and five inches apart in each row. Transplant in garden one week after danger of frost is past. The day before transplanting soak the hotbed thoroughly with warm water. In taking them up to transplant use a sharp butcher knife; the ground thus cut out will form a cube five inches in diameter. This block, should be set in a hole ten to twelve inches deep. The ground around the block must be made very firm. This block will be four to six inches below the surface. Fill the hole with warm rainwater and three or four hours later rake in loose dirt to fill the hole, being careful not to pack it in the least.

      How to prepare the ground. Manure heavily; plow very deep; harrow thoroughly. Then in forming the hills place two shovelfuls of fine manure and one-half shovelful of hen manure for each hill. Spade this in from twelve to eighteen inches deep and eighteen to twenty inches wide. Cultivate often.

      The plants should be staked at first to keep the wind storms from injuring them. When one and one-half feet high they should be trained over poles placed on each side of the row one and one-half feet from the ground. Plant hills four feet apart, and train each plant to four or five vines, cutting off all side shoots and a few of the leaves. Never cut off the top of a vine to hasten the ripening.

      Make the ground as rich as possible, plough deep, plant deep, set deep and prune carefully. If you do not use poles or a trellis the vines thus managed should spread over the ground as pumpkin vines grow, and instead of "going all to vines" the tendency will be to go all to tomatoes.

      A big story. Over $3,000 per acre. In 1910 I had three rows each forty feet long and four feet apart, i.e., a row 120 feet long, or 480 square feet. More than $35.00 worth of ripe tomatoes were taken from these vines, the price never more nor less than five cents per pound. If 480 square feet will produce $35.00, 43,560 square feet would produce $3,175.

      During the tomato season I was away from home when a neighbor gathered bushels which are not counted in the above figures, and our family used and gave away several bushels more.

Annual Report, 1915, Vice-President, Fourth Congressional District.

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J. K. DIXON, NORTH ST. PAUL, MINN.

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      The fourth district fruit crops—with the exception of strawberries and raspberries—were conspicuous by their absence this season of 1915.

      A festive blizzard that came prancing our way the 17th of May effectually destroyed what promised to be a bumper crop of apples and plums. The trees were for the most part past the blossoming stage, and the fruit had started to develop. Currants and grapes met the same disastrous fate. Only in favored situations, adjacent to large bodies of water, were there any apples, plums, grapes or currants to speak of.

       Mr. J. K. Dixon, North St. Paul.

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