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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 5, 1910)
RE INJURIOUS GREEN AND ROSY APPLE APHIDS Former Attacks Terminal Shoots and Tender Leaves Restricting Growth, While Latter Seriously Affects Fruits. lit 4 URINQ tho drat wook In February, 1010, tho Cuban National Horticultu ral society, an organization tho mom bershlp of which Ib almost exclusive ly American and Canadian, hold Its fourth annual mooting In Havana. In connection," n horticultural show was open; among tho exhibits wcro clt rus fruits from overy section of tho Island. Tho fruits wcro largo, Juicy, clean, thin-skinned, heavy, beautifully colored and dollcloun In flavor. Flor ida had nent across grnpo fruit and orangos from famous orchards of tho ponlnBUlar state, to fncllltato Invidious compac tion, rind tho comparison, when mado, showed that Cuba can produco citrus fruit of nret-clnsa qual ity, nnd, moreover, that sho Is doing so. Cltrus-fnllt culturo Is tho principal Interest of American and Canadian settlers throughout Cuba. Cubans and Spaniards arc growers of no cltris fruits savo pineapples tho grnpo fruit and ornngo groves belong to tho English-speaking colonists. Orange and grnpo fruit culturo Is tho business which haa boon boomed mercilessly by land companies advertising lnrgely and aonu times unscrupulously all through tho United States and In Canada during tho past ton yoars. Their customers, arriving In Cuba, have lnslstod upon grdwlng nothing but grnpo fruit nnd or angos, oven In regions whero other crops would assurodly havo proven mora Immediately profit able If not tho bettor Investmont In tho long run. For Instanco, thcro aro Americans and Cana dians growing citrus fruits In tho heart of Vuelta Abajo and In other parts of Plnar del Rto provlnco on landsN that might bo mado to produco tobac co of the qualities which havo mado western Cuba famous tho world around for this ono crop, woro tho owners willing to cooporato with Cubans on tho par tldarlo system, accord ing to which tho now comer furnishes tho re quisite capital nnd tho natlvo furnishes tho skill no less neccoBary to success In tho doll cato undertaking. It Is a notnblo fact that few Americana or Canadians who themsolves do tho actual work In their to- GftQYJi OF YOVrtG .WOJY bacno fields hnvo found this crop profitable Thero nro "trlcka In tho trado" of whch Cubans aro masters, especially those porHonB wIiobo fam ilies havo for generations out of mind engaged In tobacco culture ontlroly. They seem to be pos sessed of an Intuition which enables them to handle tho seedling, tho plant and tho loaf, when germinating, when maturing, and especially when curing, In a manner to Insure a hotter outcome ihnn nny foreigner Is likely to compass. To grow the very best tobacco requtroa capital. Tho von ture Is n gamble, tho rosult of which, however, la known In a single season. It tho planter wins, lie probably rakes In "big monoy." If ho 'loses, at loast ft takes him only, months, not years, to find It out Jj Jn tho Isle of Pines, which was formerly n cattlo and hog country, producing especially val "uublo draft oxen for salo In Cuba proper, Ameri can cltrus-frult growers consume largo quantities of canned condensed milk, nt high prices, as well as largo amounts of cannod meatB and vegetables, despite the fact that some good pasturago exists, ''wtifle stilt ntbre could doubtless bo planted, and tho further tact that fine vegetables In remark ably largo variety can be grown along tho river banks, or, really, almost anywhere olso where Irrigation Impossible. They also Import hay and feed at ridiculous cost. All this Into a region where corn at least enn bo grown and largo herds used to "find" thcmBplwiB. . In central, but most particularly In eastern Cuba, Americans and Canadians nro developing groves In lands admirably adapted to sugar cane, which Is a quick, certain nnd profltnblo crop, sold either In tho field, or cut and delivered wherever there Is a mill near enough to buy up tho cano. They are growing their trooa on sttea natives would assuredly prefer for coffee and cacao, or, more wisely, for the numerous Indigenous crops (names, bontatoB, etc.) for which there Ib con stant aml remunerative demand. American and Canndlan settlers in Cuba, In cluding tho Isle of Pines, nro cltrus-frult mud. In Plnar del Rio, In the Isle of Pines and In central and eastern Cuba thero Is, novortholcss, In their madness so much mothod, plus grit and uttor In ability to realize the pdds thoy nro "up against," that it occms to bo vory probablo they will sue 1 coed rogardless. Monoy, tlmo and hardship nro I to them no object nt nil. Plnar dol Rio Ib a provlnco possessed of most fertile lands In certain districts. There nro among the foothills and tho "Organos" them solves rich valleys; unfortunately, some of the choicest aro ns ypt almost Inuccosslblo. Thero is good land always nlong the streams, nnd nrnbto areas aro to bp found, hero and thero, overy--where. Also hero and thero and everywhere thoro aro worn-out fields, eun baked through yoars, which woar, however, to tho Inexperi enced oyo, tho aspect of virgin, though lightly wooded or sa vannah lands; thero nro also other sections desolnto palm barrens whoro no man savo tho sort who purchaao real es tato "sight unsoon" would think of attempting to grow anything. Thero aro, too, south of tho mountain rnngo, on tho plnln which drops gradually from Its skirts to tho Caribbean soa, certain sandy, gravelly roaches, poor In plnnt food. It Is hero, howover, with propor fertilization nnd caro, that growers aro developing orango and grnpo-frult grovos. Those lands will produco tho trees, If food to support thorn Is supplied In tho shnpo of fer tilizer, nnd tho trees will bonr c'-us fruit of tho vory best quality bright colored, woighty, full of Julco, lnclosod In smooth, thin rind. No fair minded person can longer doubt thnt thoy will do so aftof Bcelng fruit of tho quality which growers locatod at Taco Taco exhibited at tho latest horticultural Bhow In Havana. Those gen tlemen had, howover, tho monoy to koop their troos properly nourished. Many others who havo failed to succeed as they are sucecdlng owe thnt failuro to tho fact that thoy dtd not havo tho monoy to do as much for their grovos. Some land companloa doing business in west ern Cuba deny overtly .or by Implication that fer tilisation is necossary, but no prospoctlvo ownor ot n cltrus-frult grovo In western Cuba can afford not to includo In his estlmnto of expenses tho cost of fertilizing early and often In amounts proporly' augmentod as years pass. Fertilizers In general use In tho groves ot tho region mentioned cost, on a fnlr average, about $45 a ton. This Is tho situation In tho Islo of Pines, as well on In tho western and central mainland ot Cuba. "Tho soils are all poor In plant food com pared with tho avorago soils In tho United States, Bnd tho gravel ridges aro especially so," states Mr. H. C. Henrlckson, secretary of tho Cuban National Horticultural society, referring particu larly to tho Islo of Pines, "but I havo never Been the effoct of good fertilizers bo sharply outlined as In these very soils, and from experlenco In Florida and Porto Rico I would prod let an abun dant crop of fruit ot superior quality wherever the groves are proporly treated." Tho vital question In theso regions Ib, then, whether tho owner la able to afford proper troat mont. Ho will, save In oxcoptlonal casos, whero tho soil Is too "American" for nny use whatso ever, got his crop provided ho has tho money to supply enough fertilizer. For thoro are rlchor lands in Cubn than thoso on which Americans and Canadians nro develop ing tholr groves in woBtern Cuba and tho Islo ot Pines. Along tho Cauto rlvor, to mention but one locality, thoro nro exceedingly doop, fertile, vir gin soils which riocd no fertilizer to produco cit rus fruit groves. Such lands must, at tho vory commencement, be clonrod, at some exponso, ot tho thick woods that cover them, and groves, onco planted, must ut all costs bo kept fnlrly froo ot weeds. Secondary crops corn, for lnstanco--may bo grown botwecn rows without detriment to tho troos; In fact, it would seem wiser to do bo than otherwise, for, exactly, tho opposlto of tho enso In tho west, theso far enstorn lands need to bo roduced. They aro almost too rich, and tho fruit of trees thoy produco, particularly young trees, Is apt to bo coarse-skinned, too big, and pithy. Theso defects, nevertheless, tlmo romodlos, for as groves ago thoy lessen tho supply of plant food. Eventually It will bocomo necessary to fer--tlllzo tho trees, and then growers, by selecting tholr fertilizer, can control' tho quality of tholr fruit. Thriy have, meanwhile, acquired tholr grovo without tho exponso for fertilizer tho grower In tho west has boon put to In order to produco his. Ho, on the other hand, has boon to less expense than the man In tho east In the matter of clear ing, nnd ho has not had to sit up nights weeding to keep his grovo from disappearing under a tanglo of tropical vegetation. Tho obvious conclusion, Ib therefore, thnt six Is one-half dozen. Grovos In both eastern and western Cuba will produco trees nnd good fruit, but neither will do so for any owner not willing to pay tho price under ono head or another In cash and also In hard work. It Is conservatively estimated that no man should undertake even a flvo-acro grovo anywhoro In Cuba unless ho has nt least 55,000 whero ho can lay his liand3 on It. If ho Is a lively, capnblo man ho will probably not need that amount of money, but no matter what his ability ho should be nblo to command at lenst that Bum beforo em barking In tho citrus fruit business hero. Ho may need It all, and moro. While no comploto statistics nro nvnllnble, It Is the writer's Impression that In western Cuba, Including the Islo of Pines, tho ncreago of or nnges Is moro than that of grnpo fruit, whllo In tho enst It would seem that tho grape-fruit ncro ago Is tho larger. Tho older groves seem, usu nlly. to be orange grovos; tho younger tho grovo tho larger tho proportion of grapo fruit In It Problems of transportation to market demand careful study from all growers, prospective or established. Craves situated at n dlstanco from railway lines aro handicapped at tho start, for, although thcro aro ninny good roads In Plnar del Rio provlnco, nnd all over tho Islo of Pines, every foot of haul countB, nnd whero tho roads aro not oxcollent, It countB heavily, most especially in wet weather. Americans and Cnnndlons have plunged head foremost Into cltrus-frult culturo In Cuba. They are building up against odds, by their Indomitable courage and optimism, an industry Into which preceding owners of the lands they hold did not venture. Tho Spnnlards and CubanB did not so yenture mny have been because they woro blind to the possibilities, lacked specific knowledge, or the energy required; or possibly thoy wero outmatched by adverse conditions In past doc ndes. Then again, It may be thoy wcro deterred not by theso things at all, but by a truo under standing of basic conditions hero; by a realiza tion ot difficulties In tho way ot competing, not to Bay controlling, In tho markets whoro the citrus fruit of Cuba must be sold; and, especially, by a keen appreciation of more profit to bo mado more qtilckly nnd inexpensively elsowhere. Tn fine, they may have been govorqed by caution, which docs not notably distinguish the Anglo-Saxon when engaged In opening up fields to htm new. New to him, bo It noted, but In Cuba's coso not In themselves either new or untried. This Island Is not a virgin wilderness In toto. It haa been under the domination of whlto mon for 400 years. Not all theso whlto men wero Idlo and Incompetent They appreciated tho country and In developing Its resources not to. tho fullest ex tent possible nowadays, to be sure, but as tar as was posslblo to thorn In their times they made fortunes. The Spaniards devoted all the energies they had for agriculture In Cuba to sugar cano and to bacco In tho eastern nnd central provinces, and especially to tobacco In tho west. For four cen turies thoy hold fnst to thoso two nroducts. thus demonstrating that they woro poosossed of no moro versatility than the American nnd tho Cn nndlnn who, In Cuba, Insist upon discovering no luiure snvo in citrus fruit. From tobacco and from cano the Snnnlnrd. nnd tho Cuban with him, has wrostod tho "wonlth of tho Indies." "Rich ns n Cuban planter" plnntor of cano nnd tobacco, not of oranges and grape fruit Is a significant English phrase. To attain to tho wealth nnd tho enso it lmullos has boon tho ambition of tho adventurous and tho avari cious rrom 1492 to tho present tlmo. Dy W., K. DniTTON. Connecticut Agri cultural Experiment Btutlon.) Tho most troublesomo plant llco on npplo in Connecticut aro the groon np plo aphis. A. ponil Do door, nnd tho rosy npplo aphis, tho identity of which ecoms not to hnvo boon well estab lished. For instance, wo And accounts of npparontly tho same insect as Aphis Borbl Kalt,, as Aphis pyrl Hoyor, nnd ns Aphis mallfoliao Fitch. Tho green npplo nphls was described brlofly nnd figured In tho report of this station In 1903. It nttacks tho ter minal shoots and tendor leaves, caus ing tho leaves to curl. It affects tho tree chiefly by restricting tho growth and Is much more serious on young or chard trees and nursery, Btock than upon old trees. All singes aro bright green excopt tho oval egg, which Is green when first laid but soon turns to a shining black. Eggs aro, laid on tho terminal twigs lata in tho soason Tho eggs of tho rosy npplo nphls hatch about tho middle ot April Just as the green leaves begin to show at tho end of tho buds. On April 16th In aq orchard at Merlden, tho aphlda woro hatched nnd the buds had opened Just enough to show tho green tissue. Many nowly-hatched aphlds could bo soen on tho opening buds, though many, eggs wero still unhatchod. Thoso aphlds wero abundant through blossoming tlmo and wero thick on tho young fruit During the lattor part of Juno, or nbout tho lirst ot July, they disappeared entirely from tho trees, and did not return until Oo tobor. On Novombor 12, 1909, tho npblda wero laying eggs, though but fow could bo found. Qlllottd states thnt llmo and Bulphun mixtures nro among tho substances most offectlvo in destroying eggs of tho groen npplo aphis in Colorado, r Rosy Apple Aphis. 1. Winced viviparous female: 2. apterous vlvlnnroun female! 3. vounir nvmnh! ' i, antenna of apterous vlvlpnrous female. All greatly enlarged. i and nro conspicuous and ofton abun dant. Tho rosy apple nobis Ib Dink or purplish In color nnd seems espe cially prono to nttack tho fruit spurs nnd the Innor portions of the tree top rnthor thnn tho terminal twigs nnd exterior part. Tho eggs nre smaller nnd much less conspicuous than thoso of the green npulu nphls, nnd one ofton find them nt nil, as thoy are hidden around tho buds, sometimes partly un der tho scales. Tho nttacks of the rosy npplo aphis affect? seriously the fruit nnd prevents Its growth and development, causes it to be gnarled nnd Irregular In shnpe. Tho leaves curl early and often turn yellow and fall late In Juno if badly Infested. Tho green npplo nphls remains on tho applo leaves and shoots through out tho season, but tho rosy applo aphlB leaves the apple and goes to some other unknown plant host dur ing tho latter part of June returning Ing In October nnd later laying eggs to carry tho species through the winter. CORN HELPS IN PASTURAGE Easy Means of Supplementing Grans in Pastures and Stim ulating Flow of Milk in Dairy in Late Summer. An easy means ot supplementing grass In the pastures and stimulating tho flow ot milk In the dairy herd U to teeu green corn into In tno summer. With a contlnuanco of tho prcsont drought this supplement Is liable to be required earlier than usual. A small amount of corn cut each day and taken to tho pasturo will amply re pay tho labor It costs In an increased flow ot milk. As soon ns ears begin to form green corn can bo ted to nd vantngo; and It may bo bo fed until it is near maturity. Tho Minnesota experiment station at St. Anthony Park has recordB of good crops of fod der corn planted as late as tho mlddlo of July. In view of the present dry season It may bo ndvlsablo to plant a crop ot fodder corn this month, ns pasturago Is reported to bo very short nnd a scarcity of hay Is likely to fol low. It Is better to try foddor corn now on nny vacant Jand the farmers may have, and to cultlvato It well, and Hodgklss reached similar results with his tests on eggs in various spe cies of aphlds in Now York. Tests woro mnde with kerosene emulsion In different dilutions Into in Juno to dotormino tho proper strength to use. Tho emulsion standard was prepared after tho formula printed on. tho Bpray calendar nnd Is ns follows: Korosono Emulsion. Two gallons kerosene, one-half pound common soap, ono gallon water. Dissolve tho soap In hot water, add the kerosone, nnd churn together until n whlto creamy mass Is formed which thickens on cool ing. Into tho diluted emulsion wero dipped typical Infested branches. Four teen trees scattered throughout tho or-i chard wore Included In this test and both trees and their dipped branches wcro marked. The dilute emulsion killed tho aphlds quickly when brought Into direct con tact with them. This could be dona by dipping tho branches, but would not be occompllshed so successfully by sprnying on account of tho curled loaves. than to allow the land to grow a crop ot weeds. Haying Machines. Equally wonderful have been tho ln provements mado In machines for handling tho hay crop. Tho modern mowing machine is a marvol of slmplo efficiency, snya the Ohio Farmer. The old revolving, wooden-tooth hayrake has given place to the self-dump silky , sieei uayrane. This mnchlno can be operated by a ten-year-old boy, who cuu ho more ana better work than could a man using the old method. Tho hay-tedder enablos the farmer to cure his hay quickly nnd greatly im proves tho quality of the hay. Ry means of the hny loader timothy, clo ver or alfalfa can bo taken direct from tho Bwath and loaded on tho wngon. With the modern swoop rake tho hay can bo taken direct from tho Bwnth oi cock and put Into tho stack with th hay stacker. Tho derrick hay fork it also used quite extensively, especially when tho hay Is to bo put away In thr mow. Alcohol fnojfmsabs. Ono ton of corncobfljwUl mnko 40 gallons of alcohol bt?EMlproof, and afterwards the cornc'fiBay bo burned for fuel. Tho alcoholTslwjoith $20, the cost of extraction Is $8.,