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.,
