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l-al.

VEMBER‘ “'19, "it

NEWSY

IIAGIwfl-l

zvoias

THE. cans/ms ilmaa- assume

The genus Brassica has furnish- ed mankind with many important (dad plants, among which may be mentioned tho cabbago’ cauliflow- er and turnip as most commonly in eultivation. Their acquired tcrdcr- oessgand edihiliil! which cnuers them aounlike their ancestor. the nrasslca oleracea of the seasilnre. have attracted also a host of insect foes, one oi’ which is the subyect of this note. Besides the plsntl neu- tloned the cabblle flea beetle at- tacks all th¢ plants belonging to the family cfiiiiimi". together with the non-cruoefenous garden Iasturtium or TfOPIQH-llll.

This beetle belongs to the genus Phyiiotreta (formerly included in theigenus l-laltica) and is very small, less than one eighth of an Inch in length.

The damage, as farmers and gar. lleners know to their cost, consists or the destruction, of the leaves. and the most dangerous stage is that between the germination of the seed and the development of the rough or true leaves. The edgy. ledons or seed leaves-appear as if punctured in a scattering fashion, alld if (he beetles are "very had" the seed leaves may be utterly destroyed, and re-sowing become necessary.

As it is the early stages of the plant which are moat vulnerable, the judicious use of manure and fertilizer. to force growth, is very helpful in wlhhstllhg the seeds, ‘el- application of hlsbtlhe sulphate and lime in the fo'm of "dust" was round to b, the only real con- trol for the pest. m its compost. tloll and manner y of lppllogtiqn are Pamphlet No. 80, New series, ‘The Cabbage Flea Beetle." which may be obtained from the Publica- tions Branch, Ottawa.

r’ ‘PHI PROMISE]! COMMENTS

wliii 0i IPIM prevented me sn- "will: my wVBWOndent/s letter last week, but I hasten to repair the omission. ' y

With "Bid so the net-grass and its flowering. growth, etc, this mgy be answered by a short description (It is a. grass like marine herb, slowing wholly under water, from a slender ,' , rootstalk and forming a branching compressed Item. The leaves need no descrip- tion. msummer the flowers are Droducedon a kind of fleshy spike nailed a spadix which is enclosed in a leaf-like spathe. The flower-s are monoeclous: that is, there are male or staminate flowers, and female or pist-iilatc flowers, on the one plant, in this case. on the one lbadix. (In the cucumber and Dllmbkin the staminatc and plsti- late flowers are also on the one Illant, but not at the same point:

"iii- by ihi? way. did you ever read "l" locular riddle l“ “Lorna Doonc" on ihe subject?)

Tile male flower, which is simply {While anther, when lbmatures, ‘imcimrli-‘S 8 number 'of giutlnqigg stringy "threads". (instead o1 pol- ielll into the water. ‘These float “m” i-iil they attach themselves t0 Tile Distillate flowers of another hlant and fertilize it. To prevent self-fertilization, the male and fe. malc flowers of any particular spa- “ix "iliillie at different times. There are usually l0 to 20 of each killd on the spadix.

As to whether it grows in cold weather, there is no information available, but as the eelgrass is a ti“ fiowenull plant (albeit the ‘mwew °1f° V"? rudimentary: it ‘is hilhiy probable that it grows only l" ihe summer. But this is a matter Which misht be looked into. thMY "Yleiilcndent also mentions ~ iii Mi‘. Mcwiiliams has planted

Willi rice and wild celery in the "He" 0f his bird sanctuary and "i" the birds "are not taking to ‘mmueiliii-il! so much since these were planted." mess are two emf. lent feeds. but the pond weeds (Pflluiwteton) compose a greater "Went-are of the food 0f wild ‘iiivils of all descriptions than wild u” "14 wild celery together. “the Ira at least four specie of Pmiiweod hem: I found one ape- fi" “will: in the "Lake bl shin-I "8 Waters" at Cavend‘sh. The wild Fell-Tl’ i5 Vailisneria splralis. anoth- el- interesting plant resembling

"Hillel and. not a bit like celery.

x “We i0 have more to say about xiéiéiiiii plants suitable for game

DWI/Anton. Nona

“n” "iilw- Half a damn papaws. route to Canada from the West

writer's possession, known as 5°11" Particlim" 0f the papaw tree and has a hand colored steel

although grown in Acid as well as in the Weet Indies. is generally understood to be native to the lat- ter region, and to have been car. ricd across about the time of the first intercourse between the two

iiwiiliiy feel. after which it has a head composed. not of branches, but of leaves with very long fool-

ers are on different trees: the fe- iilI-le flowers are large, bell-shap- 9d Ind flhlfliiiy yellow. and are "flowed by a fleshy nult about the size of a melon to which it has

end. The tree and itself are full

even the fruit of an acrid nfllky

W801’. as my author says, "like me. ion." "when the half grown 1mm i5 properly picked, it is but little inferior t0 the pickled mango o; the East Indles." The bdtdnlcal name of thepapaw is cgfigq, pa. pays. * .

The Walnut. I recently obtained a walnut which had been grown at

"e ilwo walnuts native of N. Am- erica: the black walnut (Juglaris iiitra) and the grey walnut or but- ternut (J. cinerea), so that 1 m, not certain which tree the fruit is iivm- 1i‘- dm not appear as elong- ated so the butternut, and as an "I? way out of my difficulty I sent the nut on to Ottawa for identification. Pickled walnut is, to m! mind, the king of all the fifty. M!!! varieties, and I imagine the Mmiilflle walnut would make a pickle equal in flavor to that of the EiiBii-sh walnut (J. regia). When 1 WIB I» boy green walnuts for pickl- ing sold at two shillings (50c) per hundrod. and the test for mp9s; was the ability to thrust a long pin through the nut in every dlreetion, “Jualans” is an abbreviation of Jovls-glans, Jovek nut, as be‘ng sliwiliiy favored by the father of the gods. .

The Grape-fruit. What's in a, "ii-hie? 8W8 the poet. Now when CBPi-ain Shaddock, in the eigh- teenth century. brought the citrus deouxnana from China to the west Indies, it bore the name of “Sweet- ball" and in general merited the title, although some varieties were Mid with but little sweetness. The fruit was about eight inches in cir- cumstance, some, indeed, much larger: and these were both white m"! Ted-Diiiiwd kinds. The planters in the west Indies were not re- markable for their scientific knowledge. and, instead of propa- gating the “sweet-ball by budding (as was done in China) which in- deed is the only way that it can b: kept from degenerating, they rais- ed it from seed and consequently obtained a harsh and sour sort, which was oi‘ very lit-tie value. The fruit,- which had become known as the shaddock. was carried to the mainland and seems to have been extensively planted. There was no demand for it till some (with more insight than the pooh relmptlzed it with the more at- tractive name "grape-fruit" breakfast.

The flavor,‘ however,

tory speaks truly.

getablo or a fruit? For customs purposes in the U. B. .4... it has been officially decided that thelto- math is a vegetable, and not a fruit. It is hard to gee the angle for such a decision, for botanlcally the tomato is a fruit, in fact it is al- most a berry. A berry has a thin skin, filled with pulp, in which the seeds are imbedded. and the tomato only differs in having dlssepime ts which, however, are nearly as suc- cuient as the pulp itself. Of course. everythln: that grows in the earth is a vegetable, but the icrm, in its restricted acme, is used for many edible growths-but not fruits.

'l‘lle Riverside Grape. or other- wise the "sweet-scented grape" (Vitis villplna) apparently does well here. A friend who visited the Protest/ant Orphanage some time in October, tells me that the grape- vinea there were full of black or blue berriesof good quality. These vines are growing up the ' south wall. being ingeniously assisted to climb by a length cfchlcken WiN

India, have made quite a stir. and '° W" imam ‘up before their

depending from the eaves. This meciesiaawilldgnpafromlltc

Pennies may be planted either in or fall but arrlvgL A m“; 01d book now m the ideal time. Where to plan; peonies control of the flock. and of first is pretty much an individual prob- importance in this is the fight to

the spring

"phyla-s vqeuble Kingdom" Ewes lem but here are a few donh: Do‘ not plant peonies near ahrb- on the north side of the Central Experimental Farm and engraving o; the "um The pupaw house or other buildings. or under published in the 1925 report of the trees. Peoples are aurl loving flow- Poultry Division shows that of two ers which demand open both above the ground and undgg- ed under ordinary infested soil con- negth, 1°,- lg the mm of lgpgg ends dition, and the other, pen B, reared m- shrub; come Loo m", they will free from pollution, the latter gave take the nourishment and moisture @885 8t ciiffelli iilflrkti Drives t0 the wmln,m,_ The t,“ m“ Wm, I from the peonies and there will be value o! 86-35 oer bird for the olsht bcuow stern to the height or about “° “mm”-

Any good garden soil will "mm M“, “m,” m, perm-n. value of $3.32 for the same Per- ent planting dig out the bed two i°d

berv.

5mm Th 1 _ spades deep and work in a gener- e mae and female flow ous amount o’ we“ mm‘! manure even more strongly the importance

“m, me bottom sou the“ yeplace of having worm-free stock. Pen A the M, w“ “d m“; m: peony“ during the period of the test had a m that the eyes are about two uh death rate of b3 per cent, while ches below the surface, taking care some rmmblanm The illustration that the roots do not come in con- lddlum “m, the m," may be a tact with the manure.

m“ M,‘ ma y‘ t need no further "med at “ch number of years, although a top

dressingof bone meal or manure

M“, and the y it 1 can be applied every other year or m s eaten with so and left through the winter.

feet apart both ways

good growth and give room for thepianis to develop. Peonies are so free that this need not worry the ama- teur grower. scale

Where no spraying is necessary. Certain varieties of pennies

0nd important thing to remem- ber ln Brewing peoples-do not fail to make a diagram of your plant lng and keep it in your notc book with the name and lo- cation of each plant so, if the label a" kept i‘ 1°53 in" Wm b9 Yi° “Nb” i" ately from the incubator cellar identifying each variety.

FARMING IS A BUSINESS

in which

U. s. A. and it may be well to put on record the manner 1h which it the province. teacher a4; the Orphanage, believ- ing that the Vitis vulpina was the grape that induced the Norseman to give the ‘name "Vinland" to No- va Sootia. and the adjacent states. determined to try it in P. E. I. The species _WGS not to be had at the Bronx Botanical but Comeil University, Ithaca, sent a bundle of twigs of an improved variety called took hold, Planted against the new building. of this grape genius rooted readily if those directions are attended to. Take cuttings in the fnli, after the leaves are off. and Tile twigs must be cut to pieces of inches long, with two or three Joints to the piece. could be greatly improved if his- Bury these cuttings horizontally, about an inch deep. In spring the grow but one will overcome the others and form the main stem. Never take grape cut- tings in spring, or the plant will bleed ill a surprising manner. THE I-IORNED OWL

A young farmer in this neigh- borhood shot a great horned owl last week. 1t had been terrorizing his poultry and deserved all ll», got. I am told that somebody else has shot a. snowy owl: and that also is But I hope these Nlmrods will remember that these are the only two owls which de- serve their attentions. The rest of the owls are most useful, flying as they do after dusk-when lhe polli- try have "gone to bed"-and prey- ing upon the rats and mice that come out at that time. ‘There is a bounty for the scalp of the great horned .owl, and rightly so: there is always the danger of some too enthudastic the useful species in his "bagfiflwe hill/e many young folk who are in- terested in bird life and it is hoped that they will constitute themselves for tho preservation

reached

“Bacchus". A and were

boosted it as a preparation for eight or nine

Th! Tilmsto. Is the tomato/a ve- buds will all

to the good.

propagandis‘ of the useful owls.

Worm Infestation In Poultry

Successful poultry keeping de- fall is the pends more and more on the health

control internal parasites. An experiment conducted at the

gppce! pens of 30 pullets, one. pen A, rear-

months co ‘ November 1, my, and the former gave eggs to the

The mortality figures emphasize

pen B lost only 8.3 per cent. The same method of control is by They Wm prevention rather than by an at- m, . tempt to clean up infection after it has become established. To this End all poultry houses at the Cen- tral Experimental Farm, Ottawa, are supplied with double yards, one at . the front of tho house and one at thrsleulwlnzilf: the back. While the front yards are being used the yards at the back are ploughed, thoroughly cultivated and seeded to a good cover crop of clover and alfalfa, which is allow- ed to sweeten the land for a full season. The following spring the flocks are put on the cleaned, crop-

attention

plenty of from disease there is no

have

Montague. It was enclosed in a covered yards at the back; the front green husk as all walnuts are at, knotteilngogaverbut “:3 assflgmui’: yards are then cultivated and seed- firet. but was almost ripe, Thai-s ogithueiirs a‘ w ed so as to be ready for use the

following season.

To assure the chicks coming into winter quarters worm free or prac- ticafly so, the chick resrng grolmd 35rd” is entirely removed from connection with the plant where the old iowls The chicks go immedi-

(which is closed to those working with the old stock) and are brood- ed and reared on forage covered land over which no fowl has rang-

H¢Y° i5 Willi DP- 3- COKB- ANN" ed for at least two seasons.

ant Director of Agricultural Econo- mics, Ottawa, has to say about the farmer in national economy writ- ter quarters worm free, and will be i118 in the current issue of the Fco- confined to the houses until the nomie Annalist’: . "The modern farmer is an entre- lowed out into the yards which had preneur-an owner and cf u. business members of his family perform a preceding season. good deal of the manual work con- nected with the enterprlse. He buys using of the growing chickens as and sells commodities. He employs one year in a four year crop rota- Iabor and directs it, He seeks an in- tlon, it ls felt that the safeguarding come which will enable ‘a satisfac- tory Standard [of living. It may’ be prevention of worm infestation may well, therefore, for all those inter- ested in agriculture is be“ 1n mlnd George Robertson. that farming will be a. better way 0i Setting a living when it is organ- ized on a business basis.

By these methods it is anticipated that the pullets will come into win- following spring before they are al-

organizel‘ been prepared for them by resting he and and growing a crop of clover all the

By this rotation of yards and the

of the health of our flocks by the

be satisfactorily accomplished; —

Furnishig Hogs

(Experimental Farms Note)

The low price of pork and pork products very often results in this marketing of many unfinished hogs. This in turn forces the mar- ket to ever lower levels and results, in many cases, in losses to the producer whereas the sale of a fin- ished product would have shown a profit. In times of depression the advantages of marketing only su- perior quality products are even more marked than when prices are high. For example, in 1.229 when hogs were selling for l2 cents per poiuld or more, the premium on a select hog was $1 or all increase ill the value of a 200 pound llog of 4.17 per cent. In 1932 with a price of 4 cents per pound the incl-case in value on n. select hog is 12.5 per cent. Similarly the percentage dockage on grades below bacon is increased with a decrease in hog prices.

The Dominion Experimental Farm at Nappan, Nova Scotia, has

A former

Gardens, N. ~Y.

These eventually

canbc

ments over a period of years, com- paring various feeds for growing and finishing bacon hogs. Space does not permit a. detailed account of all these experiments but they include comparisons of skim-milk. iankage and fishmeai, mangeis and swedcs for green feed, corn and barley, and oats, middlings and barley.

The results in general show that home grown feeds such as barley are equal to imported feeds for fin- ishing, also that fishmeal is a valu- able substitute for skim-milk and when the prlcl- is not. too high can be used to advantage.

One point brought out during these tests is lhc value of having an early maturing strain of hogs to start with. For example, in 1929 two groups of hogs by the same sire from two different sows were fed alike. One group showed an average daily gain of 1.22 pounds and the feed cost per pound gain was 7.80 cents. while the other group gained 131 pounds per day

but

gunner in ' "

been conducting various expert-i

Naming New __ Seeds Controlled

The use in Canada of variety names -for grains, forage crops, field roots and garden vegetables has been controlled by the Seeds Act silloe 1924.

Tile reason for the limitations be- ing 1m, ’ was because the num- ber of variety names given in Can- adian, Engrsh and foreign seed cat- aivsues circulated in Canada had grown to about fifteen thousand. with an alarming tendency to in- crease rapidly in competition with lthe thirty five thousand variety names said to be tn use in seed catalogues in the United States.

With such a multiplicity of var- ifliy names it was obvious that many old varieties of farm and garden crops weer being given new names. and that many newly created types and varletes were appearing under a host of highvsoundlng aliases oe- slgned to impress the prospective seed purchaser with a quality par excellence, which, however, many of the cleverly advertised noveines did not possess. Under these conditions the seed buying public was fast ap- proaching a state of bewilderment as to the meaning of the over-work- ed variety nomenclature,

In leglslating for-the control of this practice the continued use was permitted of variety names which were generally employed in Canada during the year ending March 8i, 1923, in consideration of the seeds- meh who had seed stock-s on hand at the time the control was intsit- utcd. Other varieties introduced af- ter that date were required to be tested and, if found to be new, were licensed for sale. With the enact mellt of the requirement that new variety names be licensed before be- ing employed in Canada it was further stipulated that tests for lic- ense must be conducted by persons appointed by the Minister for that purpose. 'I'he Dominion Oerealisi

‘Dominion Horticulturist and Dom-

inion Agrostologist were according- Iy named for that work.

During the year 1928 an amend-

ment was made to this section of the Act whereby it was further provid- cd that. a license may be refused to under test, not ony for lack of dis- under test, not only fo flack of dis- tinctiveness from a previously ee- tablished variety and variety name but also i'f the variety under test is found to possess such inferior qualities or characteristics as to im- pair its value for commerce. This work has repeatedly nrovw its value in revealing undesirable characteristics of new varieties seeking entry into Canada from other countries or introduction to the Canadian trade from local sources, and ls increasngly helpful in maintaining the purity of variety c: seeds now used in Canada.

Average Snowfall

Records kept at the Central Ex- perimental Farm at Ottawa over the past forty-two years show that in the Ottawa district only four months in the year arc without snow, June, July. August and Sep- tember. while rain falls every month durlllg the year. The heaviest snow- fall averagcd over the period under review comes in January with 24.64 inches, as compared with 19 inches in December; 20.72 inches in Feb- ruary; 14.68 inches in March; 3.10 inches in April; .18 in May; .26 in October and 7 inches in November. Railfall ranges from a low of .38 in February to a high of 3.70 inches in July and is fairly regular between the peaks, the average for the forty- two year period by months being as follows :