CULTURE. Some effort was made to dig up by hand-labor the sods under the low trees. The boys thought it hard work, and favored higher-trimmed trees so as to permit teams to pass near the tree. EXPERIMENTS. Three rows north and south were left still in the grass as experimental. Experiments of digging and manuring at different distances from the trees in grass, have been continued with results about the same as last year. TREES IN GRASS. Trees in grass made less growth, looked yellow in foliage, and bore smaller fruit and apparently less of it. CROP. The crop of apples was fair in quantity, and not so wormy as last year. I think now, considering the extreme dry autumn, it would have been better to have continued the cultivation later in the season. GROWTH. Most of the trees made a good growth. NEW TREES were added in some of the vacancies, thus largely increasing our varieties. Thanks again to Ilgen fritz & Co., who gave the trees. All lived. DRAINAGE. The superintendent of the farm has now run a main ditch with 6-inch tile up to the orchard, and a 2-inch tile the entire length of the south side, thus beginning a good work long needed. We trust nothing may prevent him from completing thoroughly the draining of the entire orchard. INSECTS. A few borers have been dug from some of the smaller trees, and a few caterpillars killed during their season. CODLING MOTH. This insect is the worst enemy to the fruit-grower in the United States. EXPERIMENTS. Last season (1873) the bands of three folds of coarse paper were examined about the time of gathering the winter fruit and replaced. On May 8 (1874) 133 bonds were removed. Fifty-three larvæ were found between the band and tree; 32 were found in the folds of the band. There were four cocoons taken. The above observations show the importance of unfolding every double band, or of submitting all to a pressure sufficient to kill all the moths. BANDS USED THIS YEAR. This year we used bands about six inches wide, of one thickness of stout, thick woolen paper. About the middle of June the bearing trees were banded with new bands. In twelve days they were removed, 364 larvæ killed, and pupa about equal in number. Some had escaped from the bands; birds had picked out others. In two weeks were taken 147 moths or larvæ; in two weeks more, 66 larvæ of moths. On August 20, 69 larvæ taken. Birds had pecked out many, destroying some bands. THE HOG REMEDY we have not yet tried, though we believe it to be a good partial remedy, and only partial. Late in July, 250 apparently wormy apples, picked from the ground, were cut open. Not one contained a worm. Hogs must be on hand for every wormy apple as soon as it falls, or the worm will escape. Of 250 apparently wormy apples taken from trees at same time, about 25 per cent only contained larvæ: the rest had crawled out. Hogs would not catch the 75 per cent of the moths which had left the apples before they fell to the ground. On July 7th 101 apparently wormy apples were taken from one Wagener tree. Fifty contained the worm, 51 had lost him. On July 26th, 200 Red Astrachans were apparently wormy, and picked and cut open. Ninety-nine were found to contain worms, 101 no worms. This shows the hog and sheep remedy to be only a partial success. Other apples were cut open with similar results from other kinds of apples. C. V. Riley, the eminent State entomologist of Missouri, states in one of his entomological reports that if a bush of foss is found on the end of the apple it is a sure sign the worm has escaped from the apple. This is not so, unless there is a hole under one side of the foss or within it. If there is no hole to be seen under the foss or in it, in nearly every case I have found the worm after cutting open the apple. On August 20 we put on 15 new clean bands and left them till late in autumn. In no case had any larvæ changed to pupœ, or had any of them escaped from the bands, except those taken by birds. This shows the entomologists to be right,-that the second brood of moths will not come to maturity till the next year, and that there is no need of removing the bands after August 20 until some time in winter or in April early. So far as we have gone, we have tried every point as a skeptic, without reference to theories or hobbies, or what are often called proven facts. WHERE ARE THE MOTHS IN WINTER? Late in this last dry November, we were wondering if the turf and grass and weeds in the orchard did not harbor the codling moth; if they did not ever go into the ground and remain all winter. I was surprised, yes, disappointed, after careful search under several trees where wormy apples had been sorted (under bearing trees too), not to be able to find a single larva or pupa of codling moth. I dug up the dry dirt to the depth of a spade for several square feet under different trees, I looked over the dirt and grass-roots and tops, and weeds, too, as carefully as I have often done in hunting for snails no larger than a pin-head. I spent a good deal of time looking. Mr. Garfield looked, also; not a young moth could we find. Mr. Garfield did find in the grass, early in autum, several larvæ of what he supposed might be codling moth larvæ. They were lost by accident. Later no more could be found. My time has been so closely occupied during the year that I could not give so much attention to this subject as its importance demands. If we could only solve this apple-worm subject it would bring undying renown to the discoverer and would be a bright mark in the history of the college. It is worth trying for. A sure remedy or remedies, if applied, would save many hundreds of thousauds of dollars to Michigan alone. DISTINGUISHING APPLES BY THEIR FLOWERS. This appears to be new to all pomologists, so far as I can learn. The discovery was the result of a few hours' work one day in last May while in the orchard. In some cases it may be of much importance. The discovery has been copied into at least one European horticultural magazine as entirely new and valuable. For the account see Mich. Pomology, vol. 3d, appendix. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. For much valuable assistance in the experiments and especially in the care of the nursery, I am under great obligations to my foreman, Mr. C. W. Garfield, who has shown much zeal and tact in these departments of Horticulture. REPORT OF LIBRARIAN. The library has been open daily from four to six P. M., and has been much frequented by students, the new books added from time to time, and the increased list of periodicals offering fresh inducements to readers. A single student has been in charge of the opening of the library throughout the year. Of his care and punctuality there has been no reason to complain. The fund of $1,000 appropriated by the legislature for the years 1873 and 1874 has been, most of it, expended during the past year, a remainder being reserved for the meeting of outstanding orders. Purchases of foreign publications have been through F. W. Christern of New York; of other miscellaneous books through H. P. Hitchcock & Co. of Lansing and David G. Francis of New York, with satisfactory terms from all. For the exact condition of the fund, as well as for particulars of purchases in dollars and cents, I may refer to the financial report of the Secretary of the College, and vouchers filed in his office and with the Auditor General of State. A brief summary of all transactions is in place here. The total expenditures to Nov. 30, 1874, may be classified as follows: Bills of books.. $614 56 77 50 49 50 21 98 1 73 9 20 3 21 5 55 765 $790 88 62 43 The Librarian has turned into the hands of the Secretary: The books purchased have been by sanction of the Faculty, upon recommendation of the professors of the several departments, and are as follows: Wall Map, Ancient History. Gardener's Chronicle to 1865, 47 vols. Hovey's Magazine of Horticulture, 33 vols. Tilton's Journal of Horticulture, 9 vols. Le Maout's Botany. De Caisne's Hand-Book of Botany. Williams' Window Gardening. Transactions of Academy of Sciences, Philadelphia, 19 vols. Wolfe's Wild Animals. Agassiz's Methods of Study; Sketches (Geological); Journey in Brazil. Darwin's Voyage of a Naturalist; Expression in Animals. Gray's Anatomy. Henslow's Evolution and Science. Guyot's Earth and Man. Le Comte's Religion and Science. Cone's Manual of Birds. Flint's Physiology, vols. 3 and 4. Metamorphoses of Insects. Huxley's Critiques and Addresses; Vertebrates; Essay on Classification. Jeuvon's Principles of Science, 2 vols. McCullough's Commercial Dictionary. Sumner's American Currency. Andrews' Constitution of the United States. Spencer's Social Statics. Woolsey's International Law. Guizot's History of Civilization. Sources of Standard English. Earle's Philology of the English Tongue. Marsh's Origin of the English Language. Whateley's Synonyms. Hall's Modern English. Whitney's Language. Morris' Friendship of Books. Bascom's Philosophy of English Literature. Bacon's Essays, Notes by Whately. Modern British Essayists, 3 vols. Foster's Essays, Popular Ignorance. Moore's American Eloquence, 2 vola. |
