The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1877-07-07
FARM AND F1RESIDEs

PLUMs BY THE AID OF FOWLS Many
time have we advised persons who de-
sired to raise plums in regions where the
plum curculio abounds, to plant their
trees in a yard where fowls were con-
fined in summer. We have known fine
crops to be raised under such
conditions and to encourage further ex-
periments in this direction we copy the
following from the Scientific Farmer:
Can plums be successfully grown in
the older portions of the country not
withstanding the strongly intrenched
curculio? My success in this direction
has far exceeded my expectations; but
it extends over SO few years that | am
not ready to give an emphatic affirma-
tive to the foregoing query. Upon my
farm was standing large plum tree
which was annually clothed in robes OF
snowy whiteness, which soon gave place
to numerous small plums. At this stage
l was always doomed to be disappointed,
for the saucy little Turk was always ready
to nip nay hopes-if not in bud, in the
unripe fruit. Nature seemed to struggle
so against such odds in her vain efforts to
give us a crop OF fruit, that deter
mined to help her.
know well that fruit growers would
tell me to jar tie trees and destroy the
curculio as they were caught upon sheet
spread beneath the tree; but one who
has large farm to attend to would
quite likely neglect it just in the "nick
of time" and thus lose the crop.
therefore decided to make a trial in
another direction. About eight years ago
set an orchard of twenty-five plum trees,
cultivated them well for two years, and
hen house among them. About fifty
hens were confined within the Enclosure.
and from that time nocultivation has been
required, as the hens allow no vegetation
to grow among the trees. And now for the
result Two years ago one tree gave a
good crop Of plums last year two OF them
did the same; and this season twelve to
fifteen of the trees produced crops that
entirely beggar description. Many peo-
pie came to look at them as the fruit
covered the trees, and it was the unani-
nous exclamation "Never saw such a
sight BEFORE" Branches foot in length
were packed with plums, like grapes in
clusters. fear that my indiscretion in al
lowing SO large an amount to remain and
mature has jeopardized my prospect for
crop this coming year, for think the
trees must be much exhausted after such
an effort of production, the crops being
not only numerically large but the fruit
was Individually large; at least, SO it
looked to me, as my eyes had never looked
upon such sight before. In size all the
way from that of an ordinary Damson to
fair hens egg. Color, from nearly
white, to green, red, pink, light and
dark purple. Time of ripening, August
20 to October 20.
in production of eggs the hens pay a
good profit, in cultivation they save
hand work, in destruction of Curculio
they have saved the plums and thus have
fulfilled their mission. l think it would
not be wise to attempt to utilize hen labor
unless they were confined, as they are
not particularly fond of Curculio, and
probably would not destroy them if al
lowed to roam where more palatable in
sects were to be had. / have thrown the
Curculio to lot of hens; the first picked
up and dropped it, the second did like
wise, but the third come along and put
the little fellow beyond the reach of
plums.
INSECT LAw.-It said that there is an
old law on the statute books of France,
dating from 1895, which requires land
owners to destroy the caterpillars found
on their premises. 1t is now proposed to
extend this law SO that it shall include
all noxious insects of other orders. We
have commended that similar law should
be passed in this country; and then lazy,
indolent farmers would not be permitted
to breed all kinds of insect pests with
impunity, but would be compelled to
clear their own fields while neighbors
were doing the same. Last year we saw
acres of potatoes planted, and perhaps
after cultivating once they were left to
their fate. The potato beetles appeared in
great numbers depositing their eggs upon
the plants, where they Matched and
passed through their various transforma
tions, reaching the beetle state by the
time the supply of food gave out; then
they passed over neighboring fields, the
owners of which had destroyed the eggs
and Larvae found upon the plants early
in summer. But this invasion of mil
lions of full grown beetles was discour-
aging, and they gave up the fight, and
what otherwise would have been a good
crop was totally destroyed by these pests
Under these circumstances the question
arises, has man moral right to breed
or feed pestiferous insects to invade his
neighbors' fields and destroy the crops
therein? If he has no moral right to do
this, why should we give him legal right I?
A free government is all very well in its
way, but there is possibility of giving
too much freedom, especially when it
comes to breeding dogs to kill your neigh
bors' sheep, or pestiferous insects to be
let loose upon his crops. When we get
our Secretary of Agriculture, there will