The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1888-12-29


Blown down the tides OF amber day:
June the month OF merry song,
or shadow brief. OF sunshine long;
All things on earth love you the best
The bird who carols near his nest;
The wind that wakes aud, singing. blows
The spicy perfume OF the roses
Aud bee, who sounds his muiied horr
TO celebrate the dewy morn;
And even all the stars above
All night are happier for love.
Al II the mellow rotes OF mifth
Were waited 70 them from the earth.
O June such music haunts your name;
Win you the summers chorus came
Prank Dcmpsier sherman ia 81. Nicholas
Tor June.
rLAET LICE.
The first plant lice that appear in
spring are Matched from eggs laid the
previous autumn, and are exclusively
females. From these the species Is
propagatcd throughout the season by
what Is known as asexual generation.
the young being born alive through
many successive generations. and with
out any pairing OF the sexes. The
males and perfect fcmales--i. e.. those
capable Of depositing fertile eggs. only
appear late ia the season. IL Is said
that the male form of the cabbage aphis
has not yet been discovered. Until
quite recently the eggs OF the hop aphis
had not been found. but it Is now
thought that they are deposited on the
terminal twigs of plum trees, and sew
eral other species are believed to deposit
their eggs on plants entirely distinct
from the ones upon which they feed.
The peculiar, viscid swcstish sub
stance that sometimes appears on the
leaves Of pear and some other trees I'm
summer, and which l. known rs "honcy
dew, is largely. if not entirely Sc
erection OF the aphis. Ants are fond of
this secretion. and hence are always
found on plants infested with plant lice.
Indeed. the latter are treated by the ants
much rs IL they had been reduced TO "A
state OF domcstication. IL is known
that the ants frequently transport the
lice from place 10 place. that they know
how TO cause them to yield their sweet
secretion ut viii, and they are also
thought TO protect them from their i'm
sect enemies. They are called ''ants'
COWS.
Last year the damage by aphis TO
fruit growers aud nurserymen in West
rrn New York alone must certainly
have amounted TO hundreds OF thousand
IL not 10 millions of dollars. But this
Is lbs no means tho only locality that
suffered. nor Is the past the only season
an which cultivated plants have been
injured by them. II Is estimated that
the injury 10 the hop crop of England
in 1882. from the aphis, amounted 20
$4,000. 900. The dreaded phylloxcra of
Europe. that has threatened 10 anuihi-
late grape-growing In many localities,
Belongs to the family of plant lice. and
there are many other injurious species.
Perhaps no insect with which we
have TO contend Is so difficult To bat
tie successfully In the open air. With
nursery trees and hcrbaceous plants,
kerosene emissions or solutions OF
whalc-oil soap prove partially salts
factory. But the insects are so small
and so numerous, that IL is practically
impossible TO reach them all. and owing
to their extremely rapid multiplication,
the few that escape soon envelope the
the plants anew. In the case Of large
trees, their destruction becomes much
more difficult On the whole. the
mastery of the aphis in the open air
must be regarded as one of the unsol-
we'd problems in horticulture.
p TIE SHIPPING CRATE.
Those who grow produce for market
do not need to be told Of the Importance
of neat and proper packing TO secure
ready sales and best prices. The farm
err sometimes has crop. such as an
unexpected crop OF early apples. that
he would gladly turn into money. but
he Is not provided with baskets for
for packing his fruit. and il sent In bar
rels the fruit would arrive in bad order
aud bring low prices. To such the
bnshcl crate comes as a ready resource.
A bushel crate is easily made. and forms
neat and handy package for nearly all
kinds of produce. To make bushcl
crate there nrc required three pieces.
cnch eight by fourteen inches, for the
end and center piece; the strips or laths
for the sides are two feet long. The
width Of these depends upon the article
10 be- packed. Sixteen strips are com
monty used, with spaces between for
ventilation. Otter The corners of the
end and middle pieces are cut off; this
makes the crate octagonal in shape.
which Is an advantage, rs IL allows OF
better ventilation when the crates are
stacked together. In building the crates
thetwo strips AZ the top are nailed down.
a. ollo,v a., ononino fhrouoh which g.,