Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-06-08
The Grapevine i'm Spring.

As soon as the buds of the grapevine open,
the annual fight with worms and caterpillars
begins. The destructive insects and worms
are usually little ahead of the buds and flow-
ers which they prey upon, and no sooner has
one premature bud shown itself then they be-
gin their work. The vines must then be
watched, and every care taken to keep back
the little enemies before they have multiplied
SO as to make such work impossible. little
caterpillar will begin to draw the leaves to-
gether as soon as the buds open for the pur-
pose of constructing nest. As if conscious
of the showers Of poisonous liquids that will
be poured over the vines, they construct their
nest as early in the season as possible, thus
protecting themselves from all liquids All
such nests should be picked off and burnt up
before the eggs are deposited or Matched A
great deal of after trouble and worry will thus
be saved.
Next to the caterpillars the rosebugs will
attack the vines. They begin their work as
soon as the grape Is in flower, and some years
they come in such numbers as to kill thousands
Of flowers. They, too, are proof against the
liquids that are squirted over the vines In
fact, they seem to be iron-clad SO far as all
known insecticides are concerned, and they
valiantly continue their destructive work while
the showers OF poison fly around them. A lit
tie jar or shake Of the vine, however easily
throws them from their perch, and they NAV
be easily caught in vessels. A little water
should be in the bottom of the vessels SO that
their wings may be moistened as they drop in,
and all attempts to fly away thus made useless
IL the vines are gone over every morning for
these bugs early in the season very few eggs
will be deposited and the vines will be kept
comparatively free from enemies during the
growing season. If allowed to multiply at will.
however, they will get so numerous by fall that
it will be almost useless to wage warfare against
them and the vines will suffer very much from
their ravages. G, 8, WALTERS.
Pruning Shrubs.
Shrubs, like trees, are pruned for different
purposes, and no one rule will apply for all
cases. The shade tree requires pruning, but
not of the same kind as the apple tree, which
must be pruned with the view to making it
produce the best fruit, and q liberal supply of
it. Shrubs are similar to trees in this respect
Some are pruned for grace and symetry, while
others are pruned in order to make the pro-
duction of flowers greater. Shrubs should not
be cut back ruthlessly, as many ungarden-like
gardeners do. They should be sheared off
evenly and uniformly in growing in border.
Grace and beauty are the two things desired,
and this cannot be obtained any better than by
trimming the sides over off in a symmetrical
curve. Single, isolated plants should be made
to assume the appearance of an egg or perfect
sphere.
Towering shrubs should be carefully pruned.
Every branch that is Topped off is likely to
carry with it several buds which would in time
present handsome flowers. If the pruning is
done after the buds are formed the shrubs will
attempt to repair the loss by throwing out new
shoots, which will bear abundant flowers the
following spring. In this way pruning will
sometimes encourage strong growth OF 1ow-
ering wood. In pruning it is not always advis-
able to adopt treatment that has only one
season of towering in view. The time Of flow-
erins is short, and the general shape and grace
Of the shrub should also be had in view when
cutting of the branches. Even in winter a
gracefully-trimmed shrub has q grace and
beauty of its own. As Q general rule, then, no
shrub should be cut back SO as to impair its
vigor or to ruin its natural outlines. Weak
shoots only should be cut off, and in such
way as to develop the best form Of the whole
plant. GEO. WILSON.