The herald., 1897-06-24
Notes

Notes
We have received of late leaves o.
various trees, with great many clus-
ters of eggs, often two or three clusters
on a single leaf The eggs are small and
are beautifully fluted with radiating
grooves. They are globular in form and
when looked at with pocket lense are
seen to be very beautiful. The eggs are
now nearly all Matched out. They are
really the eggs Of the so-called Califor-
MIA army worm, Peridroma saucia.
These caterpillars commence at once to
eat, but are so tiny that they hardly at
tract attention this fall, but next spring
will have become large and do great
damage, as so many we'll know.
The olive caterpillars which attracted
attention the 1st of May had all pupated
the 1st of June. They have not yet
come forth from the pupa state in our
breeding cages, though very probably
some may have done so when pupating
in the earth outside, as the greater
warmth would hasten development We
are very curious to know what this spe-
| cies will turn out to be. Prof. John B.
Smith of the New Jersey experiment
station, our best authority on moths and
butterflies, and Prof. L. o. Howard of
the department of agriculture, both ex-
press the opinion, after having studied
the larvae or caterpillars, that this is an
entirely new species. We shall soon be
able to settle the question.
The Claremont Horticultural club
will hold its next meeting next Monday
June The following subjects will
be discussed THE Cooler as an Impor-
tant Addition to the Rural Home" Mrs.
o. H. Duvall; Hints for Nursing" Miss
Carter; our Bird Friends" Mr.. Frank
Illingworth, a student of Pomona col
lege. There will also be a thorough dis
cussion on the cause of the small prune
crop the present season. This will be the
| last meeting before the summer vaca-
ton. The subject of the annual meeting
| of the farmers clubs, which will prob
ably be held in Los Angeles next winter,
will also be considered and committee
appointed to work up and present the
subject selected at this annual meeting.
1t may not be generally known that
the Redlands club was the first to sug-
Sest the 1 cent per pound tariff on or
anSes. Now that this part of the tariff
| schedule has been adopted by the United
States senate, it is a matter of no little
interest. The forthcoming orange crop
bids fair to be one of the finest ever
harvested in Southern California With
the new tariff the orange growers can
safely count on good degree of pros
perity. The fruit men of Southern CAL
ifornia may certainly feel very grateful
to Senators White and Perkins for TIL
splendid service they have performed
in this tariff fight.
At meeting of the board of regents
at the state university held in San Fran
cisco June 18th, the editor of this de-
partment was again appointed director
of the institutes of Southern California
1t is proposed to make the institutes
still better in the coming years. Some
new features will be introduced which
Will add greatly to their influence and
efficiency. The next two series of in
stitutes Will be held, the first in Santa
Barbara and Ventura and the second in
Los Angeles counties. The Ventura se-
ries will probably be held the last week
in August and the Los Angeles the first
week in September. The localities are
not yet fully determined upon, although
there is little doubt but that the first one
in the Ventura set will be held in Mon
tecito, Santa Barbara county and it is
probable that one of the Los Angeles in
stitutes will be held in the Antelope
valley probably at Palmdale Each Sc
ries of institutes will consist Of three,
and Will take a whole week.
The United States department of agri-
culture has just issued a very important
; bulletin, Farmers Bulletin, No "a. DR..
Fisher, who has had the work in charge.
is an expert in the direction of the mat
ter treated. The investigations take
the direction of ascertaining what COM
mon birds are beneficial Exact investi-
cation shows just what each bird ca is.
Among the birds commended FOR their
good service is the yellow bill cuckoo,
which reaches to California. The stom-
achs of tWenty-one birds were examined.
The date ranged from May to October.
The food was exclusively insectivorous,
over $50 caterpillars We're taken from
these slomachs. There were also
tWenty-three graeshoppers and thirty
one saWflies We have long known the
cucEoos, both the yellow and the black
bill, to be among our most valued bird
friends. They are among the very few
insectivorous birds that feed voraciously
on Hairy caterpilars
The California Fruit Grower, in re-
plying to the criticism which we re-
Gently made upon its statement that
absolutely pure honey is lacking in
keeping qualities, states that it only re-
; ferred to the fact that honey would