The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1905-03-01

may not be a good keeper and posi-
bly, in some localities not prolific, you
will have to wait awhile, brother
Spencer, before you take your place
with Luther Burbanks or Peter M.
Gideon.
But if the apple is worm proof is
not that a great thing in it's favor?
Yes, but it is not. The writer in the
Scientific American has this to say
on this point: "Still what is more to
the point of economy, apples without
seeds are also worthless, for it is
well known to growers that worms
in apples obtain their sustenance not
from the meat, but from the seeds;
hence it is evident that if worm
was Matched in a seedless apple, it
could not live" 1t would be difficult
thing to crowd more misstatements
into the same space than is done here
if the attempt were made. Worms
are not Matched in apples, but always
outside of the apples. Again, worms
do not live on seeds, but on the meat
of the apples. 1t is true that they
sometimes eat into the seeds while
they are young and soft, but more than
one-half of the worms that enter the
apples never touch the seeds at all.
The last brood of worms scarcely ever
touch the seeds. If any one thinks
differently let him examine their work
as I have done and he will see that
this is true. After the seeds become
black and hard the worms do not eat
them. If it were true that without
eating the seeds the worms could not
live it would be a blessed thing for
fruit growers for most of the last
brood would die off. We find worms
in our apples to some extent as late
as November and they are lusty and
healthy, but have never touched
seed. The Scientific American is
very able and valuable paper, but hor-
ticulture does not usually come within
the scope of it's Investigations The
management of the paper has, in this
case, been imposed upon by some one.
who is as ignorant of practical hOrti-
culture and entomology as a goose is
of astronomy.
This cOdling moth question is so
vital to the fruit growers of our warm
valleys that I will be excused just
here in making some corrections that
seem to be intimated in the study
of this seedless apple question. When
the life history of this insect began
to be studied quite number of mis-
takes were made that more careful
study has corrected AS many of the
first brood of worms were found to
enter the apples at the blossom end
it was guessed that the fly laid it's
eggs in the blossom end at the time
of blooming. Nobody yet had found
the eggs anywhere, so this was pure
conjecture and has been proven false.
The facts are that the eggs are laid
mostly on the leaves during the egg
laying of the first brood and mostly
on the apples in the second period.
Then they are not laid at the time
the trees are in bloom. This is not
guess work but the result of close
and careful study of this insect at
work in our orchards. Now to the
proof of this. In March, 1908, that
prince of men and one of the best
entomologists in the country, Prof. G.
V. Piper came into the Yakima valley
to prepare the way for the study of
this insect in our orchards. He visit
ed the writer and staid over night
with him, when our plans were COM
pleted. After returning to Pullman
college, where he held the position of
7 l.