The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1907-09-15

have authority for saying that the
same position was offered Prof. c. V
Piper, formerly of Pullman, but now
in the department of agriculture and
stationed at Washington, d. G. He
can not accept. Competent men like
these do not have to hunt for positions
the positions hunt them. | wish
Piper could come back to Washington
we need him.
Y
Now is a good time and here is a
good place to say a word about the
work of the experiment stations in a
general way. Many people have an
idea that the men in these stations
are theorists and not practical men
Never was anything farther from the
truth. The fact is they are not theor
lists at all but eXperimenters. If they
have any theories their experimenting
goes to prove their truth or falsity
Mere theories unsupported by facts
will not stand up under the hand OF
the eXperimentor. I have found these
men very practical. | have at one
time and another had many promi
nent men visit my orchards, but am
free to say that I have derived more
practical benefit from these men from
the experiment stations who have
from time to time made me visits than
from any others with whom l have
come in contact. 1t may have been
true once that the men in our expert
ment stations shut themselves UP in
their studios and did not come in con.
tact with the practical farmers, al
though doubtless that has been ex.
aggerated, but that is far from being
true now. They all seem to be i'm.
bued with the idea that one part OF
their work is to settle certain things
by their experiments and another part
is to disseminate these conclusions
among the people. And in spreading
this information among the farmers
they do not depend wholly upon is
suing bulletins, but they go out and
meet the men who need this infOrma
ton and join in the discussions al
farmers Institutes, and thus come in
close contact with the practical farm
erS.
+
Mrs. Robert Gerry, of Pasco Wash
has written the editor of this depart
ment for some information. She in
closes some peach twigs, cut from
young trees, of which she has several
thousand. I am not able from these
few twigs to determine what the dis
ease it, but think it the work of some
fungus. l have promised Mrs. Gerry
in case this disease spreads and threat
ems to do much harm to give it fur
Their attention. My opinion is that not
much harm will come from this infec
ton. She also mentions the fact that
some worms have appeared on some
of her trees which resemble caterpil
lars. She wants to know what they
are, whether they are likely to dc
much harm and how to control them
Undoubtedly they are some species oil
caterpillar According to our scientific
works caterpillar is ''the larval state
of butterfly or any Iepidopterous in
Sect So it can be seen that there
may be many kinds of caterpillars
One thing is common to all of them
and that is they all chew their food
hence, they are classed with biting in
sects and not with the suckers. AL
biting insects can be killed by feeding
them poison. 1t is we'll known thai
the various kinds of caterpillars cal
the leaves of trees. Spray the trees
with some form of arsenic that will
stick on the leaves and that will kill
the pests. The form of arsenic
recommend to Mrs. Gerry is arsenate
of lead. 1t sticks better than any
other arsenical preparation | know
of and then it will not burn the foliage
Peach foliage is very tender and such
preparations as Paris green, London
purple or arsenate of soda will Ger
tainly burn it if the poison is put or
strong enough to do any good.
y.