Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-05-28
ALL AROUND THE PLACE.

! first application Of lime-sulphur should
ditional applications should follow. one
early in July and the other about the
middle of August. The mounds should
not be disturbed at the last two appli-
cations.
One Of the most certain ways Of keep
ing rabbits from lnjuring the orchard
Is to keep them out by means of a rab-
o1t-tight fence. That is especially the
case when 1t comes to jack rabbits.
Good wagon roads running into the
country are more valuable to a town
than an extra railroad running
through 1t.
Damson plums and plum butter are two
old-fashioned country products, but the
great drawback to the old-fashioned
damson is that the fruits are so small
.nat 1t takes long time to pick a
Dushel. For that reason the Shropshire
damson has become popular because the
fruits are much larger. And now we
have another damson plum. The French
damson bids fair as soon as its good
qualities are know to usurp the older
oamson Is hardy in tree: is fruitful and
holds its fruit and foliage we'll The
trees are larger and more productive
than most damsons. The fruit is ex-
ceiient In quality. handsome in appear
ance, OF large size and when fully ripe
or after touch of light frost, it can
pc eaten out of the hand with a relish
us season Is a week or two later than
that OF the Shropshire. which is an ad-
vantage. as 1t helps to prolong the sea
at the same time. For some unknown
reason the stone clings in some seasons
but it is free at Others
Horticultural experts at one of the
big eastern agricultural schools recon-
mend that trees girdled by rabbits be
cut OFF and permitted to send up new
shoots from the root. Commenting on
the number of complaints reviewed
from orchardists of injury wrought by
rabbits and mice. one of these experts
said:
We must expect this sort of thing to
continue as long as the state authori-
ties permit, and even require. the kill
ing of enemies of mice. such as owls
hawks, weevils. skunks. foxes. etc
great value in the destruction OF
rodents, and I feel 1t Is very wrong to
pay a bounty for their destruction. We
shall continue to have such losses as
held in check. I have had scores OF
letters reporting tens of thousands OF
dollars worth of property destroyed in
this state during the past winter by
mice, mOleS ana TdDDlCS. MANY OF CNe
tree owners are claiming that as these
creatures are protected by law it is
only proper for the state to compen-
safe them for the loss they have sus-
tanned. The interests of the orchardists
and farmers are very great. and II
would not be unreasonable to give
them better protection than they have
at the present time.
Your treatment of the trees in the
fall by removing the mulch from the
trunks and putting clay around was all
right. but there was one thing you did
that was wrong, and that was remov-
ing the snow from the ground You
| should let it lie, and instead of remov-
ing 1t put on more. II you made a
mound of snow and packed it around
each tree, the mice would not have
burrowed through it, and the trees
would not have been girded. Also il
you had pruned some off the branches
and thrown them on the ground sc
that the mice and rabbits would have
eaten them. they would have been kept
from starving, and from being forced
to eat the trunks of the trees
1T Is scarcely advisable to attempt
TO br1dge-graft trees that have been
sirdled or openly exposed ten inches
wide. | would prefer to cut them off
at the lower part of the girdled area
ana let them throw up strong shoot
When this gets to about three feet
nigh, top 1t and make it branch and
FORM a new head. Drive a stake in
the ground and tie it with this stake
with band Of soft cloth, as it Ia very
likeiy to be broken by the wind OF
cultiVator during the first season"