al South has the following in relation to Albemarle and
Nelson (Virginia) apple orchards in the space of fifteen square miles:
"What would you think of an orchard planted, if not since the war, as I
think it was, a very short time before, and away up on the side of the
Blue Ridge, that to look from below you would think of insuring your
neck before setting out to it, producing eighteen hundred barrels? This
was the produce of picked fruit, to say nothing of the fallen--enough to
keep a big drying establishment running for months. These are true
figures--and it is the property of a worthy citizen of Richmond, who, in
its management, has cause to exclaim "ab imo pectore," save me from my
friends. Then there is another from which the owner, with a dryer of his
own, has sold five thousand dollars of the proceeds besides cider,
vinegar, and brandy. There is yet another, that the lady-owner sold as
the fruit hung in the orchard, for forty-five hundred dollars. The fruit
in the area referred to brought over fifty thousand dollars, bought by
the agent of a New York house, and doubtless much of it will reach
Europe."

* * * * *

Prof. Cook in the New York Tribune: The Rev. W. W. Meech writes that he
has seen in several papers of high standing "the beetle Saperdabivitati,
parent of the borer," described as a "a miller"--"a mistake very
misleading to those who are seeking knowledge of insect pests." He adds
that among hundreds of quince trees growing he has had but three touched
by this enemy in eight years. He simply takes the precaution to keep
grass and weeds away from the collar of the tree, "so that there is no
convenient harbor for the beetle to hide in while at the secret work of
egg-laying." He thinks a wrap of "petroleum paper around the collar"
would be found a preventive, as it is not only disagreeable but hinders
access to the place where the eggs are deposited. It is an unfortunate
error to refer to a beetle as a moth. It would be better if all would
recognize the distinction between "bug" and "beetle," and between
"worms" and "larva," in writing popular articles. I notice that some of
the editors of medical journals are referring to bacteria as "bugs."
Surely reform is needed. I am not so sure of Mr. Meech's remedy. I
imagine that fortune, not his pains, is to be thanked for his grubless
trees. I have known this borer to do very serious mischief where the
most perfect culture was pract