ms is, to the inexperienced, quite
a difficult undertaking; for during the spring, and until quite late in
the summer, there are no external marks save a small speck, or perhaps a
dark blue line so fine that it will not attract the attention of those
not understanding the cause. When they are first detected a sharp knife
may be used to remove them, but if they have entered the wood, about the
only way of removing them is by means of a probe made of common broom
wire, with which to thrust them through or drag them out of their holes.

The San Jose scale, a native of Australia, was first found on the
American continent in California in 1873. It has not troubled Kansas
yet, but it is quite prevalent in the Western States, and, as it spreads
rapidly, it is much feared. Its detection is almost the work of a
specialist, yet there are a few general characteristics which may be
detected by the naked eye; for instance, the bark of the tree loses its
vigorous, healthy appearance, and takes on a rough, gray, scurfy
deposit. As yet I have heard of no permanent cure. Spraying has a great
deal to do with keeping off the insects--of which the canker-worm is
getting to be one of the worst--from the upper branches of the trees. It
is a mistake to think that a tree should not be sprayed because it has
not been infested by any insect or fungous growth. The attacks of both
are often unnoticed at first, and the man who is not prepared for them
often neglects spraying until it is too late to save the crop of that
year.

My experience in regard to the varieties of apples grown has been quite
varied. My first orchard, in 1871, did well; I took great pains in
setting it out, and for five years there were none of the injurious
insects which make us so much trouble. In my second orchard, ten years
later, I made great mistakes in the varieties I chose, some of them not
being adapted to either soil or climate. By the time I set my third
orchard, six years from then, my experience had taught me that the
varieties which were best for home and commercial purposes, and which
were best adapted to both the soil and climate, were the Ben Davis,
Missouri Pippin, and Mother, and in these varieties I planted most of my
orchard. The habits of the Ben Davis and Missouri Pippin are too well
known to need further description. In my orchard I found them both
short-lived. My Ben Davis began to die out at twenty years, and a very
few reached the age of twenty-six.