Show HORTICULTURAL NOTES Destroy blighted trees and branches as fast as they appear Cultivate shallow near old trees to prevent Injuring the roots A heavy trimming of the tree before spraying will facilitate the work There are two Insects which assault the peony tho rose bug and tho common com-mon black and red ants The choicest shrub Is tho spires van houttel growing about five feet high with delicate leaves and clusters ol white flowers Hcmombcr that It Is not possible to do too much cultivating In tho orchard The soil needs working If there are no weeds In sight Tho most destructive of pear diseases dis-eases is blight It Is not only the means of destroying the fruit but It kills the twig and buds Lime sulphur spray is specially useful use-ful for tho destruction of orchard mites In general and Is the best spray to apply to destroy scale lice France supplies many of tho flower bulbs that formerly camo from Hoi land A moro recent competitor Is the Puget sound region In this country coun-try Small fruit Is gaining In popularity and steadily rising in price each year Those who have bearing fruit plants will do well to give them the best of care this season Plum trees should bo noticed for plant lice Theso Insects do much damage to the foliage at this season of tho year They are usually In amass a-mass and can easily be destroyed by kerosene emulsion or soap solution Where the orchard Is plowed with a two horse plow there are often ridgeD left on one sIde of tho tree and hollows on he other It Is well to cross cultivate such an orchard to reduce the ridges and fill up the hollows hol-lows Where large branches have been cut from a fruit or shade tree paInt the scar with good white lead paint to seal tho pores and cracks against tho Increase of moisture which Is apt to cause decay and permanent Injury of the tree Bush fruits and large rooted perennial peren-nial vegetables like rhubarb should be cultivated during the summer tho same as annual plants Working do composed organic matter In the sol about their roots will feed them and keep tho roots moist Do not shut the little chicks out of I tho orchard They destroy many of I tho Insect pests which attack the vegetables veg-etables Ducklings are death to tho Insects but they enjoy eating lettuce and a number of other vegetables Many times they destroy more than they do good |