298 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



have been found feeding in the peaches instead of the twigs. Nor does 

 the species confine itself to the peach alone. It has been known to attack 

 the twigs of the plum and, perhaps, the apple in the same way. It has also 

 been reported as a strawberry root and crown borer, destroying many of 

 the plants. 



Remedy. — The surest way of disposing of these twig borers is by cut- 

 ting off the ends of the twigs containing the caterpillars and burning 

 them. The injured shoots can be easily detected by the dead buds and 

 leaves and by exuding gum and similar signs. If the trees are sprayed 

 with one of the arsenites, as the buds are opening, many of the caterpillars 

 will be killed while eating into the twig. The arsenites should never be 

 applied unless lime or Bordeaux mixture is used with them, as the foliage 

 of the peach is tender and liable to injury. With lime, the arsenites are 

 harmless to the foliage. 



THE ROSE CHAFER (Macroiactylus subspinosus, Fabr.). 



In sandy regions and on sand ridges, this beetle is a pest on the 

 rose, grape, peach, apple, and many kindred plants. The beetles 

 appear about the time roses and grapes are in blossom, and none 

 need mistake the awkward, long-legged beetles with a dusty yellow 

 body about one third of an inch long. The chafers breed in the 

 Fig. 20. ground, feeding on the roots of various plants, particularly grass, 

 and live in this condition almost the entire period of their life. The 

 imago is above ground only two or three weeks, so it is not the length of 

 time that makes them such dreaded pests, but it is the countless num- 

 bers that swarm on the plants and oftentimes fill the air. It is at such 

 times that calls come for help, but' with all our remedies we are as helpless 

 as anyone. The arsenites will kill them and so will kerosene emulsion, and 

 hot water at from 130 to 165 degrees Fahr., but none of these are practical 

 where the chafers come in swarms. They are constantly traveling and in 

 a few minutes after treatment with hot water or kerosene emulsion there 

 are as many new arrivals as there were individuals feeding on the plant 

 before. In the peach orchard they appear about the time the peach is a 

 third or half grown. The fruit is the first thing they attack. As it is so 

 fuzzy they eat only a small hole in the skin and then as many as can will 

 enter this hole and eat on the inside of the peach. This habit makes them 

 still more diflScult to treat, though for most plants and fruits attacked by 

 them we may say that, where not too numerous, either the hot water or 

 kerosene emulsion when persistently used will prove satisfactory. Beyond 

 this we must look largely to preventive measures, for here is the key to our 

 success. The beetles breed almost exclusively in sandy places, and if we 

 can keep these ridges in our vicinity under cultivation the rose chafer 

 will never appear in numbers great enough to do any serious damage to 

 our crops or fruits. 



PLANT LICE ON PEACH TREES. 



There are two species of plant lice that work on the peach. The black 

 aphis {Aphis pcrsiccB-niger Smith) which lives under ground on the roots 

 and also on the leaves and tender twigs; and the common leaf aphis {Aphis 

 persico} Sulzer), a brownish or yellowish aphis that feeds on the leaves and 

 causes them to curl a little later in the season. There is a plant disease, 



