376 Bulletin 74 



gradual dj'ing out of the old sj'Stem of agriculture and the coming 

 in of special industries. The methods followed with success a gen- 

 eration and more ago are not profitable in the sharper competi- 

 tions of the present time. At least, there is not the smallest evi- 

 dence that there is any unusual or insurmountable difficulty in the 

 way of peach growing in this once famous Cayuga region. What 

 yellows exists seems to have come in very recentlj'. Good cul- 

 tivation and attention to borers and the other difficulties to which 

 peaches are everywhere subject, will enable the people in that 

 region to grow better orchards than were ever grown there in 

 former times. This statement is proved by the partial success 

 which is even now attending those parts of the seven remaining 

 orchards which are receiving as much as indifferent care. 



A very brief enumeration of some of the most serious and wide- 

 spread insect and fungous troubles of the peach in western New 

 York, will serve to call the attention of peach growers to the 

 dangers which threaten them.* 



The common peach tree borer is unquestionably the most de- 

 structive pest of peach trees in this state. It is particularly 

 abundant in neglected orchards. The "worm" or larva is the 

 offspring of a handsome wasp-like moth which flies only during 

 the day and which lays the ^%^ upon the bark during Jvme, July and 

 August, in this latitude. The eggs are usually laid at or near 

 the surface of the ground, although a crotch or other portion of 

 the tree may be selected. The presence of the borer, which works 

 beneath the bark and in the sapwood, is shown by a great exuda- 

 tion of gum. Many operations are advised with a view of pre- 

 venting the moths from laying eggs, such as washing the trees 

 with soap or other materials, removing the earth from the base of 

 the trees, hilling up the trees, and applying protecting materials 

 like tarred paper or bandages, but all these methods are uncer- 

 tain and some of them are perhaps wholly ineffective. The only 

 safe course is to dig the borers out in late spring and in fall. 

 This entails some labor, to be sure ; but then, it is the price of 

 peaches ! 



* For a full description of the yellows, see Bulletin 75. 



