422 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



shrunk away from the tree, it gives her a chance to go still lower, 

 and when the ground swells on becoming wet, it covers the grubs 

 out of sight; and beside that, they naturally work downward the 

 first year or two. This is why so many trees are ruiued by them 

 before the owner is aware of it, when if they were kept up in 

 sight they would be destroyed. Sometimes a very slight obstruc- 

 tion will stop them. I once tied a branch of honeysuckle to the 

 trunk of a mountain ash three feet from the ground, with a piece 

 of twine, and the next year found borers there. At another time 

 I tied a raspberry cane to the trunk of an apple tree, and after- 

 ward found borers there. But on no other part of the tree will 

 they prove so destructive as at the collar — close to the surface of 

 the ground, because no where else can they so effectually hide 

 themselves. 



Some assert that the rough bark should be scraped off and the 

 tree kept smooth, so that insects may find no harbor for them- 

 selves or shelter for their eggs. If such practice is beneficial in 

 any case, (which I very much doubt), I am convinced it is not so 

 in regard to the borer. The beetle chooses a spot where the bark 

 is. smooth, green and tender, and prepares a place suitable for the 

 egg, and for the sustenance of the larva. If the surface was com- 

 pletely covered with loose scales of dead bark, probably a borer 

 would never get through it. 



But, however much we may write or talk on this subject, per- 

 sons who are habitually careless and negligent, will allow their 

 trees to be destroyed by this and other pests, while those who are 

 determined to give the needed care and attention, will find a way 

 to prevent so serious a loss. 



Yours truly, 



JOHN CURRIER. 

 Waldoboro', October, 1872. , 



