AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 145 



Gather the fallen fruit as soon as it drops, or turn hogs in to de- 

 vour it. Poultry allowed to run in the orchard will destroy a good 

 many. Keep the ground clean under the trees as the beetles hyber- 

 nate under rubbish. If the ground is clean, chips,[pieces of cloth 

 or shingles can be placed under the trees and examined occasionally 

 for the beetles that hide under them. Plum orchards should be as 

 far from groves of timber as possible, as the beetlesjfind shelter in 

 the woods and are apt to be more numerous than in open ground. 



Prof. S. A. Forbes in Trans. Department of Agriculture, Eli- 

 nois, Vol. 23, 1885, p. 26 in the Appendix, records experiments 

 with Paris Green and lime suspended in water, to determine their 

 usefulness in protecting apples from the attacks of the plum cur- 

 culio ; 2418 apples from trees sprayed with Paris Green were com- 

 pared with 2964 apples from check trees not sprayed, and it was 

 found that 27.3 per cent of those poisoned had been infested by 

 curculios while of those not poisoned 51.3 per cent were affected- 

 This would seem to show that the spraying saved nearly one-half of 

 those that would have been injured. This method has the advantage 

 of destroying a great many codling moths at the same time, as well 

 as other insects. The experiments with lime seemed to show the 

 destruction of about 25 per cent of the curculios, making it less effi- 

 cient than Paris Green. 



Quite a number of insect enemies help hold this pest in check. 

 Among these are two or three species of ground beetles, the larvae 

 of the common soldier beetle, larvae of the lace-wing flies, minute 

 yellow Thrips and two species of ichneumon flies. The larvae of the 

 ground beetles, soldier beetle and lace-wing flies, and the ichneumon 

 flies, prey upon the larviB of the plum curculio. The Thrips men- 

 tioned devour the egg. 



THE CHERRY TREE PLANT LOUSE. 



Myzus cerasi, (Fabr.) 



Specimens of this insect were received the past season with com- 

 plaints of its doing injury to the foliage of cherry trees. The 

 leaves and stems sent us were literally black with the lice. This 

 species like all the plant lice multiplies rapidly. Dr. Fitch estimated 

 that there were at least twelve millions of these insects on a single 

 small cherry tree. The life history is essentially the same as that 

 given for the apple tree aphis and the natural enemies and remedies 

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