REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST AXD BOTAXIST. 239 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



FRUITS. 



Codling Moth (Carpocapsa pomonella, L.). — This is still a cause of enormous loss 

 to fruit-growers. Where systematic spraying is practised, supplemented by the band- 

 ing of trees with strips of burlap or whisps of straw, the numbers have been reduced 

 to a marked degree. Many practical fruit-growers Alight be cited from evei-y province 

 of the Dominion to prove this. 



Plum Curculio in Apples (Conotrachelus nenuphar, Herbst). — For several years 

 this insect has been a troublesome pest in the orchard of Mr. Jack, at Chateauguay 

 Basin, Que. In the fall of 1899 the orchard was ploughed and the land has been culti- 

 vated most of the past summer, and, as a result, no injury has been done by the 

 curculio, except where some raspberries were left growing among the trees. 



Oyster-shell Bark-louse (Mytilaspis pumorum, Bouche). — There is probably no 

 orchard pest in Canada which is wider spread than this and which has destroyed 

 more trees. A practical remedy has long been a desideratum. The standard remedy, 

 up to the present lime, has been the kerosene emulsion ; but this has never been 

 popular, owing chiefly, I think, to the trouble of making it and its destructive effects 

 on rubber hoses. About five years ago it was noticed that trees sprayed with Bordeaux 

 mixture were freer from this insect than those which had not been sprayed. This waa 

 due, it was thought, to the deposit of lime from that mixture which was left on the 

 trees. 



In the course of some experiments made on apple trees which happened to be 

 badly infested with Oyster-shell Bark-louse on the Experimental Farm by Mr. W. T. 

 Macoun, by spraying with a lime whitewash to retard the opening of flower-buds as a 

 protection against late frosts, it was discovered that these whitewashed trees were 

 very much cleared of the Oyster-shell Bark-louse, and subsequent experiment shows 

 that this is probably an easy, cheap and effective remedy against this pernicious insect. 

 The best time to apply the whitewash is late in the autumn, so that the scales loosened 

 by the wash may be scaled off with the lime during the winter. Spraying trees during 

 the winter is a very unpleasant operation, so this work should be done during the 

 warm days of November, and the strength of the whitewash which has been found 

 effective is from one to two pounds of lime in each gallon of water. A better coating 

 of lime is" deposited on the trees if two applications are made, the second being applied 

 as soon as the first one is thoroughly dry. 



Applications of concentrated lye, as supplied in tins for household uses, were 

 also experimented with in varying strengths from 1 pound in 3 gallons of water, up 

 to 1 pound in 6 gallons ; but they were not sufficiently fatal to the scale insects to 

 justify their recommendation. Even at the strength of 1 pound in 3 gallons, although 

 the leaves of some plants were spotted, no permanent injury was done. All the 

 samples of concentrated lye which were obtainable were found to be caustic soda. 



The Pear-tree Flea-louse (Psylla piricola, Foerster). — This insect is widely 

 spread through the pear orchards of western Ontario, but seldom occurs in large 

 enough numbers to attract attention. It is, however, a pest which pear-growers should 

 watch carefully, and treat promptly if the numbers increase. Mr. George E. Fisher, 

 a most accurate observer, with exceptional opportunities of examining orchards, 

 writes : ' On several occasions I have noticed Pear Psylla doing very serious damage 

 to pear orchards. When once established it multiplies very rapidly. Here at home 

 a number of years ago I had 300 Dwarf Duchess trees badly infested, and even now, 

 after spraying regularly, they do not seem to have fully recovered. My neighbour, 

 Mr. J. S. Freeman, had a block of 400 Dwarf Duchesses so badly attacked that nearly 

 all died. In 1899, Mr. E. J. Henry, of Winona, had an orchard badly affected. I am 

 fully persuaded that this is not an insect to trifle with, but I do not dread it as much 

 as I did, for I now know that by the use of an emulsion of crude petroleum and whale- 

 oil soap I can destroy such insects as winter exposed on the trees. For Psylla one must 



