nEPORT or THE EXrO}.IOLOGTf?T AXD BOTAXTST 219 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. To 

 destroys the beetles, which for some time feed upon the buds and opening leaves of 

 plum trees. The second spraying, with poisoned Bordeaux mixture, should be made 

 when the plums are about as large as peas. This will coat the j-oung fruit so that 

 the beetles are destroyed when they feed on the fruit or cut the crescents for egg- 

 laying. (2.) The destruction of all windfalls or injured fruit that drops, so as to clear 

 away all fruit before the larvae emerge and enter the ground to pupate. Poultry, pigg 

 and sheep help well in this work. (3.) The ploughing up and cultivation of orchards 

 so as to remove grass and other vegetation which, besides weakening the trees, gives 

 places for the insects to hide in. The depth at which the larva; pupate, is about an 

 inch beneath the surface, and the pupation in this part of Canada takes place during 

 Jul}'; therefore cultivation during that month will destroy many of the pupae, and 

 this has been found the remedy which has given the best results in old orchards which 

 had been in sod for many years and in which the fruit had been seriously injured 

 year after year. 



The jarring of plum trees, which is much written about and highly recommended, 

 will certainly destroy many of the beetles, but costs too much for labour when com- 

 pared with spraying with insecticides, which give more certain results in my experi- 

 ence. 



The Apple Maggot, Rhagoletis pomonella, Walsh. — This destructive insect has 

 appeared in new localities during the past season. At Como, Que., on the O.ttawa 

 river, the attack was not less severe than in the previous year. This was undoubtedly 

 due to the lack of concerted action on the part of all the apple-growers in the district. 

 Some of the owners of the largest orchards made a great effort to destroy the infested 

 fruit by feeding it to stock or burying it; but there were a large number of small 

 orchards where nothing was done, and, as a consequence, the whole community had to 

 5.ufFer. Severe outbreaks occurred near Woodstock, in New Brunswick, and in Prince 

 Edward county, Ontario. One or two other reports proved to be of other insects, 

 which were spoken of under the wrong names. 



The Oyster-shell Scale, Mytilaspis uhni, 1^.,= Lepidosaphes ulmi, L. — One of 

 the remarkable occurrences of the past season was of the well-known Oyster-shell 

 Scale, and this was not only on weak trees and in badly kept orchards, but was a 

 special development of the season, which involved trees in well-worked orchards and 

 vigorous shrubs in gardens. Unless some unexpected help comes from insect or fun- 

 gous parasites, it is to be feared that there will be much destruction by this insect 

 during the coming season. It is comparatively inconspicuous; and, even with those 

 fruit-growers who have learned to detect the common enemies of their trees, it is so 

 familiar that its possibilities of doing harm are frequently underestimated. Wher- 

 ever this insect is found in orchards in large numbers, steps should be taken to invi- 

 gorate the trees by special fertilizing and cultivation, and also to destroy the insects 

 by spraying with whale-oil soap solution or kerosene emulsion, as soon as the young 

 bark-lice are seen to be moving. This will be probably about the first of June in 

 Central Ontario, .a little earlier in Western Ontario, and gradually becoming later 

 going eastward to the maritime provinces, where the young insects sometime? do not 

 appear till towards the end of the month. After the leaves have fallen in the autumn, 

 all infested trees should be thoroughly sprayed with a limewash, made of 1 lb. of fresh 

 lime in each gallon of water. Two coats of the whitewash should be applied, and the 

 second one may be sprayed on to the trees immediately after the first is dry. In 

 snctions where the lime-STilphur wash is used for San Jose Scale, fungous diseases or 

 other pests, no other treatment will be necessary. 



The BfFFALO Tree-ttopper, Ceresa hiihalus, Fab.^From several localities in On- 

 tario and Quebec, branches of apple trees have been sent in, which were injured by the 

 females of the Buffalo Tree-hopper when they were laying their eggs. The remedy 

 which is advised for this insect is close pruning in winter, by which as many as pos- 



