448 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



berland, in 1791, about the middle of June, and in the follow- 

 ing year there was none to be seen ; and I have not known them 

 in any place two years in succession. 



The apple tree borer, (^Saperda bii-ittata,') of Say, has become 

 notorious in many parts of the Commonwealth for its ravages. 

 It is a native insect, and appears to have been' brought into pub- 

 lic notice by John Prince, Esq., of Jamaica Plains, in July, 

 1819. The insect, in a perfect state, is a beetle, which comes 

 forth from the trunk of the tree in the niglit, in the month of 

 June. It deposits it eggs upon the bark near the ground dur- 

 ing the months of June, July, or August. Tliese, when hatched, 

 produce a larva, which eats throiigh the bark, and remains the 

 first winter ; and on the following spring it works its way into 

 the wood, when its presence is first noticed by its borings pro- 

 ceeding from the tree. 



During the season it continues to make its way up the trunk, 

 some six or eight inches. It remains in the tree from two to 

 three years, when the grub is transformed into a pupa. After 

 it becomes a beetle, it gnaws through the bark, in the night, and 

 makes its escape from the tree. There are two ways of dealing 

 with the borer ; one is, to remove all the rubbish and grass from 

 around the tree — keep its bark smooth, and wash it occasionally 

 with a lye of wood ashes, or a solution of a pound of potash to 

 two gallons of water. As the use of potash water is liable to 

 injure young trees, some persons recommend a wash made by 

 mixing in two gallons of water, two quarts of whale oil soap and 

 one-fourth of a pound of sulphur, adding a sufficient quantity of 

 clay to make it of the consistency of thick paint, and applying 

 it to the trunk of the tree with a brush. This is to be 

 done to prevent the borer from attacking the tree, and to 

 destroy its eggs when deposited in the bark. Should these pre- 

 ventive measures fail, and the borer succeed in laying its eggs, 

 and the grub effect its entrance into the tree, our second method 

 should be to endeavor to destroy it, by cutting it out with a 

 gouge, or by a wire thrust into the holes it has made. The use 

 of the wire in killing the grub is pronounced ]ty Dr. Harris, as 

 the oldest, safest, and most successful method. 



The plant-louse, or Aphis, sometimes appears in such num- 

 bers on the terminal branches or twigs of young apple trees, as 

 greatly to retard their growth, and render them unhealthy. 



