342 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



calvx cup has its deadly dose of Paris green well protected by a cover 

 formed by the converged calyx lobes. Now, how is this poisonous dose 

 to form part of the menu at the first meal of the little caterpillar which 

 is to begin work a week or more later? I saw one of the little creatures 

 •emerge from its egg and wander about on the surface of the apple for two 

 or three hours, doing no feeding, but simply exploring until it finally 

 worked its little body through between two of the calyx lobes and disap- 

 peared within the calyx cup. Further field work confirmed this observa- 

 tion, and showed that the little worms feed around in the calyx cup a 

 day or more before going deeper into the fruit. Apples were then picked 

 from a tree which had been sprayed just after the petals fell, and our 

 chemist demonstrated that there was arsenic in the covered cup of the 

 calyx. As nine tenths of the first brood of the worms begin feeding in the 

 manner just described, we believe that this first spraying just after the 

 blossoms have fallen is of the utmost importance, and will result in the 

 death of more codlin moth caterpillars than would follow from several 

 later applications. 



Another insect that has been receiving considerable attention at the 

 insectary of the Cornell experiment station is the peach borer. For more 

 than a hundred years this insect has been recognized as a very serious 

 obstacle to the growing of peaches in this countr3^ Almost every one 

 who has grown this luscious fruit is only too familiar with the tell-tale 

 mucilaginous mass found around the base of peach trees in which the 

 grub-like caterpillar of this pest is doing its deadly Avork. The life- 

 iii story and habits of the insect were fairly well known to the earlier 

 writers, and are given in any of our books on injurious insects, so that it 

 is unnecessary to discuss these here. It is a curious fact, however, that, 

 although dozens of things have been recommended for this pest, there is 

 no record of any careful scientific experiment against it. Furthermore, 

 it will be found that when some orchardist claims to have been success- 

 ful in preventing the work of the borer by the application of a certain 

 substance, he usually also mentions that the grubs are regularly dug out 

 once per year. Why not give the credit to the '' digging out " process, 

 w^here it usually rightfully belongs? 



In 1893, we treated about 450 peach trees, set for this special purpose, 

 with nearly all the different washes that we could find recommended. 

 This experiment has been scientificalh^ conducted with the utmost care, 

 and is still in progress, one year's work checking and furnishing ideas 

 for the work of the following year. The list of substances that are being 

 lested in this experiment is far too extensive to be inserted here; and 

 it will require at least another year's work before many definite and final 

 results are reached. I may say, however, that most of the things recom- 

 mended, especially the washes containing lime or whitewash, have proved 

 useless; some, like a mixture of Paris green and glue, have soon killed the 

 trees, while others, like the recently much-advertised " German Caterpil- 

 lar Lime " and its xVmerican imitation, " Dendrolene," are promising some 

 good results so far as preventing the borer is concerned. But let me here 

 introduce a word of caution regarding the two last-named substances, 

 which have been strongly recommended for borers of all kinds. The first 

 year we ajjplied the German caterpillar lime to our young trees, little or 

 no injury seemed to result. This year we are testing the two substances 



