166 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



The Peach Tree Borer. 



The peach tree borer is the larvje of a moth, and it attacks primarily 

 the following hosts: Peach, apricot, plum, prune and cherry. In this 

 State the distribution is fortunately limited to the Santa Clara Valley, 

 Alameda, San Mateo, Ventura and Riverside counties. The indication 

 of the presence of this borer on the trunk of the host — usually close to 

 the ground — is an exudation of gum, which is often mixed with saw- 

 dust or frass. If the bark at this point is cut through, the borer will 

 be found in a burrow running into the sapwood. The full grown larva is 

 about one inch in length and is yellowish or pinkish in color, with a 

 dark colored head. It remains in these quarters during the winter 

 months, passing there the rasting stage during the early spring. Latei' 

 the adult moth emerges and lays its eggs on the trunks of the trees, a 

 few inches above the surface of the soil. The newly emerging larvae 

 burrow through the bark and start new tunnels. Probably the most 

 common remedial measure consists in cutting out the borer with a sharp 

 knife. This is easily done in the springtime. Other control measures 

 consist in using the resistant Myrobalan cherry plum as a stock upon 

 which the peach is budded or grafted, and in using hard asphaltum, 

 grades "C" and "D," applied to the tree trunks. This prevents the 

 issuance and entrance of a large portion of these insects. This latter 

 method has been advocated by County Horticultural Commissioner Earl 

 L. Morris of Santa Clara County. The warm asphaltum is applied 

 from five to six inches below the surface of the soil, witb abrush, two 

 coatings being put on. 



The Codling Moth. 



The first spraying for the codling moth, which is the worm that causes 

 the wormy apple and pear, should be applied when the petals of the 

 flowers are falling, and before the calyx cups have closed. This spray 

 is applied at this time in order to fill the calyx cups with the poison, so 

 that when the %vorms try to enter the apple they will eat this poison and 

 be destroyed before they can do any damage to the fruit. As has been 

 previously stated, the poison used is arsenate of lead, which is applied 

 at a strength of 5 pounds to 100 gallons of water. During the winter 

 time the larvaj of this insect are to be found in their cocoons in the 

 crevices under the bark of the trees, in the packing sheds where Avormy 

 apples are carried, or under rubbish in the orchard. The larva? pass 

 the resting stage in their cocoons, and emerge as moths a week or two 

 after the trees are in blossom, the eggs being deposited on the leaves and 

 sometimes on the fruit. The young larvae, upon emerging, endeavor 

 to enter the fruit and will be destroyed by the poison with which the 

 fruit has been covered. 



The Brown Day Moth. 



There are several species of caterpillars which are voracious feeders 

 upon the foliage of the various deciduous frait trees, and which often 

 are numerous enough to entirely strip the host. One of the most com- 

 mon of these is the brown day moth. The eggs of this insect are salmon 

 colored, and are deposited in the clusters around the small twigs. The 

 larvae are dark colored, with fine red stripes and spots on the upper 



