1218 Rural .School Leaflet 



them but they do not break; they yield gracefully and seem to enjoy 

 the blasts of winter. 



Unfortunately the elm is the prey of a tiny insect, which eats the leaves 

 and threatens to destroy the tree entirely in some parts of the country. 

 This little insect, known as the elm leaf-beetle, has damaged thousands 

 and thousands of elm trees during the past few years; and although many 

 persons have worked hard to get rid of it, the pest is continually spreading. 

 The shade trees in towns and cities suffer most, apparently, and it is 

 necessary to act promptly if the elm trees are to be saved. The insect 

 itself is only about one quarter of an inch in length, brownish yellow 

 in color, marked with a dark line along each side of its back. It sleeps 

 during the winter, and the same warm days that bring out the elm leaves 

 awaken this enemy of the elms. The beetles fly to the trees and begin 

 to feed by eating small holes in the leaves. In a very few days the eggs 

 are laid, and these quickly hatch into little grubs which begin in earnest 

 to eat the leaves. So many eggs are laid that the number of grubs at 

 work on the leaves is enormous. In fifteen or twenty days the grubs 

 have completed their growth, and, unfortunately, their work of destruction 

 also. They now crawl down the tree, and by the time another ten days 

 have passed they emerge as fully grown beetles and are ready to repeat 

 the process. Sometimes there are two complete broods of the insects 

 in a single season, but the last brood as a rule does less damage than the 

 first. 



The only way to save the elms from this enemy is to spray the leaves 

 with a poisonous liquid. Although it costs twenty-five to sixty cents 

 to have a tree sprayed, it will be necessary to spray our elm trees sys- 

 tematically if we wish to save them. Those who are interested in the 

 work of saving the elms should write to the State College of Agricul- 

 ture and ask for a copy of Professor Herrick's Experiment Station Cir- 

 cular No. 8, entitled " The Elm Leaf-Beetle." 



The next time you are in the woods, see whether you can find any 

 elm trees growing where the woods are thick. If you see any, notice 

 the shape of their trunks and their crowns. Compare them with the 

 trees that grow along the streets in town. What do you think makes 

 this difference in form? Again, if you find any elm trees in the woods, 

 notice the kind of soil in which they grow best. Is it wet or dry? What 

 other kinds of trees are found growing with the elm? 



About the last of May or the first of June, watch the elm to see when 

 the seeds begin to fall. Take a few of them and sow them in a garden 

 bed where the soil is soft, rich, and moist. Perhaps you will be able 

 to see the small seedlings grow to a size that will enable them to take 

 care of themselves before winter sets in. 



