22 NEAV YORK STATE MUSEUM 



feeds on the elm leaf beetle larvae, having repeatedly observed 

 it picking them off the trunks of the trees. If the sparrow has 

 this habit, it offsets to a certain extent its many bad features. 



REMEDIES 



The most satisfactory method of controlling this insect is by 

 poisoning the foliage. The objection heretofore urged against 

 this means has been the expense, and it still applies to a certain 

 extent in the case of the private individual with but few trees 

 to care for. Aside from the cost of the necessary apparatus, 

 the operation of spraj'ing even large shade trees is not so 

 expensive as is commonly supposed; and valuable results may 

 be obtained with a comparatively inexpensive outfit, though 

 the cost for each tree may be increased. 



Cost of spraying elms. We have taken some pains to ascertain 

 the precise cost of spraying a tree in the hope of encourag- 

 ing those to whom the expense seems a serious item. It is 

 pleasant to record that it is much lower than had been supposed 

 previous to the time this bulletin was originally prepared; more 

 recent data confirm the fact. Dr Smith, of the New Jersey 

 agricultural experiment station, kindly supplied the following 

 data in 1898. The elms on the college campus at New Bruns- 

 wick are 50 to 75 feet high and were sprayed at odd times by 

 the janitors, about an hour being required by two with force 

 pump, tank and ladders to treat one tree. The poison neces- 

 sary for each spraying was worth about 6c. It will thus be seen 

 that the cost for each tree would be between 36c and 56c, vary- 

 ing with the price of labor. In New Brunswick the trees were 

 sprayed at a contract price of |1 for the season, the understand- 

 ing being that they were to receive three treatments if neces- 

 sary. The contractor prepared the outfit, furnished the 

 material, did the spraying at the price mentioned and had a 

 neat margin remaining. 



The cost of spraying elms in Albany in 1898, aside from wear 

 and tear of the apparatus, was about 15c a tree for each spray- 

 ing. This average was based on one or two days work and 

 probably would not hold for the season. It is very likely that 

 it would have paid to give each tree a little more time, which 



