1869;] INSECTS INJURIOUS TO PEARS. 19 



The individual flowers were of great size, and of massive proportions, some of the 

 pips having measured fully 2^in. in diameter, the colour white, edged and tinted 

 with rose, finely fringed, and set off by a large showy yellow centre. If this fine 

 variety can be perpetuated by seed, it will become very popular. In a bos 

 of cut Camellias sent to this meeting by Mr. Allen, gardener to Captain 

 Glegg, of Withington Hall, Cheshire, was a fine form of C. imbricata variegata, 

 the flowers being handsomely and evenly blotched with white; also grand blooms 

 of Marclrioness of Exeter, a large and striking rosy salmon flower. E. D. 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO PEARS. 

 CT^H HERE are two Insects which cause much destruction to the fruit and 

 ^£lJ) foliage of Pear Trees, namely, the Pear-Tree Oyster Scale (Aspidiotus 



f^ ostreceformis) and the Pear-Tree Saw Fly (Selandria cethiops). They are 

 ' amongst the worst enemies with which the Gardener has to contend. 

 The Scale attaches itself in the first instance to the bark, and afterwards 

 as the young fruit progresses it fastens itself upon it, and piercing the tender 

 skin, appears to feed upon the juices, causing the more tender-skinned varieties to 

 develop a number of knobby, misshapen protuberances, which render the fruit 

 utterly worthless. There are very few varieties which are thick-skinned enough 

 to resist these attacks. There are, however, a few which appear to suffer compa- 

 ratively little in the fruit, although the Scale may abound on the wood. The 

 Easter Beurre may be quoted as an example, and I find that it and thick-skinned 

 Pears of that class are often exempt from attack, when the thinner-skinned 

 varieties, such as Marie Louise, Zephirin Gregoire, Beurre Clairgeau, and such 

 like kinds, although the several sorts may be growing on the same tree, are liable 

 to be rendered both unsightly and uneatable. 



The grub of the Saw Fly, on the other hand, feeds on the surface of the 

 foliage, which is thus checked in its functions at a very critical period of the 

 growth of the fruit. We all know that without healthy foliage there cannot be 

 healthy fruit ; whatever, therefore, interferes with the action of the one reacts 

 upon the other ; and just when the fruit is swelling off, this very destructive 

 slimy grub^commences to destroy the foliage, and many a fair promise is thus as 

 it were nipped in the bud, and the power of producing a perfect development 

 destroyed. I believe the best remedy for this pest to be hand-picking at the 

 time when the grubs become large enough to render their ravages apparent. 

 This generally happens early in July, and continues through that and the 

 two following months. In October they spin their little cocoons and become 

 p upaj ; and, therefore, in order to reduce hand-picking to a minimum, the 

 foliage should all be collected and burnt at the fall of the leaf, and the 

 surface soil around the base of the trees should be frequently stirred about, 

 particularly during dry frosty weather in the winter. After pruning and 

 nailing in, the trees should be dressed, as I will presently advise, for the Scale, 



