ORCHARDS. 205 



orchard, suddenly jarred several of the trees, when some of 

 these worms- came tumblino; to the o;round. The 'evidence 

 against them would have been more conclusive, if I had 

 searched the branches and found them tliere and at work. That, 

 however, I omitted to do. I have had fruit trees planted 

 here sixteen years, bu: never had the buds destroyed so as 

 to attract my attention before the last two years. (When 

 these cut worms have free and full pasture of herbaceous 

 plants, it is believed they will not trouble themselves to mount 

 the fruit trees, but in the absence of such food the buds of 

 trees are appropriated with avidity.) The habit of the dwarf 

 apple and pear, however, just suits their nature, and much of 

 the complaint of those people who cannot make trees thrive 

 on a sandy soil, has its source and foundation here, though 

 apparently utterly unknown to the orchardist." 



Remedy. — "There is no known remedy; salt has no pro- 

 perties repulsive to them — they burrow in it equally as quick 

 as in lime or ashes. Tobacco, soap and other diluted washes 

 do not even provoke them ; but a tin tube six inches in length, 

 opened on one side and closed around the base of the tree, 

 fitting close and entering at the lower end an inch into the 

 earth, is what the lawyers would term an effectual estoppel 

 to farther proceedings." 



There is no complaint of this pest in Virginia, or, at least, 

 in the hilly or mountainous regions of the State. If it ex- 

 ists, to any extent, in the more level or sandy portions of the 

 Atlantic States, we have not heard of it. 



THE BARK LICE OF THE APPLE TREE. 



(Homoptera Coccid^e.) 



There are two spe- 

 cies of bark lice that 

 attack the apple tree 

 in the United States, 

 which I will briefly 

 describe. 



The first, which is 

 a native North American insect, is now known as Harris' 



