1188 



HORTICULTURE 



August 7, 1909 



BORERS IN MAPLE TREES. 



Former State Senator Henry D. Bay- 

 lor, of Montgomery County, wrote from 

 his home in Pottstowu to State Zoolo- 

 gist Surface, of the Department of Ag- 

 riculture, Harrisburg, as follows: 



"I write for information about an in- 

 sect that has just attacl<ed some Nor- 

 way maples belonging to me by boring 

 holes in the trunks and large limbs, 

 the holes being clean cut about the 

 size, in circumference, of a darning or 

 steel crochet needle. I have been un- 

 able to see the insect that is causing 

 the mischief. My attention was first 

 called to the mattef by the drooping 

 appearance of the trees, and the pres- 

 ence of white spots on the trunks and 

 limbs where the boring occurred." 



This letter was answered by the State 

 Zoologist as follows: 



"Replying to your letter, I can not 

 say .with certainty what the pest is 

 that is infesting your Norway maple 

 tree without seeing it. However, it is 

 evidently a borer, and perhaps a bark 

 borer or engraver beetle. It it be this, 

 it shows that the tree is declining, and 

 this borer practically attacks only de- 

 clining or injured trees. I would ad- 

 vise digging about the trees, mulching 

 them, pruning off dead and dying 

 branches, and watering well with 

 water containing a teaspoonful of 

 nitrate of soda to each gallon of water. 

 If the borers be large enough that you 

 can find their holes and insert the tip 

 of a small machine oil can into them, 

 you can easily kill the pests by inject- 

 ing a little carbon bisulfide into each 

 hole, and then stopping this with clay 

 or mud. For this particular tree, I 

 would recommend pruning, watering, 

 cultivating and trying every means 

 possible to stimulate it to vigorous 

 growth, in order that you can make it 

 outgrow the effects of the pests you 

 mention. If you will send me some for 

 examination, I shall be glad to reply 

 promptly concerning the same." — 

 22oological Press Bulletin. 



NATIONAL INSPECTION LAW 

 NEEDED. 



The necessity for a national inspec- 

 tion law which would prevent the rav- 

 ages of woodlands by such destroyers 

 as gypsy and brown-tail moths is 

 pointed out by Dr. L. 0. Howard, chief 

 of the bureau of entomolog>', who has 

 just returned from an extensive trip 

 abroad, where he inspected a number 

 of exporting nurseries. Dr. Howard 

 has imported and sent to the parasite 

 laboratory at Melrose Highlands, 

 Mass., many of the parasites and other 

 natural enemies of the gypsy and 

 brown-tail moths, and these will be 

 scattered throughout the New England 

 forests, where the pest is most pre- 

 valent. 



It is declared at the bureau of en- 



tomology that the United States is al- 

 most unique in its indifference to the 

 great danger of importiug injurious 

 insects, as quarantine and inspection 

 laws are in force in nearly all the 

 civilized countries of the world. 



CONCERNING STRAWBERRY 

 PESTS. 



State Zoologist Surface of Penna., 

 has received many inquiries concerning 

 strawberry pests, and" to these has re- 

 plied that the best general means of 

 suppressing them lies in a novel meth- 

 od of summer treatment of the straw- 

 berry plant, which many persons would 

 hesitate to apply, but which they will 

 find so effective that it will become a 

 regular feature of their mode of cul- 

 ture after its benefits have been ob- 

 served. This consists of nothing more 

 nor less than mowing the strawberry 

 leaves as low as possible shortly after 

 the benies are picked, throwing these 

 together with a little straw between 

 the rows, drying them^ quickly on a 

 hot, sunshiny day, and then burning 

 them at once. 



The strawberry leaf rust and leaf 

 spot are among the diseases that are 

 verj- destructive and contagious. They 

 can be partially prevented by the use 

 of the Boixleaux mixture, but the 

 germs causing the leaf destruction re- 

 main in the old patch from one year 

 to another. Also, the aphis and sev- 

 eral other insect pests attack the 

 leaves during the summer. It has been 

 found that if the leaves are mowed 

 closely on a warm, dry day, and 

 slightly dried and mixed with just a 

 little straw and then burned, the pests 

 are practically all destroyed, and the 

 plants themselves escape uninjured. 

 Consequently, this is the time of year 

 to give such treatment. 



Good new runners will be formed at 

 once; especially, if a little commercial 

 fertilizer or finely-divided manure 

 from the stable or poultry house be 

 scattered over the roots of the old 

 plants and these be cultivated in the 

 regular manner. New leaves will yet 

 be formed this season, and the plants 

 will be put in good condition for bear- 

 ing a much more abundant and a 

 healthier crop next year than if the 

 leaves had not been burned. Persons 

 who doubt the efficiency of this treat- 

 ment should mow the leaves of some 

 of the plants, and see the results for 

 themselves. — Zoological Press Bulletin. 



Addison County, Vermont, is suffer- 

 ing a scourge of grasshoppers such as 

 this state has never known. There are 

 millions of the insects and the farmers 

 have no way of combating them. The 

 insects are eating the short hay crop 

 faster than farmers can harvest it. 

 Grain fields are also being attacked. 

 The loss will reach thousands of dol- 

 lars. 



GREEN-STRIPED MAPLE WORM. 



Maple trees are attacked by a num- 

 ber of insects, the worst of whicii are 

 the fall webworm and the caterpillar 

 of the tussock moth. Another trouble- 

 some pest of all kinds of maple is tlie 

 green-striped maple worm, which eats 

 the leaves, often defoliating the tree 

 entirely. This is a naked caterpillar, 

 yellowish green, nearly two inches 

 long. The moth of this caterpillar is 

 of a beautiful pale yellow shaded with 

 delicate pink. The spread of wing is 

 about two inches. 



The insect abounds especially in 

 Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, 

 and Iowa, but is found also in the 

 Gulf States and in the North and East. 

 In Missouri there are two broods in 

 a year and each female moth lays at 

 least 150 eggs. 



Some birds eat the green-striped 

 maple worm, such as the robin, blue- 

 bird, tufted titmouse, red-headed wood- 

 pecker, and others. These should be 

 protected. 



Paris green sprayed on the trees 

 will kill the young caterpillars; one 

 pound to 50 gallons of water may be 

 used, but one-half pound will probably 

 be sufficient. Arsenate of lead may be 

 used as strong as 2 to 4 pounds for 50 

 gallons of water. 



A trench dug about the tree a toot 

 deep, with sides sloping under will 

 trap large numbers of caterpillars as 

 they leave the tree in search of a 

 place to bore into the ground and 

 enter the pupa stage of their life. In 

 the trench they can be easily killed. 



This insect is more fully described 

 in Circular 110 of the Bureau of En- 

 tomology, U. S. Department of Agri- 

 culture. 



ANT HILLS IN GRASS PLOTS. 



The superintendent of a cemetery In 

 Pottsville wrote to the Pennsylvania 

 State College in regard to the trouble 

 that was being experienced by some of 

 the lot holders in that cemetery 

 through ants building hills on the lots 

 and destroying the grass. 



The letter was referred to Prof. Sur- 

 face, State Zoologist, Harrisburg, who 

 gave the following information: 



"You can get rid of these pests with 

 certainty, and very easily, by making 

 holes in the ant hills to a depth of a 

 foot or a foot and one-half, and pour- 

 ing in a liquid known as carbon; bisul- 

 fide or bisulfide of carbon. Use about 

 one-half teacupful of this to each hill, 

 making the holes two or three feet 

 apart, in accordance with the size of 

 the ant hill and the porosity of the 

 ground. For a heavy clay soil, they 

 must be nearer, but for a light, sandy 

 soil, they can be nearly three feet 

 apart. These holes can be made with 

 a sharpened stick. A broom handle, 

 pointed at the end, will answer the 

 purpose. After the liquid has been 

 poured in, close the holes with earth, 

 and also keep the mound covered with 

 a wet blanket for an hour or two. The 

 carbon bisulfide will not Injure vege- 

 tation, but it will kill the ants." — Zoo- 

 logical Press Bulletin. 



