IRISH GARDENING. 



12 



web spun by themselves. The eggs are laid 



on the twigs towards the end of summer — in 

 roundish yellowish patches pro- 

 tected with a covering of gum — and 

 hatch out in October, The grubs are 

 at first quite minute, and remain under 

 cover of the coat of gum until the 

 following spring. When the leaves 

 expand the minute creatures burrow 

 into the substance of the leaves, but 

 as they get bigger they bore their 

 way out. They then congregate into 

 colonies and spin their tent-like nests, 

 from which they make foraging 

 excursions, doing considerable dam- 

 age to the leafage. The best methods 

 of eradication are :— (i) To prune off 

 and destroy the twigs carrying the 

 egg patches ; (2) to spray with 

 arsenate of lead or a weak paraffin 

 emulsion on fine days when they 

 are out feeding (in dull or rainy 

 days they remain within their nest) ; 

 (3) remove the nests with the cater- 

 pillars inside. Caustic washes do 

 not appear to penetrate the egg- 

 cluster cases. 



Note. — The Lackey moth is 

 another of the 'nest caterpillars. The 

 eggs of this insect are laid in the 

 form of bands encircling the young 

 twigs. The same remedies may be applied to this 

 as in the case of the ermine moth. 



Big Bld in Clkrants. 



Big bud is due to the attack of mites [Eriop/iycs ribis) 



that live in the buds, and to whose irritation the largeness 



of the bud is due. It is reported in very few cases. 



The adult mites lay their eggs in the newly-formed buds 



early summer with a mixture of one part quicklime and 



two of sulphur is an effective cure, but this is denied by 



others. Cuttings should never be 



taken from bushes affected with 



big bud. 



Apple-blossom Weevil. 

 This is a black weevil [A)iiJiuiioiiius 

 p(>))iuni>ii) easily recognised by a 

 light V mark on its back. It may 

 be seen early in spring flying among 

 apple and pear trees engaged on the 

 important business of egg-laying. 

 The eggs are laid in holes pierced in 

 the yet unopened bud. The hatched- 

 out maggot eats the essential organs 

 of the flower, and so the clusters 

 wither and die. The beetles pass the 

 winter under the rough bark. It is 

 difficult to cope with this little pest, 

 and winter spraying with caustic 

 wash, in order to destroy the hyber- 

 nating beetles, seems to be the only 

 remedy. 



Red Spider. 

 Red spider has been mentioned 

 by several correspondents as being 

 injurious to their fruit trees. There 

 are several kinds of red spider, but 

 the most common on out-door fruit 

 are more likely to be useful than otherwise, as 

 many of them feed upon green alga?, spores of 

 fungi and beetle mites. If proved to be harmful, 

 spraying with weak paraffin emulsion, or with a 

 potassium sulphide and soft soap solution, will almost 

 certainly destroy them. 



Wasps. 



Wasps are reported as being troublesome in some 



cases. They may be caught by trapping them in a 



hanging bottle containing a sweet fluid. The hanging 



nests of tree wasps are easily destroyed by cutting 



iG Bid in Black Currant. 



Larva of App 



CODLIN IMOTU. 



about June. They hatch out in March and begin their 

 injurious attack. It is a trouble most difficult to 



deal with, and the only certain remedy at present 

 seems to be the careful removal of all the affected 

 twigs or, better, the total destruction of the bush. 

 Some experimenters claim that dusting the bushes 

 at intervals of a fortnight during the spring and 



them o\\ at night and plunging them into a pail of 

 boiling walcr. Nests in holes can be treated with 

 potassium cyanide. A wisp of cotton wool saturated 

 in a solution of this substance can be fixed to an iron 

 rod and thrust down the hole. Potassium cyanide is a 

 deadly poison. Tar is sometimes used. A spoonful or 

 two is poured down the hole at nightfall. 



