34 



IRISH GARDExMXG. 



about llif si/.e of a pin poinl. Tliose larva; at once 

 orawl to tlif buds. If the latlL-r are not open wo find 

 them -waitint; outside. .As soon as they can they ijel 



.Aiui.r I'SVLL.V JI.\LI. (X ID. I 



into the buds and commence to feed on the younij and 

 tender g-rowths. The result of their puncturings is that 

 the blossoms are weakened or destroyed, and the younj; 

 leaves assume a crinkled appearance. As soon as the 

 buds open and the blossom trusses are free the lice pass 

 deep down into them and suck away at the bases of the 

 strigs. The result is that the blossom trusses turn 

 brown and die. The dead trusses of blossom hold on 

 the trees a long time, often into the winter, and give a 

 very characteristic appearance to the affected orchard. 

 A few shrivelled leaves may also hang on around the 

 trusses. A very similar appearance I have often seen 

 caused by brown rot. One can at once tell, howes-er, 

 if it is the apple sucker by the cast skins of the insects 

 which are found sticking on to the leaves and at the 

 base of the dead blossoms, their silvery grey colour 

 showing up distinctly against the brown. 



After a time the flat lice-like larva; change to the 

 nymph stage, in which small wing buds are seen. This 

 period is usuallv passed on the leaves, the nymphs living 

 between two leaves, which are held together by the 

 curious white or pale blue filaments they pass out of 

 their bodies. These filaments are also characteristic of 

 the larvse, and each has a small opaque globule at the 

 end. These threads and 

 globules at once show us 

 the presence of apple 

 sucker in the trusses as 

 well as on the foliage. 

 The nymph is usually 

 green ct r }■ e 1 1 o w i s h 

 green, flat, like the larva, 

 but larger. The nymphal 

 cast skins on a leaf are 

 shown in the figure. 



The adults are winged, 

 and vary from one-tenth 

 to one-eighth of an inch in 

 length ; they are green at 

 first, later they become 

 variegated with other colours. They hop and fly 

 from leaf to leaf, but do not appear to do anv harm. 

 The psylla can at once be told from other leaf hoppers 

 (Tyfililiiryhi,lce\ on .apples by their wings being tran- 



LaRVA of .\I>I'LE .StcKER. 



(X 8.) 



B 



Xv.MPH OF Ai'i'Li-; .Sn 



( X 8.1 



KKR. 



sparent and the veins distinct. These "suckers" seem 



to attack all varieties of apples, but some much more 



so than others. The short si rigged varieties suffer the 



most, such as the Ecklln- 



ville, whilst the Worcester 



Pearmain seems to be the j ^ 



least affected. 



PreveiifiiDt and Treal- 

 ment. — The damage done 

 by the "apple sucker "is 

 often so serious that we 

 are compelled to adopt 

 preventive and remedial 

 measures. The preven- 

 tion is the thing to aim at. 

 At present nothing is 

 known which will corrode 

 the eggs of the psylla or 

 to have any very definite 

 effect on them, that can be applied to trees unless 

 so strong that more damage would be done to the trees 

 than by all the insect pests put together. Statements 

 that this or that wash will kill the eggs must be taken 

 with great caution. Tlie writer has not found one yet 

 that has the least effect. 



-As damage is done to the just opening buds, when 

 no wash will penetrate to the small lice, it is essential 

 that we should try and prevent the insects from CTitering 

 them. 



This may be done to a very large extent by thickly 

 coating the trees with lime and salt wash. This wash 

 is made as follows: — Slake i^ cwt. of the best white 

 lime, fresh from the kiln, in a small quantity of 

 water, then mix it into lOO gallons of water, strain off, 

 so as to exclude all grits, into another receptacle, and 

 add to the thick lime-wash 30 !bs. of dissolved salt. 



If white lime can- 

 not be obtained 

 others may be used, 

 but the former is the 

 best. It is very im- 

 portant that the 

 lime should be fresh 

 and in lumps, and 

 should slake slowly. 

 This wash is im- 

 proved by adding 3 

 to 5 lbs. of water- 

 glass, previousU' 

 dissolved in warm 

 water, as it tends 

 to hold the lime and 

 salt wash longer on 

 the trees. Water- 

 glass is not, how- 

 ever, essential. The 

 time to spray the 

 trees is anywhere 

 between the end ot 

 February up to the 

 time the bud scales are opening. The object to .attain 

 is to get as thick a coating as possible over the trees so 

 as to cover the eggs. This coating prevents the 

 voting fi'om escaping from the i^^v!, shell, and as the 



Larval St cKi-rRs Waitim 

 E.NiKR Bi n. 



