53 



seemed to be uninviting, and when all around were seared, and browned, and withered trees of 

 tliis variety wherever found were covered with a foliage rendered doubtly attractive and 

 beautiful by the waste and dismal appearance of those about them. The following notes were 

 taken at the time in reference to the relative damage inflicted on the different varieties of pear 

 trees in those portions of the orchards most injured. Beurre Giff'ard most of the trees 

 slightly, a few badly damaged. Ananas d'Ete, but slightly injured. Beurre d'Amanlis, 

 same as Beurre Giff'ard. Beurre Goubault, entirely stripped. Brandywiiie, some stripped, 

 others but little affected in the same row. Doyenne d'Ete, badly injured. Bartlett suffered 

 very much, nearly all the trees being stripped. Edmunds injured badly, but not so much 

 as Bartlett. Souvenir de Congress, nearly stripped. Kirtland, Dwarfs, not much affected. 

 Standards, badly injured. Leech's Kiogsessing, scarcely touched. Osbands Summer, badly 

 damaged, not a leaf left on many of the trees. Rostiezer, some very badly injured, others not 

 so much. Dearborns Seedling, nearly stripped. Tyson, badly aff'ected. Ott's Seedling, not 

 much injured Marechale de la Cour, nearly free. Beurre de Montgeron, Frederica Bremer, 

 Abbott and Fteur de Niege, scarcely touched. Beurre Diel, some few trees very much in- 

 jured, others not so badly. Gansel's Bergamot, stripped. Buffiim and Beurre Superfin, 

 scarcely injured. Sheldon, injured, but not badly. Beurre de Waterloo, scarcely touched. 

 Beurre Amande, singularly free. Beurre St. Nicholas, Oswego Beurre and Golden Beurre, 

 not much injured. Beurre de Paimpool, nearly stripped. It was intended to go over all the 

 other varieties in a similar manner, but opportunity did not offer. In the course of another 

 fortnight new leaves began to push out vigorously on the defoliated trees and within a month 

 or six weeks all was green again. 



In the meantime these mischief makers were preparing for a second descent, and we in 

 turn were preparing to receive them ; on the ■29th of July, when going through the orchards 

 in the afternoon, the new brood of flies were found in the greatest abundance, resting on the 

 young leaves, or on those portions of green which still remained on the leaves partially eaten 

 by the last brood, they were congregated, however, more especially on those trees where green 

 leaves were mo.st abundant. On disturbing them they would fall to the ground with the 

 antennte bent under their bodies, and the head bent forward. On half a dozen trees we 

 caught about GO specimens, and might have taken hundreds, they were so thickly spread that 

 in many instances there were two and three on a single leaf. By the last week in August, 

 the second brood of slugs were hatched ; some very tiny creatures, others by this time half 

 grown. Now, those trees which had previously escaped were all more or less covered, and 

 would no doubt soon have been stripped, had not some measures been at once taken to destroy 

 them. A raised platform was rigged up in a one horse cart in which was placed a barrel of 

 water in which a pound of powdered hellebore had been mixed, and from the elevated stand 

 this mixture was showered lightly on the trees from the rose of a watering pot. It was 

 astonishing how quickly the trees were cleaned scarcely one could be found on a 

 tree the morning after the application had been made, and ten pounds of hellebore with five 

 or si.x days work of man and horse served to go over the whole ground, the work being com- 

 pleted in much less time than wc had supposed it could. 



