78 INSECTS AFFECTING THE PEACH. 



nearly constant supply of the imagos. On this 

 account one can find larvae of various sizes in the 

 roots at almost any time. This insect also occasion- 

 ally infests the plum. 



Remedies. — Probably the surest, and certainly 

 the most generally practiced, method of preventing 

 the injuries of this insect is that of cutting out the 

 larvae in the fall or spring, or both. To do this the 

 earth is removed from about the base of the tree, 

 and wherever the gummy exudation indicates that a 

 borer is at work, a sharp knife is inserted to dig him 

 out. It is often necessary to open the larval chan- 

 nels for some distance before the depredator is found. 

 Instead of digging the larvae out some growers de- 

 stroy them by applying scalding hot water. With 

 this method the earth is removed as before, and the 

 gummy exudations scraped away before the water is 

 applied. 



Some growers prevent the deposition of eggs by 

 mounding the soil up about the base of the trunk, a 

 foot or more, late in spring, removing it in September. 

 The chief objection to this method appears to be that 

 it is liable to make the bark too tender to stand the 

 winter. Others protect the base of the trunk by 

 fastening paper or straw around it, so as to cover the 

 bark. A preventive measure that has sometimes 

 been recommended, which seems worthy of extended 

 trial by commercial growers, is that of spraying the 

 base of the trunks with a strong mixture of Paris 

 green and water (say a pound to 50 gallons) to which 



