40 



Size of moth: Length, seven sixteenths of an inch ; spread of wings, nearly three fourths 

 of an inch. Color of moth: Body, richly bronzed light drab; fore wings, mottled gray 

 and drab, with dark coppery bar across hind margin, or a golden eye spot near inner 

 angle; hind wings, plain drab, a little darker than body. Cocoon: White inside, but usu- 

 ally so covered with minute pieces of surrounding bark, etc., as to be overlooked by a 

 ■careless observer. 



The ravages of this insect are perhaps better known and more widely 

 spread than those of any insect. Its original food plant is the apple, which 

 it prefers, but the pear and quince are almost equally subject to it. The 

 moth makes its appearance in May and June, when it deposits its egg in 

 the blossom end. The young worm hatches in seven to ten days, and eats 

 its way into the fruit, and in twenty days its full growth is attained, and it 

 goes out through the side of the apple and, by means of its spinneret, 

 reaches the ground or some large branch. If landed on the ground it usu- 

 ally seeks the trunk, which it ascends and soon finds a hiding place under 

 the loose bark, where it spins its cocoon, and in eight or ten days comes forth 

 a moth, ready to lay eggs anew. As there is not at this time offered as 

 distinct and conspicuous place for it to deposit its eggs as when the blossom 

 end was pointing upward, the egg is laid all over the fruit, and especially 

 at a point where two fruits touch. Usually we have in this State two 

 broods at least, but more often three, and naturally, if unchecked, the 

 increase from the first to the last is enormous. The worms escaping from 

 the fruit in the fall hibernate as larvse under the loose bark in storehouses 

 or any available dry place. 



The natural habits of this insect have led us to adopt various remedies, 

 which may be classed thus: ■ 



1. Those aiming at killing the young larva? while in the fruit. 



2. Those aiming at destroying the mature larva?. 



3. Those aiming at destroying the moth. 



4. Those aiming at destroying the hibernating cocoons. 



Measures to Kill Young Lnrvie while in the Fruit. 



Sprayings. — This mode of protection is evidently the most promising of any, and, in the 

 East, where it has been tried for a number of years, it has given quite satisfactory results. 

 Of these solutions the arsenic compounds have been the preferable. 



Paris Green, London Purple, White Arsenic. 



Paris Green. 



Paris green is a compound of arsenic and copper. It is a far more powerful poison than 

 arsenic alone, and is not soluble in water, hence will remain much longer on the trees. 

 As stated before, in the Eastern States it is used in preference to arsenic, as it is not so 

 liable to be washed off by rain, and another advantage is that it is not so liable to hurt the 

 foliage. 



The spraying should be done for the first time just when the flower leaves 

 are falling; used then very little of the poison will adhere to the leaves, 

 they being, as a rule, comparatively undeveloped. 



The strength to be used for this first spraying may be safely put down at 

 one pound to two hundred gallons, assuming that the Paris green will con- 

 tain 55 per cent of arsenic. When used much later it must be diluted to 

 one pound to three hundred gallons. For early ripening apples one spray- 

 ing ought to be sufficient, unless, as sometimes happens, the blooming is 

 very irregular. For winter apples it is advisable to give a second spra3ang 

 before the apples commence to turn downward. As regards the strength 

 safe to use, it must vary according to locality and variety of apples. In 

 the damp coast counties, where often heavy night fogs prevail, it should 

 not be used any stronger than one pound to three hundred gallons; in the 

 drier valleys it seems safe to use it stronger. Certain varieties seem very 



