[FLETCHfiR] INJURIOUS INSECTS OF CANADA 225 



orchards previous to that date. Like all the dark-coloured plant-lice, 

 it is harder to kill than those which are of a green colour. The form 

 of the Black Peach Aphis which lives above ground, may be successfully 

 and easily treated by spraying with a whale-oil soap solution (1 lb. in 6 

 gallons of water), but the destructive form which lives upon the 

 roots is much more difficult to reach. A horticultural method which has 

 given good results is a liberal periodic application of kainit, as much as 

 10 pounds being broadcasted on the ground as far as the branches ex- 

 tend, beneath trees of about six inches in diameter, and then lightly 

 spudded or cultivated in. ' This not only invigorates the trees but also 

 destroys the insects. 



The Clover Mite {Bryobia pratensis, Garman). — There are doubt- 

 less many mites which are classed under the general name of "Red 

 Spider" and which do much harm to many crops. Among these, cer- 

 tainly in British Columbia and Ontario, and probably in every other 

 province of Canada, is the species which has been called the Clover Mite 

 on account of its particular liking for that plant. The conspicuous 

 ruby-red eggs seem to be laid by preference upon plum and apple trees, 

 and are sometimes so numerous as to give a distinct ruddy tinge to the 

 twigs in winter. Nevertheless, strangely, the abundance of eggs is not 

 necessarily, it would seem, followed by noticeal)le injury to the trees on 

 ^^•hich the eggs are found. In California and in British Columbia some 

 injury has been complained of from time to time and the usual remedy 

 for Eed Spiders — spraying with kerosene emulsion containing some 

 flowers of sulphur in suspension — has been found quite satisfactory. 



Besides the above pests of the farm and the fruit garden, the fol- 

 lowing may be briefly mentioned here as late additions to the list of 

 Canadian noxious insects, which have been the cause of considerable 

 loss. 



