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186 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FOREST AND SHADE TREES. 
So very highly were the American pines esteemed for this last purpose, 
at an early day, that they were ranked with the precious metals, and a 
large portion of the lands of the State of New York were originally 
granted by the British crown, with an explicit reservation of ‘All mines — 
of Gold and Silver, and also all White and other sorts of Pine trees fit 
for Masts, of the growth of twenty-four inches diameter and upwards 
at twelve inches from the earth, for Masts for the Royal Navy of us, our 
heirs and successors,” under the stringent condition that “If they, our 
said grantees or any of them, their or any of their heirs or assigns, or 
any other person or persons by their or any of their privity, consent or 
procurement shall fell, cut down or otherwise destroy any of the Pine 
trees by these presents reserved to us, our heirs and successors, or hereby 
intended so to be, without the Royal Lycence of us, our heirs or succes- 
sors for so doing first had and obtained, that then, and in any of these 
cases, this our present grant, and everything therein contained, shall 
cease and be absolutely void, and the lands and premises hereby granted, 
Shall revert to and vest in us, our heirs and successors, as if this our 
present grant had not been made, anything herein before contained to 
the contrary in any wise notwithstanding.” Now the perfect straight- 
ness of the pine, which has adapted it so eminently for this important 
use, and has caused it to be thus valued, depends upon the healthy 
growth of its leading shoot for a long succession of years. If this lead- 
ing shoot is destroyed the onward growth of the tree is checked until 
one of the lateral shoots starts upward and becomes the leading shoot. 
But this causes a crook in the body of the tree at the place where this 
lateral shoot originally arose, and thus the main value of the tree is 
destroyed. And it would appear to be a spirit of pure malevolence that 
instigates the white-pine weevil to select the leading shoot of this tree 
in which to deposit its eggs, when its young can be nourished equally 
well in the lateral shoots, where they would do little injury, or perhaps 
would be a direct benefit to the tree by cutting off the ends of the 
branches, and thus promoting the upward growth of the main trunk. 
The weevil deposits her eggs in the bark of the topmost shoot of the 
tree, dropping one in a place at irregular intervals through its whole 
length. The worm which hatches from these eggs eats its way inwards 
and obliquely downwards till it reaches the pith, in which it mines its 
burrow onwards a short distance farther, the whole length of its track 
being only about half an inch. Butsuch a number of young weevils are 
usually placed‘in the affected shoots that many of them are cramped and 
discommoded for want of room. The worm.on approaching the pith 
often finds there is another worm there, occupying the very spot to 
which he wishes to penetrate. He hereupon, to avoid intrusion upon 
his neighbor, turns downward and completes his burrow in the wood out- 
side of the pith. Those also which enter the pith are often unable to 
extend their galleries so far as is their custom without running into those 
of others. When its onward course is thus arrested the worm feeds 
