90 INSECTS AFFECTING THE ORANGE. 



Clearing off Webs. — Youug trees, while they require less pruning than 

 the old, will well repay the time and care that may be expended in 

 keeping- them free from entangling moss and from the webs of insects. 

 These not only befoul and injure the trees, but directly foster Scale- 

 insects by sheltering and protecting them from the attacks of many 

 very active enemies and p, I ra. si t"e.s. Tlie webs and lairs of spiders in 

 particular may be regarded with suspicion, and will very frequently be 

 found to harbor the fo(^ when it can be found nowhere else. 



Senibhing the Trunks. — Accumulations of Scale-insect, living or dead, 

 as well as of lichens and other fungi, upon their trunks atfect most in- 

 juriously the health of trees, and their removal from the bark always 

 causes a marked improvement in condition. The incrustations upon 

 orange trees formed by Chaff Scale are particularly hurtful. This spe- 

 cies continues to accumulate for many generations, piling its scales over 

 each other as long as it is possible for the young to find a crevice through 

 which to insert their sucking beaks. There results a dense crust, 

 which remains for years, and becomes still further consolidated and 

 converted into a tongh, fibrous coating by the threads of the peculiar 

 fungus, which, as has already been mentioned, feeds upon the debris of 

 this Bark-louse. 



To partially cleanse the trunks of orange trees, without entirely de- 

 stroying the life that always remains in scale-crusts, no matter of how 

 long standing, is to expose the plant to fresh incursions of Scale-insects 

 by clearing away the obstructions to their spread. Therefore it is im- 

 portant not only that the clearing should not be neglected, but that, 

 when undertaken, the work should be thorougly done. 



For scrubbing the trunks properly a brush stiff enough to remove the 

 scales is required, and to insure the destruction of anj^ insects or eggs 

 that may escape, hidden in unseen crevices, it should be dipped in 

 cleansing liquids, such as the dilute kerosene and soap emulsions recom- 

 mended in the following pages for spraying the trees, or very strong 

 solutions of lye may be used, and will be more effectual in destroying 

 fungi than the kerosene washes. Solutions of whale-oil soaps are very 

 commonly employed and with good effect; but if the solutions are thick 

 and strong, as indeed they need to be in order to kill the insects, the 

 trunks should be rubbed down before they dry with clear water, to re- 

 move the film of soap, for this, if allowed to remain, has a tendency to 

 harden the bark by clogging its pores. 



Palmetto Brushes. — A better implement than the common domestic 

 scrubbing brush, usually employed in cleaning tree-trunks, may be 

 made in a few moments out of a bit of saw-palmetto root (root stalk) by 

 pounding the ends until the fibers separate and form a brush. For the 

 removal of scales and dead bark nothing better than this rude brush 

 can be devised. In Florida the material is always at hand and costs 

 nothing. In use the palmetto brush wears away slowly, but never 

 wears out so long as any portion of it remains. 



