7 
branches should also be covered as far as possible. The wash may be 
best applied with a whitewash brush and should be renewed at inter- 
vals of from two to four weeks, as found necessary, the first applica- 
tion being made before the appearance of the insects in May or June 
and again during July. 
It is well to scrape old trees to remove dead bark scales, care being 
taken not to cause any abrasion. Scraping is best done some time 
before the application of the wash so that the wounds that might be 
made may have opportunity to heal before the appearance of the 
beetles. 
The beetles are shy, and so seldom seen that it is doubtful if any 
method of destroying them is feasible. They are attracted to lights at 
night to some extent, and some meet their end-in this way. 
Kerosene as a remedy.—A great variety of substances has been 
recommended to kill the borers in the trees, but up to the present time 
only a few have given satisfaction. For the benefit of those who 
have not had experience with this borer it may be necessary to state 
that it is of no avail whatever to inject kerosene or any other insecti- 
cide into the round holes made by the beetles in their escape from 
the trees. A correspondent of this Bureau, Mr. T. B. Ashton, who 
has had many years’ experience with this borer, states that there is 
no better way of effectually putting a stop to the depredations of this 
and similar borers than in the use of kerosene applied freely wherever 
the castings of the larvee are to be seen protruding through the bark. 
The kerosene is absorbed by the castings and, carried by capillary 
attraction, permeates the entire burrow. It thus comes in contact 
with the larva, which soon succumbs. The amount of kerosene 
necessary is so small that it does not endanger the health of the tree. 
Clean cultural methods.— Finally, clean culture, the best preventive 
for insect injury of whatever kind, should not be neglected. The 
nursery should not be started in new localities where crabapples, 
thorns, juneberry, and other wild food plants of this species grow in 
great profusion, nor in the vicinity of neglected orchards, nor should 
rank growths of weeds, grasses, bushes, and briars be permitted to 
accumulate about the trunks of the trees. When a tree is seen to 
be injured beyond recovery it should be taken out and destroyed by 
burning before the following spring, so that the larvae: which it con- 
tains may not have an opportunity to develop and infest healthy 
growth. 
THE SPOTTED APPLE-TREE BORER. 
(Saperda cretata Newm.) 
A related insect very similar to the preceding, both in appearance 
and in habits, is the spotted apple-tree borer. The beetle is of 
nearly the same size and form, differing superficially by having two 
[Cir. 32] 
