On Peach Trees. 13 



if attended to, the issuing of the gum will shew their 

 seat, and they are easily picked out; but their principal 

 object is the root, the bark being softer there than on the 

 body, and the rapid growth of the trunk near the root, 

 at the time of the wasps depositing their eggs, causes a 

 aiumber of small rents in the bark, which give the 

 worms an easy entrance. I have observed that trees 

 in a declining state, are more favourable, to the increase 

 of peach worms than those of luxuriant growth, as the 

 latter discharge so much gum from the wounds, as to 

 cause the death of the insect, and the former will bring 

 them into the wasp state a month sooner ; for which rea- 

 son I examine the peach trees carefully every spring, 

 and those that are in such a declining state as to render 

 them unprofitable, I hitch a team to, and draw up by 

 the roots, as the most certain mode to destroy all the 

 worms they may contain. 



The best method I have yet discovered, to prevent 

 injury from the worms, is to examine the trees carefully 

 in the spring and take out the worms ; repeat the ope- 

 ration about 1st July, and hill up the earth round the 

 trees eight or ten inches : in October, remove the earth, 

 examine as before, then renew the hill, which leave, till 

 the spring examination. By continuing this process 

 annually, I am confident that not more than one of my 

 peach trees has been killed by the worms, for twenty 

 that have died in consequence of irregular winters: 

 imd as I have observed the fluctuating state of the wea- 

 ther in winter, constantly to increase for more than fifty 

 years, I conceive it must proceed from some certain 

 cause, which I apprehend to be the improvement of the 

 country, every cleared field operating, ^vhen free of snow, 



