HORTICULTUEAL SOCIETY. 367 



should be removed from around the trees back a foot or two. 

 They will also work at a tree surrounded by heavy snow, eating 

 the bark off the tree just w^here it leaves the soil. To prevent 

 this go among the trees and tramp the snow down solid about 

 the trunks and their operations wall cease. They may also be 

 headed off by going among the trees in the fall before the ground 

 freezes and placing several shovelfuls of dirt around the bodies 

 of the trees. But in case the mouse gets the start and does his 

 work first, a good remedy is to bank up around the injured parts 

 with damp earth as soon as the ground thaws in the spring. 



Where the rabbit and mouse do their work above ground, and 

 a pretty neat job while they are at it, we have one less manly, 

 namely the pocket gopher, who in an underhanded manner, fol^ 

 lows his occuptiou beneath the surface among the roots of the 

 tree. His presence may be detected otherwise than by his mounds 

 of dirt, by the bark of the tree becoming yellow, the leaves wither 

 and droop and the fruit being small, shriveled and worthless. The 

 steel trap or strychnine put in potatoes and the holes are among 

 the best means for destroying him. 



Another pest in the orchard is the borer, probably the great- 

 est one in regard to the tree itself that we of the Korthwest have 

 to contend with, that is in the presence of hickory or poplar tim- 

 ber. The eggs which produce these borers are laid by a beetle 

 •in the bark of the tree. By closely examining the trunk and 

 large limbs if eggs are present a slit, instantly recognized by the 

 experienced eye, a mere scratch about an inch long, is to be seen. 

 This is where the eggs are laid and if they have not been hatch- 

 ed, the pressing upon the bark, under which they lay, with any 

 hard substance will crack the eggs and consequently save further 

 trouble. But if the eggs have hatched the young grubs must be 

 found and destroyed. As soon as hatched the young grubs begin 

 to gnaw into the bark of the tree. Their presence may be de- 

 tected by their refuse which is shoved out through the opening 

 made by their entrance, which being of a glutinous nature col- 

 lects around the mouth of the hole, resembling very fine chewed 

 pine wood, is yellow in color and instantly detected by the or- 

 chardist. One way to destroy the young grubs is to take a sharp 

 knife and peel off the dead bark around the hole and underneath 

 which he is working where he may be found, but this mode is 

 objectionable on account of having to expose the inner part of 

 the tree to the atmosphere, and should not be resorted to, unless 

 the injured part may be immediately smeared over with wax. 



