■•ENTOMOLOGY. 575 



punctures made in tte tree by a species of leaf-hopper to receive their egga.. 

 Lime, iron-cinders, and other materials dug in the ground about the roots, have 

 been recommended by many. But Mr. Saunders states it to be caused by es> 

 cessive evaporation in early spring, or late winter, -vvhen the ground is frozen 

 and absorption from the soil by the root is impossible, whilst at the same time 

 evciporation is progressing iu the upper part of the tree. He recommends 

 covering the roots in early winter with a few inches of charcoal dust, which 

 will entirely prevent the penetration of frost. He likewise states that cutting 

 down until all discolored wood is removed, will cause the plant to recover. 

 For the bark beetles infesting other forest and fruit trees, Kollar, in Europe> 

 says that "we should encourage woodpeckers and tomtits." Titmice or chickar- 

 dees, and gold-crested wrens, in this country, destroy numbers of them, as the 

 contents of their stomachs will testify. One of this family of beetles was stated 

 to be the cause of the disease called the " yellows" in the peach, but this is said 

 to be a mistake. Others having dissected the trees affected and finding no 

 beetles, state that the injury is caused by vitiated sap, and that the insects are 

 the effect and not the cause of the disease. Trees in a feeble or unhealthy 

 condition are almost invariably the first attacked by the larvae of bark or wood 

 beetles. 



The larvfE of the long-horned beetles, the perfect insects of which do much 

 injury to the wood of trees, are distiuguished by their very long antennsa, 

 horns, or feelers. These larvae are generally of a whitish or yellowish color, 

 and are furnished with six either very short legs or none whatever, and a flat 

 head armed with strong jaws. We find familiar examples of this family in 

 the apple and locust borer, oak pruner, &;c. The larva of the destructive 

 apple-tree borer is a footless white grub, in shape somewhat broadest towards 

 the head, which is of a chestnut brown color. The perfect beetle is also of a 

 chestnut brown, having two longitudinal white stripes on the wing cases. The 

 egg is deposited on the bark near the root in June and July. The larva 

 feeds on the wood, and remains in the larva state two or three years ; when 

 young it feeds under the bai'k, forming and enlarging the cell it makes there> 

 where it continues for some months ; it then attacks the heart-wood. 



Trees infested by these insects should be examined about September, and 

 if a dark-colored spot is found, varying from the size of a five-cent piece to a 

 dollar, it is probable that a grub will be discovered ; it can easily be dug out 

 with a sharp-pointed knife, as it lies directly under the bark ; but if the Avorm 

 Las penetrated deeply into the wood, other remedies have been suggested, such 

 as probing the hole with a slender sharp-pointed Avire or whalebone, thrusting* 

 it in until it pierces the worm, and when, if withdrawn, the end of it is found 

 to be wet, it is highly probable that the borer is pierced and will perish. Plug- 

 ging the hole with camphor and cotton or sponge pellets saturated with cam- 

 phor, benzine, turpentine, and other strong-smelling substances, then stopping 

 up the mouth of the hole with putty or yellow soap, has been recommended ; 

 also throwing boiling water into the holes by means of a syringe. It is best, 

 however, to seize time by the forelock, and prevent the eggs from being de- 

 posited at all ; to do so, the trunks of the trees should be first scraped, if the 

 bark is rough, early in June, when the insect lays its eggs, and then scrubbed 

 or washed with one pound of Avhale-oil soap to one gallon of water ; (soft or com- 

 mon hard soap will do if whale-oil soap is not to be procured.) This should 

 be done particularly near the base of the tree, and repeated whenever washed 

 olF by rains. Bandaging the trunk two or three inches below the earth and 

 several inches above ground with coarse muslin, thick paper, paper tarred, or 

 tin foil on the outside, are said to be very useful in keeping the female from 

 depositing her eggs. The Cultivator of 1S63 recommends heading down the 

 ti'ee low enough to shade the trunk ; softsoaping the trunk is also advised. 



The locust trees are very much injured by a borer which is also the larva 



