171 



Tomato Worm. 



For four years the tomato vines in my garden have been nearly ruined by a long green 

 worm about the size of a cigar cut in half. This insect has a most voracious appetite 

 and lives on the leaves of the vine, and makes its appearance some time in July when 

 the fruit is young. When and how does this worm originate ? And above all, is there 

 no solution, ablation, or deglutiou that can destroy this pest ? If so, please send me 

 the way and means. — [Alexander Hunter, Washington, D. C, June 13, 1890. 



Reply. — Yours of the 15th instant has been received. The insect which you de- 

 scribe as injuring your tomatoes is the common Tomato Worm {Sphinx qninque-macu- 

 laia). If it should become abundant before the tomatoes have attained any size it 

 will be perfectly safe and effective to spray the vines with London purple or Paris 

 green iu the proportions of one-quarter of a pound to 100 gallons of water. If, how- 

 ever, it does not put iu appearance until after the tomatoes have attained some size 

 it will hardly be safe to apply these poisons. Ordinarily hand-picking is the best 

 method. The large size of the worms and the marked defoliation of the vines render 

 it easy to detect them. The winter is passed in the chrysalis state in the earth, and 

 if care is taken during the spring plowing to collect and destroy all the chrysalids 

 turned up, the numbers of larvae will be greatly reduced for the coming summer. — 

 [June 17, 1890.] 



The Pear slug on Quince. 



I send you some specimens of some kind of a " varmint" that I noticed for the first 

 time last summer on my Quince bushes, but I destroyed them all with insect jiowder 

 and Paris green before I thought of sending you a specimen. To-day I was trimming 

 my pear tree and discovered tome of the same kind of slugs, so after consulting 

 neighbor Kellogg I thought best to send you a collection and ask if it is anything 

 that nuiy do much harm if let alone to propjigate and multiply and replenish the 

 foliage of the Quince and Pear trees. Where do they come from and where do they 

 ^o to, aud have they a father and mother, or are they natural-born orphans? They 

 don't look to be very ferocious; but you see how they eat the pulp or soft parts out 

 of the leaves. Neighbor Kellogc and I examined the things with a magnifying glass 

 and could not discover any legs, horns, hair, teeth, toe-nails, tail, ears, or topknot, 

 but came to the conclusion that you would know all about them as soon as you saw 

 them, and would tell us isomething about them, and whether it would be best to spray 

 them with Paris green. I send specimens from the Pear and Quince; they all look 

 alike to me. As the Insect Life comes to me regularly, I will look in it for what 

 you may be pleased to say about my big catch. — [L. W. Ewing, Oneida, 111., June 24, 

 1890. 



Reply, — I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of June 24, together with 

 accompanying specimens. The specimens sent prove to be the larvie of the Pear Tree 

 ^\v\g {Eriocampa \_SeIaudria'\ cerasi), one o( the Saw-Q\es {Tenthredinidw). They are 

 frequently abundant on the Pear and also known to attack Quince. The larva de- 

 scends to the earth to transform, hibernating in a little cavity and producing the 

 next summer a black four-winged fly. They may be destroyed by the use of helle- 

 bore or slaked lime, or either of the arsenicals, Paris green or London purple. It 

 would be advisable to spray your trees early as there is danger of their becoming suf- 

 ficiently numerous to do much harm. — [June 27, 1890.] 



