INSECT ENEMIES I29 



spection is sufficiently careful. They hibernate dur- 

 ing the winter and begin to work again during the 

 spring, at which time the exuded gum becomes ap- 

 parent. 



One method of fighting this insect is to wrap the 

 trunk of the tree with stout building paper, the soil 

 being mounded up over the base of this protecting 

 sheet and the top of the paper being tightly tied to 

 the trunk. These protectors have to be adjusted 

 every fall and removed every summer. This is a 

 troublesome and expensive labor and the method is 

 not altogether efficient as a protection. 



A great many different kinds of washes have been 

 tried, including such concoctions as the stewed liver 

 of a black cat killed in the dark of the moon. In- 

 deed, a good many of the remedies recommended 

 are built on this plan and they all seem to be equally 

 effective. They have been generally abandoned by 

 practical peach growers. 



The only satisfactory method of fighting this in- 

 sect is that of removing the grubs with a small sharp 

 knife. The operator goes through the orchard, pref- 

 erably during November and again in the spring 

 just before the leaves begin to grow. Each tree 

 trunk is minutely examined, and if signs of the borer 

 are found, they are followed up with a knife and the 

 borer dug out. This is often a tedious and difficult 

 job and considerable damage results to the tree dur- 

 ing the operation. However, no equally effective 

 method has yet been discovered. 



This work may be facilitated considerably if the 

 soil is mounded up about the trunks of the trees in 

 summer just before the eggs are laid. This has 

 a tendency to make the moth deposit her eggs higher 

 up on the trunk where the borers are easily dug out. 

 The mounds of earth should be drawn away from 



