PAET YII.— raSEOTS INJUEIOUS TO THE 

 PEAE. 



The Scolytus jpyvi,, already mentioned, is a verj 

 minute beetle, not much larger than a flea. It punc- 

 tures the young wood of the pear shoots, and deposits 

 there its eggs. It is the larva of this insect that 

 accomplishes the mischief. It is thus described by 

 Downing : " The beetle is a deep brown, with legs of 

 a 2:>aler color ; its tliorax is short, convex, rough in 

 front, and covered with erect bristles. The wing- 

 covers are marked with rows of punctured points, 

 between which are also rows of bristles, and they 

 appear cut off very obliquely behind." The larva 

 completes its change by June or July, and gnaws its 

 way through the bark, leaving a small round punc- 

 ture. 



THE SCALE INSECT. 



This abominable and prolific nuisance is insignificant 

 in appearance, but formidable in mischief. Trees of 

 clean, smooth bark, sometimes in the single month of 

 September, become so foul with this insect as to 

 appear covered with bran-scales. These scales are 

 not the insects, but cover small reddish cocculi, that 

 when crushed with the finger-nail leave a spot of 

 blood. They feed upon the more sluggish juices of 

 the trunk and limbs. In a short time the tree becomes 

 ( 178 )' 



