DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF FRUIT. 843 



adopted in season, while there are a few diseases the cause of which, as well as the remedies, 

 are still unknown, notwithstanding the efforts of our most skilled naturalists in investigating 

 to ascertain. Some of the principal diseases and enemies of the larger fruits are as follows: 



Aphides. This is the name applied to numerous insects of the family Aphides 

 commonly known as plant lice, that live upon the leaves of fruit trees, often doing great 

 injury, some species of this genus being very destructive, such as the hop-fly (Aphis liumuli) 

 and the aphis of the turnip and cabbage (Aphis brassiae). The Aphides are themselves often 

 infested by certain minute parasites, which by laying their eggs in the bodies of these insects 

 cause the destruction of vast numbers, while these minute parasites have in their turn 

 parasites whose eggs are deposited in their bodies, causing the death of quite a large proportion 

 of them. Fruit trees are frequently so injured by Aphides that they are almost worthless 

 for fruit production, these insects collecting in large numbers upon the under side of the 

 leaves and the tender and succulent shoots, in fact there is scarcely any part of the plant 

 that they do not attack, sometimes completely covering the leaves, buds, and tender shoots. 

 They frequently attack cherry and plum trees in this manner, and by sucking the juice retard 

 the growth, the leaves curl and wither, and the formation of the fruit is checked. Throwing 

 a spray of strong soap suds over the tree with a fountain pump or large syringe or atomizer 

 designed for such purposes, will usually prove effectual. It may be necessary to repeat this 

 operation several times before they are all exterminated, as they increase very rapidly, and 

 may not all be destroyed at the first application. Wood ashes thrown upon the leaves when 

 they are wet with dew, or after a shower, will also answer the same purpose. 



Apple Worm. This worm is hatched from the eggs of the insect known as the 

 &quot;codling moth,&quot; (Carpocapsa pomonella,) and often proves quite destructive to the crop of 

 apples and pears. The moth lays its eggs at the blossom end of the young fruit. In a short 

 time the eggs hatch, and the worm a reddish white burrows its way to the core of the fruit, 

 causing it to ripen prematurely and fall to the ground; also greatly injuring much of that 

 which remains on the trees. After the fruit falls, the worm leaves the fruit and crawls into 

 the crevices of the bark and hollow parts of the tree, where it spins a cocoon, where it 

 remains until spring, when the young moth appears. The method of destroying this 

 worm, and consequently the moth, is to permit sheep or swine and poultry to run at large in 

 the orchards when the fruit is falling; or to have the fruit picked up each day and placed 

 where the worms will be destroyed. 



The method practiced by some is to wind a band of hay or cotton flannel cloth 

 around the trunk or branches of the tree, into which the worms will be liable to go, and spin 

 their nests as they come down from the fruit, after which they may be destroyed before they 

 hatch out. Old cloths, placed in the crotches of the ti*ees, may also serve as traps to catch 

 them. Torches, or small fires lighted in orchards, in May and the early part of June, just at 

 the edge of evening when the moths are flying about, will attract many of them into the 

 flame, where they will be destroyed. Another plan is to place a lantern or lamp inside of a 

 tarred barrel or against boards smeared with tar for the same purpose. 



Bark Louse. This insect attacks the bark of young apple and pear trees, and ften 

 proves quite destructive. It makes its appearance on the smooth bark, looking like a small 

 brown scale or blister about an eighth of an inch in length, being oblong in form. This 

 scale or blister is the dried remains of the body of the female covering and protecting her 

 eggs, which will be found underneath from a dozen to a hundred in number. The eggs 

 hatch the last of May, the minute dull white insects sometimes nearly covering the bark, which 

 they puncture for the purpose of sucking the sap. Scraping and scrubbing the bark in summer 

 with a stiff brush in strong soap suds with a mixture of kerosene oil, rather warm, will prove 

 very beneficial. Another excellent remedy is to apply to the bark early in spring an equal 

 mixture of tar and linseed oil quite warm, but not hot enough to injure the tree. 



