140 FRUIT GROWING FOR AMATEURS 



and feed for about a month. Then the cocoons are spun, generally 

 upon, or just beneath, the surface of the soil under the infested 

 bushes ; the cocoons of the first brood are occasionally found 

 upon the twigs and even leaves, as shown in the illustration. 

 In about three weeks the adults issue and proceed in turn to 

 their egg laying. There may be three generations in the year ; 

 the cocoons of the last brood of the year are found deeper in the 

 ground than those of the earlier broods, and the caterpillars lie 

 sheltering in them until the next spring, when pupation takes 

 place. 



It is advisable to remove a few inches of the soil from beneath 

 infested bushes in winter and to replace with fresh. The branches 

 should be sprinkled with hellebore powder in early summer, 

 but in this case the fruits ought not to be used in less than five 

 or six weeks, for this powder is poisonous. Spraying with paraffin 

 emulsion might well be substituted. Many may be destroyed by 

 hand-picking. 



Lackey Moth. The caterpillars of the Lackey moth form 

 a very destructive pest, and of cultivated fruit trees they attack 

 Apples most frequently. The moths are on the wing during the 

 latter part of summer, and the caterpillars result from eggs 

 deposited in rings round the shoots of the trees. The caterpillars 

 are hairy and rather prettily coloured. They live in webs spun 

 amongst the leaves and shoots, and the best time to catch them 

 at home is during wet and dull weather. As soon as observed, 

 all webs, together with the caterpillars in them, should be 

 destroyed ; as the rings of eggs invariably result in the produc- 

 tion of a large number of caterpillars, it is most important that 

 a sharp look out be kept particularly at pruning time all found 

 being destroyed. Shoots cut out of infested trees should be burnt. 



When the leaves have fallen it is a good plan to give fruit 

 trees which appear unhealthy a good coat of limewash. The 

 limewash should be fairly thick, a good handful of sulphur being 

 added to each pailful. In addition to destroying insect and 

 fungoid pests in the cracks and crevices of the bark, a wash of 

 this description will remove lichen and mossy growth, but as 

 their presence may be due to faulty drainage, afi defects must, 

 of course, be remedied before a complete cure can be effected. 



Fear Midge. The larvae of the Pear Midge do much 

 damage early in the year, ruining large numbers of fruits while 

 they are small. The presence of this pest is easily recognised 



