56 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 



particular specific. A weak wash may do no good, whilst 

 an excessively strong dressing may injure the foliage and 

 the flower-buds. These dressings will suffice until May or 

 June, at which time, if any leaves are found adhering to 

 one another, they should be pinched between the finger 

 and thumb to kill the caterpillar enclosed in them. 



Aphides. A look out must then be kept for Aphis 

 attacks. These flies or Aphides infest the young, tender 

 shoots in July and August, and, if not checked, cripple 

 the foliage and young growth. Tobacco-water made 

 with 2 oz. of coarse shag to a gallon of warm water, or 

 quassia and soft soap, are good remedies, which must be 

 used again in ten days' time, as the eggs of a fresh brood 

 may then have hatched out, and some of the older brood 

 may have escaped, notwithstanding the care of the operator. 



At the commencement of June the fruits will need 

 attention. Any which are spotted with fungus should 

 be collected and burnt, and, if need be, another weak 

 dressing with the Bordeaux mixture should be applied if the 

 spotting is spreading. It is much more prevalent in cold, 

 wet seasons, such as 1909 and 1910, than in a warm, dry 

 summer. It must always be remembered that the spores of 

 fungous diseases are carried in the air, and thus spread 

 to other trees, so that it is most important to follow up the 

 treatment and to burn all cuttings and affected fruits. 



American Blight (Schizoneura lanigera). We have 

 dealt with fungous and Aphis troubles, but a very serious 

 enemy to Apples is the American Blight or Woolly Aphis, 

 which attacks Apple trees, settling in the rough bark, in 

 cankered boughs, or in the axils of the leaves where they 

 join the shoots. 



