130 Commercial Gardening 



Very few dead leaves remained on the treated trees, which were nearly 

 restored to health in a single season. Of course, so long as untreated 

 trees are growing in the neighbourhood, the trees must be sprayed every 

 season, and the fundamental cause of the disease remains untouched. This 

 can only be exterminated by the removal of all dead hanging leaves, and 

 burning them, throughout the entire district affected, and if looked upon 

 in the light of an investment, time would prove it to be a very remunera- 

 tive one. 



Brown Rot (see p. 86) also attacks Cherries, and is best checked by 

 spraying with Bordeaux mixture before the flowers open, and again just 

 after the fruit has set. [G. M.] 



There are two insects that stand out prominently as doing damage to 

 cherries: The Winter Moth Caterpillar and the Cherry Aphis or Black Fly. 



Winter Moth Caterpillar. In former years the damage done by this 

 caterpillar to Cherries and other fruit trees has been enormous. Its life- 

 history is now well known, and as this is fully described at p. 76, as well 

 as the grease-band method for catching the moths, it will not need repeti- 

 tion here. 



The Cherry Black Fly (Myzus ribis) is known all over Europe, Asia, 

 Africa, Australia, and America. It often swarms on the shoots, and gets 

 into the leaves and curls them up. When numbers are collected together 

 they form such a copious amount of honey dew that it drops into the fruit. 

 Upon this honey dew the " soot fungus " grows, and so the fruit is spoilt. 

 The result of the attack on the tip of the shoots is that they die and turn 

 brown. The rather shiny black Aphis has yellowish and black legs. The 

 wingless females breed with great rapidity. In July they change to pupae 

 which have an olive-green hue with dull-yellowish wing cases. The 

 winged viviparous females from these leave the Cherry, but where they 

 go to we do not know. This Aphis returns to the Cherry in the autumn, 

 and eggs are laid on the trees. 



TREATMENT. Treatment consists of heavily washing the trees with 

 soft soap and quassia. This should be done before they have com- 

 menced to curl the leaves. If the trees are small, the best remedy is to 

 wash them with a strong solution of soap and quassia extract, using 8 or 

 10 Ib. of each ingredient to 100 gall, of water. In washing to kill this 

 Aphis it is above all necessary to use a coarse spray and great force, so 

 that the wash may penetrate the curled leaves and kill the Aphis. 



The following other insects attack the Cherry: Winter Moth (Cheima- 

 tobia brumata), Mottled Umber (Hybernia defoliaria), Figure-of-8 Moth 

 (Diloba cceruleocephala), Lackey Moth (Clisiocampa neustria), Gold- 

 tail Moth (Porthesia similis), Buff Tip (Phalera bucephala), Wood 

 Leopard (Zeuzera pyrina), Cherry and Plum-tree Borer (Semasia ivoe- 

 berand), Cherry-fruit Moth (Argyresthia nitidella), Pistol-case Bearer 

 (Coleophora anatipenelld), Bark Beetle (Scolytus rugulosus), Chafers 

 (Melolontha vulgaris, Pkyllopertha korticola), Leaf Weevils (Phyllobius 

 oblongus and P. maculicornis), Cherry and Pear Slugworm (Eriocampa 



