222 SM^VLL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. II. 



has been known to destroy the eggs as well as the grubs themselves, that injure 

 the peach, plum, and otlier trees so greatly. Scald the stum of the -tree well, 

 lettin"' the hot water get well into the ground around tlie tree, where the 

 grubs do the most harm, and a destruction of both eggs and grub follows ; 

 and, in addition to this, the scalding appears to add to the vigor of the 

 trees. 



"An old lady in Berks County, Pa., had a plum-tree that for many years 

 bloomed and brouglit forth crops of fruit till half ripe, and then shed them. 

 She often besought her husband to remove the tree, but he still pleaded, 

 ' Let it stand another year.' At length, one spring, after she had boiled her 

 soap, she heated the kettle full of the refuse lye to a boiling degree, and 

 poured it all down the stem of the tree, intending to ' scald it to death,' as 

 she said. It soon blossomed most abundantly, and bore a profuse crop of 

 plums, which it brought to the greatest perfection, which greatly pleased the 

 old lady. 



" Tliis same principle could be applied to the destruction of every 

 kind of destructive insect npon the various choice fruit-trees, cither by pour- 

 ing boiling water upon the limbs and stems, or by conducting a stream 

 of steam through a hose or pipe, from a movable boiler, to kill both eggs 

 and insects. 



"Chestnuts, too, are very liable to be worm-eaten. If they were subject- 

 ed to a momentary heating (wet or dry heat), to a sufficient degree to scald, 

 it would kill the germ of the worm that destroys that sweet nut. And the 

 same principle would also prevent all wood used in building and machin- 

 ery from becoming worm-eaten." 



Prof. Mapes — I have used it on peach-trees, until I have satisfied myself 

 that a peach-tree can not be injured by hot water. 



Mr. Caepentee said that lime M-as the best thing he ever tried around 

 peach-trees. 



Mr. Wheelee said that lime will not kill the grubs in the wood. 



Mr. Smith, of Connecticut — I have found no remedy except manual labor, 

 though wood-ashes are valuable, and so is lime. I have an orchard in full 

 bearing that is fourteen years old. 



Prof. Mapes — I have never found any remedy equal to hot water. It 

 cooks the worms. 



A letter from East "Wilson, Niagara County, N. T., says : 



"A large and interested community, comprising at least ^ye thousand 

 peach-growers in this county, ask tor light. What can be done to stay the 

 ravages of the red-headed peach-grxib ? To dig him out and kill him will 

 only insure an armistice for about ten days. Fresh wood-ashes applied to the 

 trees only seem to sharpen his appetite for destruction. Hundreds of orchards 

 and thousands of trees are dying from his operations. There are half a 

 million of peach-trees in this vicinity suifering from this pest. "Will tar pre- 

 vent his operations? and will it injure the tree? Can you or any of your 

 numerous readers or correspondents tell us of any specific which will kill 



