3 6 4 



BUGS, INSECTS, ETC.— REMEDIES FOR. 



naked trunk, it often causes a mass of 

 little granulations to sprout out, about the 

 size of cabbage seeds, thus producing on 

 a small scale, the same effects that it does 

 upon the roots. Wherever the insect 

 ■works, small as it is, it may be easily re- 

 cognized by the peculiar blueish-white 

 cottony matter which it secretes from its 

 body, and which is never met with in the 

 case of the common Apple-tree Plant 

 louse that inhabits the leaves and the tips 

 of the twigs. 



Fig. a, as represented below, fully 

 illustrates the Apple-root Plant louse. A 



Fig. 9. 

 portion of a knotty root as it appears af- 

 ter the punctures of the lice is represent- 

 ed at a, the larva state at b, and the 

 winged state at c; while d represents the 

 leg, e the proboscis,/" the antenna of the 

 winged individual, and g that of the 

 larva, all highly magnified. The young 

 louse is of a deep flesh or pink color, and 

 the proboscis extends the whole length 

 of the body, while the older specimens 

 have a deeper, purplish hue. 



Remedies. — The best mode to get rid 

 of the Apple-root Plant-louse is to drench 

 the roots of the infested tree with hot 

 water. But to render this process effect- 

 ual, the water must be applied in quan- 

 tities large enough to penetrate to every 

 part of the infested roots. There need 

 be no fear of any injurious result from 

 such an application of hot water; for it is 

 a very general rule that vegetable or- 

 ganisms can, for a short time, stand a 

 much higher temperature than animal 

 organisms, without any injury to their 

 tissues. In laying bare the roots for the 

 better application of the water, a sharp 

 eye should be kept for the friends above 



described, and when espied they should 

 be tenderly laid aside till after the 

 slaughter of the enemy. Mulching 

 around the infested trees has been found, 

 by Mr. E. A. Riehl and others, of Alton, 

 Illinois, to have the effect of bringing the 

 lice to the surface of the ground, where 

 they can be more easily reached by the 

 hot water. 



ELM TEEE BEETLE.— Many com- 

 plaints have been made about the elms in 

 cities being destroyed by a small worm, 

 where the trees have been planted in the 

 streets for shade and ornament, and have 

 attained a considerable size. We will 

 here give a condensed history of the bee- 

 tle and its habits: This insect is gener- 

 ally known as the elm-tree beetle, (Gal- 

 etuca calmariensis^) and is a small, striped 

 beetle, somewhat resembling the three- 

 lined leaf or striped cucumber beetle, 

 but much smaller, and of a dull, yellow- 

 ish-gray color, with only one dark line 

 and spot on each wing case. This 

 insect deposits its eggs in clusters up- 

 on the leaves, the worms or larva? 

 from which are hatched out in a few 

 days, and immediately commence to feed 

 upon the parenchyma, or soft pulpy sub- 

 stance of the leaf, at first making mere- 

 ly small blotches, but eventually, as they 

 increase in size, destroying the whole 

 leaf, leaving only the harder part, such 

 as the mid-ribs and network of veins, 

 untouched, thus causing the leaves to 

 turn brown and wither, until the whole 

 tree assumes the appearance of having 

 been scorched by fire. These worms, 

 when fully grown and ready to change 

 into pupae, not being able to descend by 

 means of a silken thread, like the real 

 caterpillars, crawl down the trunk to the 

 ground, and, soon casting their larva 

 skin, change into pupae on or near the 

 surface of the earth, at the foot of the 

 tree they have despoiled. Some of the 

 worms, however, conceal themselves in 

 fissures of the bark, where they undergo 

 their transformation into the perfect bee- 

 tle. These last, however, are few, and 

 bear no comparison with the multitudes 

 of pupae which will be found on the 

 damp ground, motionless, helpless, and 

 appearing like grains of wheat accident- 

 ally fallen near the tree. After becoming 

 pupae, in a few days the skin of the back 

 splits open, and the perfect insect crawls 



