ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 



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forth, furnished with wings, by means of 

 which it is enabled to fly to other trees 

 and deposit its eggs, thus spreading the 

 nuisance to every elm in the neighbor- 

 hood ; or it may ascend the same tree 

 and lay the eggs for a second generation, 

 which destroys the second crop of leaves, 

 frequently so enfeebling the already ex- 

 hausted tree that it is unable to recover, 

 and eventually perishes. If the trees are 

 examined daily when the worms first ap- 

 pear on the foliage, which may be known 

 by the leaves exhibiting a somewhat 

 blotched appearance, it will be found that 

 in the course of two or three weeks mul- 

 titudes of worms have left the leaves, and 

 are slowly descending the trunk for the 

 purpose of undergoing their final trans- 

 formation on earth, under stones or moss, 

 near the collar of the tree, and in two or 

 three days the pupae may be killed by 

 crushing under foot, when lying heaped 

 up and incapable of locomotion. This is 

 the best time to destroy them, as the 

 worms are scattered over the whole tree, 



and the perfect insect is much too nimble 

 to allow itself to be caught. Were the 

 base of each tree encased in a low, open 

 box, about a foot or eighteen inches ini 

 height, placed at the same distance from 

 the main trunk, having its lower part sunk 

 four or five inches below the surface of 

 the soil, the top capped with strips of 

 bright tin, sloping inwards, and projecting 

 on both sides like the eaves of a house, 

 and the upper half of the inside boards 

 painted every morning with coal tar or 

 some other viscid substance, the larvae 

 could not crawl out over it, the helpless 

 and motionless pupae would be found 

 collected in heaps within the enclosure, 

 and could be killed by thousands without 

 much trouble. It might be advisable to 

 cover the ground inside with cement or 

 mortar, so that the worms could not pos- 

 sibly burrow underneath the board fence 

 and escape. The same box might also- 

 succeed in keeping the female of the 

 canker worm from ascending the fruit 

 trees to deposit her eggs, but in that case. 



Fig. io. 



coal tar should be put on the outside of 

 the box, as these insects want to crawl 

 inside in order to climb up the trunk, 

 instead of descending and then scattering 

 themselves over the surface of the ground, 

 like the elm-tree beede. Such temporary 

 boxes might be made so as to be removed 

 when not required, and put into some 

 safe place to be used another season. If 

 stationary, the same tin gutters now so 

 extensively used in the Northern States to 

 obstruct the canker worm, and usually 

 placed around the tree itself, could be 

 put around the box at some distance from 

 the tree, and so prevent the oil, tar, or 

 whatever is in them from being spilled 

 and injuring the bark, and at the same 

 time answer the purpose just as well in 

 preventing the wingless female from 

 ascending the trunk to deposit her eggs. 

 NEW GRAPE-ROOT BORER. — The 

 larvae of this insect, in general appear- 



ance, resemble those of the peach-tree 

 borer, and work in the same manner 

 under ground, but destroy the roots by 

 gnawing into them, and are sometimes, 

 said to be shielded from outward applica- 

 tions by a coating of the bark. It is, 

 evident that this pest is spreading, and 

 may in a short time prove as disastrous 

 to the vineyards as the peach-tree borer 

 is to the peach orchards. This insect 

 working underground, its ravages cannot 

 be seen until the vine becomes sickly. 



Remedies. — It is absolutely necessary 

 for the grape-grower to examine the 

 roots of all unhealthy-looking grape-vines 

 in the vineyard, wherever the insect has; 

 effected a lodgment in the neighborhood, 

 at least twice a year, and any larvae or 

 pupae found should be cut out and de- 

 stroyed at once. The Scuppernong grape 

 alone is said to be exempt from the 

 attacks of the grape-vine borer. The 



