39S 



BUGS, INSECTS, ETC.— REMEDIES FOR. 



- The presence of the young borer is 

 usually indicated by a discolored spot, a 

 cracking of the bark, or the presence of 

 saw-dust like excrement. It will pay to 

 look over the trees even before Fall, for as 

 early as the latter part of June, the newly 

 hatched worm may sometimes be found 

 just entering, when its presence is fre- 

 quently indicated by an exuding drop of 

 moisture on the bark, and when it may 

 be destroyed by cleanly cutting out a 

 small slice of bark. 



It is useless to spend time in trying to 

 reach such borers as have already pene- 

 trated into the solid wood. They are with 

 difficulty attained. 



FLIES, House. — The common house- 

 fly, and some other insects, are said some- 

 times to be dangerous to mankind by 

 conveying infectious disease from house 

 to house, and several cases have been re- 

 ported where the bite of an apparently 

 common fly had caused dangerous fester- 

 ing sores. In such cases, however, it 

 was presumed that the fly had previously 

 been feeding on decaying carrion, and had 

 inoculated the wound with putrid virus. 

 There is a small fly, resembling in general 

 appearance the common house-fly, which 

 stings mankind, horses, and cattle very 

 severely. They are sometimes very 

 abundant, especially before rain in dwell- 

 ing houses, and more especially when in 

 the vicinity of stables. Horses may be 

 protected from their attacks by rubbing 

 or washing the animals with a strong de- 

 coction of tobacco leaves, of smart-weed, 

 or the leaves of the English walnut, and 

 doubtless a weak solution of carbolic acid 

 would answer the same purpose. 



GRAPE-VINE HOPPER.— The grape- 

 vine hopper is a very small insect, about 

 0.13 inch in length, of a pale yellow 

 color, with two blood-red bands, and a 

 third dusky band across the wing-covers. 

 It is supposed by most entomologists that 

 these insects pass the winter in the per- 

 fect state, hybernating under bark, dead 

 leaves, and rubbish. It therefore appears 

 probable that some of the early broods 

 may be produced from eggs laid by the 

 parent insect the previous autumn, either 

 on the stem of the vine itself or on foliage. 

 The first perfect grape-leaf hopper in 

 1875 was found in April, and had prob- 

 ably hybernated on the stem of the vine, 

 under the bark, as before mentioned. 



The insects, as soon as hatched, com- 

 mence to suck the sap of the plant, and 

 change their skin several times before 

 attaining their full size ; and these cast-off 

 white skins may be seen in the autumn in 

 multitudes, adhering to the under side of 

 the leaves, each of them with a slit down 

 the back, through which the perfect insect 

 has escaped. 



As larvae, or when very young, they do 

 not possess any wings, and it is only in 

 the adult state that the perfect wings are 

 acquired. The leaves injured by these 

 insects appear at first flecked and spotted 

 with whitish marks, showing where the 

 sap has been drawn out by the leaf- 

 hopper. They then assume a sickly ap- 

 pearance, and if the insects are very 

 numerous the foliage will finally turn 

 brown and fall to the ground. Some 

 varieties of vines suffer more from this 

 pest than others, and the Clinton, Dela- 

 ware, and other thin-leaved grapes are 

 said to suffer the most. 



Remedies. — The remedies already pro- 

 posed for the destruction of these insects 

 are syringing the vines with strong to- 

 bacco-water or soap-suds. A very weak 

 mixture of carbolic acid and water has 

 also been recommended, but when made 

 too strong the leaves are apt to be injured. 

 Dusting the vines with lime, wood-ashes, 

 lime and sulphur, is said to be beneficial, 

 and fumigation with strong tobacco, when 

 under glass, will destroy many of them. 

 Mr. Saunders, of Canada, states that a 

 lighted torch carried through a vineyard 

 at night will destroy multitudes, as they 

 fly to the light and are burnt. This 

 should be repeated several times at short 

 intervals. He also says that constant 

 stirring the earth in the immediate vicinity 

 of the vines in spring and autumn will 

 probably operate to disturb the perfect 

 insect and eggs by exposing them to the 

 frost. As lights also attract these insects 

 at night, if a lantern were placed immedi- 

 ately over a pail or tub nearly filled with 

 water, on the surface of which a little oil 

 had been poured, whenever the vines 

 were disturbed the insects would immedi- 

 ately fly toward the light and fall into the 

 vessel below and perish by hundreds. 

 The same plan would also answer if 

 lights were placed before or on boards 

 painted with a thick syrup, or any adhesive 

 substance like the celebrated fly-paper 



