LECT. v ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 81 



4. SCALE INSECTS. These encrust the stems and branches of 

 fruit trees, and spread to the fruit, spoiling it. Remedies: 

 (1) For winter use only. Dissolve \ Ib. each of caustic soda 

 and commercial potash in 5 gallons of water. (2) Spirits of 

 wine applied with a small brush at anytime. (3) Dissolve 2 oz. 

 of soft soap and a walnut-sized lump of washing soda in a gallon 

 of water, stirring in briskly, while hot, half a wineglass of 

 petroleum. Apply to the stems with a brush or syringe, in the 

 evening. 



5. AMERICAN BLIGHT. The presence of these insects is indi- 

 cated by fluffy masses of woolly matter on apple trees. They 

 are highly destructive. Remedies: Brush into the affected 

 parts only, in winter, a mixture of half soapsuds and half petro- 

 leum ; in summer, use spirits of wine. 



6. FRUIT TREE CATERPILLARS. The most destructive are 

 those which hatch from the eggs of the winter moth, and eat 

 the young leaves and blossoms in spring. The moths crawl 

 up the stems in October and November, and are prevented by 

 grease-proof paper bands tied tightly round, and smeared with 

 cart grease and oil ; or the mixture, page 74, but not applied to 

 the bark. For destroying the caterpillars, Paris green, a pre- 

 paration of arsenic, in paste form, dissolved at the rate of \ oz. 

 to 5 gallons of water sprayed on the trees before blossoming, and 

 again after the fruit is set, is the best remedy. It should rest on 

 the leaves like dew, not run off like rain. It is a deadly poison. 



7. GOOSEBERRY CATERPILLARS. Remedy : Dredge the bushes 

 with hellebore powder when they are wet, and afterwards syringe 

 with clear water, as the powder is poisonous. Pepper is also good. 

 Preventives : Scrape 3 inches of soil from under the bushes in 

 winter, and bury it deeply between them ; scatter soot and lime 

 under the bushes, and cover with fresh soil in place of the old 

 removed. This prevents the emergence of the moths that deposit 

 eggs from which the caterpillars hatch and devour the leaves. 

 Fresh tanner's bark spread 3 inches thick on the ground in 

 winter has the same effect, but is not always obtainable. 



8. MAGGOTS FROM THE EGGS OF SMALL FLIES. These occur 

 in the roots of onions and carrots. The eggs are deposited on 

 the leaves and stems of onions in early summer, hatch, and the 

 maggots enter the roots. The carrot fly attacks the tops of 

 the roots through fissures in the soil. Maggots in the leaves of 

 celery (Fig. 19 next page), beet, and parsnips, are caused by the 

 leaves being punctured and eggs deposited in them. Remedies : 

 The soft soap, soda and petroleum mixture in No. 4 for scale ; also 

 ammoniacal liquor from gasworks, | pint to a gallon of water 

 sprinkled on in dull days in late spring and early summer when 



F 



