INSECTS. 97 



Burface, and fill all the cracks in the bark. The proper time for 

 washing over the trees is in the early part of June, when the in- 

 sects are young and tender. These insects may also be killed by 

 using in the same way a solution of two pounds of potash in seven 

 quarts of water, or a pickle consisting of a quart of common salt in 

 two gallons of water. 



PEACH TREE BORER. The pernicious borer, which, during many 

 years past, has proved very destructive to peach-trees throughout 

 the United States, is a species of ^Egeria, named exitiosa, or the de- 

 structive. The eggs, from which these borers are hatched, are de- 

 posited, in the course of the summer, upon the trunk of the tree 

 near the root ; the borers penetrate the bark, and devour the inner 

 bark and sap-wood. The seat of their operations is known by the 

 castings and gum which issue from the holes in the tree. When 

 these borers are nearly one year old, they make their cocoons either 

 under the bark of the trunk or of the root, or in the earth and gum 

 contiguous to the base of the trees ; soon afterwards they are trans- 

 formed to chrysalids, and finally come forth in the winged state, 

 and lay the eggs for another generation of borers. The last trans- 

 formation takes place from June to October. Hence borers, of all 

 sizes, will be found in the trees throughout the year, although it 

 seems to be necessary that all of them, whether more or less ad- 

 vanced, should pass through one winter before they appear iu the 

 winged state. 



As a remedy remove the earth around the base of the tree, 

 crush and destroy the cocoons and borers which may be found in 

 it, and under the bark, cover the wounded parts with common clay 

 composition or mortar, and surround the trunk with a strip of 

 sheathing-paper eight or nine inches wide, which should extend 

 two inches below the level of the soil, and be secured with strings 

 of matting above. Fresh mortar should then be placed around the 

 root, so as to confine the paper and prevent access beneath it, and 

 the remaining cavity may be filled with new or unexhausted loam. 

 This operation should be performed in the spring or during the 

 month of June. In the winter the strings may be removed, and 

 in the following spring the trees should again be examined for any 

 borers that may have escaped search before, and the protecting ap- 

 plications should be renewed. 

 5 



