L22 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



the leaves, it would seem as though the trunk and roots at 

 least should in fairness be exempt from injury; but this is not 

 the case. The apple-tree borer (Saperda Candida Fabr.) 

 devotes its attention to the trunk near its base, and is an im- 

 portant foe, particularly in young trees. This beetle, which 

 is strikingly marked and very noticeable, is rarely seen, being 

 retiring in its habits. The eggs are laid here and there on 

 the lower part of the trunk during the summer; the borers 

 which hatch bore into the wood, where they make flat cavities 

 just beneath the bark, which often cracks at such places, 

 letting the "sawdust" out, and thus showing where the borers 

 are. The following year the borer makes a regular tunnel 

 into the wood of the tree, and finally gnaws out to the bark 

 only a thin layer of which it leaves in place. Having thus 

 prepared a means of escape for itself, it goes back in its tunnel 

 a short distance, turns so as to face outward, and changes to 

 a pupa, from which the following June or July the beetle 

 escapes, follows the tiuinel to its end, and, gnawing away the 

 thin layer of bark, begins its life outside the tree. 



That this insect is capable of causing great damage is shown 

 by the fact that neglected trees are often completely girdled by 

 the tunnels of the borers, and are killed; and even those not 

 so seriously affected have their bearing power and general 

 vitality greatly reduced. Yet treatment for these insects is 

 simple, and takes but little time. In order to carry out this 

 treatment, it is first necessary to remove any borers already 

 in the tree; and this should be done in October, by searching 

 for "sawdust," and then locating and killing the borers either 

 with a knife or a pointed wire. Each tree should then be pro- 

 tected by wire mosquito netting, placed around the trunk so 

 that it will not touch the trunk except at the top, about two 

 feet from the ground, where it should fit tightly enough to 

 prevent the beetle from crawling down inside. The wire 

 should form the surface of a cone, the trunk coming up through 

 its center, while the lower edge of the wire should enter the 

 ground. With wire so placed, and with no holes in it, the 

 beetles are unable to reach the lower part of the trunks on 

 which to lay their eggs; and rather than lay them higher up 

 they will in most cases leave such trees, and, crossing the line 



