& 



HICKORY BARK BORER. 26/ 



through a force pump for about five minutes, until the whole forms a 

 creamy mass, which thickens upon cooling. For use, dilute nine times 

 with cold water. 



The mechanical mixture is made by using a special form of pump, 

 which mixes the two liquids under pressure. The trees along Broadway 

 have unquestionably been injured by gas escaping from the main. They 

 have also suffered great injury from the beetles, and the combined effect 

 of gas and beetles has killed some of the trees. All residents should 

 cooperate with the city authorities to kill as many of the beetles as 

 possible right away. 



It is hoped that the municipal authorities of Connecticut will 

 be on the alert the coming season, and in readiness to spray 

 the elm trees with poison if the beetles should be dangerously 

 abundant, and thus prolong the lives of the trees, which, with 

 their various other troubles, already have a precarious existence. 



A SERIOUS INJURY TO HICKORY TREES BY THE > 

 HICKORY BARK BORER. 



Scolytus quadrispinosus Say. 



On August ist, in answer to a request, the writer visited 

 "Sachem's Wood," New Haven, to examine the hickory trees, 

 which were in an unsatisfactory condition. 



Many trees had died, and many more were fast losing their 

 vitality. The foliage was falling from the supposedly healthy 

 trees and the ground was literally covered with fresh and dried 

 leaves. The many dead leaves still on the trees gave them a 

 brown and scorched appearance. An examination of the twigs 

 revealed great numbers of small black beetles, nearly one-fourth 

 of an inch in length, which were boring holes in the axils of 

 the compound leaves (see fig. 2), cutting them off in many 

 cases so that they fell to the ground. In some instances the 

 twig was eaten to such an extent that it broke off (see Plate 

 VIII, b). The trunks of the dead and dying trees were the 

 breeding grounds of the beetles, and larvae, pupae, and adults 

 were numerous under the bark. The adults were emerging 

 from the bark through small circular holes, which were so 

 abundant that the tree appeared to have been filled with shot. 



Specimens were sent to Washington for identification, and 

 the beetle found to be Scolytus quadrispinosus Say. The late 

 Dr. C. V. Riley studied this insect in Missouri in 1872, and 



1 



