128 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD 



responsible for more actual damage than all other 

 peach insects combined. It is the cause of the dying 

 out of many orchards at 10 to 15 years of age when 

 they should otherwise live to 20 to 25 years of use- 

 fulness. 



The larvae or grubs of this insect live on the ten- 

 der inner bark of the roots and lower portion of the 

 trunk. The tree is often completely girdled by these 



SPRAYED WITH LIME-SULPHUR 



borers. In such cases the leaves turn yellow and the 

 tree soon dies. The presence of the insect is shown 

 usually by gummy gelatinous material exuding from 

 the wounds. The eggs are laid in July or August 

 by a pretty black moth, usually on the lower part of 

 the trunk near the ground. The eggs hatch in about 

 10 days and the little borers work in through cracks 

 in the bark. At this time they throw out minute 

 quantities of fine brown dust from the holes and this 

 will give a clue to their presence, providing the in- 



