198 



TREES AS GOOD CITIZENS 



ropean variety is most subject to attack. 

 The scale infests trunk, limb and bran- 

 ches. After passing the winter, partly 

 grown, on the bark it matures in early 

 June and produces a new generation. 

 Breeding is repeated several times during 

 the summer. The young insects are vis- 

 ible to the eye as they crawl along the 

 bark before settling down and implanting 

 their beaks in the bark. Because of the 

 enormous multiplication by rapidly suc- 

 ceeding generations, a slight infestation 

 in the spring may become very serious 

 during the season. 



The mature scale is the size of a pin- 

 head, or smaller, and is scarcely percep- 

 tible unless present in abundance. Severe 

 infestation encrusts trunk and limbs with 

 ashy-gray scales which produce a yellow, 

 oily fluid when scraped with a knife; the 

 foliage appears spotted and diseased. A 

 slight attack merely checks growth of the 

 part affected, while a heavy attack causes 

 branches and twigs to die and sometimes 

 kills young trees as well. 



mant season, between late fall and early 

 spring, when the tree is bare of leaves. 

 For heavy attacks one treatment should 

 be given in the fall after the leaves drop 

 and another in spring just before the buds 

 swell. 



BEECH 



LEAF-CHEWING INSECTS 

 Gipsy Moth 



Habits This leaf-eating insect is 



and prevalent in New England, 



Damage, where it has caused the death 

 of thousands of trees. The 

 male is dark brown with black wing mark- 

 ings; the female is white with black wing 

 markings. The grubs are hatched in the 

 spring, from eggs laid the previous July 

 on the trunks or underside of branches of 

 trees, in cavities in the bark or on stones 

 and rubbish. The egg mass is rounded or 

 oval, coated with yellowish hairs and 

 resembling a sponge in appearance. The 

 young grubs eat holes in the opening 

 leaves, and in case of severe attack, the 

 end of June brings total destruction of the 

 foliage. Trees weakened by severe infes- 

 tation are subject to attack from boring 

 insects. It may be safely said that the 

 gipsy moth, where prevalent, is the most 

 destructive of all insect enemies of the 

 trees. 



Remedies. The conspicuous appear- 

 ance of the egg masses makes 

 them easily located during the fall or 

 winter. Since it is impossible to gather 

 these egg masses without scattering the 

 eggs and thus spreading the infestation, 

 other methods of control are necessary. 

 In Massachusetts the attempt to gather 

 egg masses is forbidden for this reason. 

 Creosote with a small amount of lamp- 

 black added, is effectual if applied with a 

 brush to the egg clusters. In Massachu- 

 setts a creosote mixture quite generally 

 used is made up of five parts of creosote, 

 two parts of carbolic acid, two parts of 

 spirits of turpentine and one part of 

 coal tar. 



Placing a sticky band around the trunk 

 prevents caterpillars from climbing a tree, 

 and is useful after the treatment of the 

 egg clusters. The bark should be first 

 scraped, to give a smooth surface, and the 



