202 Practical Forestry 



remedies, such as fumigating and spraying with a solution 

 of soft soap, but none of these are applicable to a plantation 

 of trees, or even a single specimen of large size. 



The Thorn Fly (Aphis .Cratcegi) attacks whole hedges or 

 brakes of Quick, especially those in the nursery border ; 

 as a rule, the younger and more healthy plants first fall a 

 prey to its depredations. 



Sponging with tobacco water, or almost any of the pre- 

 scribed solutions will rapidly exterminate the fly ; but such 

 work is laborious when a large brake or long hedge of the 

 thorn has to be gone over. 



The Cockchafer (Melolontha vulgaris) is usually pretty 

 abundant, and does most damage by eating the leaves of 

 the sycamore, beech, oak, cherry and many other trees. It 

 will also eat the roots of most young trees, but those of pine 

 in particular. 



The insect is about 1J in. long, and of a chestnut-brown 

 colour on the upper part of the body, while the head and 

 some other parts of the bojly are of a bronzy green, and 

 thickly covered with yellowish- white hairs. 



In April and May the eggs are laid in a hole in the ground 

 about 5 in. deep, and the grubs are hatched in July. They 

 are of a dirty- white colour and much wrinkled. In this 

 state, however, they do but little harm ; but, after having 

 changed their skins and remained in a torpid state during 

 winter, come to the surface in spring and eat the roots of 

 almost any plant that comes in their way. They again 

 burrow deeper at the approach of winter, coming to the 

 surface again in spring, and, when full grown, are about 

 1 | in. long, and almost J in. in diameter. The perfect insects 

 do not live more than about twelve days, and are easily 

 known by their heavy, awkward flight towards the evening. 



The Laburnum Moth (Cemiostoma laburnella) is fairly 

 abundant in England, at least ; and, in some instances, 

 every leaf of a tree has been eaten almost wholesale by the 

 caterpillars of this pretty moth. The insect is about one- 

 eighth of an inch in length, and three-tenths of an inch across 

 the fully expanded wing. It is of a silvery-white colour. 



The greenish-grey caterpillars are about J in. long. 



