!58 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



the. 5, 182«. 



into Union street to tlie market, passing over the 

 old Green Dragon estate, by tlie new Baptist Meet- 

 ing House, in Hanover street, wliicli forms the 

 •south corner of tlie new avenue. On this street 

 the owners are now placing edge stone, and the 

 whole is in progress. It will form a direct and 

 very pleasant entrance to the very centre of the 

 city — Bunker-Hill Aurora. 



WEW EIVGLAIVD FARMER. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, DEC. 5, 1828. 



INSECTS ON FRUIT TREES. 



In our paper of tlie 21st ult. page 142, we pub- 

 lished notices of an insect or insects which infest- 

 ed fruit trees in Wrightsville, York county, Penn. 

 described by a correspondent, with the signature 

 "M." Since publishing the communication of "M," 

 we have been favored with the opinion of Dr. 

 Harris, who says in a letter addressed to us, that 

 "the insect on the apple tree, mentioned by your 

 correspondent "M," is probably one of those call- 

 ed lice, coccus aphis, and American blight. A des- 

 cription of the first, written by Enoch Parley, Esq. 

 in December 1794, is pubhshed in the early com- 

 Juunications to the Mass. Agri. Soc." 



The desciiption, alluded to by Dr. Harris, was 

 given in our jiaper, vol. i. page 33.3 ; but we will 

 here republish it, as that volume is now" not easily 

 obtained. 



"Having for some years jiast discovered that 

 there was a growing evil attending our young ap- 

 ple trees in the District of Maine, I h'ave made 

 some observations on the subject, which I shall 

 communicate, in hojies they may be a means of 

 leading to the discovery of some eflectual cure. 



"The difficulty is what is generally culled lice ; 

 the appearance of which, is, in form, like half a 

 kernel of rye (but not more than one twentieth 

 part so large) with the ilat side sticking to the 

 sniootli bark of the tree. These blisters contain 

 from ten to thirty nits or eggs each, in form like a 

 snake's eggs ; which in a common season begin to 

 hatch about the 2.5th of May, and finish about the 

 10th of June. These nits produce a white ani- 

 malcule, resembling a louse, so small they are hard- 

 ly perceptible by the naked eye ; which, imme- 

 diately after they are hatched open a passage, at 

 the end of the blister, and crawl out on the bark 

 of the trees ; and there remain with but little mo- 

 tion, about ten days ; when they stick themselves 

 fast to the bark of the tree, and die. From this 

 little carcase arises a small speck of blue mould, 

 which is most plain to be seen between the 10th and 

 the 20(/t of June, and continues about filleen days ; 

 and then gradually wears off, until the old carcase 

 appears ; which by this time is formed into a new 

 blister, and contains the spawns or nits before 

 mentioned. 



" These blisters prevent the circulation of the 

 sap, and prove as fatal to the tree as the canker 

 worm. 



",In order to remedy the difficultv I have made 

 many experiments within a few vears ; but long 

 to no good effect, not L owing the particular sea- 

 son when these animalcules could be most easily 

 destroyed. This, however, I have latelv found to 

 be between the time they hatch and that when the 

 mould leaves them.* The application that I have 



* U appears from tliis accounl, by Mr. Perlev. Ihal lliose ap- 

 pearanres can, in general, only occur bclwee'u May 2olh and 

 July 5lli. •' 



found most effectual is washing the tree with lye 

 or brine. Lime, also mixed with lye to the consist- 

 ence of whitewash, may be useful. And altho.' the 

 small branches cannot be cleansed in this manner 

 without much difficulty, still if the body of the 

 tree and the branches near the body are kept 

 clean, until there comes a rough bark, the lice will 

 not kill the tree. 



" Some people have recommended the applica- 

 tion of train oil to the tree ; which indeed is a 

 powerful antidote against lice ; but being of a 

 glutinous quality is very detrimental to the tree. 

 Inoculation* has been proposed, which I think 

 will have no effect at all on the lice ; for I per- 

 ceive that they hatch in May, on branches that 

 were pruned oft' the tree in March, and the sap 

 entirely extinguished. 



" These lice are natural in the uncultivated fof- 

 est,onwliat is called moose-wood and other bushes. 



" Much care should be taken [respecting lice] 

 on their first appearing in an orchard or nursery ; 

 as the cutting down and destroying a few young 

 trees is of no importance, compared with the dif- 

 ficulty of having an orchard overrun with them. 



" P. S. — By Enoch Perley, Esq. dated Novem- 

 ber 19, 1804. To this extract I have nothing to 

 add, but that the brine or pickle, with which the 

 tree is to be washed, should not be such as has 

 had meat salted in it ; but let one quart of com- 

 mon salt be dissolved iu two gallons of clean 

 water." 



The above description of a destructive insect, 

 and the remedy prescribed by Mr. Perley, may be 

 of use although the insect may not be the same 

 with that which has annoyed the fruit trees of 

 our correspondent " M." This writer says, "on 

 rubbing them with the finger-nail or point of a 

 knife, there seemed to remain a liquid darker col- 

 ored than venous blood." This characteristic 

 trait of the insect is not tnentioned by Mr. Perley ; 

 still the insects may be the same. 



Kirby and Spence inform us that Linne men- 

 tions an insect (Tinea Corticella, F) as inhabiting 

 apple-bearing trees under the bark. And Reau- 

 mur has given us the history of a species common 

 in this country [England] and producing the same 

 effect, often to the destruction of the crop, the 

 caterpillar of which feeds in the centre of our ap- 

 ples, thus occasioning them to fall. "The sap too, 

 is often injuriously drawn off by a minute Coccus, 

 of which the female has the exact shape of a 

 muscle shell [Carborum linearis Geoffr.) and which 

 Reaumur has accurately described and figured. — 

 This species so abounded in 1816 on an apple 

 tree in my garden that the whole bark was cover- 

 ed with it in every part ; and I have since been 

 informed by Joshua Haworth, jr. Esq. of Hull, that 

 it equally infests other trees in the neighborhood. 

 Even the fruit of the golden pippin, which he 

 sent me were thickly beset with it." 



We have been assured that lice on apple trees 

 may be destroyed by a wash, which was recom- 

 mended by Mr. Benjamin Wheeler of Framing- 

 ham, Mass. in a communication, first published in 

 the New England Farmer, vol. iv. p. 348. The 

 following is an extract from that communication. 



•' My way of using this preparatiou is to dis- 

 solve 2 lbs. of potash of the first quality, in seven 

 quarts of water for the bodies of the trees. It is 

 put on with a white-wash brush. If the linabs are 



* By " iriornlaHon,*' is prohably meant boring a liole iu ilie 

 free and introducinff quicK-silver* sulphur, or some other sub- 

 stance offensive or destructive to insects. 



covereil with moss or lice, I take a painter's brush , 

 and apply the solution to the moss, &.c. with care 

 not to touch the leaves or buds. It may be done 

 at any time of the year, when we are most at leis- 

 ure. Once in from two to four years is generally 

 snflicient. I have no general rule, liowever, but 

 wash them as often as tliey appear to need it. 

 which is always when the bark is not smooth." 



The insect described by " M." page 142, found 

 "on the body of the tree about the size and shape 

 of a small grain of coffee, with a bristly coat and 

 no wings," is, perhaps, what Kirby & Spence call 

 " Coccus or American Blight.''^ They say " this is 

 a minute insect, covered with a long cotton-like 

 wool transpiring from the pores of its body, which 

 taftes its station in the chinks and rugosities of the 

 bark, where it increases abundantly, and by con- 

 stantly drawing off the sap, causes ultimately the 

 destruction of the tree. Whence this pest was 

 first introduced is not certainly known. Sir Jo- 

 seph Banks traced its origin to a nursery in Sloane 

 Btieet ; and at first was led to conclude that it 

 had been imported with some apple trees from 

 France. On writing, however, to gardeners in 

 that country he found it to be wholly unknown 

 there. It was, therefore, if not a native insect, 

 most probably derived from North America, from 

 whence apple trees had also been imported by 

 the proprietor of that nursery. Whatever its ori- 

 gin it spread rapidly. At first it was confined to 

 the vicinity of tlie metropolis, where it destroyed 

 thousands of trees. But it has now found its way 

 into other parts of the kingdom, particularly into 

 the cider countries ; and in 1810 so many perish- 

 ed from it in Gloucestershire, that it was feared 

 the making of cider must be abandoned. This 

 valuable di.scovery, it is said, has since been 

 maiie ; the application of the spirit of tar to the 

 bark being recommended as effectual. Sir Joseph 

 Banks long ago extirpated it from his own apple 

 trees, by the simple method of takhig off all th© 

 ragged and dead old bark and then scrubbing the 

 trunk and branches with a hand brush. 



A GOOD CHANCE FOR A WOOLEN MANU- • 

 FACTURER. 



A friend of the Editor of the New England 

 Farmer who is owner of a large landed property 

 in one of the Middle States, writes us as follows; 

 " I raise a good deal of wool, and when it is in my 

 warehouse, I do not know what to do with it. I 

 have about seven thousand weight at present (me- 

 rino, mixed and common,) and have found no pur- 

 chasers. I dislike the trouble of sending it to the 

 cities for sale, and no one comes here to buy. In 

 this dilemma I have erected a small building for a 

 woolen factory, thirty by forty-five feet on the 

 ground, and three stories high. It is situated on 

 a good stream, and at the turnpike road, at a 

 place marked on the map, which I send you. I 

 do not wish to be concerned in conducting the 

 business myself, but if I could find a suitable per- 

 son, who would find his own machinery, and con- 

 duct the business, I would let him have free of 

 rent the factory for two years, and also two or 

 three small hoi.-jes near it, and some ground for 

 gardens, and keeiiing what ccws he might want," 

 &c. There are ;ilso other inducements and cii"- 

 cumstances stated, which show the benefits which 

 may be anticipated from the proposed establish- 

 ment. These shall be detailed in a personal in- 

 terview with the Editor or Proprietor of the New 

 England Farmer. 



