AMERICAN BLIGHT. 



ed, rises up in excrescences and nodes all 

 Dver the branch, and deforms it; the limb, 

 deprived of its nutriment, grows sickly; the 

 turn yellow, and the part perishes. 

 Branch after branch is thus assailed, until 



rome leafless, and the tree dies. 

 Plant lice (Aiili'idf*}, in general, attack the 

 T parts of plants; but this 

 easily to wound the harder bark 

 of th- 1 apple, and does not always make choice 

 of the most v-uder branch. They give a pre- 

 ference to certain sorts, but not always the 

 a fruits, as cider apples, and wildings, 

 .1 by th-m ; and from some 

 thrr varieties seem to be 

 d from their depredations. The 

 v . and Crofton pippin, have 



:<> be injured by them ; 



and tin- [use .diotis in its selections, 



that it will frequently attack the stock or the 



graft, leaving the one or the other untouched, 



should it eoMMst of a kind not to its liking. 



This ) or produces its 



i cradle for them by dis- 



oin the extremities of its body a 



y of long, cottony matter ; which, be- 



M and i.-nfanu'h'd, prevents the 



yotin^' from falling to the earth, and completely 



s tin- parent and the off-i>rinu r . In 



'ii v Mibstance, we observe, as - 

 aure becomes animated in the spring. 



. many 



round pellucid bodies, which at the first sight 

 look hi '.!y that they are larger than 



iit suppose to be ejected by the animal. 

 1 nsist of a sweet glutinous fluid, and 



are not the eggs but the discharges of the in- 

 lu the autumn, the winds and rains of 

 the season partly disperse these insects ; and 

 rve them endeavouring to secrete 

 .11 the crannies of any neighbour- 

 ing substance. Should the savoy cabbage be 

 hence they have been dis- 

 the cavities of the under sides of its 

 '. are commonly favourite asylums for 



them. Multitudes perish by these rough remo- 

 ;t numbers yet remain; and we may 

 find them in the nodes and crevices, on the 

 under sid, > of the branches, at any period of 

 the year, the long, cottony vesture being nearly 

 all removed; but still they are enveloped in a 

 fine short downy clothing, to be seen by a mag- 

 nifier, proceeding apparently from every suture 

 if their bodies, and protecting them in 

 their dormant state from the moisture and 

 frosts of our climate. This insect in a natural 

 state, usually awakens and commences its 

 very early in the month of March ; and 

 the hoariness on its body may be observed in- 

 creasing doily; but if an affected branch be 

 cut in the winter, and kept in water in a warm 

 room, these creatures will awaken speedily, 

 spin their cottony nests, and feed and discharge 

 as accustomed to do in a genial season. [For 

 further particulars relating to the habits of 

 .d other similar insects, see Aphis and 

 Aphidian$.'\ 



Htt. A considerable number of me- 

 thods have been proposed for getting rid of the 

 ::i question. White-washing, or wash- 

 ing with lime-water, has been tried, but is not 



AMERICAN CRESS. 



so efficacious as the application of any gluti- 

 nous substance, which may cover the insects 

 and dry over them. Double size or glue, 

 liquefied by heat, and applied by means of a 

 brush, particularly in March, when the insects 

 begin to show more cottony than in winter, is 

 a very effectual remedy, if no crevice of a tree 

 is left unsized. This, however, may be dis- 

 solved by the rain, and therefore a varnish is 

 recommended by Mr. Knapp, as follows : " Melt 

 about three ounces of resin in an earthen pip- 

 kin, take it from the fire, and pour it into three 

 ounces of fish oil ; the ingredients, perfectly 

 unite, and when cold, acquire the consistence 

 of honey. A slight degree of heat will liquefy 

 it, and in this state paint over every node or 

 infected part in' your tree, using a common 

 painter's brush. This I prefer doing in spring, 

 or as soon as the hoariness appears. The sub- 

 stance soon sufficiently hardens, and forms a 

 varnish, which prevents any escape, and stifles 

 the individuals. After this lirst dressing, should 

 any cottony matter appear round the margin 

 of the varnish, a second application to these 

 parts will, I think, be found to effect a perfect 

 cure. The prevalence of this insect," adds 

 this author, "gives some of 'our orchards here 

 the appearance of numerous white posts in an 

 extensive drying uround, being washed with 

 lime from root to branch; a practice, I appre- 

 hend, attended with little benefit. A few of 

 the creatures may be destroyed by accident ; 

 but as the animal does not retire to the earth, 

 but winters in the clefts of the boughs, far be- 

 yond the influence of this wash, it remains un- 

 injured, to commence its ravages again when 

 spring returns." 



All oily or resinous substances, however, 

 being prejudicial to trees, Mr. George Lindley 

 recommends vinegar as a wash for young 

 trees ; and, as less expensive for old trees, a 

 sort of paint, composed of one gallon of quick- 

 lime, half a pound of flowers of sulphur, and a 

 quarter of a pound of lamp-black, mixed with 

 boiling water to the consistence of whitening 

 for white-washing, and laying it on rather 

 more than blood warm with a brush. This 

 should be done in March, and again in August 

 when the winged insects spread from tree to 

 tree. 



Mr. Couch, as a cheap and certain remedy, 

 recommends three quarters of an ounce of sul- 

 phuric acid [oil of vitriol], by measure, to be 

 mixed with seven ounces and a half of water. 

 It should be applied all over the bark by means 

 of rags, the only parts excepted being the pre- 

 sent year's shoots, which it would destroy. 

 This destroys moss and lichens, as well as in- 

 sects ; and if applied in showery weather, will 

 ] be washed into every crevice in which they 



I 1 can harbour. 

 AMERICAN CRESS (Lepidium mrgini- 

 cum'). From ACT-/?, a scale, on account of the 

 form of the seed-vessel. For the winter stand- 

 ing crops, a light dry soil, in an open but warm 

 situation, should be allotted to it, and for the 

 summer, a rather moister and shady border is 

 to be preferred. In neither instance is it re- 

 quired to be rich. It is propagated 03- seed, 

 which must be sown every six weeks f^om 

 March to August, for summer and autumn, hut 



79 



