

DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE AND ALL ITS KINDRED ARTS AND SCIENCES. 



THE APPLE-TREE BORER. 



Thi.s borer, which also infests the quince, moun- 

 tain ash, and various other trees, is frequently so de- 

 structive to applc-trces, that some orchardists have 

 almost been disposed to abandon their cultivation. 

 We hear of a great many remedies for the injury 

 done by this insect, and of various modes of pre- 

 venting their depredations, and we hope that more 

 experiments will be made on this subject. 



The grass and weeds should be kept from the tree, 

 that the operations of the worm may be known. 

 Ashes, lime, and other offensive substances, laid 

 around the tree, have, in some cases, prevented the 

 operations of the borer, but it is not infallible. Va- 

 rious oifensive or corrosive washes may be used to 

 advantage, but they cannot always be relied on. All 

 these things have a good effect, and cause greater 

 scarcity of worms. 



"When no plants are growing around the tree, and 

 the earth is smooth, the operations of the borers may 

 be seen by the dust thrown from their holes ; and as 

 they enter just under the bark the first year, they 

 \vill do but little damage that season, and they may 

 be easily destroyed, without any material injury to 

 the trees. 



But when they have operated the second year, it is 

 not only a great deal of labor to destroy them, but 

 the trees are seriously injured or are destroyed by 

 them. Therefore it is important to attend to this 

 subject in season, and make thorough examinations, 

 and use effective means to destroy these depredators. 



When the cultivator has been so negligent as to 

 allow the borers to penetrate the tree to a considera- 

 ble distance, they may be destroyed by running a 

 piece of wire, whalebone, or other elastic substance, 

 into their holes. Truman Clark, Esq., of Walpole, 

 remarks that he destroys them by plugging their 

 holes with tobacco. ITiesc worms evidently enlarge 

 the holes where they enter, as they continue to grow 

 larger, in order that they may have sufficient room 

 to throw out the chips or dust which they make in 

 their borings. The tobacco may stop their operations 

 in this respect, or the odor of it may destroy them. 

 It has boon observed that a lighted match, put into 



the hole of a borer, and plugging up the hole imme- 

 diately, will destroy it. 



On the 310th page of our first volume, a corre- 

 spondent states that he destroyed the worms that were 

 in his trees, by putting around each tree one or two 

 shovelfuls of wood ashes, and a covering of four 

 inches of swamp muck over the ashes. This re- 

 mained from April to August, and on remo-s'ing it, 

 the worms were destroyed, as they could not operate 

 with this body of earth around their holes. 



In our warfare against this formidable insect, we 

 should endeavor to prevent the deposition of the eggs 

 upon the tree, bj' some offensive substance, or destroy 

 them by offensive or corrosive matters, or arrest the 

 progress of the borers soon after they enter the tree, 

 else they will do the work of destruction, and the 

 killing of the borers will not repair the evil, though 

 it may prevent their increase, or liinder the insect from 

 escaping and propagating a litter of young depreda- 

 tors. 



THINNING FRUIT. 



Those cultivators who have not had much experi- 

 ence in raising fruit, neglect to thin it ; consequently, 

 their fruit is inferior, both in size and quality, and the 

 quantity no larger. Owing to its inferiority, it sells 

 at a much less price than it would under judicious 

 management. 



One peach-grower informed us that he had taken 

 off two thirds of his peaches, and as they increased 

 in size, and appeared too thick on the trees, he said 

 that he was sorry that he had not taken off one half 

 of the other third. One man complained to his 

 neighbor, that a certain variety of the peach which 

 his friend had advised him to cultivate was a poor 

 bearer. " Stop your complaint," was the rcpl)% "\m- 

 til you sell your fruit." He raised on one tree three 

 dozen of peaches, sold them at two dollars per dozen,. 

 and was satisfied. 



In many cases it is necessary to thin fruit, reduc- 

 ing it, sometimes, to one half the specimens, and 

 sometimes a still greater reduction is necessary. Be- 

 sides the injury to the fruit from too large a crop, 

 the tree is also injured by exhaustion, which will 



