252 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



For the New England Faryner. 

 INJURIOUS INSECTS. 



Mr. S. W. Cole. Dear Sir: The insects, accom- 

 panying your letter of the oth instant, were Aphides, 

 or plant-iicc, in several stages of growth ; those with 

 black bodies and long Avings being the males and fe- 

 males, those like bugs and without wings being half 

 grown ; and the flakes, like mould, being the cast- 

 skins of the young. 



Various remedies have been suggested for destroy- 

 ing aphides on apple-trees ; but I do not know any 

 that are effectual, and, at the same time, applicable on 

 a large scale. In a small way, as on a few young 

 trees, the insects may be easily destroyed by syrin- 

 ging repeatedly with a solution of oil-soap, or dipping 

 the infested twigs in a wide basin or pan containing 

 this liquid. Ashes or lime may also be used with 

 advantage, being thrown upon the twigs and leaves 

 when wet with dew or rain. Perhaps syringing 

 with lime-water will be found a good remedy ; but 

 experiments are wanting to test its efficacy. 



As usual, we have had our full share of destruc- 

 tive insects during the present season. My own little 

 place gives me some opportunity of seeing their 

 power of doing injury, and of trying to check their 

 ravages. 



The common web-making caterpillars of the apple- 

 tree (^Clisiocampa Americana^ have been very few in 

 number. I have been in the habit of examining my 

 trees when out of leaf, and taking off the ring-like 

 clusters of eggs and destroying them, so that very 

 few escape me ; and when these are hatched in the 

 spring, and the caterpillars begin making their webs, 

 which are easily seen on small trees, they are searched 

 for, and are destroyed by a single grasp. 



On the other hand, the canker-worms {Anisopteryx 

 vernata) have returned in great force, and have done 

 more damage in this vicinity than at any time since 

 the year 1840. Repeatedly, during the last three 

 years, I have called attention to the fact of the grad- 

 ual increase of these noxious vermin, but I am not 

 aware that my efforts have been seconded in any 

 quarter. The females rose in great numbers last au- 

 tumn, and they continued to rise, at short intervals, 

 during the unusually mild and open winter, which 

 was extremely favorable to their operations, and most 

 unfavorable to the success of the usual means for ar- 

 resting their progress. It followed that tarring in 

 the fall and spring was of very little use, and the 

 trees were well seeded with eggs, during the winter, 

 for an abundant harvest of canker-worms. Again I 

 have had an opportunity of verifying the truth of 

 statements heretofore made by others as well as by 

 myself, — statements contradicted by some writers 

 in the Western States, — that the females lay their 

 eggs on the small limbs and twigs of the trees, and 

 not ordinarily on the trunk. On my place, there are 

 apple-trees of various sizes, some very large, and 

 otliers quite small. On both, the females were found 

 laying their eggs near the extremities of the branches, 

 a!id not at all upon the trunks. Our unfortunate 

 experience, during the last winter, must not lessen 

 our faith in tarring as a preventive ; for such an open 

 Avintcr may not soon occur again. Let not tarring 

 be neglected next autumn, after the first hard frost. 



"While the canker-worms were eating up the 

 leaves, the curculios {Co7wtrachelus Nenuphar) were 

 stinging the fruit. Apples, cherries, and plums, at 

 various stages of growth, have been attacked by 

 them. My Baldwin apples began to drop when not 

 much bigger than musket-balls. I should think that 

 full one half of all that have fallen have been stung 

 by the plum-Aveevil ; the others were bored by the 

 common apple- worm, {Carpocapsa Pomonella.) These 

 insects arc easily distinguished from each other ; the 



latter having feet, which are wanting in the plum- 

 weevil. Cherries, when weevil-stung, do not ordi- 

 narily droji off. Hence, among ripe cherries, wormy 

 ones are often found ; and not a few of them are 

 eaten hy the incautioiis, who, however, may have the 

 satisfaction of knowing that thereby they help to 

 check the increase of these insects. The robins and 

 cherry-birds doubtless come in for their share of the 

 spoils and of the spoilers. If the plum-weevils want 

 to escape this kind of retributive justice, they must 

 stick to the plums, and let the cherries alone. As for 

 the wormy apples, we can diminish the evil some- 

 what, by gathering, every night and morning, all 

 that fall, and giving them to our swine. It is a mis- 

 take to suppose that the plum-weevil stings the 

 plums only when the fruit is small. My trees were 

 jarred every night and morning from the time that 

 the fruit was set till it had grown as large as cher- 

 ries, and not one curculio was taken in the sheets 

 spread below them, and not a single plum, up to that 

 time, appeared to have been stung. Circumstances 

 prevented my continuing this precaution afterwards ; 

 and now I find that nearly all the fruit has been at- 

 tacked. Last year, I saved my plums by j arring the 

 trees till the fruit was grown to its full size. 



On the 1.5th of June, I found a single rose-bug, 

 {Macrodactyla subspinosa,) but saw no more till about 

 the first of July. These insects have been very 

 troublesome, in this vicinity, during several previous 

 years, doing great damage to plum, cherry, and ap- 

 ple-trees ; but their numbers are much reduced 

 during the present season, and the fruit-trees above 

 named have suffered scarcely at all from their at- 

 tacks. I have not, however, neglected gathering all 

 that were within reach in my garden. 



Of other destructive insects some notice may be 

 taken at a future time ; the present communication 

 being quite as long as may suit your convenience. 

 Respectfully yours, T. W. HARRIS. 



Cambridge, Jtilij 13, 1850. 



Remarks. — The insects which we sent to Dr. 

 Harris were from large apple-trees, the leaves of 

 which were turning yellow and black, and falling 

 from the trees. For a few years past, these insects 

 have been prevalent and very destructive in some 

 sections, and they seem to be increasing. Wc have 

 destroyed aphides upon young shoots of nursery trees 

 by the use of whale oil soap, but it would be a great 

 deal of labor to apply it to large trees. — Ed. 



For the Neto England Farmer. 



EARLY BEARING OF FRUIT-TREES. 



Mr. Cole : I have seen an inquiry in your paper 

 of June 22, whether large fruit-trees, when grafted, 

 will bear fruit sooner when the scions are taken from 

 bearing trees than when taken from young trees. I 

 have followed the grafting business for the last fif- 

 teen years, every spring, excepting the past one, setting 

 from 3000 to 4000 scions each season, and am always 

 trying experiments. I have found that scions taken 

 from an old bearing tree will bear fruit in less than 

 half of the time that they will taken from a very 

 young and thrifty tree, and much sooner than they 

 will from a medium-aged tree. I ingrafted some 

 young apple-trees with the Porter apple, eight years 

 ago, and a part of the scions I took from an old tree, 

 and a part of them from very young and thrifty 

 trees. Those that I took from the old tree have 

 borne three years ; the others have apples on them 

 this year for the first time. Many other similar cir- 

 cumstances could be mentioned. I have upwards of 



