38fl 



NEW ENGLAxND FARMER 



JVNK 8. It.-): 



cicnt description of tlie latter lias ever conic to my j 

 notice. Tiiesc little lice are attended by ants, j 

 which generally make their iiesls near the roots of 

 the pliintd, so as tii have their inilch kiiie, as the : 

 plunt-lir.e have iieen called, within Iheir own liahi- 

 lations ; and in cotisi'quciice of the combined ope- | 

 rations of the lies and the unts, the pKints wither, 

 and prcnialuvely perish. When these subterranean 

 lice are disturbed, iho attendant ants are thiowii , 

 into the greatest confusion and alarm ; they care- 

 fully take up the lice which have fallen from the 

 roots, and convey them in their jaws into the deep I 

 recesses of their nests ; and here the lice still con- I 

 irive to live upon the frajrrnents of the mots left in 

 the soil. It is stated in Kirby and Spcnce's Intro- ! 

 duclion to Entomology, that the anis bestow the 

 same care and attention upon the roi^t-lice as upon 

 their own offspring' — that they defend tliein from 

 the attacks of other insects, and carry them about | 

 in their mouths to change their pastuie; and that i 

 they pay particular attention to the egijs of the 

 lice, fiequently moisteniufj tliein with their tonpiics, 

 and in tine weather bringing them to the surface 

 of the neat, to give them the ailvantagc of the sun. 

 On the other hand, the sweet fluid supplied in 

 abundance by these lice forms the chief nutriment 

 both of the ants and their young, which is suflicient 

 to account for their solicitude and care for their 

 valuable ticrdj'. 



The peach tree siiflTers very much from the at- 

 tacks of plant-lice, which live nniler the leaves, 

 causing them by their punctures to bi-come thick- 

 ened, to curl or form hollows beneath, and corres- 

 ponding crispy and reddish swellings .nbove, and 

 finally lo perish and drop oflT prematurely. Whelh. 

 cr our insect is the same as the European Aphis of 

 the peach tree (.Iphis Ptrsicir. of Sul/.er,) I cannot 

 determine, for the want of a proper description of 

 the latter. The depredations of these lice is oiie 

 of the causes, if not the only cause, of the peculiar 

 malady aflecting the peach tree in the early part 

 of summer, and called the blight. 



Th's injuries occasioned by pliint-Iico are much 

 greater than would at first be cxpecleil from the 

 small size and extreme weakness of the insects ; 

 but these make up by their luimbers what they 

 want in strength individually, and thus become 

 formidable enemies to vegetation. By their punc- 

 tures, and the quantity of sap which they draw 

 from the leaves, the functions of these important 

 organs are deranged or interrupted, the food of the 

 plant, which is there elaborated to nourish the stem 

 and mature the fruit, is withdrawn, before it can 

 reach its proper destination, or is contaminated 

 and left in a slate unfitted to supply the wants of 

 vcpclntion. 



Plants arc difTcrently afT'Cted by these insects. 

 8ome wither and cease to grow, their leaves and 

 uteiiis put on n sickly appearance, and soon die 

 from exhaustion. Others, though not killed, are 

 greatly impeded in their growth, and their tender 

 parts, inhlch are attacked, became stunted, curled, 

 or warped. 



The puncturen of these lice seem to poison some 

 plants, am! affect others in n mo.'<t singular manner, 

 producing warts or swellings, which are sometimes 

 solid and sometimes hollow, and contain in their 

 interior u swarm of lice, the descendants of a sin- 

 gle individual, whose punctures were the original 

 cause of the tnniiir. 1 have seen reddish tumors 

 of this kind, OS big as a pigeon's egg, growing iipiHi 

 leaves, to whiih ihry were attached by u slender 

 neck, and containing thousands of small lice in 



their inteiior. Naturalisis call these tumors galls, 

 because they seem to be formed in the same way 

 as the oak galls which are used in the making of 

 ink. The lice which inhabit or produce them, 

 generally differ from the other.x, in having shorter 

 anteniiffi, being without honey-tubes, and in fre- 

 quently being clothed with ii kind of while down, 

 which, however, disappears when the insects be- 

 come winged. 



'J'hesp downy pinnt-lice are now placed in the 

 genus Eriosomii, which means woolly body, and 

 the most destructive species belonging to it was 

 first described under the name of Jlphis taiii^erii, 

 by Mr Hausmann, in the year 1601, as infesting 

 the apple trees in Germany. It seems that it had 

 been noticed in England as early as the year 1767, 

 and has since acquired there the name ol American 

 blight, from ihe erroneous supposition that it had 

 been imported from this country. It was known, 

 however, to the French gardeners for a long lime 

 previous to both of the above dates, and, according 

 to Mr Rennic, is found in the orchards about Ilar- 

 Heur, in Noriuaiidy, and is very destructive to the 

 apple trees in the departinent of Calvados. There 

 is now good reason to believe that the miscalled 

 American blight li not indigenous to this country, 

 and that it has been introduced here with fruit 

 trees from Europe. Some persons, indeed, have 

 supposed that it was not to be found in this coun- 

 try, at all, but the late Mr Huel has stated that it 

 existed on ins apple trees, and I have once or 

 twice seen it on apple trees in Massachusetts, 

 where, lionever, it slills appears to be rare, and 

 consequently I have not been able to examine the 

 insects sufficiently myself. The best account that 

 I have seen ot then) is contained in Knipp's "Jour- 

 nal of a Natuialist," from which, and from H:ius- 

 manii's descriplion, the following observations aj-e 

 chiefly extracted. 



'Ihe eggs of the woolly apple tree louse are so 

 small as not to be dislinguishod without a micro- 

 scope, and are enveloped in a colton-like substance 

 furnished by the body of the in.scct. They are dc- 

 posited in the crotches of the branches and in the 

 chink.s of the bark at or near the surface of Ihe 

 ground, especially if there are suckers springing 

 from the same place. The young, when fir-l 

 hatched, arc covered with a very short and fine 

 down, and appear in the spring of the year like 

 little specks of mould on the trees. As the season 

 advances, and the insect increases in size, its 

 downy coat becomes more distinct, and grows in 

 length daily. This down is very easily removed, 

 adheres to the fingers when it is touched, and 

 seems to issue from all Ihe pores of the skin of the 

 abdomen. When fully grown, the insects of the 

 first brood are one tenth of i»n inch in length, and 

 when the down is rubbeil off, the head, antennie, 

 Hucker, and shins are fimnd to bo of ■ blackish 

 color, and the abdomen honey-yellow. The young 

 are produced alive during the summer, are buried 

 in masses of the down, and derive their nourish- 

 ment from the sap of the bark and of the alburnum 

 or young wood immediately under the bark. The 

 adult in.-iects never acquire wings, at least such is 

 ihe testimony both ol Hausmann and Knapp, and 

 are destitute of honey-tiibrs, but from time lo lime 

 emit drops of a sticky fluid from the extremity of 

 the body. These insects, though destitute of 

 wings, arc conveyed from tree to tree by means of 

 their long down, which is so plentiful and so light, 

 as easily to b(! wafted by the winds of aoluiiin, and 

 thus Ihe evil will gradually spread throughout an 



extensive orchard. The numerous puncturei 

 these lice produce on the tender shoois a celh 

 appearance, and wherever a colony of thiin is'j 

 tablished, warts or excrescnces arise on the bat 

 the limbs thus attacked become sickly, tiie leci 

 turn yellow and drop off; and, aa the infeclj 

 'spreads from limb to limb, the whole tree hecori W 

 diseased, and eventually perishes. In Glouceal » 

 j shire, England, so many apple trees were deslroj « 

 ! by these lice in the year 1810, that it was fei 

 I the making of cider must be abandoned. Iii4 

 north of England, the npple trees are grcalljr 

 jiircd, and some annually dislroyed by them, I k 

 in the year Ib'iti, they abounded there in such 

 credible luxuriance, that many trees seemed, ■ 

 I short distance, as if they had been whitewnslied 

 I Mr Knapp thinks that remedies can prove rffii 

 i cioiis in removing this evil only upon a sm ill jca 

 ' anil that when the injury has existed for so) 

 'time, and extended its influence over the |K;rtsi 

 a large tree, it will take its course, and tlie tr 

 will die. lie says that he has removed this blig 

 from young trees, and from recently attacked pi 

 ces in those more advanced, by painting over en 

 , node or infected part of the tree with a cninpoii 

 lion consisting of three ounces of melted n^ 

 mixed with the same quantity of fish nil, which* 

 to be put on while warm, with a painter'.s brush 



Sir Joseph Banks, succeeded in extirpating t 

 in.spcls from his own trees by removing all tlice 

 and rugged bark, and scrubbing the trui.k t 

 branches with a hard brush. Tiie application 

 Ihe spirits of tar, of spirits of turpentine, of n 

 urine, and of soft soap, has been recoiiurendj 

 Mr IJiiel found that oil sufficed to drive the inset 

 from the trunks and branches, butllint it could n 

 bo applied to llie roots, where he stated nuinbert 

 the insects harbored. 



The following treatment I am inclined to ihii 

 will prove as successful as any which has hcrel 

 fore been recommended. Scrape oflall tin- roU| 

 bark of the infected trees, and make them | crfecl 

 clean and smooth early in the spring ; then r 

 the trunk and limbs with a stiff brush wet with 

 solution of potash, as hereafter recomnieiii!i.d ( 

 the destruction of bark lice ; after which remo 

 Ihe sods and earth around the bottom of the trun 

 and with the scraper, brush, and alkaline liqiK 

 cleanse that part os far as the roots can coiW 

 niently be uncovered. The earth and sods shoo 

 iinmediately be carried away, fresh loam should I 

 placed around the roots, and all crncks nnd wount 

 should be fillid with gralling cement or clay mo 

 lar. Small limbs and extiemities of bram-lio», 

 inferti'd, and beyond reach of the application 

 should be cut off and burned. 



There are several other fpccies of Eriusoma t 

 doiniy lice in this Slate, inhabiting various fnrci 

 and ornamental trees, some of which may also h»i 

 been introduced from abroad. The dcser;|.;ion«( 

 foreign plant-lice are mostly so brief anil iniperfef 

 that it is impossible lo ascertain from them »hic 

 of our species are identical with those of I'.iirope 

 I shall therefore omit ony further account of lhe» 

 insects, and cKisc this part of the subj' if with 

 few remarks on the remedies to be emp^yedfe 

 their dcbtniction generally, and some notice of lb 

 natural enemies of plant-licc. 



Solutions of soap, or a mixture of soapsuds W 

 lobacco-wnier, used warm, and applied wiili a »• « 

 lering pot or with a ganlrii engine, may be «» 

 ployed for the destruction of these insects. Il » 

 said that hut water may also be employed for lb 



