FRUIT-TREES AND GRASS. 51 



In our region and in many localities the apple- 

 tree borer is a very formidable pest, often destroy- 

 ing a young tree before its presence is known. I 

 once found a young tree in a distant part of my 

 place that I could push over with my finger. In 

 June a brown and white striped beetle deposits 

 its eggs in the bark of the apple-tree near the 

 ground. The larvae when hatched bore their way 

 into the wood, and will soon destroy a small tree. 

 They cannot do their mischief, however, without 

 giving evidence of their presence. Sawdust exudes 

 from the holes by which they entered, and there 

 should be sufficient watchfulness to discover them 

 before they have done much harm. I prefer to 

 cut them out with a sharp, pointed knife, and 

 make sure that they are dead ; but a wire thrust 

 into the hole will usually pierce and kill them. 

 Wood-ashes mounded up against the base of the 

 tree are said to be a preventive. In the fall 

 they can be spread, and they at least make one 

 of the best of fertilizers. 



The codling-moth, or apple-worm, is another 

 enemy that should be fought resolutely, for it de- 

 stroys millions of bushels of fruit. In the latitude 

 of New York State this moth begins its depreda- 

 tions about the middle of June. Whatever may be 

 thought of the relation of the apple to the fall of 

 man, this creature certainly leads to the speedy fall 



