TREES AND SHRUBS 



does considerable injury to the apple-crop by sucking away the juices from 

 the stalks of blossoms and blossom-buds. Eggs are laid usually on the young 

 shoots from September to early November. The larva? emerge in early spring, 

 and at once enter the flower buds, there to suck the juices and prevent the 

 formation of fruit. The perfect insect appears from the middle of May 

 to the middle of .June. Early spraying with quassia wash has proved the 

 most effectual remedy. 



The Apple Mussel Scale (Mylilaspis pomorum) belongs to one of the 

 most destructive families among insects — the Coccida? or Bark-lice. The 

 mussel-shaped scale is about J in. long, pale brown or grey, and in neglected 

 orchards or gardens may be seen almost covering the trunk and branches. The 

 wingless female lives under the scale, and lays a number of eggs, which hatch 

 towards the end of May or the beginning of June. The larva becomes 

 stationary after a few days, inserting its beak in the bark and sucking the 

 juices. The scale gradually forms over it, and by the middle of August the 

 female louse has laid a mass of eggs, there to remain till the spring under 

 the dead body of the parent. The bark of trunk and branches should be 

 scraped in winter, and then washed or sprayed with caustic alkali wash. 



Several other injurious insects will be dealt with under the heading of 

 " Galls." 



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