INSECT PESTS AND DISEASES. 169 



and the affected parts well scrubbed with a strong 

 solution of soft soap, using as much as will saturate the 

 surrounding soil, and so reach all the insects. Fill up the 

 opening with fresh soil, to which add a dressing of lime. 



THE APPLE APHIS (Aphis mail}. The insect under 

 notice being a true aphis can never be confounded with 

 the American Blight. The young are at first dirty white, 

 but they soon attain to a greenish-yellow, and attain full 

 size in about fourteen days. Wingless viviparous females 

 only are produced during the early part of the season, 

 and these multiply the species at an enormous rate. To- 

 wards the end of the season, winged males, and egg-lay- 

 ing females are produced, the latter depositing their 

 eggs in crevices of the bark, and at the base of the buds, 

 from whence the aphides arise again next year. The 

 different broods vary greatly in size and colour. As the 

 young leaves of apple trees unfold, the aphides pierce 

 the young tissues with their beaks, and derive sustenance 

 therefrom. The operation causes the leaves to curl over, 

 forming shelter and a safe retreat to the aphides. Should 

 the attack be a severe one, the trees lose in vigour owing 

 to the crippling of their foliage, and the extraction of 

 nourishment. The rest of the foliage is also injured by 

 the viscid secretion ejected by the aphides, causing a black 

 filth to be deposited upon it. 



REMEDIES. When badly affected, summer pruning 

 should be resorted to, as by that means large numbers of 

 the enemy can be destroyed. They increase most rapidly 

 on the young shoots, which should be removed and burnt 

 where not absolutely necessary for the extension of the 

 tree. Syringing the trees with quassia and soft soap or 

 tobacco- water Avill destroy the aphides, if forcibly applied 

 to the under side of the leaves by means of a garden 



