170 



FRUIT CULTURE. 



engine. In bad cases they may also be dusted with 

 tobacco powder or lime. 



M USSEL SCALE (Mytilaspis pomorum), Fig. 49. The name 

 suggests the appearance of this bark louse, as it resembles 

 the half of a mussel shell, and is dull or deep brown in 

 colour. The eggs of the creature to the number of 50, 

 100, or more, are laid beneath the scale, and are hatched 

 out in May or June. They have eyes, antennae, and six 

 legs, and are very active for a few days, roaming all over 

 the tree in quest of a suitable position to settle. They 



FIG. 49. APPLE MUSSEL-SCALE. 



insert their proboscis into the tissues of the bark, and 

 when so settled, never move from thence. Towards the 

 end of the summer, the female has lost her legs, and 

 secreted her scaly covering. Having laid her eggs under 

 the latter she dies. When trees are badly infested with 

 Mussel Scale they suffer loss of vigour in the same way 

 as from the American Blight. 



REMEDIES. The bark of infested trees should be 

 scraped with a thin but blunt-edged piece of wood 

 prepared for the purpose. This had best be done in 

 winter, when the trees are leafless, commencing by prun- 

 ing the trees and removing useless wood, to save the 



