INSECT ENEMIES OF THE FARMER 259 



spray, which usually contains Paris green, at about the time 

 that the petals drop from the blossoms. A second spraying 

 in from ten days to three weeks after the first is an almost 

 complete remedy for this pest. The expense is very slight 

 in comparison with the value of the crop saved. 



The peach borer. One of the most important peach 

 insects is the peach borer, which works, not upon the fruit, 

 but in the trees. If constant care be not taken, these 

 borers may destroy a valuable orchard in a few years. 

 The adult is a beautiful little moth, resembling some of 

 the wasps in its appearance. The eggs are laid by the 

 parent moths during the summer upon the bark near 

 the surface of the ground. After hatching, the larva 

 begins to bore into the bark, working downward a little 

 below the surface. It lives thereafter in the sap-carrying 

 layers just under the bark. Its presence is marked by an 

 abundant formation of gum. The usual and best remedy 

 is to dig around the base of each tree early in the fall or 

 winter, and if any signs of gum are found, to dig out and 

 destroy the larvae or worms. This must be done carefully 

 so as not to miss any of the worms or injure the trees 

 more by digging than the worms would do if left alone. 



The San Jose scale. This is one of the most important 

 enemies of all fruit trees that shed their leaves. It is called 

 the San Jose (Ho'sa) scale because it was first found in the 

 United States near a place in California by that name. 

 The scale insects are true bugs and suck the sap from the 

 trees. The adult female scales are hardly as large as pin 

 heads, but they may occur so abundantly as to cover the 

 bark completely, and to cause the death of large trees in a 



