154 ORCHARD INSECTS 



be found clustered about the expanding buds in the vicinity, 

 waiting for the leaves to come out enough to give them a * ' square 

 meal." Getting such an early start as they do and being pro- 

 vided with an insatiable appetite, they come very near to keeping 

 up with the leaves when there is a bad attack of them. This 

 makes it necessary to use drastic measures with them when they 

 once get a start in an orchard. Few insects can make an apple 

 tree look more desolate. 



Remedy. Where trees are attacked badly by this insect it 

 will usually be necessary to give a special spraying with 

 arsenate of lead before the blossoms open, else they may get 

 so large that it will be difficult to kill them with any ordinary 

 dose. If they have been allowed to get a start in the orchard 

 it is simply a question of using poison strong enough and they 

 can be killed. Half to three-quarters of a pound of Paris green, 

 or four to six pounds of arsenate of lead to fifty gallons of 

 water will be found none too strong. 



The Railroad Worm or Apple Maggot. There is not much 

 satisfaction in discussing this insect because, up to date, there 

 has been so little discovered that can be done for it. 



Life History and Habits. The adult insect is a little fly 

 which deposits its eggs just under the skin of the apple. This 

 egg-laying is likely to occur at any time during the summer and 

 on hatching the little maggot burrows through the flesh of the 

 apple. If there are several maggots in one apple the fruit may 

 be completely riddled. An affected apple has a peculiar pitted 

 appearance on the outside, the sunken areas being of a different 

 color from the balance of the surface. On cutting open the apple 

 the flesh will be found to be a net-work of little tunnels. The 

 first tunnels made by the little worm after hatching, usually 

 close up and appear merely as little hard threads running 

 through the flesh. The later tunnels remain open. An apple 

 attacked by this insect is practically worthless as human food, 

 but may be fed to stock. 



It is a curious fact that the apple maggot seems to have very 

 decided preferences for certain varieties. In a general way 

 those varieties which are soft in flesh and mild in flavor seem 



