THE CHERRY APHIS 161 



can be used to dig away the gum and some of the surface soil, 

 and may even be used to follow up the burrows and locate the 

 borer itself. Usually a fairly heavy wire is a useful addition 

 to the equipment and a good knife ought also to be included. 

 Experience seems to differ as to the best time to dig out the 

 borers, but autumn is usually preferred for the work. In south- 

 ern peach districts the "worming of the trees" takes place twice 

 a year, say about April and October. 



This is the remedy on which the greatest reliance must be 

 placed and is frequently the only one used. Mounding up the 

 trees with earth early in the season, wrapping the trunks with 

 building paper and using various washes are all recommended, 

 but are, after all, only makeshifts. 



The plum curculio perhaps deserves some further mention in 

 connection with its work on plums and peaches, though it has 

 already been discussed under apples. The larva is the white 

 "worm" so often found about the pits of plums and peaches. 

 The injured fruit usually drops prematurely, sometimes when 

 very small and green, and at other times they merely ripen 

 prematurely. Often this dropping is not a serious matter, as it 

 serves merely to relieve the tree from an overburden of fruit. 

 But when the tree has set a light crop, the loss from curculio 

 may be a very serious matter. 



The spraying already discussed is generally all that it is 

 worth while to attempt in the way of remedies. The jarring 

 of the trees to make the insects fall upon a sheet and thus give 

 an opportunity to destroy them, while an entirely effective 

 method, is too slow and expensive to be warranted under most 

 conditions. 



The Cherry Aphis. The cherry has a special aphis of its 

 own which attacks especially the tips of vigorous shoots and 

 often does very spectacular work, especially on the big, sweet 

 cherries. On young trees, which are making long, vigorous 

 shoots, each shoot will be terminated by a cluster of curled 

 leaves which later turn brown. The insect itself is dark brown 

 or black and large compared with other aphids. But the general 

 treatment is the same. 

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