APPLES. CULTIVATION. 1 03 



hood where I reside, the canker-worm is unknown. I must 

 therefore avail of the experience of others. 



The canker-worm, after it has finished its work of 

 destruction in spring, descends to the earth, which it 

 enters to the depth of from one to five inches. After the 

 first frosts of October, or from the 15th or 20th, those 

 nearest the surface usually begin to rise from their earthy 

 bed, transformed to grubs or millers. They usually rise 

 in the night, and invariably direct their course to the tree, 

 which they ascend, and deposit their eggs on the branches, 

 which are hatched in April or May. They frequently 

 rise during moderate weather in winter, when the ground 

 is not frozen, and in March, and till towards the end .of 

 May. When the ground in spring has been bound by a 

 long continuance of frost, and a thaw suddenly takes 

 place, they sometimes ascend in incredible numbers. 



Here, then, at the bottom or trunk of the tree, it is 

 necessary to arrest their progress, and prevent the ascent 

 of the grub or miller. 



The usual mode, or the mode generally adopted in 

 practice, is tarring. With this design, the bark around 

 the circumference of the trunk is scraped smooth, and the 

 crevices where the application is to be made are filled 

 with clay or mortar; over this, a strip of canvass three 

 or four inches in width is to be bound around the tree, 

 the lower band to consist of a large tow cord, to prevent 

 the running down of the tar, and its consequent pernicious 

 effect on the tree. On this strip the tar is laid with a 

 brush. The operation must be performed every afternoon 

 a little before sunset, when the weather is moderate, and 

 the surface of the earth not frozen, from the first hard 

 frosts which commence in October, and during the winter, 

 till about the last of May. For the tar, by the heat of 

 the sun, or by dry winds, or other causes, sometimes be- 

 comes dry on its surface in a very short time, and in such 

 cases it offers no obstruction to the passage of the insect, 

 Dr. Thacher, in his American Orchardist, has recom- 

 mended that a small portion of soft grease or train oil 

 should be mixed with the tar to preserve it from drying. 

 It should be observed that the insect, on finding its pas- 

 sage obstructed, frequently deposits its eggs in great num- 

 bers near the base of the tree, in the cracks and fissures 

 of the bark. These may be destroyed by a solution of 



