APRICOT. 165 



its depredations just at the surface of the ground, perforating 

 every part of the stem, is the greatest enemy. Heaping round 

 the tree, during the month of May, about eight inches of coal 

 ashes, lime, or sand, will greatly prevent it. These heaps 

 must he spread down again in October or November. It is 

 said that by putting a peck of hot lime about the stem of a 

 tree that is affected by this grub, it will be entirely restored. 

 Naturalists say that this insect {Sape?ida bivittdta) remains 

 two or three years in the tree, and comes out in a butterfly 

 form in June, flying about at night and depositing its eggs on 

 the tree close to the surface of the ground. 



Caterpillars may be kept under (and in fact it is the only 

 way to do it) by destroying their nests early in the morning, or 

 about noon. If they are allowed to progress, they will soon 

 cover an orchard ; while, when taken in time, they are very 

 readily destroyed. 



Gathering the Fruit. — Hand-picking is undoubtedly the 

 best way of collecting the fruit, and whether for family use or 

 the market, the superior quality and appearance of such will 

 command a price that will more than cover the expense. 

 Early fruits should be handled very carefully. ^Winter fruits 

 may remain on the tree till the approach of frost, when they 

 should be collected, and those for sale put into good barrels 

 at once, to be conveyed to market when required. Those in- 

 tended for family use should be placed in a dry shed for two 

 weeks, and then carefully wiped with a cloth, and put away in 

 a dry cellar, free from frost. Those that are required to keep 

 till May and June should be packed in dry sand, or some 

 other material, to exclude them from the air. 



THE APRICOT. 



Prunus armenica. — Abricotier. Fr. — Aprikosenbaum, Ger. 



The Apricot is one of the most beautiful of fruits, and has 

 been cultivated for about eighteen hundred years. It is a na- 



