68 Injurious 



BUSHBERG CATALOGUE. 



Insects. 



and there a ray of hope. Happy the soil which, 

 in receiving it. lays hold of its good fortune. It 

 is this ray before which the desert will vanish. 

 Those who are unconscious of it, try in vain to 

 defend a past which has escaped; for the chem- 

 ical remedies, even if they were useful, are only 

 exceptionally practical; and while* thus many 

 persevere in their ruin, pursuing a chimera, the 

 American Vine covers with her verdant waves 

 the last trace of our misfortunes." And the vint- 

 age of P'rance in 1893. thanks to her now recon- 

 stituted vineyards, was equal in quantity and 

 qnalilv to her best years of the past.* 



effectually protect the vines. He urges, however, 

 that the insect be attacked early in the season, 

 before it has acquired wings, and when congre- 

 gating on the under side of the leaves. At this 

 time a spraying with kerosene emulsion or with 

 the Bordeaux taixture by means of a knapsack 

 pump and the Vermorel moditication of the Kiley 

 or cyclone nozzle will prove thoroughly effica- 

 cious, if only care be taken to spray the under 

 side of the leaves. This treatment also destroys 

 many other leaf-feeding or sucking insects, and 

 at the same time is one of the best preventives of 

 mildews and the various rots. 



The Grape Leaf-hoppek. 



{Erythroneura vitis.) 



Very generally but erroneously called Thrips. 

 This is one of the most troublesome insects the 

 grape-grower has to deal with. It is a very act- 

 ive little thing, running sideways like a crab, and 

 dodging around quickly to the other side when 

 approached. It jumps with great vigor, and con- 

 gregates in great crowds upon the under side of 

 the^leaf, pumping up the sap, and thus causing 

 numerous brown dead spots, and often killing the 

 leaf entirely. A vine badly infested with these 

 leaf-hoppers wears a speckled, rusty and sickly 

 appearance, while the leaves often drop prema- 

 turely and the fruit in consequence fails to ripen. 

 There are several species which attack the vine- 

 all belonging to the same genus, however, and 

 only differing in color. The natural history of 

 this insect is not recorded by entomologists, but 

 Prof. Riley informs us that the eggs are thrust 

 into the leaf-stems, and particularly along the 

 larger veins of the under side of the leaves. To- 

 bacco-water and soapsuds, to be syringed on the 

 vines, are recommended in the books as a remedy. 

 Prof. Riley recommends passing between the 

 rows with'a torch in the evening, smearing the 

 stakes in the spring with soft soap or other sticky 

 substance, and burning the leaves in the fall. The 

 hoppers tly to the light of the torch; and as they 

 pass the winter under leaves, loose bark of the 

 stakes, etc., cleanliness in and about the vineyard 

 is of the first importance in checking their rav- 

 ages. The torch remedy is most effectual when 

 three persons work in company, one between two 

 rows with the torch, and one on the furtlier side 

 of each of the rows to give the trellis a slight 

 shake and disturb the hoppers. Tobacco stalks 

 or waste thrown on the ground in a grapery 



*Tlu' wine produftof France in 1893 was 1,098,000,000 

 gallons, tlie liir^^est in any year since 1877. In 18-.t i1 

 reached 1,056,000,000 jrallons, but from lliat date to 1892 

 It ranged all tlic way from .lOG.Oim.OOO to 792,000,000 .-lai- 

 lons. In 187.5, befyie tlio ui)|)earanro of the insect pest, 

 the crop readied 1,826,000,000 Ralions. This gives sonic 

 idea of the loss occasioned by the raviiges of tlie pliyl- 

 loxera. The sulisi itutioii of tlie more hardy American 

 vines seem to have Hnally restored the vineyim'^-— 

 Boston Commercial JiiiUetin, .January 13, 1894. 



Grape Leaf-foi.der: 1, larva; 2, head and thoracic 

 joints, enlarged; 3, chrysalis; 4, 5, male and female 

 moths. 



The Grape Leaf-kolder. 

 (Desmia manilatis.) 

 This is a worm of grass-green color, very active ; 

 wriggling, jumping and jerking either wa.y at 

 every touch. It folds rather than rolls the leaf, 

 by fastening two portions together by it silken 

 threads. The chrysalis is formed within the fold 

 of the leaf. The moth is conspicuously marked 

 with black and white, all the wings being bor- 

 dered and spotted as in the annexed figures. The 

 male is distinguished from the female by his 

 elbowed antennse, thickened near the middle, 

 while those of the female are simple and thread- 

 like. The moths appear in early spring, but the 

 worms are not numerous till mid-summer. A 

 good method to destroy the worm is by crushing 

 them suddenly with both hands, within the leaf. 

 The last brood hybernates in the chrysalis state 

 within the fallen 'leaves, and much may be done 

 towards checking the ravages of this worm, which 

 during some vears are very severe, by raking up 

 and burning "the dead leaves in the fall. The 

 topical applications recommended for the Leaf- 

 hopper are also effective. 



The Grape-Vine Fidia. 



(Fidia riticida.) 



This beetle, often miscalled 

 the Rose-bug, is one of the worst 

 foes of the grape-vine in Mis- 

 souri. It makes its appearance 

 during the month of June, and 

 by the end of July has generally 

 disappeared. Wiien numerous, 

 it so riddles the leaves as to 

 reduce them to mere shreds. 

 Luckily this beetle drops to the 

 o-round upon the slightest disturbance, and thus 

 enables us to keep it in check, by taking a large 

 basin with a little water in it, and holding it under 

 the insect. At the least jar the bugs will fall into 

 the disli. When a quantity have thus been caught, 

 throw tliom into the fire or pour hot water upon 

 them. The late M. Poeschel, of Hermann, raised 



