52 Insects. 



BUSHBERG CATALOGUE. 



Insects. 



INSECTS. 



[Our limited space only permits us to briefly refer to 

 a few of those insects which we have found most inju- 

 rious in our own vineyards. These are, however, for 

 the most part unnoticed in any of our standard treati- 

 ses on the Grape-vine, and for the facts regarding them 

 we are indebted to Prof. C. V. Eiley's valuable " Ento- 

 mological Reports of the State of Missouri.]" 



THE GRAPH PHYLLOXERA. 



(Phylloxera vastatrix.) 



Among the insects injurious to the Grape-vine none 

 have ever attracted as much attention as the PHYL- 

 LOXERA, which, in its essential characteristics, was 

 unknown when the first edition of this little work on 

 American Grape-vines was written. The gall-inhabit- 

 ing type of this insect, it is true, was noticed by our 

 grape-growers many years ago (especially on the Clin- 

 ton) , but they knew nothing of its root-inhabiting type. 

 Even Fuller who informs us that in Mr. Grant's cele- 

 brated grape nurseries (as far back as 1858) the men 

 were in the habit of combing out, with their fingers, 

 the roots of young vines to be sent off, in order to get 

 rid of the knots never mentions anything of this, nor 

 of any root-infesting insect, in his excellent Treatise on 

 the Cultivation of the Native Grape, though 16 pages 

 are devoted to its Insects. In the spring of 1869 M. J. 

 Lichtenstein, of Montpellier, first hazarded the opinion 

 that the Phylloxera, which was attracting so much 

 attention in Europe, was identical with the American 

 Leaf-gall Louse (first described by Dr. Asa Fitch, State 

 Entomologist of New York, by the name of Pemphigus 

 vitifolias) ; and in 1870 Prof. C. V. Riley succeeded in 

 establishing the identity of their gall insect with ours, 

 and also the identity of the gall and root-inhabiting 

 types. The correctness of his views is confirmed by 

 the subsequent researches of Professor Planchon, Dr. 

 Signoret, Balbiani, Cornu, and other scientists in 

 France ; lately also of Prof. Roessler, in Klosterneu- 

 burg in Austria. 



After visiting France in 1871, and then extending his 

 observations here, some of which were made in our 

 Bushberg vineyards, Prof. Riley first gave us every 

 reason to believe "that the failure of the European 

 vine ( V. vinifero) when planted here, and the partial 

 failure of many hybrids with the European Vinifera 

 are mainly owing to the injurious work of this insidi- 

 ous little root-louse ; also, that some of our native 

 varieties enjoy relative immunity from the insect's 

 attacks" M. Laliman, of Bordeaux, having previously 

 noticed the remarkable resistance of certain American 

 vines in the midst of European vines dying from the 

 effects of Phylloxera. The importance of these dis- 

 coveries to grape culture cannot be too highly appre- 

 ciated. The French Minister of Agriculture commis- 

 sioned Professor Planchon to visit this country in 

 order to study the insect here the harm it does to 

 our vines, or the power of resistance which these pos- 

 sess. His investigations not only corroborated Prof. 

 Riley's conclusions regarding the Phylloxera, but 

 gave him, and through him the people of Europe, 

 a knowledge of the quality of our native grapes and 

 wines, which dispels much of the prejudice against 

 them that has so universally prevailed heretofore. 



Prof, Riley's recommendations to use certain Amer- 

 ican vines, which he found to resist Phylloxera, as 

 stocks on which to grow the more susceptible Euro- 



pean vine, has induced us to send a few thousand 

 plants and cuttings, gratis, for testing, to Montpellier, 

 France, and the success of these has resulted in an im- 

 mense demand for the resistant varieties. 



To discuss this subject as it deserves ; to give a his- 

 tory of the Grape Phylloxera the progress and extent 

 of its ravages the experiments made to prevent these ; 

 to review the influence which it had and probably will 

 have on American grape culture, would far exceed the 

 scope of this brief manual. The literature of this sub- 

 ject would fill a respectable library. We can here 

 merely mention a few facts, and give some figures, which 

 may enable the grape-grower to recognize and observe 

 this minute, yet so important insect; and we refer 

 those who desire full and reliable information to Prof. 

 Riley's Entomological Reports, from which we cull 

 largely. It will be understood that the figures, which 

 are from the same Reports and which were made by 

 Prof. Riley from nature, are generally very highly 

 magnified, and that the natural sizes are indicated by 

 dots within circles, or by lines. 



The following figure of a grape-leaf shows the galls 

 or excrescences produced by the gall-inhabiting type 

 of the insect. On carefully opening one of the galls, we 

 find the mother louse diligently at work surrounding 

 herself with pale yellow eggs, scarcely (.01) the one- 

 hundredth part of an inch long, and not quite half as 



Under side of Leaf covered with Galls, nat. size. 



thick. She is about .04 inch long, of a dull orange color, 

 and does not look unlike an immature seed of the com- 

 mon purslane. The eggs begin to hatch, when 6 or 8 

 days old, into active little beings, which differ from 

 their mother in their brighter yel- 

 low color, more perfect legs, etc. 

 Issuing from the mouth of the 

 gall, these young lice scatter over 

 the vine, most of them finding 

 their way to the tender terminal 

 leaves, and commence pumping 

 up and appropriating the sap, 

 forming galls and depositing eggs 

 TYPE GALLIC OLA : c, as their immediate parent had 

 %enUed;?, done before. This process con- 

 swelHng of tendril) tinues during the summer, until 

 the fifth or sixth generation. 

 Every egg brings forth a fertile female, which soon be- 

 comes wonderfully prolific. 



