68 FRUIT AND ITS CULTIVATION. 



CHAPTER VII. 



FRUIT ENEMIES. 



Apple Pests. 



Apple Aphis (Aphis pomi). Larvae attack the young 

 leaves in early spring and cause them to curl. First 

 Ibrood is hatched in April from eggs laid on the shoots 

 in autumn. Aphis sorbi and fitchii also infest the Apple, 

 the former the leaves and the latter the shoots. Spray- 

 ing in autumn with a paraffin emulsion, and again in 

 February with a lime-sulphur wash, are good preventive 

 remedies. In case of attack, spraying is of little use 

 owing to the curling of the leaves. Better then pick off 

 and burn the curled leaves. Burn all winter prunings. 



American Blight (Schizoneura lanigera). A species of 

 aphis, which infests the shoots and branches, sucks out 

 the sap, and causes excrescences to form, which eventu- 

 ally bring the tree into ill-health. The female aphis pro- 

 duces her young alive, and these secrete a white woolly 

 substance, which is the characteristic feature of this pest. 

 At first the young lice are yellowish, but later they assume 

 a purplish-brown tint. In autumn and winter the females 

 hide in crevices in the bark, and also on the roots near 

 the base of the trunk. They increase rapidly in spring 

 and summer. Winged females fly frorn tree to tree, and 

 in this way the pest distributes itself. Spray in winter 

 with a lime-sudphur wash to kill the winter broods, and 

 in sumimer with a soft soap and quassia emulsion to de- 

 stroy the lice. Where o<nly a few aphides exist, lightly 

 dab the colony of lice with a brush dipped in soap and 

 paraffin or in olive oil. See also p. 345. 



Apple Blossom Weevil (Antbononnus pomorum). The 

 larvae of this weevil, which are small, white, and foot- 



