280 FRUIT AND ITS CULTIVATION. 



to August. Some of the lice pupate, and become winged 

 females, which fly from bush to bush, and so spread the 

 infestation. In autumn a brood of male and oviparous 

 females is produced. The latter deposit their eggs on 

 the shoots, and these in early spring give birth to vivi- 

 parous females. The same aphis infests lettuce and sow 

 thistles. Always examine the foliage early in the season, 

 and if any lice are seen spray with quassia and soft soap 

 solution. Once the leaves have curled it is difficult to 

 apply a spray fluid to reach the aphides. In the case of 

 Red and White Currants that are infested, summer prune 

 and burn the shoots removed. 



Currant Sawfly (Nematus ribesii). The larvae attack 

 the leaves of the Red and White Currant, also the Goose- 

 berry, and in a very short space of time completely de- 

 foliate the bushes unless they are destroyed before much 

 mischief is done. The female sawflies deposit their eggs 

 in the cuticle of the under side and in rows close to the 

 ribs of the leaf. The larva? appear in about ten days. At 

 first they have green bodies, with black spots and black 

 heads ; and later the colour changes to a bluish-green, the 

 head being brown and the black spots being absent. Their 

 length when fully grown is about 2-3in. They feed first 

 on the epidermis, and then gnaw holes in the leaf, finally 

 devouring all the soft parts, leaving the ribs only. When 

 they reach maturity the larvae enclose themselves in a 

 cocoon, and either pupate in the soil or under any debris 

 lying on the surface. Several broods are produced during 

 the season, the last one remaining in the pupal stage till 

 spring. Repeated spraying with a quassia and soft soap 

 solution is the safest and best method. The use of arseni- 

 cal preparations is too risky, unless it is done before the 

 fruit begins to ripen. Where bushes were badly attacked 

 the previous summer, remove the upper three inches of 

 soil and burn it, replacing the burnt earth. Another plan 

 is to dig in a soil fumigant in autumn to destroy the pupae. 

 (Fig. 130.) 



