MITES 541 



Theobold says that there is no doubt that this pest is spread 

 with nursery stock ; it is therefore essential that it should 

 be fumigated with hydrocyanic gas when in a dormant 

 condition. 



Hand-picking the leaves 'is a very effective method of 

 eradicating the pest, and should not be delayed later than 

 June. 



Parrott, Hodgkiss, and Schoene state that the mite was 

 held in check on pear-trees by spraying with self-boiled lime- 

 sulphur wash, prepared as follows : Lime 30 pounds, sulphur 

 15 pounds, and caustic soda 5 pounds, to 50 gallons of water. 

 Better results followed spraying in December than in April. 



Theobold, F. V., Insects and Pests of Fruit Trees, p. 353 

 (1909). 



Vine erinosis. This disease is caused by Eriophyes vitis 

 (Landois). Numerous, small, irregularly shaped spots appear 

 on the leaves, concave on the under and convex on the upper 

 surface of the leaf; the concave side of each spot is densely 

 velvety, pure white at first, gradually changing to a rusty- 

 brown colour. I examined an old vine growing on a wall 

 forming the face of a moat, not far from Reading, that had 

 every leaf attacked, and as the spots were in the white stage, 

 the effect was very striking. Mites were present in abundance 

 in the buds of this vine on the 2oth January, and thus it 

 appears that they hibernate in the buds, and do not leave 

 the tree. 



The young shoots, tendrils, floral peduncle, and parts of 

 the flower are also attacked. 



Viala, Les Maladies de la Vigne, Ed. 3, p. 570 (1903). 



Birch mite (Eriophyes rudis, Nal.) not infrequently arrests 

 the growth of the common birch, by arresting the develop- 

 ment of the leaf-buds. When a bud is attacked, many 

 other buds develop on the branch in close proximity to the 

 infected one. These in turn are infected, the result being a 

 compact cluster of buds that do not develop further. Where 

 the disease is of old standing the majority of branches on a 

 tree bear numerous clusters of such diseased buds, which 

 alters the entire aspect of the tree, and prevents the forma- 

 tion of the long slender branches characteristic of this 

 tree. 



The disease appears to extend at a very slow rate. I have 

 for the past fourteen years observed a tree badly infected 



