STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 97 



quit the trees ; some creep down by the trunk, but great numbers 

 let themselves down by their threads from the branches, their in- 

 stincts prompting them to get to the ground by the most direct 

 and easiest course. They immediately burrow in the earth, to the 

 depth of from two to six inches, make little cavities or cells in the 

 ground, hj turning round repeatedly and fastening the loose grains 

 of earth about them with a few silken threads, and within twenty- 

 four hours afterwards they are changed to chrysalids in their cells. 

 From the fact that the female insect is wingless, and must there- 

 fore creep up the trunks of trees to propagate its species by laying 

 its eggs where its larvas can obtain the necessary food, if we can 

 prevent its ascent we can make it powerless and save our trees 

 from harm. This we can effectually accomplish by the application 

 of tar on strips of old canvas or of strong paper, from six to twelve 

 inches wide, fastened around the trunks with strings. The tar 

 must be applied as soon as the insects begin to appear, and re- 

 newed as often as necessary, to keep the bands viscid or sticky as 

 long as the insects continue rising. Instead of the tar, melted 

 India-rubber may be used, and daubed with a brush upon the strips 

 of cloth or paper. Worn-out India-rubber shoes, which are worth 

 little or nothing for any other purpose, can be put to this use. 

 This melted juice or substance is so sticky that the insects will 

 be prevented, and generally captured in their attempts to pass 

 over it." 



These bands thus prepared, will not only protect our trees from 

 the ravages of canker worms, but will capture or arrest other 

 noxious insects or worms, and prevent their depredations. 



The Borer — (Saperda hivittata, Say. J 



*" The borers of the apple-tree have become notorious through- 

 out the country for their extensive ravages. They are the larvae 

 of a native American insect, which doubtless for ages has infested 

 the wild crab, mountain ash, and other related trees. This insect 

 is a brown and white striped beetle, the upper side of its body 

 being marked with two longitudinal white stripes between three of 

 a light brown color, while the face, the antennae, the under side of 

 the body, and the legs, are white. The beetle varies in length, 

 from a little more than one-half to three-quarters of an inch. It 

 comes forth from the trunk of the tree in its perfected state, in 

 June, making its escape in the night, during which time only it 

 uses its ample wings in going from tree to tree in search of com- 

 panions and food. During the daytime it remains concealed 

 among the leaves of the tree, upon which it feeds. The female 

 lays her eggs during the night, in June and July, mostly on the 

 bark at the base of the tree, and the young hatch and commence 

 gnawing into the bark within a fortnight afterwards. The larvae 

 are fleshy whitish grubs, nearly cylindrical, and tapering a little 

 from the first ring to the end of the body. The grub, with its. 

 strong jaws, cuts a cylindrical passage through the bark, and the 



♦Prof. C. H. Fernald. 



