180 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



MOUNDING PEACH-TREES. 



Tlicic is a considerable .imouiit of evidence 

 that, by maintaining a permanent mound of 

 eartli — say a foot and a half or two feet high — 

 round the but of full-grown, good-sized pcacli- 

 trees, the peach-borer can be entirely or al- 

 most entirely excluded from trees of this size, 

 although not from young trees— say under four 

 years old. "Without ourselves oftering any deli- 

 nite opinion on tliis practically important ques- 

 tion, we propose to furnish our readers Avith the 

 facts and arguments tliat have been adduced on 

 either side of the question. 



In common with the rest of the Fruit-growers' 

 Excursion Party, we Avere enabled, through the 

 liberality of the I. C. R. E., to visit in October, 

 1868, the extensive peach orchard of the Messrs. 

 "Winter Brothers at Duquoiu, in South Illinois. 

 They have 0,000 large, full-grown trees in their 

 orchard, and in 18Go commenced mounding them 

 up about two feet high, the crotch in such of 

 them as are low-headed being now completely 

 covered Avith earth. Before mounding they 

 Avormed their trees ; and in such as are moun- 

 ded they now find no Avorms to signify, .although, 

 as they informed us, in certain trees near the 

 house that have never been mounded there are 

 plenty. "We ourselves could see no signs of any 

 Avorms ill any mounded trees, although scA'eral 

 genuine peach-borers Avere dug in our presence 

 out of two unmounded trees, that immediately 

 adjoined the part of the orchard that had been 

 mounded, and exhibited at the first glance the 

 usual gummy exudation indicative of Avorm- 

 Avork. It is proper to add, that the Messrs. 

 Winter Brothers keep about one hog to the acre 

 in their orchard to pick up the fiillen fruit, by 

 Avay of heading ofl' the Curciilio ; but that, ac- 

 cording to them, it is but very seldom that these 

 animals root into the mounds round the buts 

 of the trees. 



At the meeting of the Illinois State Horticul- 

 tural Society in December, 186S, Mr. B. Piilleu 

 of Centralia, Illinois, personally informed us 

 that he finds the mounding system .an effectual 

 remedy against the Peach-borer; but that it is 

 no use until the trees are about four years old. 

 Up to that age, he depends upon the knife. He 

 b.anks up his trees about ten inches high, and 

 packs the earth tightly against the but Avith the 

 toot. He once mounded up some A'ery wormy 

 trees— so Avormy indeed that a few of them con- 

 tained each from forty to seventy larvas, so that 

 he was afraid of girdling and killing them if he 

 wont to Avork at them with the knife. Contrary 

 toAvhat might have been expected, hoAvever, 



these trees did Avell ; and there have been no 

 AVOrms to be found in them since. 



As, in cases of this practical importanrc, it is 

 often necessary to add line upon line and pre- 

 cept upon precept, Ave shall subjoin here Avhat 

 has been said upon this same subject by Mr. 

 Pullcn. ill tho (•o!uiiiii,< of t lie Wcsfa-n lUi'nil: 



As Spi'in- wm - 1 l.r w]Miii ii~. I v,-i>li lo a.1.1 mv trs- 



timonv ill lavcri.r lli.- • ■ I'.aukin- S\-I,'m" as a \n-c- 

 venthc auMin-t llir ]„ a.'h-li.MTr A- to ii> officai-v 



oulv ill i"i>"ii-l ' 

 m Fall an. 1 -■,■;■:: . - 

 tlielburlh vrai. ...iiiv ., 

 twolvo iii.-l"us, [.n.^Miu 

 A little ilirt, sIkiuI.1 \>v 

 It is not onlv a picvoiiti' 

 Centralia," 111. 



So much for the experience of Illinois pcach- 

 groAvers. We shall now furnish the reader witli 

 the details of the mounding system, as practiced 

 in Ohio, from the pen of a corrcspondentof 

 the Journal of AyricuUure — Mr. E. A. Thomp- 

 son. The letter will be found in the Journal of 

 NoA'cmber 1-i, 1868, audit Avill be observed that, 

 contrary to the belief of Mr. Pullen, it recom- 

 mends the system to be applied, not only to old, 

 but also to young trees. 



Hillside, (near Cincinnati) , November 10, 1808. 

 The mouiuliiig system was first praotioed, so far as I 



know, bv I 

 visited las . 

 Avith his SYS 

 charil of4.( 



The -.- ! -i 



throwing tlir 1. 

 of about one 1 

 takinif oft" aboi 

 next ■sprinj,' in 

 raising the moil 

 fall, and the tl 

 the mound alio 

 mound will tli 



— for the young rootlets ea 

 through tliis mound. I hai 

 these mounds a lew days sin 

 healthy roots. 



Nowfortheli.ii.nis. I'ir 

 grub or borer; Iw imi-t lia\ .■ I 

 is too much lor liim: li.' .■.mi 

 him. Ihave iif\ .i worm..! 

 borer, and an oi'.lrii.l .'I li. : 

 not be found, ll ha- l... n 

 re-appear again n.ai-tli.- t..; 



I 



M - au.i— aeijiiaiiitcd myself 



1 lo try it uiioii my or- 



\.ar ]ila'iilc'.l. Iplaiitmy 



iniiiu' following cut them 



M\ ii'al— IVoiii three to six. 

 ..Hi \\avs. nirnin-lhcfiir- 



111.11 l.'.ll..\v Willi >lH)vels, 

 .1 ill.' tr. .• t., th,- heighth 

 fall I .■ut 111.' Iiv.s baek, 



rtlle V.M1-- ul-..Wtll. The 



iir-iu- th.' -all!.' method, 

 ■....1 hi-h.a-: ,111 l.a.-kiii the 



.'■ll liiii~liU ili'.^' j..'l,.' The 

 if. .■ t. . I lii,-li at ils apex 

 its l.as.'. 'I'll., mounding 

 1111.1-. or at any ]. articular 



in tlii^ fall u lien the hurry 

 kill away IVom the trees — 

 witlioiit'injiiry to the tree 

 h year keep clijubiug up 



oceasioii to remove cue of 

 ;e and found it a mass of 



t you have no trouble with 

 uiit ami air. and the mound 

 - out ami that is the last of 

 ii\ in.'s. or hunted for the 

 lilii.i- or tliriltior trees can 



.■a-.-; I lia\ .■ ii.'\ >-v tliu^ far been 

 ablelo find one. >. . ..ii.l. ili.- -\-i.iii iiiiparls longevity 

 to the In.'. 1 ~aw a ii-..iu \\ an. n .nuiity tre.ited in 

 this iiiaiiu.T, /■'/,/',■ .:;iii > .ar- ..1.1, -till li.^althy or bearing 

 annual .i..!.-. Tliir.l, ir. .■- tliii^ li. at.il are not subjec 

 to diseasi. 1 liav.' m-\ .r lia.l a ia~e of yellows in my 

 orchard. Fourth, (he expense is tritling— one man can 

 mound tifty trees per day. The system can be applied 

 to old as Avell as young oreh.irds; but if old trees are 



