148 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



and Morello Cherry, the Plum, very often on 

 the Silver Maple, and last year I found them in 

 unusual abundance on my Peach trees. I was, 

 indeed, somewhat surprised to notice that they 

 were far more numerous on Peach trees than 

 even the true Peach-tree Borer (^geria exitiosa, 

 Say), an insect which has become somewhat 

 scarce in this section within the last few years. 

 The Peach trees were attacked by them in the 

 same manner as described with apple trees, viz: 

 on the southwest side of the trunk; but the 

 larvas were neither as large nor as fat as some I 

 have cut out of Apple trees. Whether or not 

 they attain their full development, and undergo 

 all the stages of their transformation, when 

 feeding on the Peach, I am nnable to say. I 

 observed that, on the Peach trees, gum generally 

 oozed from the wounds caused by these borers, 

 while this was not the case with the Cherry trees. 



The Round-headed Borer {Saperda biviitata, 

 Say), is much less common with me, and has, 

 fortunately, as yet not infested this locality to 

 the same extent and in as great numbers as the 

 former species. Sometimes both species dwell 

 together in the same orchard and on the same 

 tree; often, however, the Round-headed Borer 

 will be found mainly to infest a certain orchard, 

 while another orchard, not a quarter of a mile 

 off', will be exclusively attacked by the Flat- 

 headed Borer. This is due, possibly, to differ- 

 ences of soil and exposure. 



The same means are used to combat both; 

 although, of course, allowance must be made 

 for the peculiarities in the habits and modes of 

 life of each. AVhile the flat-headed species in- 

 variably attacks the southwest side of the tree 

 above ground, ranging along the whole length 

 of the trunk, the round-headed species manifests 

 no special partiality for a particular point of the 

 compass, and affects the north quite as much as 

 it does the south, ranging commonly two or 

 three inches above and five or six inches below 

 the surface of the soil, around the entire circum- 

 ference of the tree. Cutting out the grubs, and 

 washing the base of the tree with the mixture 

 I have recommended, are useful remedies. The 

 application of scalding hot water, and the use 

 of a wire to search for borers that were left to 

 burrow deep into the wood, are all useful in 

 their way, but 1 have not found occasion to 

 apply these remedies upon any of my trees, as 

 my method is to destroy these pests before they 

 have caused irreparable injury to the trees. 

 Mounding the trees with earth, as now practiced 

 by some of the best peach-culturists, will, I 

 have no doubt, be also found a good preventive 

 against the Round-headed Borer. 



My father, J. E. Wielandy, Esq., of Highland, 

 Ills., a well-informed amateur horticulturist and 

 pomologist, and a close observer, states that 

 mounding the trees with coal ashes has been 

 found productive of good results. Most of the 

 coal burned in the West is bituminous, and the 

 ashes being probably strongly impregnated with 

 sulphureted gases, must be distasteful to the 

 borers not less than the perfect insects. As in 

 many places coal ashes can be had for the mere 

 cost of hauling, it seems to me that this sugges- 

 tion is worthy of a trial. The ground should 

 be first scraped off to a depth of five or six 

 inches, the tree carefully searched for borers, 

 and the cavity then filled with ashes, which 

 should be mounded at least one foot above the 

 surface level of the soil. The month of May is 

 the most proper season to perform this opeiation. 



I know of not a few localities in this State, 

 where, owing to the ravages of the borers, peo- 

 ple almost despair of raising apples. To all such 

 the short, practical suggestions contained in this 

 communication will, if followed intelligently, 

 be the means of stocking their failing orchards 

 with a new growth of young trees as healthy 

 and thrifty as my own. 



[For the sake of scientific accuracy we hope 

 our correspondent will breed the perfect insect 

 from those borers which he finds in the plum, 

 cherry and peach trees, and will report the re- 

 sult through our columns; for another species 

 {Buprestis di.varicaia, Say) has long been known 

 to attack these trees, and its larva resembles so 

 nearly that of Chrysobothris femorata that the 

 two may very easily be confounded. — En.] 



TiiK " Pkacii Grob Man."— L. E. K., of St. 

 .Joseph, Micliigan, says of the "Peach grub 

 man :'" " He has been around here selling a pri- 

 vate plan for keeping grubs out of peach trees, 

 which seems nothing more nor less than banking 

 up the earth around the collar of the tree ten or 

 twelve inches high in June and leaving it there 

 until freezing weather in the fall. Yet simple 

 as it may appear, it would seem by his sub- 

 scripiion list that he has carried ofl' a consider- 

 able amount of money from these parts. The 

 dose was administeredat various prices, varying 

 from eight to twenty dollars, according to the 

 number of trees ownGTl by the victim. The 

 same plan has long b(;en in use, I believe, by 

 some of our good cultivators. Now, it strikes 

 me that it is bad enough to have our trees in- 

 jure<l by the grubs themselves without having 

 them attacked by a human vampire, who has 

 lilched the experience of others and then bar- 

 tered it as his own for gold or greenbacks." L. 

 E. K. evidently takes the papers, and is not to 

 be caught I 



