470 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[OctoseS! 27, 1888. 



says that 183 species of insects prey upon the Apple, 

 of which 115 are lepidoptera, thirty-two beetles, 

 twenty aphides, and sixteen others belonging to 

 different families. Of these I can only mention a 

 few of the more important or destructive in the 

 limited time at my disposal, with the view of direct- 

 ing attention to the fact that their successful de- 

 struction can only be effected by proceeding against 

 them by intelligent and scientific methods. Hap- 

 hazard raids are mostly useless, and attended by 

 failure, while passive and indolent indifference is 

 but too plainly evident in many a neglected old 

 garden or orchard. Scientific research is frequently 

 sneered at by the practical man, but until the 

 habits and life histories of some particular foes are 

 thoroughly investigated there can be no intelligent, 

 sensible, or effectual attack made upon them. 



The Apple grub (Carpocapsa pomonana) — (see fig. 

 6 )), is the larva of a small moth which lays its eggs in 

 the calyx of the young and growing Apple in the month 

 of June or July according to the season. The larva 

 when hatched is white with a black head and neck 

 and four rows of black spots. It gnaws its way down 

 the fruit, keeping clear of the core till it reaches 



the rind, which is pierced to permit the escape of its 

 excreta. When nearly full grown it sometimes 

 pierces the core and feeds upon the pips, generally 

 causing a great number of the fruits to fall prema- 

 turely. Soon after this it leaves the fruit, and find- 

 ing a secure retraat in crevices of the bark or other 

 hiding-place commences to spin itself a cocoon, and 

 after resting a time becomes transformed into the 

 chrysalis state, which it retains till spring. Soon 

 after completing their development, the moths pair, 

 and egg-laying commences as formerly. 



The grubs may be trapped in great numbers by 

 tying bands of ha.y or straw round the trunks of the 

 trees so as to afford the grubs a place of shelter in 

 which to form their cocoon. Collect the bands in 

 autumn and burn them. All fallen Apples should 

 be assiduously collected and given to pigs or destroyed. 

 The Codlin grub trap is a special structure, consist- 

 ing of several boards of a convenient length fastened 

 together in the middle, and the respective pieces kept 

 apart by means of thin laths. The grubs readily take 

 to this, and from 400 to 800 traps can be examined 

 by a man per day and the grubs collected in a vessel. 



The American blight is the work of Schizoneura 

 lanigera (fig. 61), an insect closely allied to the aphis 

 or greenfly of gardens, but differing in the absence of 

 the "honey-dew" secreting glands possessed by the 



latter. When plentiful it proves very destructive, 

 causing swellings of the external tissues resembling 

 cankerous wounds. The insects take up their abode 

 in the crevices of the bark, from which they are 

 difficult to eradicate. Soft soap, Gishurst compound, 

 or, better still, petroleum, will effect a cure if rubbed 

 into the crevices of the bark every time the insects 

 make their appearance during the course of the sea- 

 son. Petroleum is the most effectual, and should be 

 applied by means of a hard brush, such as is used by 

 painters. The insect hibernates in the soil during winter 

 if the trunk of the tree does not afford sufficient accom- 

 modation, and it may be destroyed by the application 

 of quicklime a little beneath the surface. The Apple 

 Blossom Weevil (Anthonomus pomorum — fig. 62), is 

 a beetle, the female of which lays her eggs in the bloom- 

 buds of both Apple and Pear trees, and the grub, when 

 hatched, eats the stamens and pistils, rendering 



Fig. 00.— the apple ghub ahd Mora. 



them completely useless. Egg-laying lasts for two 

 or three weeks, during which time great numbers of 

 the weevil may be caught by shaking the tree, be- 

 neath which a white cloth has been spread, as they 

 drop down on being alarmed. The weevil attains 

 perfect development in a month's time from the lay- 

 ing of the egg, and feeds on the foliage during the 

 rest of summer. It hibernates in the same way as 

 the American blight, and similar methods for its 

 destruction may be employed. Bands of tarred cloth 

 may also be put round the trunk of the trees affected 

 to intercept and catch the females on their way from 

 the ground to the tree, as they seldom fly. Good 

 husbandry also applies here ; rubbish of all kinds 

 should be rigidly cleared away, and crowding of trees 

 prevented. 



The Apple Mussel Scale (Aspidiotus conchiformis 

 —fig. 63), is allied to the true scale, and attacks the 

 bark of Apple and Pear trees alike, affecting them in 



a similar way to that of the American blight. The 

 eggs are never laid, but hatched in the body of the 

 mother when she dies. The latter is wingless, while 

 the male is minute and winged. If the scale is 

 numerous the tree becomes unhealthy and unfruitful. 

 The scale is brown, and in shape like the half of a 

 mussel shell. Scrub the branches with a hard brush 

 just kept moist with petroleum, and persevere for 

 two, three, or more seasons, as the scale is most 

 difficult to eradicate when once it obtains a footing. 

 Gall mites (Phytoptus Pyri) are small acari about 

 the one-hundredth long by one five-hundredth of an 

 inch broad, that produce blisters on Pear leaves. 

 The tissues of the leaves are torn asunder, forming 

 large cavities, the cells often forming strings hold- 

 ing on by their ends. There is a small opening on 

 the under surface for the egress or ingress of the 

 mites. My specimens of blistered leaves are from 

 Kelso, the first record to my knowledge of gall mites 

 in Scotland. I received them in August last. 

 The mites hibernate in the buds of the tree in 



Fig. 61.— insects causing 



IERICAN l:L! .Ill, 



Fig. 62.— the apple weevil. 



winter, and are most difficult of extermination. 

 Collect all affected leaves in spring when the mites 

 are still in them and burn them . When once badly 

 affected the trees continue so from year to year, and 

 unless they are valuable kinds should be grubbed up 

 and burnt to prevent the pest from spreading. Plant 

 healthy trees in their place. I had specimens from 

 another source affected with gall mites, mussel 

 scale, apparently canker as well. 



Slug worms (fig. 65), are the grubs of certain sawflies 

 differing in colour, and in the nature of the secretion 

 covering their bodies ; but the slugworm proper is 

 the grub of Eriocampa limacina (or the Selandria 

 Cerasi of Miss Ormerod). It derives its name from 

 the black slime covering its hairy body till the last 

 moult, when the resinous dark coat is thrown off. 

 The grubs have large heads, and in the earlier stages 

 when slimy bear considerable resemblance to a black 

 slug: hence the derivation of the name slugworm, 

 I collected my specimens on Pear trees at Holwood, 

 Kent, the other week. Autumn is the time they 

 make their appearance. They are very voracious, 

 and eat away the upper surface of the leaves 



