106 TREATISE ON 



& disregard the aphids or leave them behind, and they soon disappear. I've seen this 

 happen several times. It leads me to believe that the ants prepare places for the aphids in 

 the recesses that they make in the leaves & perhaps some food for them in the host of tiny 

 wounds made by their bites into the epidermis & the parenchyma of the leaves. 

 Subsequently the aphids take up residence there, & according to M. de Reaumur, treat the 

 ants to their excrement. Whatever the case, I regard aphids as less dangerous pests than 

 ants that considerably debilitate a tree & even kill it if they persist in attacking it for 

 several years in succession. They have to be knocked down by shaking the branches. 

 Subsequently, the tree trunk must be enveloped with wool or with cotton soaked in oil of 

 aspic, in olive oil, or even better in cade oil, or with a wax container molded around the 

 trunk and filled up with water. If it's an espalier tree, detach the branches & keep it away 

 from the trellis. Or cut off the tender leaves & the tips of the shoots, because ants & 

 aphids don't settle on trained wood or on firm leaves. Alternatively, spread a few drops 

 of cade oil on the trunk and on the parts of the tree most frequented by the ants. I've 

 noticed that this oil sometimes gets rid of them almost immediately & they don't come 

 back, but it's often ineffective. 



These expedients, & all of the others that can be used to drive these insects off, at 

 least free the tree of the pests & give it a chance to recover from its losses. But it's to the 

 detriment of the neighboring tree that soon enough gets attacked. So methods that 

 actually destroy the insects are preferable, such as finding the ant nest and stopping up its 

 entrance if it's in a wall or pouring boiling water on it if it's in the ground or under rocks. 

 During the heat of the day, place a half skinned ox foot at the base of each tree, 



