88 



fall apples, however, are attacked by flies of the first genera- 

 tion, for these do not all appear at the same time, some coming 

 several weeks later than the first ones. 



The flies have the habit of feeding somewhat at the intervals 

 between laying their eggs, and this habit is taken advantage 

 of in controlling the insects. Spraying the trees with arsenate 

 of lead, 3 pounds of paste (or Ij pounds of the powder) in 

 50 gallons of water, applied just about the time the first flies 

 appear, and a second time about two weeks later, seems to 

 keep this pest in check. At first molasses was added to this 

 to attract the flies, but recent tests do not indicate any better 

 results from this than from the arsenate of lead alone. 



Gathering and destroying fallen fruit promptly is also a 

 good control method, but it requires so much labor that this 

 method is not often made use of. 



Red Bugs. 



These are rather recent apple pests in Massachusetts, or, at 

 least, they have only attracted attention during the last eight 

 ■ or ten years. The injury is undoubtedly caused by several 

 kinds of insects which are Closely related, but those first ob- 

 served were partly ted, thus giving the name to all, whether 

 red or not, which affect apples by puncturing the skin and 

 sucking the juices. 



The damage to the apples is done mainly late in May and 

 in June. The tiny young, which in size and general appear- 

 ance somewhat resemble plant lice, crawl over the small 

 apples and plunge their beaks into the flesh. The effect of 

 this is that the parts there become hardened or woody and 

 discolored. The apple will continue to grow after this, but 

 at the places where the punctures were made it will be less 

 developed than elsewhere, forming hollows or pits on the 

 surface and making the apple, as a whole, malformed, irregular, 

 and greatly reducing its value. Such apples often remain 

 quite small, also, and are very noticeable when the crop is 

 being gathered. 



Nicotine sulfate, 40 per cent, 1 part, water, 800 parts, with 

 the addition of about 3 pounds of any common laundry soap 

 to each 50 gallons of the water, has thus far proved the most 



