45 



branches and upper parts of the trunk, and an examina- 

 tion of these parts could not be made conveniently 

 without cutting down the trees . When this was done in 

 the fall I was enabled through the kindness of the State 

 Commissioner of Agriculture and his assistants to exam- 

 ine the trees again. On the ]Oth of September my as- 

 sistant, Mr. Terrill, went to Frankfort and brought 

 back with him a portion of one of the trees for more 

 careful examination at the Station. The elm borer was 

 then found to be abundant under the bark, always in the 

 grub state. The inner bark of the greater part of the 

 trunk was mined and eaten so that it could be detached 

 in large pieces. The portion brought to Lexington was 

 from one of the larger branches, and was cut out near 

 the trunk. Several wood-boring grubs were found at 

 work on it, but by far the larger number were the spec- 

 ies which had been found mining the bark earlier in the 

 season. It was therefore evident that the injury was 

 done in part at least by the elm-borer. The decline of the 

 trees may have been due primarily to something else, 

 such as exhaustion of nourishing matter in the soil. A 

 starved tree is always the prey of injurious insects and 

 fungi, somewhat as a feeble man is more subject to dis- 

 ease than a strong and vigorous one, but there can be 

 no question as to the activity of these insects in de- 

 stroying the trees upon which, from whatever cause, 

 they once secured at foothold. 



The insect is not a new one in this parb of the world 

 It was known to the authorities of eastern cities many 

 years ago as an enemy of the elm trees planted for shade 

 along thoroughfares. Writing of his experience with 

 it among trees on the Boston Common in 1847, Harris 

 says; "The trees were found to have suffered terribly 

 from the ravages of these insects. Several of them had 

 already been cut down, as past recovery ; others were in a 



