298 AjrEEiCAir pomology. 



es, and others devour the foliage, flowers, and fruits. A 

 few of the most familiar and troublesome of these will 

 now be introduced ; and allusion will also be made to 

 some of those which befriend us by their destruction of 

 other insects. 



Saperda birtttata, (Say.)— The Apple Tree Borer.— 

 This is a nocturnal insect, which has been found very de- 

 structive to our orchards. The female deposits one egg 

 in a place, generally low down on the stem of the tree ; . 

 this hatches, and enters the tissues of the bark, where it 

 feeds for a time, a footless grub. As it grows, it burrows 

 deeper, and upward, until it reaches the sap wood, upon 

 which it feeds. When half grown, it burrows still deep- 

 er, and upwards into the heart of the tree, and then out- 

 ward through the sap wood to the bark, but retires again 

 toward the centre, as to a place of safety, to undergo its 

 transformation, after packing the hole with shreds of 

 wood and with its castings to make its retreat secure. In 

 the spring, the perfect insect opens its way outward, and 

 emerges to the light of day. 



Remedy. — Observe the bark of young trees very 

 closely during the summer, to discover the castings that 

 are ejected ; notice the discolored or depressed portions 

 of bark, and cut into them to find and destroy the worm 

 — ^if it has penetrated the solid wood, pursue it with a 

 piece of stout but flexible wire. 



Pkeventivks. — ^Alkaline washes have been highly re- 

 commended, as a means of driving away the mother bee- 

 tle ; soft soap may be used, and a portion of soft or hard 

 soap, placed in the forks of the branches, will dissolve 

 with the rains, and wash down on the bark. These appli- 



