67 



with its burden, and trodden under foot. Tliis must be done early in the season, 

 both to save the trees and prevent the escape of the insects — for the larva after a 

 while abandon their web and scatter. 



The communities of the forest-tree tent-caterpillaar, Clisiocampa sylvatica 

 (Harris), which sometimes are found on fruit-trees, form their webs on the boles or 

 under the main limbs of the trees, and when assembled in their webs, or when on 

 one of their processionary tours, may be crushed by means of a stout lath, or 

 brushed over with any kind of cheap oil, which, spreading over their bodies, will 

 choke the spiracles, and destroy the caterpillars expeditiously. 



The nests of the Fall Web-worm, Hyphantria textor (Harris) should be cut out 

 with pruning shears, or with a hooked knife tied to a pole, and destroyed. 



The black and yellow striped caterpillars of Datana ministra (Drury), which, 

 when disturbed, have the habit of throwing up the fore and hindmost parts of their 

 bodies into a sort of precatory attitude, and the red-humped caterpillars of 

 Oedemasia concinna (Abbot and Smith) are found in their early stages grouped on a 

 few leaves. Like choice fruit, they should be carefully hand-picked and safely 

 stowed away. 



There are certain species of the Noctuids, the larvse of which are known by the 

 name of the " Climbing Cut-Worms." Among them are Agrotis clandestina (Harris), 

 A. Cochrardi (Eiley), A. scandens (Eiley), and A. saucia (Hubner). They are capable 

 of doing much mischief to young trees. They lie hid in the ground by day, and 

 climb the trees at night. They pass from tree to tree over the surface of the 

 ground. To guard his corn, etc., from the attacks of such insects as these, the 

 farmer draws the light soil into a hill about the plants, for the worms cannot ascend 

 the crumbly mounds ; and a few shovels-full of light earth piled around the foot of 

 each young fruit tree will save it from the cut-worms. 



b. Our second group of injurious insects consists of the borers. The insect that 

 is distinguished above the rest as the Borer is the grub of a beetle, Saperda Candida 

 (Fabricius). It is sometimes called the " Eound-headed Borer." Its large head is 

 given it for a purpose — in boring, if its head will pass there is no danger of its body 

 being cramped in the mine. The natural food-tree of this insect is the moose-missa or 

 mountain ash, Pyrus Americana (De Candolle) ; but it feeds with avidity upon the 

 cultivated species of pyrus. Its presence may be known by the fras ejected from 

 its tunnel. The perfect insect makes its appearance in the beginning of June. Soft 

 soap applied to the boles of the trees at this season, with a white-wash brush, will 

 hinder the attacks of the beetle. This application will also stop the attacks of the 

 Flat-headed Borer of the apple, Ohrysobothris femorata (Fabr.), and those of Dicerca 

 divericata (Say), the borer of the cherry. 



Old and decaying apple and peach trees are liable to the attacks of the " Stag- 

 beetle," iwcanMS (iama (Thunb)., the "Eyed Elater,"AZa?is ocwZaiMs (Linnaeus), and 

 the "Eough Osmoderma," Osmoderma scabra (Beauv). These but hasten the fall of 

 the trees. 



Of other borers the iSgerians are often very destructive. JSgeria pyri (Harris) 

 attacks the pear-tree ; M. exitiosa (Say), the peach-tree ; JE. polistiformis (Harris), the 

 grape-vine; -<©. rubi (Eiley), the raspberry cane; and ^. tipuliformis (Linnseus), the 

 currant-bush. The imagos of all these insects fly in the day time in the summer 

 months, and haunt the food plants of their species. An intelligent child may be 

 readily taught to distinguish them, and to capture them with a butterfy-net. 



c Sap-drainers. — The most formidable of these, in appearance, are the Cicadas, 

 C tib'icen (Linn), and C. septendecim (Linn) . The kinds may be readily distinguished 

 one from the other — in the former the eyes an d the edges of the fore-wings are 

 ff-"een • in the latter, orange-red. Q. tibicen is sometimes found at the roots of the 

 cherry, and of the apple, though its food-plant more commonly is the elm. C. 

 septendecim is found at the roots of the apple. It drives its proboscis into the root 

 and imbibes the sap, and, it is said, keeps on imbibing it for a period of seventeen 

 years. 



