THE APPLE. 75 



ber and October. It is easy to detect and de- 

 stroy them when working in clusters. 



Aphides. There are many forms of plant 

 lice, the one which infests the young growth of 

 the apple (^Aphis malt) hatching from eggs into 

 tiny white lice, with the swelling of the buds. 

 Under favoring circumstances these multiply 

 with ahnost incredible rapidity ; a single indi- 

 vidual becoming the mother of many millions in 

 one summer. But happily their destruction is 

 comparatively easy. If prematurely hatched a 

 subsequent frost is fatal to them. The many 

 forms of spotted Lady Bird, or Lady Bug, de- 

 stroy myriads of these aphis, and are of great ser- 

 vice to the fruit-grower. Heavy drifting rains 

 or showers wUl often clear the foliage. A de- 

 coction from the stems of tobacco, either boiled 

 or left to soak for some days, may be used as a 

 dip, or it may be syringed over the trees. The 

 kerosene solution is probably the best pre- 

 scription for destroj'ing the young broods. 

 As these lice do not eat the foliage, but punc- 

 ture and suck the juices of the twigs and 

 leaves, the arsenic preparations and other 

 poisons are not as effectual as caustics or 

 remedies which give off an offensive odor. 



The Root Aphis (^ScMzoneura lanigera). 

 This louse works upon the roots of the tree. 



