BORERS. 81 
thirty years ago, and I transcribe it with the reeommend- 
ation that if used it be done cautiously : ‘‘ Make a con- 
cave mound of mellow earth around the tree, rising about 
six inches above the work of the insects. ‘Thoroughly 
saturate this mound with a strong salt brine, twice at an 
interval of four weeks, at any time of the year when the 
ground is not frozen. Stale beef or pork brine in its full 
strength is just the thing. The mound of earth holds 
the liquid in suspension round the tree until, by capillary 
attraction, it is carried into the holes and borrows’ of the 
insect, where the salt is sure destruction to this ravaging 
and pestilent enemy. Vary the quantity of the dose with 
the size of the tree. Be cautious with small trees. Old, 
large trees, three feet round, may have a pailful at a time. 
I have revived trees by this application from apparent 
death. Apple trees thirty years old, with their trunks 
perforated very badly, are now perfectly healthy, and 
their wounds are healing over.” 
A correspondent of the ‘‘ Horticulturist,” 1846, rec- 
ommends injecting a solution of potash into the holes of 
the borer by means of a small syringe. Two pounds of 
potash is to be dissolved in a gallon of water. 
A small gouge and a mallet are often used, the wound 
which is made by the gouge being securely waxed over. 
This harsh remedy is to be employed only when the grub 
has burrowed far into the wood, and where it is impossi- 
ble to reach it with the wire or twig. 
SPOTTED BORER (Saperda cretata). 
This (figure 16) is closely allied to the preceding, and 
in its habits is scarcely to be distinguished from that 
