16 
Trees may be protected from American blight and other aphides 
by ee the common tall nasturtium (Tropeolum majus) at the root, 
and allowing it to ascend the stem. I believe this to be a specific with 
regard to the root. 
CANKER-WORM (Ctenopseustis obliquana). 
The larval state of this moth is becoming increasingly trouble- 
some to apple-growers in the Nelson, Marlborough, and Auckland 
Districts. At Cambridge it is termed the “ privet-moth,” but I could 
not learn that it had been observed on that shrub. 
The small green caterpillar feeds upon the leaves of the apple, 
which.it glues together by its adhesive threads ; it is, however, most 
injurious when it fastens a leaf to the side of the fruit, forming a 
secure hiding-place from which to attack the epidermis of the apple at 
its leisure. A considerable amount of injury has already been caused 
by this insect, and, unless measures are taken to keep it in check, its 
ravages may be expected to assume larger dimensions. 
For a description of the insect and means of prevention, see under 
“ Apricot.” 
APPLE-SCALE (Mytilaspis pomorum). 
At the present time this pest is causing serious loss inthe Nelson 
and Canterbury Districts, where, in certain localities, it has led to a 
diminution in the annual yield. It is, however, not uncommon in other 
parts of the colony, and it is found to infest not only apples, but pears, 
plums, hawthorn, and other trees. 
In old neglected orchards the mussel-scale is sometimes so 
abundant as to form a scurfy crust over the bark, the shells secreted 
by the insects being in contact; usually, however, it is not so densely 
packed. Badly-infested trees present a starved appearance; neither 
leaves nor fruit attain their full development. 
In the young state the insect is extremely minute, wingless, but 
possessed of active locomotive powers; the body is oval, furnished 
with three pairs of legs, a pair of antenne, a pair of eyes, and 
curiously-modified mouth-organs adapted for suctorial purposes. The 
locomotive stage rarely lasts more than a week, when the insect is 
found to be attached to the epidermis by its suctorial beak, and its 
metamorphoses commence. It casts off the first coat or pellicle, which 
it has outgrown, and within two days of becoming stationary com- 
mences the formation of its test or shield, which is composed of a 
secretion produced by the spinnerets on the under surface of the 
abdominal region, combined with the two coats or pellicles cast off by 
the insect. The shield is attached to the bark by its margin, but does 
not attain its full growth until after midsummer, requiring a period 
of seven weeks for its completion, when the insect is found to have 
attained its mature state, and to oceupy the greater portion of the 
space protected by the shield, but without being directly attached to 
it. Having no further use for organs of sight or locomotion, it has 
thrown off its eyes, three pairs of legs, and its antennew, with ‘its cast- 
off coat, and now resembles a minute grub. It commences to deposit 
