88 



THE GAEDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



with white. The Spotted Pea Weevil (Sitona 

 crinita) is smaller, being only 1J line to If line 

 long. It is black, but closely covered with gray 



Fig. 110.— Spotted and Striped Pea Weevils (Sitona crinita and S. lineata). 



1. Spotted Pea Weevil (natural size); 2, magnified. 3. Striped 

 Pea Weevil (natural size); 4, magnified. 5. Leaf notched by weevils. 



scales, and the wing-cases are finely bristly, with 

 some black spots thinly arranged in lines. The 

 horns, shanks, and feet are paler than in the 

 other species. 



Remedies. — Keep a sharp look-out for the 

 weevils, especially upon the earlier sowings of 

 Peas and Beans. If the leaves are being gnawed 

 away from the edges inwards, weevils may be 

 found upon them during the day while the sun 

 is shining. If so, tarred boards or strips of 

 cloth may be arranged along each side of the 

 rows in the morning; after the sun has warmed 

 the air, shake the plants over the boards, and 

 the weevils, alarmed, will drop and be held 

 fast. They do not attempt to fly, but can run 

 quickly. Dusting the leaves with soot or wood- 

 ashes while they are wet, makes the food un- 

 palatable to the weevils. 



Peach Aphis (Myzus Persicce). — The wing- 

 less, viviparous females are rosy or rusty-red, 

 with greenish horns and legs. They infest 

 Peaches and Nectarines, but are neither so 

 common nor so destructive as the Almond 

 Aphis. 



Ju medics. — After the fruit is set, badly-infested 

 trees, particularly those upon walls in the open 

 air, might be syringed with tobacco-water at 

 the rate of 6 gallons of the latter to 1 lb. of 

 tobacco, with a little soft soap added. This 

 should be washed off the following morning 

 with clean water, which will cleanse and greatly 

 benefit the foliage. Other remedies will be 

 found under Almond Aphis. 



Pear-leaf Blister Moth (Lijonetia Clerck- 

 eUa). — This tiny moth measures only 4 lines 

 across the expanded wings, which are white, with 

 a brownish blotch beyond the middle, followed 

 bv some transverse lines of the same hue. The 



grubs are pale - green, and mine the leaves of 

 Pears, Apples, and Cherries during May, June, 

 and July, and again from August to October, 

 the moth being double-brooded. They penetrate 

 the soft tissue of the leaves, forming long tunnels 

 and blisters, which become dark -brown and 

 weaken the trees when the pest is plentiful. 



Remedies. — Syringe the trees with soap-suds 

 about the end of May or the beginning of June 

 to prevent the moths laying their eggs upon 

 the leaves. Collect blistered leaves as soon as 

 they appear, as a result of both early and late 

 broods, and burn them to destroy the grubs. 

 Clear away fallen leaves in the autumn and 

 burn them ; give a sprinkling of gas-lime around 

 the base of the trees to destroy the pupae that 

 may have escaped being raked up; plaster all 

 the crevices of walls in the case of wall trees, and 

 examine the shreds by which the branches are 

 nailed to the wall, to collect and destroy pupae. 

 Spraying the trees with Paris green immediately 

 after they go out of bloom would doubtless kill 



Fig. ill.— Pear-leaf Blister Moth {Lyonetia Clerckella). 



1. Blistered Pear leaf. 2. Caterpillar (natural size). 3. Magnified. 4. Pupa. 

 5, 6. Moth (natural size and magnified). 



a great many of the grubs before they could 

 penetrate the leaves. 



Pear-leaf Mite (Phytoptus Pyri). — Closely 

 allied to the Currant Gall Mite is another micro- 

 scopical creature with four legs near the head, 

 but which behaves in a different way. It pene- 

 trates into the soft tissues between the two 

 surfaces of the leaves, causing the cells to be- 

 come loose and spongy, thus forming small but 

 variously -shaped blisters upon the surface of 

 the leaves, and which are at first yellowish, but 

 soon become deep-brown, and ultimately fall 

 out, leaving holes. There are no galleries in the 

 leaves like those of the Pear-leaf Blister Moth. 



Remedies. — The same trees get affected year 

 after year, and get weak and unfruitful if the 

 pest is allowed to get very plentiful. Such trees 

 may be grubbed up and burnt, to destroy the 



