GRAPE PESTS 
the class of Arachnida to which belong 
also spiders, scorpions, ticks, and our 
common red spider so destructive to 
fruit trees. These mites are extremely 
minute, and only a practiced eye can per- 
ceive them among the tangled mass of 
erineum on the leaf, by the aid of an 
ordinary hand magnifier, and then only 
with great difficulty. 
Amount of Injury 
Hrinose was formerly considered to be 
a very serious disease of the vine, owing 
to the fact that its effects were confused 
with those of the powdery mildew. It is 
only in very exceptional cases that it is, 
alone, capable of doing serious injury to 
the vine or its crop. All varieties of 
vines are not equally attacked. Accord- 
ing to Ravaz, certain American species 
such as Berlandieri, Mustang, Cinerea, 
Cordifolia, and Scuppernong are immune. 
All varieties of Vinifera are susceptible, 
but not equally. Of varieties cultivated 
in California, Sauvignon, Sirah, Mar- 
sanne, and Gamay Teinturier are said by 
Ravaz to be little subject to attack; while 
Aramon, Cinsaut, and Frontignan (Small 
Muscatel) are very susceptible. The 
worst cases so far observed in California 
have been on Flame Tookay and Mission, 
but it has been found also on other varie- 
ties, among them Zinfandel and Muscat. 
Methods of Treatment 
Since sulphuring the vines for the treat- 
ment of odium has become general in 
France, there has been little trouble with 
erinose. The mite seems as sensitive to 
the fumes of sulphur as the red spider, 
and several sulphurings during the late 
spring and early summer are recom- 
mended for the control of the mite. The 
vineyards badly affected are usually those 
in which little or no sulphuring has been 
done, or those where the growth of foliage 
has been so luxuriant as to prevent the 
evaporation of the sulphur by the sun. In 
the latter cases the vines are so strong 
that they practically receive no harm from 
the disease. Tests made on Tokay vines 
indicate that the erinose can be easily 
and readily controlled at any stage by 
sulphuring. In severe cases a winter treat- 
ment of the vine stumps is practiced in 
1131 
France. This treatment consists in pour- 
ing about one quart of boiling water over 
the stump. For very large stumps a 
somewhat greater amount of water is 
used, and for smaller vines a proportion- 
ate amount. This method is said to be 
very efficacious, and with the portable 
boiler constructed for the purpose two 
men can treat from fifteen hundred to 
two thousand vines per day. Cuttings 
taken from affected vines for the purpose 
of rooting or grafting may be thoroughly 
disinfected by placing them in hot water 
(122 degrees Fahrenheit) for ten min- 
utes. If this is done carefully all the 
mites and their eggs will be destroyed 
without injury to the cuttings. 
EUROPEAN Fruit Scare. See Apple Pests. 
FRostep Scare. See Prune Pests. 
Grape Berry Moth 
Polychrosis viteana Clem. 
The larva of the grape berry moth 
infests the berry or fruit of the grape. 
The first generation attacks and webs 
together the grape clusters even before 
the blossoms open or soon after the 
grapes are set. lLater-appearing larvae 
bore into the green or ripening fruit and 
produce a purplish spot much resembling 
In appearance the injury due to the black- 
rot fungus, with which it is frequently 
confused. Within the fruit the larvae 
feed on the pulp and seeds, passing from 
one grape to another, and several of 
these discolored and shriveling berries 
will often be found more or less webbed 
together with numerous particles of 
larval excrement, and sticky with exud- 
ing grape juice. Other insects attack the 
fruit of the grape, such as the grape-seed 
insect (Isosoma vitis Saunders), whose 
larvae feed on the seeds, causing the ber- 
ries to shrivel late in the summer, and 
the grape curculio (Craponius inaequa 
lis Say), whose injury closely resembles 
that of the grape berry moth. But the 
principal cause of wormy grapes through- 
out the country is the larva of the species 
under consideration. Until recently it 
was thought that our grape berry moth 
was introduced from Hurope many years 
ago, but this has been disproven. It is 
very probable that the grape is the sole 
