76 



points of attack being carefully watched. Boughs must be removed in pruning some- 

 times, and where the Woolly Aphis exists it is certain to try and effect a lodgment under 

 the ring of young bark that grows forward over the stump, but an eye to this matter and 

 a few strong soap-suds brushed on the first bit of wool seen will keep all right. For the 

 same reason the bark should be kept clear of lichens and moss, which form excellent 

 lurking places for the Aphides. In fact, a clean, healthy bark, with a proper allowance 

 of air, light and drainage, is the best of all means of prevention. 



" With regard to remedies : — The colonies of insects remain in one place, and soon 

 die if their food is cut off or their breathing pores choked ; so that anything which will 

 give such a taint to their harbouring places that they cannot feed, will do good. Soft 

 soap, tar, or in fact anything oily, greasy or sticky that can be well rubbed on, and which 

 by adhering for a time will choke all the Aphides that it touches, will be of use. In the case 

 of an orchard so badly infested that the owner had begun to clear the trees, an application of 

 coal-tar, well rubbed into the infested spots with a hard brush, was tried and succeeded 

 well. The trees were cured of the attack and became healthy. Another observer men- 

 tions that his trees on which this was tried were injured and some killed. Probably this 

 different result was from the state of the trees. An application that would be perfectly 

 safe on the blight-tumours of old trees, would be very injurious on young bark that was 

 still living and in an active state." 



2. — The Codling Moth — Carpocapsa pomonella. 



While the English fruit-growers complain of the " American Blight " sent from this 

 side of the Atlantic, we have a much more serious charge against them for sending to us 

 the very destructive " Codling Moth." It is satisfactory to find that this nuisance has 

 not been so injurious during the last few years in Canada as in some previous seasons^ — 

 though it is always more or less prevalent throughout the country — and that its absence 

 was particularly noteworthy in England during 1880. 



It is not necessary to enter into any detailed account of this insect, as it must be 

 perfectly well known to all our readers, and has been described in our Reports for 1870, 

 1871 and 1874. I would particularly refer the reader to Mr. Saunders' admirable account 

 of the insect, and the best modes of getting rid of it, in the Report for 1874. As a 

 fresh description, however, is interesting, I shall briefly quote Miss Ormerod's account of 

 the insect : 



" The caterpillar of this moth causes what are called ' worm-eaten ' apples, which, 

 falling a little before they are ripe, may be known by having a small discoloured spot 

 with a hole in it on the lower side ; from this a gnawed passage leads to the middle of 

 the apple, which is commonly nearly filled with dirt. 



"The method of attack consists in the moth (when the young apples are beginning 

 to form in the early summer) laying one egg in each fruit, usually in the eye of the 



apple ; from this the caterpillar or maggot hatches, 

 and gnaws its way downwards, taking a direction so 

 as not to hurt the core. 



"The caterpillar is about half an inch long, and 

 slightly hairy ; whitish, with a brown or black head 

 and dark markings on the next ring, and about eight 

 dots on the others ; the food-canal shows as a dark 

 line along the back. As it grows it continues its 

 gallery towards the stem, or the lower side of the 

 apple, where it makes an opening through the rind, 

 and thus is able to throw out the pellets of dirt which 

 could not be got rid of by forcing them upwards 

 through its small entrance-burrow. After this opening 

 is made, it turns back to the middle of the apple, and 

 when nearly full grown pierces the core and feeds 

 only on the pips ; and as a result of this injury the 

 apple falls. After this the caterpillar leaves the fruit, 

 crawls up a tree, and, when it has found a convenient 



Fig. 44. 



Apple injured by caterpillar of 

 Codlinj? Moth. 



