838 



GARDENING FOE THE SOUTH. 



selves and suck its juices. The females remain affixed, 

 and when dead, their dried relics protect the eggs during 

 the winter. 



The Apple-tree Borer, (Saperda hivittata.) — The per- 

 fect insect is a cylindrical, butternut-brown, long-horned 

 beetle, hoary white beneath, with two milk-white stripes 

 above, running the whole length of its body; length 

 from three-fifths to three-fourths of an inch. The larva 

 is one of the worst enemies of the fruit grower. It is 

 a large, cylindrical, white, footless grub, broadest ante- 

 riorly ; its head chestnut-brown ; mouth black. The in- 

 sect appears early in summer, and deposits its eggs one at 

 a time upon the bark near the earth. As soon as hatched, 

 the minute worm mines through the bark, feeding upon it 

 first and then upon the sap-wood, and finally upon the 

 heart. At first it pushes out its excrement through a hole 

 in the bark, w T hich it afterwards closes. Trees are so 

 weakened by this insect that they are easily blown down 

 by the wind. 



Remedies. — Wash the lower part of the trunk with soft 

 soap just before the beetle makes its appearance, or with 

 lye early in August, to kill the newly hatched grubs. If 

 the presence of the grub is manifested in the trunk by the 

 sawdust-like castings on the soil close to the tree, insert a 

 wire or small twig into the hole, pushing it gently forward 

 until the crushing of the worm is felt at the extremity. 

 Piling leached ashes or lime about the base of the tree is 

 beneficial. Unleached, they will sometimes kill young 

 trees. The various species of woodpecker destroy thous- 

 ands of these insects, and their presence in the fruit gar- 

 den should be encouraged. Trees that branch low are less 

 likely to be attacked by this insect. 



The Apple Buprestis, or Thick-legged Apple-tree Borer, 

 (Chrysobothris femorata,) is another quite destructive in- 

 sect, infesting not only the apple, but the peach and white 



