108 



intervals of one or two weeks, of strong lime-water 

 with a brush, and a dusting of quicklime before the 

 branches get dry ; or a washing of soft-soap and 

 water, using also the powdered lime," which is per- 

 fectly harmless to vegetable life. 



Although it is generally trained trees that are most 

 attacked by the mussel-scales, standards are often so 

 covered with them that they are completely hide- 

 bound. The best plan for getting rid of these scales 

 is to scrape the bark with a wooden knife, so as to 

 bruise and crush the females without lacerating the 

 tree, and immediately to wash over the trunk and 

 branches with some gas-tar. If any other season 

 should be preferred, the best season for applying it 

 will be in May, when the young ones are creeping 

 from under the scales, and are easily destroyed ; but 

 they are so minute that it will be necessary to use a 

 magnifying glass to ascertain when they are hatched 

 and in motion. (Gard. Chron. 1843, 735.) 



x\pple C hermes (Psylla mail). — This insect is 

 closely allied to the aphis, and is thus described in 

 M. Kollar's too-much neglected work on " Insects 

 injurious to Gardeners." It usually appears in June. 

 In September, the apple chermes pair, and lay their 

 eggs : they are white, and pointed at both ends, a 

 line and a half long, and the fourth of a line thick, 

 and become yellow before the young escape. The 



