48 



THE OECHAED AND EEUIT aAEDEif. 



plums. They are oblong and convex in form, sticking 

 so close down to the stem as to he detected onlj hj 

 looking close at the plant, light-coloured while young, 

 and brown as they get old and firm. Coccus Jiesperidum, 

 which is such an enemy to the orange tree, is similar. 

 They fix themselves on the under sides of the leaves and 

 also along the stems. Coccus BromelicB, or pine-apple 

 scale, infests that fruit. 



A kind of scale insect which infests the pear, Aspi- 

 diotus ostraoeformis, is similar to the scale insect, and to 

 be dislodged by the same treatment. 



Aphides are almost universal in their depredations, so 

 few are the plants and trees they let alone. We all 

 know how destructive they are among our roses, and in 

 fact among all our choice, tender, succulent plants. As 

 they take their colour very much from the food they 

 feed on, it seems likely that there are really fewer 

 varieties than naturalists name. Aphis pijrimali attack 

 our apples and pears. A. Fersiccd devotes itself to the 

 peach and nectarine. A. pruni infests plum trees, and 

 is of a very pale green. A. cerasi is black : in damp 

 soils it attacks the morello cherry, overrunning the 

 under sides of the leaves. A. corily^ the nut aphis, is 

 of a pale green. A. rihis^ the currant aphis, and A. 

 ribis nigra, the black currant aphis, attack currants ; 

 curiously enough, the first is darker than the last. 



To get rid of aphides, syringing with a decoction of 

 elder-tops, tobacco-water, or soapsuds, on two or three 

 following days, is good. Fumigating with tobacco 

 smoke, where it can be managed, is also good. 



The aphis appears very early on the peach. "When 

 wall fruit trees are infested, they should be taken down 

 from the wall in the early spring and well scrubbed. 

 If shreds are used, provide new ones. Giving plants 

 and trees plenty of air and light, is the best preventive 

 against this, the scale insect, and thrips ; as, on the con- 

 trary, want of air, and too much heat, are sure to bring 

 them . 



Thrips ochraceus is most disagreeable in its attacks 

 on ripe plums, peaches, and nectarines, soiling and 



