THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 433 



I860.] 



ridding trees of these disgusting insects, is 

 the spiral or Pickering brush, fixed to the 

 end of a light, straight pole. By thrusting 

 this into the nests in the morning, before the 

 caterpillars have them, (they usually remain 

 in the nest till about nine o'clock) they can 

 be very readily wound around the brush, 

 from which they are easily removed and 

 crushed by the foot. A few times passing 

 through an orchard during one week, soon 

 after the broods are hatched, making a 

 careful application of the brush, will eifec- 

 tually use them up, and leave none for seed. 



Early attention and perseverance in the 

 use of the. spiral brush, will in time, save 

 the owner of a few acres of orchard, hun- 

 dreds of dollars, and an abundance of mor- 

 tification and disappointment, besides re- 

 warding him with the sight of the verdant 

 foliage, snowy blossoms and rich fruits of 

 his orchard in their proper season." 



The spiral brush can be had at the agri- 

 cultural warehouses foi^ a shilling or two 

 each, and with careful usage they will last a 

 lifetime. In the absence of the spiral 

 brush, the head of a last year's mullen stalk 

 tied to a pole, answers as a tolerable substitute 

 for the wire and bristles. 



The August caterpillar has increased in 

 this section of the country in a wonderful 

 ratio, within the past five years. Probably 

 the easiest and most effectual way of des- 

 troying them would be to apply the lighted 

 torch, upon the first discovery of their nests. 

 These caterpillars attack a great variety of 

 trees, presenting a most disgusting sight. 



Another Jate caterpillar seems to be largely 

 on the increase; they are very voracious, 

 eating the entire crop except the main ribs. 

 These generally congregate in masses upon 

 the same limb, and make a clean sweep 

 as far as they go. When found upon 

 a small limb, perhaps the better way would 

 be to cut or saw it oft', and crush the depre- 

 dators beneath the foot. They can be 

 jarred oft". 



All the above-named insects subsist upon 

 the sap, or the leaves of the apple tree, and 

 frequently they are in such numbers as 

 to seriously injure the growth of the tree, 

 and nearly, or quite, ruin the fruit crop. 



The borer, in some sections of the coun- 

 try, is committing sad havoc with the apple 

 orchards and nurseries. Dr. Fitch, of New 

 York, stated in one of his recent lectures 

 at New Haven, that the cure or remedy is 

 found in a liberal application of soap to the 



body of the tree. Dr. F. uses common soft 

 soap, and applies it liberally in the axils of 

 the lower limbs, and on the trunk. He 

 applies the soap about the first of June, 

 and after rains for a few weeks. It is well 

 to apply it liberally where the large limbs 

 start out, as light rains wash it down the 

 trunks of the trees. If the above is a pro- 

 tection against the ravages of the borer, it 

 is an important discovery, and should be 

 .universally practiced by the owners of apple 

 trees. It probably will not destroy the 

 worms when once beneath the bark of a 

 tree, but the remedy condsts in making the 

 tree so off"ensive to the " winged parent" of 

 the borer, that it will not make use of the 

 soaped tree as a place of deposit for its 

 eggs. But aside from its use as a pre- 

 ventive against the borer, the soap will be a 

 profitable application to the tree. Perhaps 

 whale-oil-soap may be equally good ; if so, in 

 many places it can be more readily obtained 

 than soft soap. Levi Bartlett. 



Warner, N. H., 1860. {^Boston Cultivator. 



We would suggest in relation to the 

 above, that the soda wash we have so often 

 recommended, (made by heating sal soda 

 red hot, and then dissolving one pound of 

 the caustic soda in a gallon of water,) 

 would be far superior for ridding trees of 

 insects, to any solution of potash, or of soap. 

 The potash, if sufliciently strong to decom- 

 pose the cocoons and ova of insects, will 

 also injure the coating of the bark of the 

 tree, so as to render it a ready prey, later 

 in the season, for insects of other kinds, 

 while the whale-oil-soap, as usually manufac- 

 tured, containing an exLcess of resin, will 

 leave this resin on the surface of the tree 

 filling the pores, and thus preventing, them 

 from exercising their excretory functions. 

 Not so with the soda wash ] it will not injure 

 any live plant, but will decompose readily 

 all those parts which have lost their vitality. 



The scaly insect is readily removed from 

 the surface of the pear tree, by a single 

 wiishing with a saturated solution. of caustic 

 soda, while the bark itself is left entirely 

 uninjured. — [Ed. 



A noble person needs but a plain garment 

 to set it oft"; a beautiful picture, but a sim- 

 ple frame ; a great thought is best dressed 

 in the simplest language. But all' these 

 need a spirit of understanding to be appre- 

 ciated. 



