446 



HARDY FRUIT GARDEN. 



cular form as far as the branches extend, and 

 convey it to the charring-heap, or dispose of it 

 on parts of the garden far removed from the 

 apple trees ; thus carrying the insects in their 

 chrysalis state to such a distance as prevents 

 their reaching their favourite trees, exposing 

 them to become the prey of birds, or otherwise 

 disorganising their economy, so that few of them 

 have the means of perpetuating their species. 

 Mr T. A. Knight was strong in the belief that 

 insects did more harm to our fruit trees in 

 spring than all the late frosts and easterly winds, 

 which in general have the credit of stripping 

 our trees of their blossom and foilage. We are 

 very much of the same opinion ; and those who 

 take the trouble to examine into the matter 

 will be of the same opinion also. In the sup- 

 pression of insects, as in the cure of diseases, 

 excellent remedies may be prescribed ; but if not 

 taken in time, and followed up, little benefit 

 need be expected. Amongst precautions, we 

 may state that all fruit which falls from the trees 

 before arriving at maturity should be carefully 

 gathered up and permanently disposed of ; for 

 their dropping, in many cases, is occasioned by 

 insects having laid their eggs in them ; and if 

 allowed to remain on the ground, the insect, 

 when in a fit state for the change, will quit the 

 fallen fruit and bury itself in the ground, or re- 

 main in the decomposing mass, and undergo its 

 necessary transformation. Instructing children 

 to search for and destroy the cocoons and nests 

 formed for hatching the young, is an important 

 and much neglected affair in fruit-tree manage- 

 ment ; for each of these destroyed lessens the 

 number of enemies almost incredibly. Birds 

 devour immense numbers of insects in their 

 caterpillar state — some, indeed, nearly live 

 upon such food during their continuance in 

 that state ; and they not only devour those 

 that are lying on the exposed leaves and 

 shoots, but also hunt those out whose nature 

 it is to eat their way into the bud, or which 

 have been hatched from eggs laid in the embryo 

 bud. Therefore birds should not be destroyed, 

 when performing for us so important an office, 

 under the mistaken idea that they are eating the 

 buds themselves. Whatever injury may be done 

 to the buds by their endeavours to extract the 

 insect, cannot be in any sense more destructive 

 to the crop than if the insects had been allowed 

 to remain in it. Birds should, therefore, be 

 encouraged in gardens rather than destroyed or 

 scared away. The only injury they do us is 

 taking a small portion of the ripe crop, as if in 

 repayment of the essential services they have 

 done us ; and if we are to deny them this small 

 recompense, let it be by netting the fruit over 

 when it begins to ripen ; for surely that crop 

 must be of small value in our estimation when 

 it is not deemed worth the trifling expense and 

 small labour of being covered for a few weeks 

 with netting. Birds attack the apple only when 

 nearly ripe, and there is no doubt they select 

 the very best specimens. In large orchards 

 the fruit they destroy in this state is as nothing 

 compared to the service they have rendered us 

 during spring. Insectivorous birds, during 

 winter, search for and destroy multitudes of the 



eggs of insects ; and however firmly they may 

 glue their eggs to the stems and branches of the 

 trees — however strongly they may cover them 

 with webs— still these birds will find them out ; 

 and, as has been stated by Reaumur, the green- 

 finch tears open the strong nest of the brown- 

 tailed moth (Bombyx chrysorrhma), and devours 

 the caterpillars in their infant state. The red 

 and green woodpeckers (Picus major and veri- 

 dis), the nut-hatch (Silla ccesia), the tree-creeper 

 (Certhia familiar is), not only devour great num- 

 bers of caterpillars, but also of the beetle tribes, 

 which greatly infest our fruit trees. The 

 chaffinch is one of the greatest destroyers of 

 insects in their pupa and larva states, yet no 

 bird is so persecuted ; and the same may be 

 said of the titmouse, and the ox-eye, tomtit, 

 redstart, redbreast, goldfinch, and wagtail, all 

 of which are consumers of caterpillars and the 

 eggs of moths. Amongst other animals, the 

 common toad and the bat are serviceable to us in 

 this way. The bat lives almost entirely upon 

 insects, keeping up a constant attack upon them 

 during night, when birds have gone to repose. 

 They greatly serve us in attacking noctur- 

 nal-flying insects, which, from their habit of 

 concealing themselves during the day, would 

 escape the attacks of day-flying birds. But the 

 greatest enemies insects have are insects them- 

 selves. We have in several instances shown 

 this in the preceding pages, certain genera 

 being created by nature as if for the express 

 purpose of keeping in check insects of other 

 genera, to restore or maintain the equilibrium 

 among her creatures, and particularly to prevent 

 the preponderance of some sorts, which, without 

 this wise provision, would multiply to such an 

 extent as to produce a general desolation in the 

 vegetable kingdom. To effect this, the ground- 

 beetles (Curabidse), for example, destroy the 

 pupae of moths while deposited in the earth. 

 Many flies deposit their eggs in the living cater- 

 pillars, and so destroy them. But the most 

 serviceable of all are the Ichneumonidse family, 

 extending to 1300 European species alone, all 

 of which lay their eggs in the bodies of other 

 insects. Nature has provided other means for 

 the preservation of our fruit trees from the 

 attacks of insects, such as heavy rains, late 

 spring-frosts, storms, and cold ungenial weather, 

 happening at the. period when pairing is taking 

 place ; and by these means, although in them- 

 selves sometimes destructive even to the fruit 

 crop, the numbers of insects are so reduced 

 that our gardens and orchards for several years 

 afterwards escape their ravages. The pupa of 

 the destructive small winter-moth (Geometra 

 brumata) for example, is often destroyed while 

 lying in the earth during wet autumns and win- 

 ters — a circumstance which would lead us to be- 

 lieve that irrigating the ground round the roots 

 of our fruit trees with liquid manure, during 

 autumn or winter, would have a most beneficial 

 effect in ridding us of this destructive enemy. 



The European names of the apple are — Pom- 

 mier, in French ; Der-apfelbaum, in German ; 

 Appelboom, in Dutch ; Melo, in Italian ; Man- 

 zano, in Spanish ; Maceira, in Portuguese ; Ja- 

 bion, in Russian. Tgffah, in Arabic. 



