536 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



spring, when it appears as a beetle, and again 

 begins the work of regeneration." We have 

 given this long extract because it shows the 

 habits of this and similar insects, and points 

 out pretty clearly how we are to rid ourselves 

 of them. As the fruit continues to be cut off 

 day by day, and as a few weeks are necessary 

 to accomplish this and the hatching of the 

 grub, during that time every plum found on 

 the ground should be carefully gathered up and 

 destroyed before the grub quits them for its 

 earthy abode. The eggs are laid from the latter 

 end of June to the end of July. It is only by 

 a knowledge of the economy of insects that we 

 can ever expect to find out the proper means for 

 their destruction, and in this case it is exceed- 

 ingly well exemplified. 



The brindled beauty-moth {Bistort hirtarius), 

 fig. 235, appears often in March, as soon as the 

 leaves upon which it is to feed begin to ex- 

 Fig. 235. 



B1STON HIRTARIUS. 



pand themselves. More generally its appear- 

 ance occurs in April, in which latter case it is 

 most destructive. Those appearing earlier are 

 often killed by the frost. The caterpillars ap- 

 pear in May, and feed on the leaves of the plum, 

 as well as on those of other fruit trees. They 

 are of a greenish-brown colour, with greyish 

 marks and numerous tubercles. The moths 

 measure from an inch and a half to two inches 

 from tip to tip of the wings. They are of a dark 

 yellowish grey, or light brown, thickly spotted 

 with dusky atoms, and three or four dark equi- 

 distant streaks on the hind margin. The pos- 

 terior wings are similar in colour, having gene- 

 rally three streaks, which in general are nearly 

 imperceptible. The wings of the female are 

 more transparent; their transverse bands are 

 nearly indistinct, and the colouring less dis- 

 tinct. The caterpillars change to the chrysalis 

 state early in July, and remain in that state till 

 spring. 



The larva of the plum saw-fly (Tenthredo 

 morio Fabr.) is one of those which attack the 

 fruit in its young state, instead of the leaves. 

 The cause of the fruit of the plum tree often 

 falling off when scarcely the size of a pea is 



well ascertained to be owing to the female of 

 this insect making choice of the newly-expanded 

 blossom as a nucleus in which to deposit her 

 eggs. It is said by some that she prefers the 

 blossoms of the largest kinds of plums, and 

 seems to pass over the Damson, as unfitted for 

 her purpose. The eggs are laid between the 

 teeth of the calyx of the flower, in a hole in the 

 most fleshy part, which she saws out in an 

 oblique direction, but not extending completely 

 through. In each of these she deposits an egg, 

 which is very small, whitish green, and trans- 

 parent. Hatching is completed in a few days 

 thereafter, when a delicate whitish larva makes 

 its appearance, with a dark-brbwn head, six 

 pairs of middle feet, three pairs of fore feet, and 

 one pair of anal feet. Kollar says that it then 

 leaves its birthplace, where there is no suitable 

 food for it, and hastens to the plum growing 

 near it, which is then scarcely the size of a 

 hemp-seed, and attacks it. It fixes itself in the 

 centre of the plum-stone, which, being tender 

 and milky, affords it the best nourishment : the 

 plum in the mean time continues to grow, and 

 the larva with it, so that the latter never wants 

 for food. It has attained its full size in six 

 weeks, when it is ready for its final destination. 

 The plum then drops to the ground, when the 

 insect buries itself in the earth, and surrounds 

 itself with a covering. It remains in this state 

 till the forthcoming spring, when it undergoes 

 its last transformation, and appears again as a 

 perfect saw-fly, which again ascends the plum 

 tree and continues its species. " The destruc- 

 tion of the fallen plums in this case also should 

 be attended to with care; and it is highly 

 probable that syringing the tree about mid-day 

 with clean water, during the time of the trees 

 blossoming, would be equally beneficial ; for it 

 is a well-known fact that the female is rarely 

 seen before 8 a.m., or after 4 or 5 p.m., but that 

 during the middle of the day, particularly in fine 

 weather, she is very busily engaged in deposit- 

 ing her eggs, but on wet days she is seldom seen 

 so engaged. The Germans have a proverb, ' If 

 the plum crop is abundant, it must have rained 

 during the time of blossoming.' " 



The European names of the plum : Prunier, 

 French — Pflaumenbaum, German ■ — Prugno, 

 Italian — Ciruelo, Spanish — Priiimboom, Dutch 

 — Amexieria, Portuguese — Sliwnik, Russian — 

 Sliwina, Polish. Barkuk, Arabic. 



The names of the following plums are pro- 

 nounced as under: Abricotee Rouge — Ab-re- 

 co-tay Rooje ; Diapree Rouge — De-ah-pray 

 Rooje ; Drap d'Or — Drah-dor ; Jaune Hative — 

 Jaun Hat-eve; Mirabelle — Me-rah-bell; Precoce 

 de Tours — Pray-cose de Toor ; Prune Suisse — 

 Prune Su-ece ; Royale Hative — Rwoy-al Hat-eve. 



