310 



THE APPLE. 



apple when the fruit is well set. As soon as the 

 egg is hatched, the caterpillar eats its way into 



the apple, avoiding the vital 

 part or core, until nearly 

 full grown ; it then at- 

 tacks the pips, and by the 

 time that these are con- 



coDLiN MOTH. sumed, the apple falls to 



the ground, when the insect escapes, climbs up 

 the stem of a neighbouring tree, and excavates 

 for itself a dwelling in the bark, where it spins 

 a white cocoon, and is converted into a pupa or 

 chrysalis. The habits of the weevil-grub are 

 nearly the same, except that it creeps into the 

 ground to await its transformation. 



The destructive insect called American blight 

 (for no other reason, one would suppose, than 

 that it has been long the custom to ascribe the 

 origin of most strange-looking things to the New 

 World) is one of the greatest enemies of the 

 Apple-tree. It is easily distinguished by its 

 white cottony appendage, which is said to serve 

 the double purpose of wafting the young insect 

 through the air, when about to found a new 

 colony, and of protecting it from the cold when 

 established in its new dwelling. It injures the 

 tree, and, if not checked, finally kills it, by suck- 

 ing its juices tlu'ough the bark. ]Many methods 

 of destroying it have been suggested, among 

 which, one of the simplest is to brush over every 

 infected part with size. But even this remedy 

 requires frequent repetition, as the insect infests 

 even those parts of the tree which are beneath the 

 ground. The subject is treated at length in the 

 Gardener's Magazine, vol. ix. p. 334. 



