Apr.] THE FRUIT GARDEN. 399 



here and give way to nothing but the gi'owing wood and bark. 

 It is necessary to use earthenware, as the mercury will corrode 

 metal or wood. 



Wherever this mixture is applied, it will infallibly desti'oy 

 the aphis, or any other insect, and prevent emigrants from 

 infested trees lodging on the wounded parts, or feeding on the 

 juices of the young growing bark, owing to its poisonous 

 quality. No person need be afraid of any mischief to any 

 domestic animal, as the noxious smell and taste of the tar 

 prevent every danger. 



Grubs, which are the larvae of beetles, are very destructive 

 to the roots of plants. Of this genus the most common is the 

 scarabccus melolentha, the eggs of which species are deposited 

 in the ground by the parent insect, which, from its form, is 

 well calculated for burrowing. From each of these eggs pro- 

 ceeds a whitish worm, which is destined to live in the earth 

 in that form for four years, and in that time undergoes various 

 changes of its skin until it assumes its chrysalid form. These 

 creatures, in immense numbers, work beneath the turf in rich 

 meadows, devouring the roots of the grass to such a degree, 

 that the turf may be rolled up almost with as much ease, as if 

 it had been cut with the spade or turfing-iron ; and underneath, 

 the soil appears turned into a soft mould for about an inch in 

 depth. In this, the grub lies in a curved position on its back, 

 the head and tail uppermost, and the rest of the body buried 

 in the mould. Such are the devastations committed by the 

 grubs of the cock-chaffer, that whole fields of gi*ass, in the 

 summer season, become in a few weeks as dry and brittle as 

 withered hay, occasioned by these gi'ubs devouring the roots, 

 and destroying all those fibres which fastened it to the gi'ound. 

 The larvae having continued four years in the ground, undergo 

 another change, to effect which, they dig deep into the ground, 

 sometimes five or six feet, and there spin a smooth case, 

 in which they change into a chrysalis. They remain in this 

 state all the winter, till about the month of February, when they 

 become perfect beetles, but with their bodies quite soft and 

 white. In INIay, their parts are hardened, and then they come 

 forth out of the earth. This accounts for our not finding the 

 perfect insect in the ground. This species of beetle should be 



