The Boxwood and Its Enemies 
By Bruce Butterton, Rhode Island. 
UNTIL recent years very little attention was given 
to the cultivation of the Boxwood in this coun- 
try. Occasionally, without any special care on 
the part of the owner, a specimen would be seen 
growing- upon a lawn or planted on the side of a 
path leading to the front door of some farm house; 
sometimes it was used by a private gardener to outline 
the walks of his vegetable or flower garden. On the 
whole, it was a very much abused and neglected little 
evergreen shrub, and was seldom seen in its full vigor 
and beauty. Since gentlemen of America, however, have 
begun building large villas and laying out beautiful 
French and Italian gardens, the demand for the Boxwood 
has become very great. As a result, the nurseries of 
England and Holland have been completely cleared out 
of large size plants, and it is difficult at the present time 
to procure in Europe any great number of good specimens 
of Bush Box over thirty inches high, for last season there 
were more than 120,000 plants used in planting one New- 
port garden. Even a greater number would have been 
used, if it were possible to procure them in time. 
With the increased popularity of the Buxus, the nurs- 
erymen and private gardeners have found it necessary to 
give it some thought and study. Buxus is always ex- 
pensive, and many dealers and gardeners have met with 
heavy losses through ignorance of its proper care and 
from the attacks of insect pests. Many of our growers 
believed that a severe winter was its only enemy, but 
more recently, however, they have found out at con- 
siderable expense that such is not the case. 
The Buxus makes its entire growth during the months 
of June and the early part of July. . At this season of the 
year, it requires the greatest amount of care and watching 
in order to obtain perfect results. Thousands of plants 
are lost during the growing period from lack of water to- 
gether with the ravages of the Leaf Miner, Oyster Shell 
Scale, and Red Spider. 
The Boxwood likes shelter from the cold winds but is 
soon injured by any close covering that comes in contact 
with its foliage. I have also found that if the snow is left 
lying against the plants for several days, the leaves will 
sometimes turn brown and die. A strong string tied 
around the plants to prevent them from being broken with 
the snow is all the protection that I give them in winter. 
The plants require an abundance of water during June 
and July ; spray the foliage every day if possible. It will 
wash off the aphis, kill the red spider and help keep the 
Oyster Shell scale under control, thereby increasing the 
health and beauty of the plants. 
The Oyster Shell scale is very injurious to the Boxwood 
if it is not discovered in time and properlv sprayed. If 
patches of yellow, unhealthy looking foliage appear upon 
any part of the plant, it is well to break off a small branch 
of the diseased part and examine it very closely. It may 
be infested with this pest. Oyster Shell scale can be seen 
with the naked eye. The young shoots will be covered 
with a very small shell-shaped scale, sometimes so close 
together that they overlap each other like shingles. 
If you should take a penknife and with the point re- 
move one of these scales, turn it upside down upon the 
palm of your hand, and examine it closely, you would find 
that it contained a number of very small bluish white eggs. 
Because these eggs are so well protected while under the 
mother scale, I know of no way of destroying them with 
poison ; so we must wait a little while for our revenge. 
Examine the plants again about June 15. At this time 
the new growth upon the box will be about two inches 
long. You will then notice tiny white specks about the 
edge of the old scale. These white specks are the young 
scale coming forth to make a home for themselves upon 
the new growth. They sink their proboscis into the ten- 
der young shoots and there remain through their entire 
life robbing the plant of its sap and completing the deadly 
work which its parent so well began. At this time, which 
marks the tenderest period of the insect's existence, is the 
best time to attack it with some good contact poison. L'se 
a force pump and a Bordeaux nozzle on the end of the 
hose ; be sure and wet the stem of the plant as well as the 
leaves and spray thoroughly. If soluble oil is used for 
spraying box, be sure that the mixture is fresh and that 
it has not been allowed to heat by standing in the sun ; this 
may cause the raw oil to become free and float upon the 
surface. In this condition the free oil will come in direct 
contact with the leaves of the plant and burn brown spots 
in them, thus disfiguring them for the entire season. I 
have found it a good plan to spray box early in the 
morning when the plants are covered with dew. If the 
oil is free, it will mix with the moisture upon the plants 
and the leaves will not be burnt. 
The arch enemy of the Buxus is the Monarthropalpus 
Buxi, commonly called Box Leaf Miner. It is a small fly 
about two-tenths of an inch in length and with a wing 
spread of one half an inch. It is colored a bright orange 
and its wings are pure white. The male and female have 
the same characteristics to the eye. This same fly is re- 
lated to the Hessian fly, which is known as one of the 
worst destroyers of the wheat in the western wheat belt. 
It was first discovered in Newport by the writer in the 
spring of 1910, when it did considerable damage to the 
Boxwood upon the private estate of Edward J. Berwind. 
Although new to us in this country, the insect is well 
known in Europe and was probably imported to America 
along with the Buxus. 
During the winter and early spring, the Monarthropol ■ 
pus Buxi makes its home between the two skins of the 
box leaf and feeds upon the tissue. Later in the season it 
develops into a fly, eats a small hole through the skin of 
the leaf and flies awav to find a suitable place to lay its 
eggs in the soft new foliage. In a short time, the injured 
box leaves begin to turn brown and drop off, sometimes 
the plant being left entirely defoliated. Because of its 
habit, the Leaf Miner was thought to be hard to de- 
stroy. It was found to lie impracticable to spray or fu- 
migate the plants while the maggot was inside the leaf, 
because in such a case it would be necessary to use a 
very strong poison or gas which would destroy the leaf 
as well as the insect, if the poison penetrated sufficiently 
through the skin of the leaf. 
I decided that in order to conquer the pest, we must 
learn more of its habits. At intervals I sent infested 
plants to Messrs A. E. Stene of the Rhode Island Agri- 
cultural College at Kingston, R. I., and II. L. Frost of 
Arlington, Mass. Mr. Stene discovered that this pest is 
only in the flying stage of its existence about ten days ; 
this is usually in the early part of June when the new 
growth upon the Boxwood is very soft. During this time, 
the insect is very active. In the early morning they may 
be seen in great numbers hovering over the box plants. 
The female insect deposits her eggs not upon the sur- 
face, but forces them into the tissue of the leaf where 
thev will be protected from all harm. 
{Continued on page 2r<2.) 
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