Reports to various Correspondents. 45 
alkali wash and again in the early summer with paraffin emulsion. 
Encouragement of the Blue Tit and other Tits or Parulm in gardens 
and orchards should always be the aim ot anyone inteiested in liuit 
culture.” 
Numerous other correspondents have written regarding this pest, 
which is fully dealt with elsewhere. 
The Apple Sucker. 
(. Psylla mali , Forster.) 
During the past season there has been a serious attack of this 
fruit tree pest in most of the fruit centres in Great Britain. From 
Herefordshire Mr. F. Getting, of Ashfield Park, writes : “ The Apple 
Sucker, with the exception of the Pear Midge, is the most difficult of 
the insect pests I have had to deal with. I have tried several washes, 
caustic alkali wash, paraffin and soft soap, quassia and soft soap, 
Spimo, etc., and up to the present have not found anything to 
materially reduce their numbers. Certainly the last two or three 
years they have increased more rapidly than ever, and I have not used 
the caustic alkali wash regularly (as in former winters). Whether 
this is merely a coincidence or not I cannot say.” 
Mr. Cecil Hooper, Secretary to the Kent Fruit Growers’ Asso- 
ciation, writes : “ The Apple Sucker is very plentiful, and is said to 
be on the increase in Kent.” 
In Sussex it does not seem to do any harm. Mr. Bear writes he 
has not noticed it in his district (Hailsham). 
Numerous observations have been made during the past summer 
upon this pest. In one instance it appeared in enormous numbers 
at Wye in the fruit plantation belonging to the South-Eastern Agri- 
cultural College, where it had scarcely been seen since the plantation 
was started. In my own garden I never remember seeing more than 
an occasional specimen, but this year some trees were smothered 
with the pest later in the season, and great numbers could be found 
by beating a neighbouring hawthorn hedge in July. 
The action of this pest on the trees is varied. In some instances 
the larval and pupal Psyllse destroy the developing buds entirely, 
both blossom and leaf buds being attacked ; in other cases the leaf 
buds unfold, and then the trees present a very curious aspect that 
was entirely due to the action of these insects. The blossom buds 
are most attacked. The leaves of the apple, instead of being 
normal, presented the appearance shown in Fig. 6 , b. They were 
mostly pallid, often having a frosty appearance and very much 
