AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
51 
'dugs of woody fibers ejected through the hole. 
In t.he second year, the insect assumes its per¬ 
fect form, leaving the trunk during the night, 
about the latter part of May or beginning of June, 
when it goes forth to lay eggs for a new genera- 
■ion. 
The nocturnal habits of this insect, make it the 
more difficult for the common farmer or orchadist 
to secure that full acquaintance with it, which is 
necessary to he able to stop its ravages. The only 
sure way to destroy these insects, is to attack 
them in the larvae state. During Summer, they 
must be hunted up, and cut out with a gouge, so 
thoroughly that, none remain. 
To guard orchards from further depredations, 
procure thick hardware paper and cover the trunk 
to the higlit of one foot above the ground, and one 
or two inches below it. Young orchards protected 
in this way, can be kept clear of this troublesome 
and destructive pest The paper covers must be 
renewed annually, and no later than the begin¬ 
ning of May. This can be best accomplished by 
removing the earth from the trunk with a garden 
trowel, and winding the paper and tying it close 
to the trunk to prevent the beetle from getting be¬ 
hind it. If the paper be coated with tar, as far as 
it is in contact with the ground, so much the bet¬ 
ter. After the paper is thus applied, the ground 
ought to be leveled around the trunk. If the per¬ 
fect insect deposites its eggs on this paper they 
will dry up when hatched, for want of nourish¬ 
ment, since the larvae live on the soft hark of the 
tree first, while young, and on the soft wood when 
older. Should they be capable of locomotion at 
this stage, they must go above the paper to enter 
the tree—which I have not found to be the case 
in three years’ close observation—or starve ; and 
should any enter above the paper unprotected by 
the grass, the birds would soon devour them. In 
case«tny escaped from them, the eye of the care¬ 
ful fruit-grower, would detect them at a glance in 
p issing the trees, when with a knife the mischief 
could soon be remedied, and the trifling wound 
would soon heal over again. 
With these paper covers, I protected a young 
orchard for the last three years. With a single 
exception only, not a borer gained foothold, and 
he secreted himself under the straw band by 
which the tree was secured to a stake three or 
four feet from the ground, whete the fruit-grower 
should frequently look during Summer. 
If any one considers all this too much trouble, 
he ought to make up his mind not to eat fruit of 
his own growing in a comparatively short time. 
J. S. Keller. 
Orwigsburg, Schuylkill. Co. Pa. 
Dec. 15. 1857. 
REMARKS. 
We commend the above plan to the attention 
of fruit-growers, as Mr. Keller is not the only 
one who has tried the paper wrappers with suc¬ 
cess. We have often recommended another mode 
of destruction. Like most night flying insects, 
the parent, beetles are either attracted or dazzled 
by a strong light, and if torches or bonfires are 
kindled in the evenings during the month of June, 
large numbers of these and other hurtful insects 
will fly into the flames, and be destroyed. An ex¬ 
cellent plan is to suspend a lantern over a vessel 
of soapsuds. The insects, striking the glass in 
their flight are precipitated into the water below, 
the soapy nature of which prevents their climbing 
up the sides 
The united action of a neighborhood would 
soon make inroads upon the swarms of insects, 
not excepting the curculio, which are a serious 
drawback tn the success of the fruit-grower, and 
materially dampen the ardor of the amateur. 
Pruning Peach Trees. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist: 
I found some stunted anil neglected peach trees, 
in a lot I purchased, standing in old sod, which, 
after turning over the sod around them, I boldly 
topped in the Fall—cutting away nearly all the 
old limbs, as I had seen recommended in your 
paper. Some said I had spoiled or killed my 
trees. I.ast Summer I had a crop of good 
peaches on these trees, and now they all have fine 
thrifty branches, while my neighbor’s trees just 
over the fence look scrawny and black, and they 
bore fruit about the size of a hickory nut. 
I advised him to serve his trees as I did mine, 
but he, good soul, don’t believe that the vigorous 
pruning, with a loosened soil and slight manur¬ 
ing alone worked the wonder, but thinks I did 
something more to them which I chose to keep a 
secret ! He is afraid to prune his trees—and so 
are many others; who, in consequence, have 
short lived trees and poor fruit. 1 am now satis¬ 
fied that the peach tree must be boldly pruned, 
and suppose it may be done just now as well as at 
any time. One season's fruit may be lost by it, 
hut you will then have renewed young trees in 
place of the old and unprofitable ones. 
E. F. Zevely. 
Cumberland, Md Dec. 30. 
Investigations upon certain Fruit Tree 
Insects. 
BY A. O. MOORE, NEW YORK. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist: 
My request in the December Agriculturist 
that any of your readers who had seen the Dark- 
louse, similar to the one there described, upon 
other trees than the Pear, should send me speci¬ 
mens, has called forth responses both numerous 
and interesting, from which I have derived more 
information on this subject of my investigations 
than I have been able to obtain from all my 
entomological books and acquaintances. 
Specimens of the Pear, Apple, Currant, 
American Mountain Ash and Elm, have been 
sent to me, upon all of which the same 
variety of Bark-louse, was found. I think 
that upon the Pear there is generally a larger de- 
velopement of the insect, though upon some 
young tender growths of other trees it reached 
the full size. 
As many of the letters accompanying speci¬ 
mens, contain items of general interest, I can¬ 
not do better than to make some extracts. 
Letter No I —From James Meyers, Norwood, 
Columbia Co., Penn., Dec. 1st. 1857. “.... 
About the first of June last, I discovered that 
some of my apple trees planted last Spring a 
year, were literally covered with this insect. I 
repeatedly washed them with soapsuds. This de¬ 
stroyed the insects upon all the trees but one, 
which for want of a sufficient supply of roots 
when planted, has been of slow growth. My at¬ 
tention being directed to the subject, I found 
that notwithstanding the repeated washings with 
soapsuds, this backward tree was again covered 
with the Bark-louse_” 
Note. —Mr. Meyers finds an increased liability 
to the attacks of this insect where the tree is of 
teeble growth Thistendency has been often no¬ 
ticed with almost all insects A thrifty growth 
is a great security against such depredators, first 
by rendering the juices of the tree less accessible 
or less palatable to the insect, and secondly, by the 
power which the plant then possesses to repair 
any damage it may have sustained. 
Letter Ijlo ,2.—Jacob Hewes, Leiperville, 
Delaware Co, Penn., 12 mo. 3, 1857 “.... 
enclose an apple twig, with the bark-louse upon 
it, taken from one of my neighbor’s trees. My 
remedy is soapsuds with a gill of spirits of tur¬ 
pentine to a bucketful, applied with a hand scrub 
which I find effectual....” 
Letter No. 3 —Mr. Elim L. Johnson, Durham, 
Ct., Dec. 7th, 1857. I discovered some 
four weeks ago, four of my pear trees white 
specks almost completely covering them from the 
ground to the tips of the limbs. Rubbing the stem 
of the tree with the back of my pruning knife 
produced a beautiful red color on the blade, 1 
concluded of course it was something that had 
life, and could not do the trees any good. (I take 
three agricultural papers but have neve/ seen 
anything written on the subject before.) 1 applied 
very strong soapsuds with a coarse woollen 
cloth, rubbing very smartly for several minutes on 
each tree. 1 am in the habit of washing my fruit 
trees in this manner each year about the first of 
October. Most ofthe trees are growing very finely, 
but those that have the louse upon them have 
grown very little during the past season. The 
affected trees were in good cultivated ground. 
Two were the Bartlett and two the Flemish 
Beauty. Other trees growing close to the affect¬ 
ed ones have none of the bark-ltce upon them. I 
have 110 apple trees, set. out four years ago, 
which are all entirely free from this insect. Last 
Spring I procured four Baldwin apple trees from 
a Flushing nursery; they have been carefully cul¬ 
tivated through the Summer, yet these four are 
all badly effected by the bark-louse_” 
Note. We may get a hint from Mr Johnson’s 
experience to watch carefully all importations in¬ 
to our grounds to see that no tree affected by 
this pest, is allowed to pass unnoticed; indeed, 
except in very rare • cases, every tree should be 
excluded which has a single louse upon it Nurs¬ 
ery men, for their own credit, and the good of 
their customers, should examine then trees, and 
free them from these and like insects before they 
are sold. This is a point too often, in the hurry 
of the season, neglected Mr. Johnson also states 
an important fact noticed by myself, that other 
trees growing near the affected ones are not at 
tacked. In other cases, however, the introduc¬ 
tion of a single leprous tree in an orchard, causes 
a contagion which reaches every tree. Ento¬ 
mologists state that the female of this insect is 
wingless, though the male is possessed of four 
wings. If this is the case it is an interesting in¬ 
quiry, how do these insects spread from tree to 
tree. Their minute size would almost preclude 
the idea of their crawling upon the ground from 
one tree to another. 
Letter No. 4—Lewis C. Francis, Springfield. 
Illinois, Dec. 8th, 1857. “ ....Enclosed you 
will find specimens of the same insect on apple 
branches, and n» mistake Your description of 
them is the only full, and complete one I have eveT 
seen I was in the dark with regard to them for 
a number of years and examined every fruit book 
I could find to know what they were, hut could 
find nothing said about them, and indeed. I have 
yet to see the first fruit hook in which they are 
even mentioned. The hooks describe the woolly 
aphis, and I tried for a long while to make myseil 
believe that these were they, but I could not see 
any wool about them. The books also describe 
the scaly bark-louse, of the same species but 
a different insect I finally procured Dr. Harris’ 
work, and in it I found a short description of them 
We have on one farm, three orchards, two ol 
which are very much affected with this insect, 
the third is perfectly free ind we intend keeping 
it bo .... ” 
