372 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDE HER. 
[ October 21, 1886. 
wingless. Although it is a species occurring both on th e 
Apple and Pear, it is seldom injurious to the latter, as th e 
Apple is its favourite, and some varieties have been said to b e 
specially attacked—the Wellington, for instance. This scal e 
may swarm on the tender bark of the trunk, or cluster on the 
branches. In either case its colour and shape make it liable to 
be overlooked. Upon raising one of these scales in the spring, 
at the small end we perceive the shrivelled body of the parent 
and at the large end her progeny, some fifty or sixty eggs, which 
have been screened through the winter by the protective shell 
from the weather, partially perhaps from insect enemies. When 
hatched, the tiny scale, which ai - e whitish, flat, and able to make 
active use of their six legs, speedily quit the shell, travelling 
about rapidly as they employ their suckers in extracting sap. 
Not many days will have elapsed before the insects begin to 
fasten down, and they increase in size till they become pupae, 
then imagos, parents of the next year’s brood, for there seems to 
be but one each season. Yet it is a species capable of affecting 
the vitality of a tree seriously, besides greatly lessening its pro¬ 
duce of fruit. The application of oil—linseed oil has been found 
best—certainly kills this scale, but the possibility that harm may 
be caused by it leads us to scrach this off the list of remedies, 
since it may prove nearly as bad as the disease. A diligent 
scrubbing during autumn with a dressing compounded of soap 
and tobacco destroys the insect speedily. Some folks prefer the 
slower process of covering the bark with a paste, say of sof tsoap, 
sulphur, and clay, which gradually dries and drops off. Nicotine 
soap is excellent, but too expensive for use save in the case of 
choice trees; and the solution of petroleum, already recom¬ 
mended for a variety of insect pests, will bring away the mussel 
scale if a spring appearance of the young calls for washing or 
syringing. 
About the size of the preceding, though of habits quite dif¬ 
ferent, is the weevil that attacks the blossom of the Apple, 
Anthronomus pomorum, an insect more destructive in continental 
than in English orchards, but it occasionally does notable damage 
here, and a backward season favours its increase. It is worth 
while to explain how this is. The female beetle is particularly 
fastidious and goes from flower bud to flower bud, selecting those 
of a certain size and fulness which will suit her progeny; the 
more rapid therefore the opening of the buds, the shorter is the 
time for the weevil to lay eggs. This may make a difference of 
from one week to two or more in the time this species is busy. 
We have to thank Roller for pointing out this fact, one at least 
against the theory of some country folks that late seasons are 
likely to be best. Should a weevil, as may happen, deposit eggs 
on blossoms too far advanced, the newly hatched grub generally 
dies for lack of sufficient shelter from sun and rain. A single 
egg is placed in each blossom visited, and small as the weevil is 
the number each female deposits is presumed to be considerable, 
the beak being broughkinto use to pierce the Apple bloom. 
About a week after the grub emerges, white, with a black head, 
and it devours the stamens and pistils, finishing on the receptacle 
itself, but avoiding the peta’s. Three weeks mostly suffice for 
its growth to maturity, when it changes to pupa in the flower, 
and the beetle or weevil is speedily developed. 
Infected blossoms cannot be cured, but their removal dimin¬ 
ishes next season’s brood of enemies to the Apple, and we have 
to thank several of the smaller birds for their assiduous attention 
to the flower buds, they having a taste which leads them to hunt 
up this grub in the spring. Unfortunately, the grower of fruit 
is less grateful to them than he might be if they went to work 
differently, for it is certain they open a great many buds (by 
accident, no doubt) which are free from the weevil maggot. 
When the insect emerges from the bud, should it escape men 
and birds, it crawls about the tree3 for weeks, or even months, 
feeding occasionally on the leaves, but keeping itself much con¬ 
cealed, so that it is seldom noticed. The dropping of the leaves 
is its warning to quit the tree ere the cold nights of autumn 
come, and it then gets a lodgment amongst stones on the surface 
of loose soil, or enters cracks in rough bark, where, however, 
enemies still follow it, for it is hunted up by the wren, titmouse, 
spanow, and other birds during winter. It has been suggested 
to adopt the same expedient with the female weevils that has 
been successfully tried in the case of the winter moth— i.e., to 
draw a line of tar or something else sticky round the trees, which 
those that may crawl out of the earth in spring will not crawl 
over. Those hiding under bark may most of them be removed 
if proper measures are taken during winter to clear away frag¬ 
ments and keep the trunks and branches clean. Shaking the 
twigs frequently at the egg-laying time will bring down 8 'me 
weevils, yet this is but partially of service. Something might 
be done possibly to keep them away from the buds by moistening 
these with a liquid that would be distasteful to the insects, 
though not hurtful to the Apple bloom. 
The lisette or purple weevil of the Apple (Rhynchitis Bacchus) 
is so named from the colour of the insect, which is golden purple 
when it is fully developed, tinged with blue. This is a largish 
weevil, nearly half an inch long. For many years past we have 
not been much troubled by this pest of the Apple, a later one 
than the preceding insect. After the Apples have attained some 
size the females bore holes into the smooth side of the fruit, 
depositing in each from one to four eggs, generally two. The 
grubs feed without touching the core until they are full grown, 
then they bring the Apple to the ground, quit it, and enter the 
earth, becoming pupse, from which about May appear the beetles. 
It is an insect also frequenting the Plum and Cherry, especially 
on the Continent. Of the same genus, smaller, and of different 
habit, is the weevil that some call the stem-borer, in science R. 
alliari®, and if we catch one of these little creatures for examina¬ 
tion we see that the eyes are set at the lower end of the long beak, 
so that they cannot be injured by its boring operations; and as to 
bore successfully one must have a firm hold, the feet are well 
equipped with pads and hooks, enabling the weevil to cling while 
piercing to either a rough or a smooth surface. The plan pursued 
by this injurious species is first to pierce a young shoot, and a 
hole being made, the weevil widens it next into a little chamber 
to make a comfortable abode for her offspring; her last act is to 
cut off the shoot about 4 or 5 inches from the tip, or else to leave 
it hanging merely by a bit of the bark. The beetles appear in 
the month of June, and small though they are their steely blue 
colour makes them conspicuous, so they may be picked off young 
trees or shaken into sheets placed beneath. Where the insect 
occurs a careful search is advisable for all of the portions of 
twigs cut off, which should be collected and burnt. The formid¬ 
able Apple-bark beetle of the Continent (Xyloterus dispar), 
happily for us is very rare in Britain, but it has long been 
observed that the bark of our trees is occasionally infested by a 
less, yet rather similar insect, supposed for a time to be the 
identical species so destructive to Elms (Scolytus destructor), it 
is now regarded as distinct and named S. hoemorrhous. It is 
minute, scarcely a line in length. The maggots feed in parties 
under the bark from June till the following spring. The general 
opinion of fruit growers who have observed it is that the beetle 
only attacks unhealthy trees. Other beetles, occasional foes to 
the Apple, need not be mentioned, but I must name the garden 
beetle, Phyllopertha hcrticola, a species that as larva feeds on 
the roots of our vegetables or on roots of grasses, and as a summer 
beetle nibbles the leaves of various fruit trees and even devours 
the just-forming fruit. Lastly, I should note that under the 
bark of Apple trees or in cracks we sometimes find parties of 
mites, chiefly of the genus Rhizoglyphus, much discussed in 
these pages a short time since as being either the cause or the 
consequence of canker.— Entomologist. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Cleaning up. —Our vegetable garden is fast assuming a winter 
aspect. The late Peas are over, Broad Beans are withered, Dwaif Kidney 
Beans have ripened oil, Runner Beans have ceased to flower or f urn 
fresh pods, Potatoes have all been harvested, and in short affairs generally 
have come to a standst 11 ; but the garden would be untidy if left in its 
present state, and in all cases a general and good cleaning up should be 
given. Pea and Bean straw never make good manure, and the best way 
is to burn them on the ground that they have been drawn from. Dead 
leaves of every description should be put in a heap to decay for manure. 
Where the Teas have been supported by wire netting roll this up care¬ 
fully and store it for another season. Where the Peas and Runner Beans 
are staked pick out the best cf these and put them away fjr another 
season ; they do very well for mixing with new ones. If it is too damp 
to hoe among young crops hand-weed them, and clear away everything 
that is unsightly or of no further use, and the garden will soon appear in¬ 
teresting and pleasing again. 
KiTCmN Garden Walks. —Many put these in order at the begin¬ 
ning of t 1 e summer, but it is of more importance that they be put in 
order at the commencement of winter, as a low damp walk is hardly 
noticed in the summer ; but now that there is so much rain and through¬ 
out the winter when the pathways are frequently wet, a walk in bad con¬ 
dition is very objectionable. They ought to be a few inches higher along 
the centre than at the sides, and with a high and drypidge in tbe middle 
comfort to the feet is insured at all t’mes. Where the walks are much 
