1 
170 
substance of the wood, but they never penetrate into the heart-wood. 
Their presence may be known by the copious mass of thick gum 
mixed with their detritus; and they are more generally in that part 
of the tree at or just beneath the surface of the ground, though some¬ 
times in the crotches or other parts. It is said, by Dr. Fitch, to be 
found in the plum tree as well as the peach, and Harris adds cherry 
trees. 
The eggs from which these borers are hatched are deposited the 
latter part of summer upon the trunk of the tree, usually near the 
roots. When hatched, the larva eat their way downward in the bark 
and sapwood of the root, where it remains till the spring of the fol¬ 
lowing season, when its course is towards the surface of the ground 
and the outside of the tree. In June or July it prepares a place of 
exit and transforms to a pupa in a cocoon composed of its chips and 
castings, mingled with gum, to come out as moth in July or August. 
The two sexes of the moths differ enough to be easily mistaken for 
different species. The male has both wings transparent, with the 
fringes and a band beyond the middle of the fore wings, and the body 
steel blue, but the palpi, the edges of the shoulder tufts, and two nar¬ 
row bands on the abdomen, pale yellow Expands about an inch. The 
female expands about an inch and a half; has the fore wings border 
of hind wings, and body obaque; dark steel blue throughout, except 
a dark yellow band on the abdomen. 
Remedies .—Among the many remedies that have been tried with 
this insect, that known as ‘-mounding” seems to be the most satisfac¬ 
tory, a system that is in practice by some of our most successful fruit 
growers. To st&te the process briefly, in the spring before the moths 
emerge (April), a bank of dirt a foot deep is thrown round the tree 
and pressed firmly about the trunk. Each subsequent spring a little 
more earth is placed on the mound and pressed around the trunk as 
before. Mr. B. Pullen, of Centralia, states that they should not be 
mounded till they are four years old, but examine them in April and 
September of every year, previous to that age, and with a knife des¬ 
troy all boreis that may be found. This has been found to be an ex¬ 
cellent preventive, but where trees are already suffering from them, 
the earth may be removed from the roots and a copious application of 
hot water made to the tree. This may be applied at any season, and 
will be very effectual in killing the larvae or any eggs that may be 
present. 
Algeria pyri, Harris.—The Pear-tree Borer. 
The lar vae of this species lives under the bark of the pear-tree, and 
has a habit similar to the preceding. The following is Dr. Harris’ 
description of the moth : “Its wings expand rather more than half 
an inch, are transparent, but veined, bordered and fringed with pur¬ 
plish black, and across the tips of the fore wings is a broad dark band 
glossed with coppery tints; the prevailing color of the upper side of 
the body is purplish black, but most of the underside is golden yel¬ 
low, as are the edges of the collar of the shoulder covers, and of the 
