
          39

He speaks of covering trunk to keep away insects.--"Teguments 
of straw or bass made the bark tender; and it threw
out under the covering sickly shoots.: [(yellows?)]

He knew the borer: "The worm or grub produced by the 
wasp, depositing its progeny in the soft bark near the surface
of the ground, is the most common destroyer." x x

"When trees become sickly, I grub them up. I find that
sickly trees often infect those in vigour near them,  by some
morbid effluvia." x x

"Although I have had trees twenty years old, and know
some of double that age ( owing probably to the induration of
the bark rendering it impervious to the wasp, and the strength
acquired when they had survived early misfortunes ), yet in
general they do not live in tolerable health after bearing
four of five crops." x x "The shoots of the last season 
were remarkably injured by the excessive drought; and the
extremities of many limbs are entirely dead." [Feb. 11.] x x

Fifteen or sixteen years ago [1790], I lost 150 trees
in full bearing in the course of two summers, by a disease
engendered in the first season.  I attribute its origin to
some morbid affectation in the air,[.] x x The disorder being
generaly prevalent, would among animals, have been called an 
        