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MANUAL OF INJUEIOUS INSECTS

AND

METHODS OF PKEVENTION.

MANUAL OF INJUEIOUS INSECTS,

VtlTU SIETHODS OF

PEEVENTION AND KEMEDY

FOR THEIR ATTACKS TO

FOOD CEOPS, FOKEST TEEES, AND FEUIT,

AND WITH

S^ort littrobttctbn to @«tomoloc

BY

ELEANOE A. OEMEEOD, F.M.S., &c.,

AUTHOR OF THE 'C0BH4.JI JOURNALS,' 'REPORTS ON INJURIOUS INSECTS,' ETC.

LONDON: W. SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & ALLEN, PATERNOSTER SQUARE.
EDESIBURGH: J. MENZIES & CO., HANOVER STREET.

lAll rights reserved.']

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PRINTED I!Y WEST, NEWMAN AND CO..

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LANDOWNEES,
FAEMEKS, FOEESTEES, AND GAEDENEES,

OF

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND,

AND ESPECIALLY TO

THOSE WHO HAVE ASSISTED IN THE WOEK,
IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED

BY
THEIR OBEDIENT SERVANT,

THE WRITER.

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PEEFACE.

Before entering on this volume I wish to express
the obligations I am under to the many contributors
who have helped me to form it, and to thank them
not only for the information which they have allowed
me to publish, but also for the invariable kind courtesy
with which my applications have been received.

A work of this kind, involving measures of treatment
of the most varied nature, must necessarily be a
compilation from many som-ces, and these I have
acknowledged as far as possible throughout, either by
appending initials, the name being given in full in
the list of contributors ; or by the title of the publication
from which the information was taken, and by reference
to which the various points may be verified. Some
of the assistance, however, has been so continuous
throughout the work that I cannot thus fully acknowledge
it, and I wish especially to express my thanks to Mr.
Malcolm Dunn, of Dalkeith, first, for aiding me in
forming the plan of the volume, and for much valuable

Vlll PREFACE.

information and suggestion; as well as for the intro-
ductions, by means of which much excellent contribution
has been obtained. To Mr. George Brown, jun., Watten,
Caithness, I offer my thanks for advice and assistance
throughout the progress of the work, and especially for
his valuable help and information regarding points of
agricultural treatment entered on in the part regarding
" Food Crops," for which I am much indebted. To
Mr. Charles Whitehead I am greatly obliged for
information regarding insect-prevention in the Hop-
grounds ; and I desire also to acknowledge with thanks
the courteous offers of assistance, and valuable donations
of books on the subject of Economic Entomology
received from various members of the Entomological
Department of the Government of the United States of
America.

I should wish to add the name of my sister and
constant assistant. Miss G. Ormerod, to those who have
aided me in this work.

Many of the illustrations are reproductions from the
beautiful figures drawn from life by John Curtis for his
' Farm Insects,' for the use of which I am indebted to
the kind courtesy of Messrs. Blackie & Son, Glasgow ;
and I am under obligation to the proprietors of the

PREFACE. IX

' Gardeners' Chronicle ' for extended permission to avail
myself in this volume of the electros of which use was
originally kindly allowed for my Reports ; these are
partly from the pencil of John Curtis, partly from that
of Prof. Westwood. I am also indebted to Mr. John
Kirchner for the care and skill with which he has
engraved the figures placed in his hands for this
volume.

In offering this work I am only too well aware how
imperfect it is, partly from the need that exists of
more information regarding habits of insects (especially
forest pests), together with methods of prevention
recorded from observations in this country ; partly
from my own inability to perform the task as such a
work should be done. I have earnestly endeavoured
to form a volume that might, happily, be of some
service in this important field ; but to do this work
thoroughly requnes great powers, and it is only
throuoh the kind assistance afforded me that I have

O

been able to do anything towards it ; and it is not
without uneasiness that I venture to lay my attempts
before readers well able to form a hotter judgment than
myself on some, perhaps many, of the points wli..h

have been entered on.

6

X PREFACE.

Any information that ma}^ kindly be forwarded by
those practically acquainted with the subject towards
supplying points that are deficient would be gladly
received, either for addition or correction, should the
work pass to a second edition; or for insertion in the
* Yearly Eeports on Injurious Insects.'

Eleanor A. Ormerod.

Dunster Lodge, near Isleworth,
May 24th, 1881.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Introduction --------- xiii

Introduction to Entomology xvii

PAKT I.

Food Crops and the Insects that injure thf.m - - 1

PART II.

Forest Trees and the Insects that injure them - 173

PART III.

Fruit Crops and the Insects that injure them - - 247

Glossary - . - . 315

INTKODUCTION.

The object of the present volume is to give in as
concise a form as possible some account of the insects
that are commonly injurious to om- food crops, forest
trees, and fruit, together with methods of treatment that
have been found serviceable in preventing attacks, or in
averting serious damage.

It is not possible, in the limits of a Manual intended
to be really a "handy book," to offer anything like
complete details of the life-histories of the insects, but
it has been endeavoured to notice such of the more
important points in their appearance, their methods of
attack, and the various transformations they undergo in
the different stages of their existence, as with the help of
the figure may enable the reader to ascertain which of
the insects that are commonly injurious his crop may be
suffering from.

The different kinds of attack are arranged alphabeti-
cally under the headings of Food Crops, Forest Trees, and
Fruit, beginning respectively with Asparagus, Ash, and
Apple ; and the insects attacking each crop or tree are
similarly arranged alphabetically under such crop, by
the name by which they are cominonlij known, as Turnip
*'Fly," "Wireworm," &c.

The number of synonj-ms or scientific names used by
different writers cause some difficulty; therefore, in

XIV INTRODUCTION.

cases of doubt, where the writer quoted from is one of
our known authorities, the name used by him has been
selected that the information might be preserved
entire.

With regard to methods of prevention : the most
serviceable of these are based, not on applications when
the crop or trees are undergoing attack, but rather on
modes of cultivation and treatment which may diminish
the amount of insect-presence beforehand, by clearing
away all points of harbourage and breeding-places, as
well as attacking the pest generally and on a broad scale
at the points where the details of its habits show that it
is most open to injury. Also on means adapted to
promote vigorous and healthy growth, whereby we lessen
the liability of the plant to sustain damage, first, by
pushing it forward in its early stages, and afterwards by
enabling it to overcome or outgrow the damage it may
suffer in cases of ordinary amount of attack.

The difficulty is when we get to special applications,
for in these cases the success of the remedy depends on
many circumstances, such as weather, character of the
soil, condition of the crop, and the time of day when
used ; as many dressings applied when the dew is on
will totally fail if used when the leafage is dry or in the
heat of the day.

In the various methods of treatment mentioned
throughout the volume an endeavour has been made to
give only such as have been found to answer b}^ trust-
worthy observers, or which by comparison of observations
may be presumed to be of service ; but many points of
agricultural practice necessarily vary as much as the
soils do in different parts of our island, and the reader
is especially requested to bear this in mind where

INTRODUCTION. XV

treatment recorded as serviceable in one district should
not be in accordance with what is desirable in another, as
it is impossible in this little book to give the full details ;
and the best treatment — even such as has been worked
out by men thoroughly acquainted with the science and
practice of their calling — cannot be universally applicable.

In a very few instances treatment which must be
altogether exceptional has been recorded, attention being
draicn to this point. This is especially the case with
the large amount of Turnip-seed noted as having been
advised by some growers, at page 149, in order to make
up such a thick plant as might counterbalance the
ravages of the Turnip Fly ; an amount by which, failing
the insect-attack, the crop would be ruined hj a few days'
neglect in singling, and far exceeding anything service-
able on land which can be pulverized to a line tilth, and
where seed at the rate of two and a half to four pounds
the acre is amply sufficient ; but a very different state
prevails on many clay soils, where mechanical means are
often insufficient to reduce the land to a proper surface,
and consequently much seed is wasted and the rough
ground forms a most favourable shelter for the " Fly " ;
the suggestion, however, must be looked on as quite
exceptional, and in two other cases of remedies advised
theoretically, but very unsafe in practice, attention is
dra^Ti to the point by italics.

A few words may be added regarding the properties of
gas-lime as a protection against insect-attack, which are
not yet so well known as they ought to be. On its first
removal from the purifying-chambers it is destructive of
life to insect and vegetable alike, but by exposure to
atmospheric action, or by being mixed with the soil, it
absorbs oxygen, and gradually changes into sulphate of

XVI INTRODUCTION.

lime or gypsum — a safe and serviceable manure. It is
a valuable dressing for insect-infested land, laid on, and
dug or ploughed in, in the autumn. Notes of application
of this remedy to special insects' attacks are given.

There are many other points which it might be well
to enter on further, but space does not allow ; and
having been desired to add some notes which might
serve as a kind of Introduction to Entomology, it is
endeavoured in the following pages to give as shortly as
possible some information regarding the main points of
insect-life, such as the egg ; the characteristics of insects
in their three successive states of life ; the principles of
classification, with a table of the thu-teen orders into
which insects are classified ; and a short description of
the chief distinctions of these orders ; to Avhicli (preceding
the Index) a Glossary is added, with explanation of some
of the most commonly used entomological terms.

INTRODUCTION TO ENTOMOLOGY.*

Insects begin their lives either by being hatched from
eggs, or produced aUve by the female ; commonly they
are hatched in the form known as maggots, caterpillars,
or grubs, but they are never generated by decaying
vegetables, putrid water, bones, carcases, dung, or any
other matter, dead or alive, excepting their own insect
forerunners. They come out of these matters constantly,
but, if the observer will watch, he may often see the
arrival of the insects, the laying of the eggs, and be able
to satisfy himself as to the gradual development and the
method of breeding, and that the progeny is produced
by the female insect.

The eggs are usually laid soon after the pairing of the
male and female, and are deposited on or near whatever
may be the food of the larvae. They are laid singly or
in patches, and are sometimes attached by a gummy
secretion to the leaf or whatever they are laid on;
occasionally they are fastened by a short thread, or
raised (like the heads of pins) on a stiff foot-stalk
of hardened viscid matter. Such insects as insert
their eggs in living animal or vegetable matter are
furnished with a special egg-laying apparatus or
ovipositor, such as a borer, or organs enclosing bristle-
like points or saws, by means of which the female
pierces a hole, and passes the egg down mto the wounded
spot.

For the most part insect-eggs hatch shortly after they
are laid, but sometimes they remain unhatched during

* For the meaning of special entomological terms, and fuller explana-
tions of some of the details, the reader is referred to the Glossary- preceding
the Index.

XVm INTRODUCTION TO

the winter ; and it is believed that, where circumstances
are unfavourable to development, they may remain
unhatched for years, but this point is one of those
subjects on which more information is needed. They
have been found to endure intense cold without injury,
and, besides some special and extraordinary instances, it
has been found by experiment that insect-eggs may be
exposed to a temperature lower than that to which they
are usually subjected in this country, and cold enough
to solidify their contents without destroying their powers
of hatching.

In a very few cases insects are partly developed
before birth, otherwise, after hatching from the egg, or
being produced alive (in the same first stage of develop-
ment) by the female, insects pass their lives in three
different conditions or stages successively.

The first is that in which they are known as maggots,
grubs, or caterpillars; in the case of Grasshoppers,
Cockroaches and some other insects, where the young
are very much the same shape as the parent, only
without wings, they usually go by the parent's name;
the young of Green-fly are sometimes known as "nits."
In this state' they are active, voracious, and increase in
size ; and in this first stage all insects are scientifically
termed larvce.

In the second stage some orders of insects are usually
inactive and cannot feed, as is the case with the chrysalis
of the Butterfly, or the mummy-like form of the Beetle
or Wasp with its limbs in distinct sheaths folded down
beneath it ; some, however, are active and feed, as
Grasshoppers, Cockroaches, Aphides (or Green-fly), and
others, and resemble the j^arent insect, excepting that
their wings and for the most part their wing-cases are
not as yet fully formed ; and in this second stage all
insects are scientifically termed yupte.

The third state is that of the perfect insect, in which
(whether male or female, or of whatever different kind,
as Moth, Beetle, Cricket, Aphis, &c.) it is scientifically
termed an imago.

ENTOMOLOGY. XIX

The term Larva is from the Latm, meaumg a mask
or ghost, and signifies that the insect in this stage gives
a mere vague idea of its perfect form.

Pupa signifies an infant, and is appropriate to the
second stage in which the insect is foriiuiui into the
perfect state, hut is not fully developed either in its
limhs or functions.

Imago signifies the image, the likeness, or an example
of the perfect insect. The appropriateness of the
scientific names for the first and third stage does not
seem very clear, hut there is no doubt of the convenience
of having some one term by which each diflerent stage of
life of any insect may be described ; and these are the
words that have been adopted ; in the following pages
some detail is given of these three successive stages of
development.

Larva. — Maggot, grub, caterpillar, &c. If an insect-
egg about to hatch is held against the light, or examined
as a transparent object by means of a strong magnifier,
it will be seen that there is a speck inside which increases
in size and becomes more regular in shape daily, until it
is too large for the egg to contain, when it breaks through
this thin film which serves as an egg-shell, and often
begins life by eating it. This is the larva. It is
usually hatched from an egg, but sometimes is produced
alive (as some fly-maggots, or Aphides during the summer
months). When it is coloured and has many, feet, it is
usually called a caterpillar ; white fleshy larvae, such as
those of many beetles or flies, are commonly known as
grubs or maggots ; such as resemble the parent insect
are usuallj^ known by the name of this insect ; but the
term of "worm" or "slug" is objectionable, as it leads
to confusion.

LarvaB difl'er ver}^ much in appearance : some are
legless, cylindrical, or tapering at one end, blunt at the
other, with the head (which is soft and furnished with
hooks by wa}^ of feeding apparatus) capable of being
drawTi some way back into the maggot ; many fly-maggots
are of this kind ; some larvae are legless or with a mere

XX INTRODUCTION TO

rudiment of a pair of legs on the three rings behind the
head, fiesh}^ smallest at the tail, and fm-nished with
distinct head and jaws ; such are some kinds of beetle and
wasi3-grubs ; others are strong and fat, a few inches in
length, with three pairs of legs well developed — as the
Cockchafer grub.

The caterpillars of the butterflies and moths are often
beautifully marked, and have for the most part a pair of
articulated feet on each of the three segments behind the
head, and pairs of fleshy appendages called sucker-feet on
some of the other segments and at the end of the tail,
not exceeding sixteen in all. These "sucker-feet" enable
the caterpillar to hold firmly to the twigs they frequent.
Proceeding onwards still by number of feet, the cater-
pillars of the Sawllies will be found in almost every case
(Corn Sawlly, C. ■pijgiiKeiis, excepted) to have, besides the
three pairs of true feet, five, six, or seven pairs of
sucker-feet, and also the pair at the end of the tail
(known as the caudal proleg). In some cases (as with
CTrasshoi)pers, Aphides or Green-fly, Plant-bugs, &c.)
the 3^oung in the first stage — whether produced alive or
hatched from the egg — much resembles the parent, that
is, has a distinct insect shape of head, with horns,
trunk or thorax, furnished with six legs, and abdomen ;
and differs mainly in size and in being wingless ; but,
whether in this shape, or what is known as grub, maggot,
or caterpillar, or whatever kind of insect it may belong
to in this first stage, it is scientifically a larva.

In this larval stage the insect feeds voraciously and
often grows fast : the skin does not expand beyond
certain limits, and when this point is arrived at, the
larva ceases feeding for a while ; the skin loosens,
cracks, and is cast ofl" by the creature inside, which
comes out in a fresh coat, sometimes like the previous
one, sometimes of a different colour or differently marked.
This operation is known as moulting, and occurs from
time to time till the larva has reached its full growth.
The duration of life in the first or larval state is various ;
in some instances it only extends over a week or two ;

ENTOMOLOGY. XXI

ill some (as with the "Wireworm and caterpillar of the
Goat Moth) it lasts for a period of three, four, or five
years. As far as observations go at present — that is to
sa}', -^-itli such kinds as have at present been observed —
larviB are not injured by an amount of cold much beyond
what they are commonly called on to bear in this
country ; but they are liable to injury from over supply
of moisture, whether from sudden rain in warm weather
or from full fiow^ of sap of their food-plant, and in this
point of their constitutions we have a principle that may
help much towards getting rid of them. When the
larva has reached its full growi;h it ceases feeding,
and (in the forms known as caterpillar, grub, or maggot)
it either goes down into the ground and forms a cell in
the earth, or spins a "cocoon" (that is, a web) round
itself of threads drawn from the lower lip (as in the well-
known Silkworm-cocoon), or in some way it makes or
seeks a shelter in which it changes from the state of
larra to that of pupa. See figs., pp. 38, 101, 192, &c.

Piij)(i. — Chrysalis. It is much to be regretted that we
have no generally-adopted word, excepting "chrysalis"
(which is commonly used in the case of butterflies or
moths), to describe the second stage of insect life in which
it is changing from the state of hirra to that of the
complete insect.

Whilst in this condition it is for the most part without
power of feeding and perfectly inactive, lying (in the
instance of Beetles, Bees and Wasps, and some others)
with the limbs in sheaths folded beneath the breast and
body, or (as with Butterflies and Moths) protected by
a hardened coating secreted from the pores of the
creature within, when it casts its last larval skin.
The method of this change may be easily observed
in the case of the caterpillar of the Peacock-butterfly,
which fastens itself by the tail, and then (after its black
and silver-spotted skin has cracked) by infinite WTiggiing
and struggling passes this cast-oti' skin backward, till it
is pressed together at the tip of the tail ; and the
creature from within appears in its new form as a bright

XXll INTRODUCTION TO

green clirysalis, or inipa. It is covered with a moist
gummy exudation, which quickly hardens and forms a
protecting coat, and in due time (if left unharmed) the
butterfly inside would crack through this and appear
from within the case ; but if it is wished to observe that
the beginning of the change to the butterfly form has
taken place already, one of these chrysalids may be
dropped into a little warm turpentine, or turpentine and
Canada balsam, directly the caterpillar-skin has been
cast ; this will soften the gummy coating just mentioned,
and the limbs of the future butterfly will be seen. In
some cases the change takes place (as with various
kinds of flies) in the hardened skin of the maggot, which
may be called a "fly-case"; and in some (as with
Plant-bugs, Aphides or Green-fly, Grasshoppers, Dragon-
flies, and some others) this state of pupa is an active
one, in which they move and feed, and resemble the
perfect insect, excepting in having more or less rudi-
mentary wings or wing-cases. For figures of some of
these different kinds of pupae, the reader is referred to
pp. 17, 23, 31, 102, 207, &c.

When the time for development has come, the pupa
(if it is one of the active forms, as of a Grasshopper, for
instance) may be seen looking heavy and stupid ; pre-
sently the skin of the back splits lengthwise, and through
the opening the perfect insect slowly makes its wa}^ out
of the pupal skin, carefully drawing one limb after
another from its precisely-fitting case, the long hind legs
the last, till (in the instance observed, in twenty minutes)
the perfect Grasshopper stands by the side of the film of
its former self. Flies press out one end of the fly-case,
or leave the sheaths of the limbs and body behind (see
figure of Onion Fly and Daddy Long-legs). Beetles and
Wasps cast the film from their limbs ; and Butterflies
and Moths crack open the chrysalis-case, and after a
short time (during which the wings that had lain
undeveloped are expanding) they appear of their full
size. The insect is now fully formed ; it will grow no
more ; its internal, as well as external structure is

ENTOMOLOGY. XXIH

complete ; and it is what is laio^Mi scientifically as the
imago.

Imago. — Beetle, Butterfly, "Wasp, Fly, &c. This is
defined as an animal formed of a series of thirteen rings
or segments, hreathing by means of tubes (tracheae)
which conve}^ the air from pores in the sides throughout
the system, and divided into three chief portions. Of
these the first is the head, furnished with horns
(antennae), a mouth (diflering very much in form in
different kinds of insects), large compound eyes (which
consist of many small ones formed into a convex mass
on each side of the head), and frequently two or three
simple eyes on the top.

The second portion (called the thorax, or sometimes
the "trunk"), is formed of three rings, bearing a pair of
legs attached to each, and ha\dng usually a pair of wings
on the second and third of the rings ; but sometimes the
wings are wanting, sometimes there is only one pair.

The third portion (called the abdomen) is formed of
the remaining nine rings, and contains the organs of
rej)roduction and most of those of digestion.

Insects in this perfect state are of two sexes, male and
female ; in some instances (as with Wasps and some
others) there are imperfectly-developed females, known
as " neuters."

After the insect— whether Beetle, Butterfly, Fly, or
other kind — has come forth from its chrysalis or fly-case
(that is, from ih.Q ijupa), and its limbs have expanded, it
grows no more ; it is complete, and its remaining work
is to support life until it has propagated its species.
Usually jJrt/rn;// soon takes place, and the male dies; but
the female has great tenacity of life until she has laid
her eggs. The length of life, however, is various ; in
some instances a few days, or even hours, is the extent :
in others the insects " hj^bernate," that is, find some
shelter in which they pass the winter, and from which
they reappear with the return of warmth and sunshine.

XXIV INTRODUCTION TO

Classification of Insects. — Opinions of diiYerent
writers vary much as to the most desirable form, but the
method appears to be the most simple and comprehensive
in which the}^ are divided into thirteen orders, arranged
according to general similarity in the early stages, and
also in the general appearance of the perfect insects
composing each order ; also according to the number or
nature of their wings, or the method in which they are
folded beneath the wing-cases.

In the following table the orders are arranged
accordingly in the classification given in Prof. Westwood's
'Introduction to Entomology,' these thirteen orders
being formed into two great tribes of Mandihulata and
H((i(stdlat(t, according to whether they feed by means of
jaws (mandibles), as in the case of Beetles, &c., or by
means of some kind of sucker (haustellum), as is the
case with Butterflies, Aphides, &c.

These orders are placed in succession according to the
nearest resemblance which the insects of one order bear
to the one preceding or following ; and the reader will
notice that the two last syllables of the name of each
order are Ptera, meaning "wings," from the Greek word
Ptcroii, a wing. The preceding part of the word signifies
the nature of the wing.

MANDIBULATA.

CoLEopTERA. — Sheath-wiuged. Beetles.
EuPLEXoPTERA. — Tiglitly-folded winged. Earwigs.
Orthoptera. — Straight-winged. Cockroaches, Crickets,

Grasshoppers, &c.
Thysanoptera. — Fringe-winged. Thrips.
Neuroptkra. — Nerve-winged. White Ants, May-flies,

Dragon-flies, &c.
Trichoptera. — Hairy-winged. Caddice-flies.
Hymenoptera. — Membrane-winged. Sawflies, Gall-flies,

Ichneuixion -flics, Ants, "Wasps, Bees, &c.
Strepsiptera. — Twisted-winged. Bee-parasites.

ENTOMOLOGY. XXV

HAUSTELLATA.

Xepidoptera. — Scale-winged. Butterflies, Moths.

HoMOPTERA. — Similar-winged. Lanthoru-fiies, Cuckoo Spit-
flies, Aphides, Scale-insects, &c.

Heteropteka. — Dissimilar-winged. Plant-bugs, &c.

Aphaniptera. — Imperceptible -winged. Fleas.

Diptera. — Two-winged. Gnats, Daddy Long-legs, Gad-flies,
Bot-flies, Mesh-flies, &c.

1. CoLEOPTERA (Aristotle). — Beetles.

1, Otiorhynchus sulcatus ; 3, larva: 4, pupa, magnified; b, 0.j)icipes ;
fig. 2 and the lines show nat. size.

The upper pair of wings, which are called wing-cases
■or elytra, are usually horny or leathery, and thus form a
" sheath" for the large membranous under wings which
are folded beneath them. The head is furnished with
large eyes, jaws moving transversely, and with horns
{antenncB) of very various shape.

In the water-beetles the hinder legs are often flattened
to a somewhat oar-like shape, and fringed with hairs.

The larvEe are usually fleshy grubs having scaly heads
furnished with jaws : sometimes they are legless, but
<?ommonly have a pair of short legs on each of the three
segments next to the head ; and the last segment of the
body (or end of the tail) has often a fleshy foot beneath it.

The pupae are inactive, of a whitish colour, and
resemble the beetle in shape ; with the head bent
forwards, and the legs and wings laid along beneath
the breast and abdomen. For illustrations of various
Mnds of beetles, see Cockchafer ; Lady-birds ; Turnip

c

XXVI

INTRODUCTION TO

"Fly," or Flea-beetle ; Weevils of various species; anc!
Wireworm Beetle.

2. EuPLEXoPTERA (Westwood). — Earwigs.

The upper wings are minute and leathery, with the
under wings, as the name implies, tightly folded beneath.
The mouth is furnished with jaws, and the end of the
tail with pincer-like appendages.

The larvas and j^upfs are active, and much resemble the
perfect insects in shape, except that the larvae are without
wing-cases or wings, and the pupse, although possessing
wing-cases, have only rudimentary wings.

(This order is sometimes known as Dermaptera, skin-
winged).

3. Orthoptera (Olivier). — Cockroaches, Crickets,

Grasshoppers, &c.

GnjUotalpa vultjaris, Mole Cricket; 1, eggs; 2 and 3, larva, just
hatched, and after first moult; 4, perfect insect.

Upper wings leathery or jparchment-like, very thickly
veined, and overlapping at the tips. Under wings, which

ENTOMOLOGY.

XXVU

are folded lengthwise or "straight" beneath the upper
pan-, large, membranous, veined, with larger veins
placed somewhat in a fan-shape. The under wings are
absent in several species, and the upper wings in one.

Head generallj^ large, upright, with the mouth at the
lowest part, and rather backward. Mandibles strong ;
horns usually thread-like. Legs long and robust.
Abdomen joined to the part of the body before it by its
whole width, often prolonged at the tail, or fm*nished in
the females with an ovipositor.

The larvae and x>iip<^ are active and voracious, and are
much like the perfect insect, excepting that the larvae
are wingless and the pupae have " short rudimental
wings and wing-covers which at the first period of this
state are but slightly to be perceived." — (J. 0. W.)

The Grasshopper is a good example of this order.
The Mole-cricket, figured opposite, is sometimes very
injurious to plant-life by feeding on the roots, and is
remarkable for the size and strength of its fore legs, but
its upper wings are not characteristic of the Orthoptera.

4. Thysanoptera (Haliday). — Thrips.

1 — 4, Com Thrips (female) at rest, and flying; 5 — 8, Potato Thrips, larva,
and perfect insect flying; all nat. size and magnified.

The insects of this order are often very minute, some-
times only about the third of a line in length. They

XXVlll

INTKODUCTION TO

have four wings, which are nearly alike and usually long, ^
narrow and with long "fringes" all round, laid flat along
the back when at rest and somewhat curved outwards.
The under side of the head is prolonged into a beak shape,
with the parts of the mouth joined into a kind of sucker-
like sheath, " out of whose free end the bristle-formed jaws
project."

The larvae and pupae much resemble the perfect insect
in shape, and in the first stage are active, in the second
are sluggish.

The Corn and Potato Thrips are examples of this
order.

5. Neuropteka (Linnaeus). — Dragon-flies, May-flies,
Stone-flies, &c.

1, Golden-ej'e, Chrysopa perla ; 2, egg of Chrysopa; 3 and 4, larva;
5 and 6, cocoon, nat. size and magnified.

"Wings four, nearly equal in size, membranaceous,
with many "nerves" sometimes forming a network.
The under wings are occasionally folded. Head usually
with jaws, but these are sometimes absent, as in the
May-flies, which, only living for a short time, do not
require apparatus for feeding with. Abdomen generally
long and slender.

Larvae with six legs; pupae various, in some cases
active, and somewhat resembling the perfect insect ; in
others inactive, with the limbs folded beneath them.

The families of the Dragon-flies {Lihellulidce) , Stone-
flies (Perlida), and May-flies {Ei^hemeridcB) , pass their

ENTOMOLOGY.

XXIX

first stages in the water, and have active pupae as well as
larvae.

The Hemerohiidce (see C. j)6rla, figured opposite) are
peculiar in laying eggs fixed by a long stalk of a viscid
secretion ; the larvae feed ravenously on Aphides. In
the eleven families of which Neuvoptera is composed, it
is said that there is "scarcely a leading characteristic
of the order which does not meet with an exception."

6. Tkichopteka (Kirby). — Caddice-flies.
Wings fom% membranous, the upper usually with
branching nerves, and "/mrr^"; the under pair shorter
and broader, and folded when at rest ; legs long ; jaws
rudimentary. The early stages are passed in water.
The larvae (known as Cad-baits or Caddice-worms) are
nearly cylindrical, with six legs, and live in cases which
they form round themselves of little bits of stick, or
pebbles, shells, &c. ; and in these they change (in the
water) to pup^e much resembling the perfect insects.

7. Hymenoptera (Linnfeus). — Wasps, Bees, Sawflies,
Gall-flies, &c.

Humble Bees.— 1, Bomhus lucorum; -4, B. tci-restris.

Wings four, naked "membranous,'' a,nd.i\iimshedmth.

XXX INTKODUCTION TO

a few veins ; the upper pair (which are much larger than
the under ones) are marked on the fore edge with a
minute thickened spot called the " stigma.'' The head
is usually furnished with large compound eyes, and also
with three simple eyes or ^'ocelli" on the crown; the
horns are various (sometimes in the Sawflies with fine
comb-like processes). The upper jaws (mandibles) are
horny, but not always serviceable for eating with ; and
in some cases, as with the Honey Bees, a portion of the
mouth apparatus (the maxillae), united with the lower lip
and its appendages, form a sucker or proboscis by means
of which to draw up their food. The body is covered
"svith a hard skin, and usually has head, thorax, and
abdomen distinctly separated.

The abdomen of the female is often supplied with a
sting, or with an ovipositor, by means of which she can
pierce into animal or vegetable matter to insert her eggs.
In some cases this is done by means of a kind of borer ;
in some, as with the "saw "-flies, by means of a kind of
saw-like apparatus.

The larvae are usually maggot-like and footless, with
the mouth commonly but slightly developed ; but in
the family of the Sawflies {Teuthredinidcs, see p. 224)
the larvae are more like Butterfly caterpillars, and
have usually, besides the six true feet, twelve to
sixteen sucker-feet. (The Corn Sawfly, -p. 84, is an
exception).

Pupae are inactive, with the limbs of the futm'e insect
distinguishable, but wrapped in sheaths and folded
beneath the breast. Change sometimes takes place in
cocoons.

This order contains the families of Sawflies (Tenthred-
inidce), Sirices (Uroceridce), Gall-flies (Cynipidce), Ich-
neumon-flies (Ichneumojiidce) , Ants {Formicidce), Wasps
(Vespidce), and various kinds of Bees (Andrenidce and
Apida), classed under the head Mellifera.

For examples, see Humble Bees, Oak Gall-fly, Sawflies
of various kinds, and Sirex.

ENTOMOLOGY.

XXXI

8. Strepsiptera (Kirby). — Bee Parasites.
These are named frora tlie small "twisted" appendages
■which they bear in the place of the fore wings ; the true
"wings are large in proportion to the size of the insect,
forming more than a quarter of a circle, with the two
straight edges placed in front and against the body.
They live in the larval state as parasites in Wasps and
Bees, and merely require to be referred to here.

9. Lepidoptera (Linnaeus). — Butterflies and Moths.

Yellow Underwing, Tryphana pronuba. — 1. caterpillar; 2, pupa or

" chrysalis " ; 3, moth.

Wings four, covered on both sides with fine " scales "
(whence the name of Lepidoptera, from Lepis, a scale).
Head furnished with two large compound eyes, and
sometimes with ocelli ; horns various ; mouth with a
proboscis. Body hairy, or scaly.

The larvae, commonly called caterpillars, are nearly
cylindrical, long, soft, and often variously coloured,
spined, or tubercled ; the head is scaly or horny, bearing
eyes, jaws, and a pair of short horns ; the three segments
next to the head have usually a pair of horny feet on
«ach, and of the remaining nine segments the tail and
the four intermediate ones are usually each furnished
with a pair of sucker-feet or prolegs. These vary in
number from four to ten, but the pair beneath the tail is

XXXll

INTRODUCTION TO

seldom missing. The caterpillar "^'ben about to ebange^
usually spins a cocoon witb tbread from its moutb, or
buries itself, or in some way provides a place of safety ;
it tben moults its skin for tbe last time, and a viscid
moisture exuding from tbe surface of tbe newly-exposed
cbrysalis bardens rapidly over tbe rudimentary limbs of
tbe future motli or butterfly, and protects it in its inactive
state, till in due time tbis outer case is cracked down tbe-
back and tbe insect comes foftb.

Large Cabbage Butterfly,

Tbis order is divided into butterflies and motbs ; tbe-
butterflies are distinguisbable by tbeir borns being,
almost invariably tbin and long, ending in a knob (see
fig.) ; also by tbeir ligbt and elegant sbape, and beautiful
colouring. Tbey mostly fly by day, and wben at rest
carry tbeir wings erect.

Cabbn^e Motb.

Tbe motbs are distinguisbable by tbe borns never
being club-sbaped, but generally tbread-like or witb side-

ENTOMOLOGY.

XXXllI

branches ; and they commonly rest with then- wings
expanded, and are of a heavier make and more shiggish
in flight than the butterflies ; also, though not exclusively
evening or night-fliers, many of them are so.

The family of the Clear-wing Moths {yEgeriidce) is very
peculiar, and diflers from the other Lepidoptcra in the
wings being more or less transparent or "clear,'' and
ivithoiLt "scales''; but froni other characteristics re-
sembling those of this order it has been placed in it.

Hornet Clear-wingr.

The larvas of the clear-wings feed and change tO'
chrysalids in branches or roots of trees.

For examples of Butterflies, see Cabbage Butterflies ;.
of Moths, see those of Cabbage, Turnip, Apple, &c.

10. HosroPTERA (MacLeay). — Froghoppers, Aphides or
Green-fly, Scale-insects, &c.

3^

Potato Frog-fly. — 1 and 2, eggs; 3 and 4, pupa; 5 and 6, Frog-fly^
nat. size and magnified.

XXXIV INTRODUCTION TO

Wings usually four (but sometimes two, or absent),
entirely membranous, slanting downwards, the upper
largest, and not overlapping when at rest. Head with
a mouth formed for suction and placed far back beneath
it. Horns often short. Larvae various; pupse usually
active.

This order contains such various forms of insects that
it is convenient to take the subdivision, as given by Prof.
Westwood, into three sections, of Trimera, Dimera, and
Monomcra, havmg respectively three, two, and one,
joints in the feet.

The first includes many large foreign insects, as
Lanthorn-flies, &c. ; and amongst our own the Cuckoo-
spit, Cicada (or Tettigonia) sjmmaria, and the Frog-
hoppers, figured on the precedmg page.

Larch Aphis, Chcrmes laricis, ou twig. — Mother Chermes, with eggs ;
winged specimen and larva, magnified.

The second section includes the A2)hides, or Green-fly ;
PsyllidcE, or Jumping Plant-lice ; and Alcyrodcs, or
Snowy-flies.

The third section contains the Scale-insects, amongst

which the females are usually fleshy masses, furnished

with suckers, but without trace of articulated limbs ;

he males have one pair of wings, but the mouth is

obsolete.

For descriptions and life-histories of the above insects,
see references in Index.

ENTOMOLOGY. XXXV

11. Heteroptera (Westwood). — Plant-bugs.

A-

1 and 2, Potato-bug., Lygus Solani; 3 and 4, pupa, nat. size and
magnified; 5, Hop-bug, nat. size; 6, ditto, magnified.

Wings four, the upper pair or wing-cases the largest,
partly lapping over each other when at rest, and with the
part the nearest to the body leathery and "dissimilar"
in texture to the rest of the wing, which is membranous;
under wings membranous.

The head is usually broad, with horns commonly of
moderate length, composed of three to five joints ; the
sucker-mouth is very like that of the Homoptera, but
placed in front, not behind the lower part of the head.

Horns usually somewhat thread-like. Legs various,
chiefly formed for walking, but sometimes in the aquatic
species with fringes on the hinder pair.

Larvae resemble the perfect insect, but without
rudiments of wings ; pupae wdth still more resemblance,
from these being distinguishable.

One section of this order lives in water, and contains
the insects commonly known as Water Scorpions and
Water Boatmen ; the other, besides the " Water-
measurers" common on water, contains various kinds of
Bugs preying on plant and animal life by means of then-
suckers, and characterized generally by a power of giving
out a scent on being alarmed, which is usually, but not
always, of a disagreeable kind.

XXXVl

INTRODUCTION TO

12. Aphaniptera (Kirby). — Fleas.

Four scales, which are "impercejJtible'' to the naked
eye, take the place of wings. The legs are long and
formed for leaping, and the mouth for suction.

The larvae are minute worm-like, footless grubs ; the
pupae are inactive, with legs enclosed in sheaths.

13. DiPTERA (Aristotle). — Flies.

Various kinds of dipterous flies (see pp. 31—34). — 1, 6, and 7, larvae. ^
2 and 3, pupae, nat. size and magniged; 4, 5, 8, and 0, flies, magnified,
with lines showing nat. size.

Wings ''two," membranous; in the place usually
occupied by the hind wing are a pair of slender filaments
with a knob at the end, called "poisers" or " halter es.''
Head usually distinct, and horns generally inserted near
together on the forehead. Mouth formed for suction.
Legs long.

Larvas fleshy, cylindrical, and footless, but sometimes
with indications of feet ; and it is only in this order that
the head of the larva is sometimes soft and fleshy ;
mouth generally furnished with two hooks, as an
apparatus for feeding with.

Pupge various ; in most cases the skin of the larva
shrinks and hardens, so as to form a case in which the
change takes place, and out of which fly-case the fly
makes its way when developed by cracking off one end ;

ENTOMOLOGY.

XXXVU

Winter Gnat, Trichocera hiemalis ; larva and pupa, nat. size and
magnified.

in the case of Gnats (CidicidcB) the pupae are active,
and swim in the water ; the pupae of the Daddy Long-
legs and of the Winter Gnat, figured above, which are of
the family Tipulidce, show in some degree the form of
the contained insect, and have the limbs enclosed in
sheaths; and in the case of the "Forest-flies" {Hippo-
hoscidce) the insect passes the larval stage and changes
to the pupa in the abdomen of the female before being
deposited.

This order includes Gnats, Daddy Long-legs, Gad-flies,
House-flies and Flesh-flies, Bot-flies, &c.

For illustrations of Cabbage and Carrot Flies, Daddy
Long-legs, Onion Fly, Turnip Leaf-miner, &c., see Index.

PART I,

FOOD CROPS

THE INSECTS THAT INJUEE THEM.

PAET I.

FOOD CROPS

THE INSECTS THAT INJURE THEM.

ASPAKAGUS.

Asparagus Beetle. Crioceris asparagi, Linn.

Asparagus Beetle, larva and eggs ; all magnified. Natural length of egg
and beetle shown by lines.

The Asparagus Beetle often causes injury, and in
some seasons does much damage, by the grub eating off
the leaves of the Asparagus, and gnawing the more
tender shoots so as to destroy them.

The eggs are dark-coloured, somewhat spindle-shaped,
and may be readil}' observed fastened by one end along
the shoots, or on the unopened flower-buds.

D. H. HILL LIBRARY b

fsbrth Carolina State College

Z ASPABAGUS.

The grubs are of a dirty olive, or slate-colour, and
exude a large drop of blackish fluid from the mouth on
being touched. From the tail being curved and holding
fast by a fleshy foot, it is very difiicult to pick them off.
They are full-fed in a fortnight, when they go down into
the ground, spin parchment-like cocoons, in which they
change, and come up as perfect beetles in about another
fortnight or three weeks.

The Beetles are about a quarter of an inch long, blue-
black or greenish ; the body behind the head red, with
two black spots. The wing-cases are ochreous-yellow,
with a line down the centre of the back, a branch from
each side of it, and also a spot or patch at the base and
tip of each wing-case of blue-black. These markings
form a kind of cross, whence the name sometimes given
of " Cross-bearer."

The successive broods of Beetles lay their eggs directly,
and the insect, in all stages, may be found from about
the middle of June till the end of September.

The 12-spotted Aspakagus Beetle, which differs from
the above in being red, with twelve spots on the wing-
cases, is seldom found in England.

Prevention and Eemedies. — Dipping the infested
shoots in a mixture of half a pound of soft-soap, a
quarter of a pound of flower of sulphur, and about the
same quantity of soot, well mixed together in a pail of
"warm water, has been found a good remedy. The
infested shoots were well dipped, and next day the grubs
"were found to have all been cleared off. The plants
were afterw^ards syringed, to clean off the dirt left by the
dijjping, and soon regained their healthy appearance.
— (W. D. C.)

Syringing with water warm enough to make the grubs
loosen hold, but yet not of a heat to hurt the leafage,
clears them off well. The greater part of the grubs fall
as the water touches them, and the rest on a smart tap
being given to the shoot. Dry soot plentifully thrown
on to them, whilst they are on the ground under the

ASPAKAGUS BEETLE. 6

Asparagus and are still wet, appears quite to prevent
any return of the grubs to the shoot. If any, either of
the beetles or grubs, return, a second treatment would
probably clear them completely.

A large number of beds may soon be dressed by a
man and boy going round together — one syringing, the
other striking the shoots and throwing the soot upon
the grubs ; and the gro-v\i;h of the Asparagus, after this
slight manuring, is good. The water should not be of a
heat above what can be well borne bj^ the hand.

Hand-picking has been recommended, but from the
strong hold that the grub has on the shoot this is
difficult to manage without hurting the plant ; but a
little salt (or any other application disagreeable to the
grub) taken in the fingers, instead of working bare-
handed, helps to make it loosen its hold.

Cutting off the shoots that are badly infested with
eggs and burning them is of service.

Shaking the beetles into a wide bason or tray, held
below to receive them, has been recommended ; but it is
desu-able that some mixture of mud or soot and water
(or of a nature that ma}'' stick to them at once) should
be provided for them to fall into, or they would soon
escape.

Strewing the plants well with unslaked lime early in
the morning, whilst the dew is still on, is also recom-
mended.

BEAN.

Bean Aphis.

Aplds rumicis, Fabr.
„ faba:, Kirby & Spence.

Bean Aphis : 1, Bean-shoot, with Ajihides ; 2, male, mag. ; 0, nat. size. ;
4, wingless female, magnified.

The Bean Aphis (known also as "Black Fly," "Col-
lier," and "Black Dolphin") sometimes appears in
such vast numbers as to smother the Beans, making
them look as if they were coated with soot. The attacks
are begun by a few wingless females establishing them-
selves near the top of the Bean-shoots, where they pro-
duce living young. These in their turn are soon able to
produce another living generation ; and so on, and on,
till the increase is enormous, and from the numbers of
the "Black Fly," and the sticky juices flowing from the
punctures which they have made with their suckers,
the plant becomes a mere dirty infested mass, with a
few diseased leaves sticking out from amongst the
plant-lice.

These Aphides are very similar in shape throughout
all their stages, excej^ting that in the first and second
(which answer to those of larva and pupa), although
they have six legs and are active, they have not wings.

BEAN APHIS. O

The young are slaty gray, but soon acquire a blackish
velvety coat. The pupa is larger and slaty gray, ex-
cepting the abdomen, which is black with various white
spots, and the cases for the wings are also black.

Of the two kinds of females producing living young,
the wingless kind is shiny (or sometimes dull) black,
excepting the shanks and the middle joints of the horns,
which are somewhat ochreous. The head, body, and
abdomen are so much grown together as to seem almost
like one piece (see fig. 4, magnified).

The winged female is shiny and black, or with a
brownish tinge ; the shanks and middle joints of the
horns are amber-yellow, a,nd the wings are yellow at the
base, with a green line and mark on the fore edge, and
brown veins.

The egg-laying female — that is, a third description,
which appears in autumn, and lays the eggs from which
a new series of generations, producing living young, will
start again in the following year — is very like the wing-
less viviparous form figured above. The male (fig. 2,
magnified) is black and winged. — (' Farm Insects,' and
*Mon. of Brit. Aphides').

Prevention and Eemedies. — No better plan appears
to be known than cutting off the infested tops of the
Beans, but it should be done as soon as the " Colliers "
are noticed. This point is very important, on account of
the extraordinary rate at which Aphides increase. The
tops should be trampled on thoroughly as they are cut
off' ; sheared into baskets and burnt ; or destroyed in
some other way with the Ajjliides on them, for if these
are left amongst the Beans the insects are able to make
their way back again to the growing plants, and thus
little good will have been done.

In garden cultivation, where there is only a small
amount of crop to be attended to, it sometimes answers
to throw soot on the infested plants. This lodges well
amongst the Aphides and in the axils of the leaves.
Any dry di-essing that would thus lodge, and make the

b BEAN.

Bean-tops more or less unpalatable to the Aphides,
■would be of use. Where only a small extent of crop
needs attention, a good drenching with strong soap-
suds, or syringing with a solution of soft-soap, would
also be useful ; the soapy matter sticks to the Aphis,
and is thus a much surer remedy than many of the
attemjDted applications which run off at once from the
skin of the insects, and consequently are useless.

A healthy, luxuriant growth is also of importance.
The "Colliers" may attack the healthy as well as the
unhealthy plants, but the strong groT\^h which is run
on by previous good cultivation of the ground, and also
the application of a little liquid manure if desirable,
will keep the plant in heart with a plentiful flow of sap,
and thus it will suffer much less from attack than the
weakly, stunted growths that have no power to replace
the juices which the Aphides are constantly sucking out
of them.

Eemoval of the wild plants on wdiich this kind of
Aphis is to be found would probably materially lessen
its numbers. These "Colliers" or " Black Flies " are
to be found in great numbers on the Curled Dock
{Rumex crisjjus, whence their name of " rumicis"), and
also on Thistles ; and it is stated that the wingless egg-
producing female winters in Furze-bushes, the branches
of which may be found dotted with Aphis eggs. — ('Farm
Insects,' * Brit. Aphides,' &c.)

TT T 1 ■!-, ( Earth Bee, Bomhns terrestris.

Humble Bees. \ ^,\t -d ?

( Wood xJee, ,, iucorum.

These Humble Bees sometimes do harm by piercing
a hole through the lower part of the calyx into the Beau-
flower, so as to get at the honey inside ; and by so doing
they cause a part, or even the whole, of the Bean-pod to
prove abortive. They have been known to do serious
injury ; but it, generally speaking, may be doubted
whether the larger size of the pods, from a few of the

HUMBLE BEES. 7

blossoms being thinned out, does not make up for the
slight damage.

The female, or Queen of the Earth Bee, is black, with
a band of orange-yellow just behind the head and
another on the second ring of the abdomen, and with
two tawny bands near the tip of the tail. The worker
has the yellow often of a paler colour, and the bands
toward the tip of the tail white instead of tawny. The
male or drone has the orange-yellow brighter than the
female, and the tip of the abdomen pale tawny or white.

1, Wood Humble Bee; 2 and 3, punctures made by Bees in Bean-calyx;
4-, Earth Humble Bee, sucking nectar.

The Queen of the Wood Bee is smaller than the above-
mentioned queen, and is black, with a band of lemon-
yellow just behind the head and on the second ring of
the abdomen ; the three end segments of the abdomen
are snow-white. The worker is marked like the queen.
The drone has a black band between the wings and
across the abdomen, and has (like the queen and worker)
the three rings at the tail snow-white ; otherwise it is
for the most part yellow or yellowish white.

The nests may be found in old loose walls, heaps of
rough stones, in dry banks, at the roots of trees, and
such-like places. The nests of the Earth Bee may be

8

BEAN.

found occasionally at the distance of five feet from the
entrance of the hole. — (Descriptions from 'Bees of Great
Britain').

Prevention and Eemedies. — If any serious injury is
found to occur, the best plan is to have the nests
searched for and destroyed. For a few pence any boys
that are about will soon find them out ; but unless it is
quite certain the Bees are doing harm, it is much better
not to destroy them.

Bean Beetle. Bnichus granarius, Linn.

y^^^

1 and 2, Bnichus granarius, nat. size and mag.; 3, infested Bean split
open, showing cell ; 4 and 5, larvae, nat. size and mag. ; 6 and 7, pupae,
nat. size and mng. ; 8, Bean injured by Beetle, vegetating ; 9 and 10,
Bnichus pisi, nat. size and mag. ; 11, injured Pea.

The Bean Beetle injures the crop by laying its eggs
in the Beans and Peas whilst they are still soft in the
pods, often choosing the finest for the purpose.

BEAN BEETLE. V

The maggots feed inside the seed, sometimes eating
away most of the contents, but generally leaving the
growing germ uninjured so that the seed does not lose
its power of sprouting.

When full-grown, the maggot gnaws a round hole to
the inside of the husk of the seed, and usually cuts a
line round this kind of circular lid of its burrow, so that
when needed to be displaced afterwards, for the escape of
the Beetle, the bit will fall out on a touch. The maggot
turns to the pupa in the Bean or Pea in which it has
fed, and appears generally to pass the winter in this
state. When spring comes it changes to the perfect
Beetle, and makes its escape either by gnawing a way
out, or — commonly — by pushing out the loose lid of its
burrow.

The Beetle is little more than the eighth of an inch
long, and if looked at under a magnifying glass will be
found to have the head drooping, with the mouth forming
a kind of wedge-shaped beak, the fore part of the body
somewhat bell-shaped, and each wing-case pitted with
ten rows of small dots. The colour is black, with brown
hairs and various white spots ; the tip of the tail
prolonged, and covered with grey down. The front pair
of legs are reddish. The Beetles may be found on
flowers of the Furze as early as February, but though
they may be found in seed beans in March, April, and
Ma}^ they do not always leave the seed as soon as they
are developed. — (J. Curtis.)

Pkevention and Eemedies. — A great deal may be done
in the way of prevention by attention to the seed before
it is sown. The maggot goes on feeding in the seed
after it is stored ; by the end of autumn probably all
the beetle-maggots will be full-fed, and will have eaten
their way in the seed to the inside of the skin. This
will show on the outside as a round or oval mark (about
the size figured at 6 a), rather duller in colour than the
I'est of the skin, and rather more transparent, from the
substance of the seed being cleared away behind it. If

10 BEAN.

this round piece of skin be lifted off, the Bean Beetle will
probably be found inside, and by this mark infested seed
may be known. Such seed should not be sown. If
Beans or Peas thus infested are sown, the Beetles will
not be in the slightest degree injured by being buried,
but will come up through the ground in due time to
infest the new crop.

The Bean Beetles begin to appear in February,
although some may still be found in the seeds till May.
When they have left the seed, the round hole through
which they escaped will show where they have been, and
such seed is to be avoided. The injured seed will sprout
in most cases, but although the growing germ is left, a
great part of what this germ needs to make it grow
healthily is gone. If we consider that, in germination,
chemical changes take place by which the insoluble
starch in these seeds is turned into soluble plant-food,
and that on this alone the young sprouting plant is
nourished until the leaves and rootlets are produced, it
will be evident that the chances of a strong and healthy
plant are much diminished by using maggot-eaten seed.
The young plant depends on the quantity of food in the
seed for the vigour of its first start, and if this first start
is not vigorous the later growth will probably be stunted
and sickly also.

Crops of autumn-sown Beans have been found to be
the most infested, because, as above mentioned, the
Beetles are still in the seed, and before the maggot-
injury shows through the skin it is not easy to tell which
are the infested Beans. It is difficult to apply any
remedy in the field suitable to such a small insect, but
the use of spent Hops as a manure, which is found
serviceable in other cases of insect-attack, might be of
use here.

Bean Beetles (Bruclii) of various species are found —
sometimes in enormous quantities — in imported seed,
and where there is much Bean-growing round mills
where Beans are ground, it would be highly desirable
some measures should be taken to save us from the

BEAN BEETLE. 11

consequences of the vast numbers sometimes to be found
in such places. — (See 'Farm Insects,' note, p. 363.)

Dipping the Beans or Peas in boihng water for one
minute is stated to kill the grub inside without hurting
the seed, but as dipping for four minutes generally
destroyed the germinating power the experiment is much
too hazardous for general use as regards seed, though it
might be acted on with advantage with regard to Beans
or Peas about to be ground.

The simple remedy' practised in the Colonies for the
Weevil in Eice,* which destroys life by exhausting the
air, might be of service in this case ; and also it is
probable that if greater care was exercised in choice of
seed by the buyers, especially in the retired spots and
small holdings where "cheap seed" finds a market, that
this "pest," which is not so troublesome as many
others, would be materially lessened. — ('Farm Insects,*
&c.)

* I procured a large tank, such as is kept on ship-board for the water
supply. In it the Eice wiis put, filling it up until <i short distance from
the top. Upon the top of the Pace is set a candle or lamp alight, after
■which the opening is closed and rendered air-tight by the use of a small
quantity of white -lead. Next day the tank may be opened, when the
■whole surface will he found to be covered with dead Weevils. — G. B.

12

BEET.
Beet Carrion Beetle. Silpha opaca, Linn.

1 and 2, Young and full-grown larvae; 3 and 4, larvsB magnified;
5, female Beetle fiyiug ; 6, male Beetle, slightly magnified.

This Beetle is often to be found in dead animals, and
its grub was supposed to live only in putrid matter (as
in dead birds, rabbits, hedgehogs, and the like), till in or
about the year 1844 it was found feeding on leaves of the
Eed Beet in France, and the grub of a Silpha — apparently
of the same species and certainly similar in its habits —
was observed in the same year feeding in the Mangold-
Wm'zel crops in Londonderry. At this date, and in
several of the years following, they ruined whole crops
by attacking the leaves, sometimes as soon as they
appeared above ground ; in other cases they did harm
by checking the growth of the root till the leaves sprouted
again. The leaves were gnawed away until only the
fibres remained, but the roots do not appear to have
been meddled with.

The grubs are much like Wood-Lice in shape, between
a third and half an inch long when full-grown ; the three
rings or segments next to the head are rounded at the
sides, but in the other segments they are sharp, so as to
give the sides of the grub a saw-like appearance, and the
tail segment has a sharp spine on each side. These

BEET CARRION BEETLE. 13

grubs are black and shiny, sometimes with a little
yellow at the front edge of the segment. When full-fed
(which in the instances noted was about the end of June)
the grubs bury themselves and form cells at the depth of
three or four mches below the surface of the eai"th, in
which they turn to pupfe, and from these the Beetle has
been seen to come up in about the space of a fortnight
or three weeks.

These Beet "Carrion" Beetles, as they are called, from
the mixed nature of their food, are flatfish, of the shape
figm-ed magnified at " 5 " and " 6," about five lines long,
brown-black, with a tawny down which easily rubs off,
when the Beetle appears as black (excejDt the tip of the
abdomen, which is dull red) and j)itted all over.
The eyes are large and oval, the horns club-shaped.
The bod}" behind the head is twice its width, and some-
what oval. The wing-cases are ver}" flat, and turned up
at the outer edge. Each wing-case has three sharp
ridges running along it, the middle and outer ridge
having a raised lump between them. The tip of the
abdomen is dull red.

These Beetles have large wings folded under the wing-
cases, and besides being common in April, in the putrid
matter that they like, they are to be found at the roots
of trees, under stones, and in the flowers of the Moun-
tain Ash. — (' Farm Insects,')

Prevention and Remedies. — More information is
needed as to the life-history of this Beetle before it is
possible to tell how to counteract it.

The egg in common circumstances is laid in putrid
matter, and in the case of the attacks occurring to the
Irish crops in the neighbouring counties of Londonderry
and Tyrone, it appears not unlikely that some kind of
manure particularly attractive to the Beetle was in use
in those years in the district, although Curtis's enquiries
only elicited that in the case where the attack accom-
panied the use of farm-yard manure, that " no more
bones and offal, beyond what might accidentally be

14 BEET.

thrown on a dunghill, had been used." It is worth
observing that where some Beet-roots had accidentally
been left in ploughing up the injured crop, these shot
leaves again and recovered. This points, first, to the
prudence of not giving up hope too soon, and unneces-
sarily destrojang a crop ; and also to the great importance
in attacks of this kind, which only last for a few weeks,
of keeping up the strength of the plant by any available
means, whether by the application of manure, irrigation,
or otherwise, till in the natural course of their lives the
power of the insect to do harm has gone by.

In the case of this grub the attacks are given as
occurring from the 21st of May to the 24th of June, and
in another case from a little after the beginning till the
end of June ; and no mention is made of any damage
from the summer brood of Beetles.

Looking at such information as is given, it appears
probable that if farm-yard manure was applied to the
soil intended for Beet in the autumn instead of the
spring, it would be a good means of prevention. The
after cultivation would so dispose of the putrefying
matter that there would be little to attract the Beetle to
lay its eggs. Manure used near sowing-time should for
the above reason be well rotted and free from all putre-
fying offal. The substitution of artificial manure would
be a good preventive, where attacks often occur.

Should attack take place, dressing the plants with
superphospate would be likely to do good ; or a good
sprinkling of the mixture of lime, gas-lime, soot, and
sulphm- — of which a note is given under "Turnip Fly" —
would probably both check the insects and encourage the
growth of the crop.

Beet or Mangold Fly. Antlwmyia betcB, Curtis.

The Beet Fly damages the crops by means of its
maggots, which feed on the pulp of the Beet or Mangold
leaves, and thus reduce the leaves, or large patches of

BEET OR MANGOLD FLY.

15

them, to nothing but dry skin. This kind of attack
had been Httle noticed in this country till last year
(1880), when the "Mangold maggot" was prevalent
in man}^ localities, and especially in Westmoreland
and Cumberland, where, of 1624 acres of Mangolds
grown in those counties, it is reported that all were
infested.— (H. I. L.)

The eggs are very small, snow-white, and oval (see
fig., much magnified, by Farsky, showing honeycomb-
like markings). These are laid in small patches beneath
the leaves ; as soon as the maggots are hatched they
bore through the skin of the leaf, and, being voracious,
clear away the substance rapidly. The maggots are about
the third of an inch long, legless, cylindrical, blunt at
the tail, and tapering to the head, which carries two

Beet My (female), mag. ; line showing spread of wings, nat. size ; head,
mag. Pupa, nat. size and magnified. Eggs (after Farsky), mag.

black hooks by means of which it cuts away the
pulp of the leaf. The colour is yellowish white, but
sometimes green, especially towards the tail, from the
intestines filled with green food showing through the thin
skin. They feed for about a month, and then turn to
chestnut-brown pupae, sometimes in the leaves, but
commonly they quit the leaves and pupate in the
ground about three inches below the surface and near
the attacked plant.

In summer the flies come out in about ten days or a
fortnight. These are ashy grey, with various darker
markings, and with black bristly hairs ; and about half
an inch across in the spread of the wings. In the male

16 BEET.

the large brown eyes nearly meet on the top of the head^
and the abdomen is very narrow, straight along each
side, and with a black triangular spot down the centre,
at the base of four of the segments. The female
(figured above, magnified) has the eyes distant, with
a narrow white band round them on the face, and
the abdomen is enlarged at the base, tapering to a,
blunt point at the tail, with three indistinct dark
stripes along it.

The Flies appear from March to May, and there are
two broods (if circumstances are favourable there are
probably more) in the summer and autumn. The date
of development of the latest brood is variable ; in regular
course it passes the winter in the pupal state, but
sometimes specimens develop at once, and hybernate. — .
(' Notes of Inj. Insect Observation,' 1880, and ' Entomo-
logist,' Jan., 1881.)

Prevention and Eemedies. — As this Fly has not been,
generally noticed in this country till its appearance
in 1880, remedies seem to be little needed. The.
unusually wet season of 1879 may very probably have
been exceptionally favourable to the increase of this Fly
as it was to that of the Daddy Long-legs {Tijndce), another
of the same class of two-winged Flies turning to pupae in
the ground.

It is noticeable, however, that especially bad attack
is reported from peat-land; and also from "fen-like
soil" near the shore of the Solway Firth. — (' Journ.
E. Ag. Soc.')

In a case of attack reported from Cheslm-e, different,
parts of the field were dressed experimentally with
guano, with soot, and with mineral superphosphate ;
and all had a good effect, but the superphosphate was.
the best.— (S. F.)

THE SILVER Y MOTH. 17

The Silver Y Moth. Plusia r/amma, Lima.

Motb, caterpillar, and jiiipa in cocoon.

This moth seldom causes much injury in England, but
as it is always more or less about during the summer and
autumn, and sometimes appears in vast numbers, it is
desirable to notice it.

It is widesj)read in its localities ; it is to be found
over the northern half of the globe from Abyssinia
to Greenland ; it is said to extend to the frontiers of
China and Siberia, and it is also prevalent in North
America.

In 1735 the caterj^illars did much damage to Peas
and Beans in market gardens round Paris ; in 1816 the
moths were noticed in vast numbers in the northern part
of France. In 1831 the caterpillars appeared in Bavaria,
and in 1868 on the Sugar Beet in Saxony ; and again in
1879 they appeared in Saxony in such overwhelming
numbers that it is shown (from statements quoted in the
' Times' of Nov. 12th, 1879, p. 6, col. 1, of information
given at the i)re\aous meeting of the Societj'- for the
Promotion of Sugar Beet Industry at Halle) that —
"Before the appearance of the moth and caterpillar, the
Sugar Beet crops in Saxony were in excellent condition,
and would in ordinary circumstances have yielded a
harvest of from nine to ten tons i^er acre ; the actual

c

18 BEET.

yield, where the caterpillars had been, was only three
tons."

The Moths generally lay their eggs beneath the leaves
"in considerable clusters" (J. C), singly, and hatching
in ten to fourteen days (E. L. T.) ; and although the
caterpillars may be seen feeding by day, thej^ are not
easily to be observed, from their colour resembling the
leaves. When full-grown they are green, with a green
or brownish head, narrow white streaks along the back,
and a yellow streak along each side ; and are covered
with short hairs. They have a pair of reddish brown
feet on each of the three segments behind the head, but
have only two pairs of sucker feet beneath the body, and
one pair at the tail, these are all green. When full-fed
they spin a woolly or silken cocoon in a leaf or on a
stem, within which they change to a pitch- coloured
chrysalis. The moths have the head, body between the
wings, and crests running along the back and abdomen,
of a purplish brown or deep ashy grey ; the fore wings,
which have a satiny lustre, are variously tinted wdth
grey and brown, the distinguishing mark being a bright
white or yellow figure resembling the letter of the
Greek alphabet known as " Gamma " and the English
"Y," whence the name of "Gamma" or Y Moth.
The hinder wings are whitish, with dark veins, and
a broad brown margin. The Moths may be seen as
early as April, but are most common towards autumn.
— ('Farm Insects,' 'Brit. Moths,' ' Prak. Insecten-
Kunde,' &c.)

Prevention and Piemedies. — These caterpillars feed
on most of the low-growing plants, and also, if pressed
for food, on the grasses ; so that clearing weedy or grass-
grown spots in or round gardens is a good means of
prevention ; nettles especially should be removed, as
these are one of their food-plants.

When the caterpillars are seen, a dusting of caustic
lime, soot, or salt, is a good remedy ; and hand-picking
a sure, but very troublesome one. — (M. D.)

THE SILVER Y MOTH. 19

Shaking the mfested plants or leaves (as may easily
be done by a light blow with a small bough or birch-
besom) so as to make the caterpillars fall off, and then
trampling on them, is a good remedy.

Drenchings of liquid manure, or of water alone
thrown over the plants would be serviceable, from
the circumstance of sudden wet being prejudicial to
the caterpillars; and also — as from their great size
they consume the leaves very rapidly — it is very im-
portant to stimulate the growth of the attacked x^lants
as much as possible. Should a serious attack occur
to field crops, many of the methods of remedy given
in detail for caterpillars of Moths, or of Sawfly on
Tmrdps, would be applicable.

20

CABBAGE.

° ^^ ' -J,, [ A])Ms brassiccB, Linu.

1 and 2, Male Aphis; 3 and -i, female (nat. size, and magnified).

Cabbage Aphis. — These "Green Flies" may be found
on the Cabbage in great numbers during the summer,
chistered under the outer leaves, and also in the folds or
on the upper side of the inner leaves ; and some may be
found remaining even as late as the end of November.

They do much harm by inserting their suckers in the
plants and drawing away the juices ; and also causing a
much deformed and diseased growth.

The young, when first born, are yellow. In the next
stage (which answers to the j^ujxi one, and whilst as yet
they are without wings) they are much wrinkled, of a
dirty green colour, with olive-green or grey-black wing-
cases. The wingless females are mealy, and when this
meal is rubbed off they are of a greyish green, with black
spots on each side of the back ; eyes and legs black ;
horns green or ochreous, with black tips.

The winged female is of a yellower green, with head
and markings between the wings black, and some dark
marks across the abdomen. The legs and horns dark
brown, and a mark on the fore edge of the wings also
dark. The male is given by Curtis as pea-green, other-

CABBAGE APHIS. 21

wise it is much like the winged female, excepting in the
mark on the wings being green. — (' Farm Insects,' and
* Mon. of Brit. Aphides.')

Prevention and Eemedies. — In garden cultivation,
drenching the infested plants with soap-suds is practicable
and of service, especially in killing the young Aphides.

Syringing with an infusion of tobacco mixed with
lime-water has been found very useful, and the following
mixture is also stated to be serviceable : — Four ounces
of quassia boiled for ten minutes in a gallon of water,
and a piece of soft soap about four ounces in weight then
added ; and the mixture syringed over the plants. In
this application the soft soap is the important matter.
From the mealy or powdery nature of the coats of the
Aphides, mere waterings are apt to run off from them
harmlessly, and adhesive applications like syringings
of soft soap are much surer remedies.

Thorough drenchings of water with the garden-
engine, however, are of service, by forcibly clearing
many of the Aphides from the plants and also by
encouraging growth.

We all know the overwhelming increase of Green
Fly that often happens when the plants are stunted
by heat or disease, — or by the Aphis attack itself; and
it is noted (see ' Mon. of Brit. Aphides,' by G. B. Buckton,
F.E.S., vol. i., p. 72) that when the juices of the infested
plants begin to fail and become sickly from excessive
numbers of Aphides, a change commences in larvae
subsequently born. Signs of wings appear, and the vivi-
parous females from these ^Jupae are winged; this different
development, with its increased power of spreading
attack, following apparently on the altered food.

This is curious as a scientific observation, and, if
always the case, watering would do much good by
keeping up the flow of sap ; and applications of liquid
manure and such methods of cultivation generally as
will keep the plants in vigorous health are to be advised,
both as making the plants less suitable for the insects

22 CABBAGE.

and also preserving them from important injury by any
excepting severe attack.

A careful dusting with caustic lime or soot is also very
effective in getting rid of the AjDhis, and some amount of
good may be done by carefully breaking off the leaves
that are coated with Green Fly (as happens in a bad
attack) and crushing them under foot, or putting them
as they are gathered into a sack, so that they can be
thrown either under water in the sack, or out into wet
manure. Any way that will kill them at once will do.
In the case of Aphides (as also with other insects of
which one kind infests many kinds of crops), the remedies
are mainly given in connection with the crops that are
most attacked ; the reader is referred, for further details
of Aphides and remedies, to Hops, Turnip, Plum, &c.

Large White Cabbage Butterfly. I ^'?^^'?^,^''"^^^'^^V^?'^''*
° "^ [Fieris hrasRiccE, Latr.

The caterpillars of this Butterfly are very destructive
to the Cabbage crop by eating away the leaves until at
times nothing is left but the large veins ; they do serious
damage to White Mustard by feeding on the pods left for
seed, and, in the case of Turnips, they feed on both the
leaves and seed-jDods.

The eggs are bright yellow, and are laid in clusters
beneath the leaf.

The caterpillars are greenish at first, afterwards bluish
or greenish above, yellow below, with a yellow line along
the back, and another showing more or less plainly along
each side ; they are spotted with black, and have tufts
or a sprinkling of hairs. When full-fed they wander off
to some protected place, under old boards, beneath eaves,
in open sheds, or the like places, and there hang them-
selves up by their tails and turn into chrysalids of a pale
green colour spotted with black. The butterfly comes
out in about a fortnight from the midsummer brood of
chrysalids, but not till the following spring from the
chrysalids that form in autumn. The fore wings of the

LARGE WHITE CABBAGE BUTTERFLY.

23

"Large 'White" butterfly are white on the upper side,
with a broad black patch at the tip, more or less notched
on the inner side ; in the female there are also two black
spots in the middle of the wing, and a blackish splash at
the hinder margin ; the under side is white, with a
yellow tip, and with two black spots, both in the male
and female. The hind wings are white above, with a
small black patch on the front margin, and beneath they
are of a dull palish yellow, speckled with black.

1, Female butterfly ; 2, eggs; 3, caterinllar; 4, chrysalis; 5 and U, jDarasite
Ichneumon-tiv, Pteromalus brassicce, nat. size and magnified.

Prevention and Eemedies. — The habits of this species
of Cabbage Butterfly and of the "Small White" are so
much alike that the following methods of treatment are
applicable in either case, excepting with regard to
destruction of the eggs : —

The " Large White " lays its eggs in clusters beneath the
leaves, and as soon as the Butterflies are noticeable, the
eggs should be looked for, and the pieces of leaf covered
with them torn off and destroyed. The eggs of the " Small

24 CAEBAGE.

White" and "Green-veined White" are laid singly,
therefore this method of treatment is not applicable.

A most serviceable way to lessen the numbers of this
pest — and one easily managed — is to have the chrysalids
searched for and destroj'ed.

It has been observed that the proportion of injury from
attack of Cabbage caterpillars is much larger to Cabbage
crops grown in gardens where there are plenty of
protected places, such as the caterpillar chooses for its
change to the chrysalis state, than to the crops grown
in fields where such shelter is not at hand.

When the first brood of caterpillars are full-grown, and
have disappeared from the Cabbages in early summer,
they have left them to turn to chrysalids in any sheltered
nook near, and may be collected in large numbers by
children for a trifle per hundred. They may chiefly be
found in outhouses, potting-sheds, and the like places, in
every neglected corner, under rough stairs, step-ladders,
or beams, or shelves ; or fastened against rough stone
walls or mortar. Out of doors they may be found under
eaves, or palings, or under pieces of rough timber, broken
boards, or any kind of di-y sheltering rubbish.

It is very desirable not to allow these accumulations
of rubbish, which are centres for all kinds of insect-
vermin, but a thorough search in such places will
produce handfuls of chrysalids, and thus greatly lessen
the amount of the next brood of butterflies. In the
winter, besides collecting the chrysalids, it is desh-able at
spare times to rub a strong birch-broom well up and down
in the angles of the walls of sheds, or along the top of
the walls beneath rough floormg, and thus make a
complete clearing, before spring, of chrj'salids from which
the butterfly would then have hatched to start the first
brood of caterpillars ; the destruction of one female
before laying her eggs prevents the appearance of scores
of the grubs.

Hand-picking the caterpillars is a tedious remed}^ but
where there is no great extent of ground it is advisable as
a certain cure. The application of finely-powdered lime

LARGE WHITE CABBAGE BUTTERFLY. 25

in a caustic state, or of fresh soot, will get rid of the
caterpillars, but may be objectionable with regard to
after use of the vegetable.

A sprinkling of fine salt has been found very ser-
viceable, carefully applied, so as to fall on the cater-
pillars ; and they may also be killed by waterings of
weak brine, lime-water, or soap-suds. — (M. D.)

Flour of sulphur dredged over the plants, or a weak
solution of alum lightly sjTinged on the leaves, have
not, so far as I am aware, yet been experimented with ;
but, looking at the success of these remedies in other
cases, they are well worth a trial.

Many kinds of dressings, such as wood-ashes, &c.,
have sometimes succeeded, and sometimes failed so
entirely that it is probable some point in the method
or the time of application needs attention. It often
happens that a dusting given when the dew is on, or
after light watering (so as to make it adhere to the
caterpillar and also to the plant), is of great service,
whilst the same aj^plication given in the middle of the
day is perfectly useless.

In the case of hearted Cabbages, a sprinkling of any-
thing that would fall or wash do^^^2 into the nooks of the
Cabbage and lodge there, making it disagreeable to the
grubs, would be of use, and for this purpose gas-lime
that has been taken from the surface of a heap exposed
to weather for about two months seems to answer. The
lime (as tried on a small scale) does not injure the
leaves, and the various "pests" infesting hearted
Cabbage do not like it at all.

When seed-crops are attacked, it has been suggested
as a good plan to shake the plants so as to make the
caterpillars drop off, and to have a number of ducks
ready to eat them as they fall. Probably if a boy was
substituted, with a basket of soot or quick-lime to throw
over the caterpillars, or if he trampled on them, or a ring
of gas-lime was thrown round each plant to keep the
caterpillars from returning up the stem, it would do
much more good than the ducks. The large Hocks of

26 CABBAGE. *

ducks or poultry sometimes recommended may do much
good, but there is a direct outlay for their purchase and
food — as they need something besides the caterpillars ;
they must also be tended, or they will do harm as well
as good, and altogether, except on a small scale, where
the proprietor's poultry can be turned on and benefit by
the open run and change of diet, the plan of clearing
insect-attack by this means seems rather doubtful
economy.

It has been noted that caterpillars of the Cabbage
Butterfly which apjieared healthy up to a given date,
immediately after (following on sudden rain) perished,
and w^ere found to have become mere lax skins containing
a cream-coloured fluid. — (J. C.)

Many kinds of caterpillars are attacked by purging
when feeding on wet leaves, and, looking at these points
and also that dry weather is the time when these special
pests most abound, it appears likely that a good drenching
from anything, such as a hose or garden-engine down to
a watering-pot, if nothing better was at hand, might do
much good ; firstl}^ it would probably make many of the
caterpillars fall off, and, if treated as above mentioned
(that is, killed, or means taken to prevent their return),
many might be got rid of ; and secondly, though artificial
means would not help us as much as the change of
weather, still the sudden chill from the cold water, and
the wet state of the food which w^ould be induced if the
operation was performed in the evening, w^ould probably
clear off many.

Good cultivation and heavy manuring of the ground,
thereby running the plants on quickly, has been found
serviceable ; and the application of liquid manure will
save a crop, even W'hen badly infested.

If, by manure or cultivation, the crop can be kept in a
state of growth that will make a larger amount of leafage
per day to each plant than the caterpillars on that plant
consume, all will be well ; but if, through drought, poor
ground, or any other cause, the caterpillars take more off
than the plant makes good, necessarily it gradually

LARGE WEfclTE CABBAGE BUTTEKFLY. 27

dwindles or perishes. This point is a most important
one to be considered in attacks of this nature, and
especially -with regard to field crops, to which it is most
difficult to employ any kind of insect-preventive in the
shape of dressing, remuneratively.

Severe cold in winter cannot be reckoned on as a
means of getting rid of the chrysalids, which is the state
in which these butterflies usually pass the winter. They
have been found attached to walls, and frozen so hard
that they could be snapped like sticks : yet those kept
for observation appeared perfectly healthy on bemg
thawed, and produced butterflies in due time. —
(J. A. E.)

During the severe winter of 1878-79, chrysalids of the
Cabbage Butterflies which I had opportunity of examining
appeared perfectly uninjured by cold, which ranged at
various temperatures between 10° and 30° on twenty-five
nights in January. The parasite maggots in a chrysalis
of the Green-veined White Butterfly were also only
temporarily stifi^ened.

The number of Butterflies is much kept down by the
various kinds of small parasite flies which lay their eggs
in the caterpillars or chrysalids, and especially by one
kind of Ichneumon Fly {Microgastcr glomeratus), which
lays sometimes more than sixty eggs in one caterpillar of
the " Large White." The maggots from these eggs feed
inside on all the parts not necessarj^ to the caterpillar's
life till the time comes for it to change to the chrysalis,
when, instead of turning, it dies ; the Ichneumon maggots
eat their way out and spin their little yellow cocoons
(like small silkworm cocoons) often seen on Cabbages,
from which a small four-winged fly presently appears. —
(J. C.) These cocoons should not be destroyed.

Another kind of Ichneumon Fly, the Pteromalus
hrassicce, figm*ed above, lays its eggs on the chrysalis
when it has just cast its caterpillar-skin, and is soft and
tender. The maggots, averaging two hundred and fifty
in number, eat their way into the chrj'salis as soon as
they hatch, and feed on its contents.

28

CABBAGE.

Wasps also help to keep the butterflies in check, and
have been observed especially to attack the " Small
White," or Turnip Butterfly.

„ „ „T-. .^ ^ ■, 1 _, T-. jLi n {Pontia rapce, Curtis.
Small White Cabbage-Butterfly. | p. ^,..^ r^^L, Latreille.

1. Female butterfly; 2, caterpillar; 3, chrysalis.

The caterpillar of this butterfly (known also as the
Turnip Butterfly) feeds on Cabbage, also on Turnip,
from which it takes its name of Turnip Butterfly ; and
also on the inner leaves of hearted Cabbage, whence the
name sometimes given of Heart-Worm.

The egg is laid singly (not in clusters).

The caterpillars are green, paler green beneath, and
velvety ; ancl have a yellowish stripe along the back, and
a stripe or row of spots of the same colour along
each side.

The chrysalis is of a pale flesh-brown or greenish
colour, freckled with black.

The fore wings of the butterfly are creamy white, with
a slight grey or blackish patch at the tip (this patch not
as long nor as regular in shape as in the Large Garden
White). The fore wings have also one black spot above
in the males, and two in the females. The under side
of the fore wings is white, yellow at the tip, and has two
black spots both in male and female.

GEEEN-VEINED WHITE BUTTERFLY.

29

The hind wings are creamy white above, with a black
spot on the front edge ; the under side yellow, thickly
speckled with black towards the base.

Prevention and Eemedies. — For these, see the fore-
going recommended for the White Cabbage Butterfly.

Green-veined White Butterfly. 1 ^^'^'/« napi Cm-t\s

•^ [Fieris tiapi, Latreille.

1, Female butterfly ; 9, egg; 3, caterpillar ; 4, cbrysalis ; 5 and C, parasite
Ichneumon Fly, Hemiteles melanarius, magnified, and nat. size.

The eggs of the " Green-veined White," which is
known also as the " Kape-seed Butterfly," are laid
singly under the leaves of Turnips and Cabbages, and
though it is doubtful whether the caterpillars are often
injurious to any serious extent, they are noted by Curtis
as feeding on Turnip-leaves in 1841, and in the same
year as doing much mischief to the hearted Cabbages,
by gnawing into the middle of them, like the caterpillar
of the Cabbage Moth.

The grub or caterpillar of this " Green- veined "
butterfly is velvety; of a dull green above, brighter
below, and has a row of red or reddish yellow breathing-
pores along each side.

The chrysalis is pale greenish white, or yellow and
freckled, and has the two ends of a brown colour.

30 CABBAGE.

The fore wings of the butterflies are white above,
excepting at the base, which is generally black ; the tij)
also is dusky or black, and the nerves or veins greyish ;
in the females the markings are blacker than in the
male, and there are also two large black spots beyond
the middle of the wing (the males have sometimes one
spot). The under side of the fore wings is yellow at the
tip, with dark veins, and two black spots. The hind wings
white above, with a dusky mark on the front margin ;
beneath they are sulphur or pale yellow, with broad
greenish margins to the nerves.

Peevention and Eemedies. — See "Large White."

Note. — The three species of Cabbage and Turnip
Butterflies just described are so much alike, that it may
be convenient to point out the main distinctions : —

Eggs. — The "Large White" lays its eggs in clusters;
the two other kinds lay them singhj.

Caterpillars. — The caterpillar of the "Large White"
is bluish green above, with three lines of yellow, and is
spotted witJi black ; also has tufts, or a sprinkliiig of hairs.
The caterpillars of the two other kinds are green, but
Jiave no hlaek blotches ; also they are velvety. These two
kinds differ from each other in the "Small White"
having three yellow lines, and the " A^'eined Wliite "
having a row along each side of red or reddish yellow
breathing -pores.

Clirysalids. — The chrysalis of the "Large White" is
pale greenish, spotted with black ; of the " Small White"
fleshy-brown, freckled with black; and of the "Green-
White " pale greenish white, or yellow and freckled,
with each end brown.

Butterjiies. — The " Large White " usually measures
about two and a half to three inches in the spread of the
wings ; the two other kinds are only about two inches.
With regard to the markings, — in the " Large White " the
patch at the tip of the fore wings is much larger,
blacker, and more regularly notched on the inner side
than it is in the " Small White " ; also the males of the

CAEBAGE FLY.

31

" Large White " have no spot (or rarely have it) on the
centre of the fore wings, whilst there is usually one in
the case of the " Small White."

Each of the above may be easily known from the other
common kind — the "Green-veined White" — by not
having broad green veins on the under side of the hind
wings.— (J. C, J. F. S., and J. 0. W.)

Cabbage Fly. Antlwmyia hmssictv, Bouche.

1, Laiva of A. hrassicce; 2 aud 3, pupae, nat. size and magnified;
4. A. radicum, magnified; 5, nat. size; 6 — 9, A. tuberosa, larva and fiy,
nat. size and magnified.

Cabbage Fly. — The maggots of this fly injure the
Cabbage-crop by eating passages in the stem and roots,
and sometimes destroying whole fields of Cabbage by
consequent disease, or decay in wet weather, of the roots
and the lower part of the stalk. They are also injurious
to Turnips. The maggots may be found in hollows of
the swollen Cabbage-roots. They are whitish, cylindrical,
and legless, tapering to the head, and blunt at the tail,
which has short teeth on the lower margin and two
browTi tubercles in the middle ; and when full-grown
they are about the third of an inch long. They then
leave the plants and turn, in the earth, to pupae (that is,
theu' skins harden into oval red-brown cases), with a few
black spots at the head, and short teeth at the tail,

32 CABBAGE.

inside which the flies form and come out in about a
fortnight or three weeks. These flies are on the wing
throughout the summer, and successive generations of
maggots are kept up till November ; after that time the
pupae lie in the ground unhatched till spring or early-
summer. The fly is ashy grey, and smaller than the
Onion Fly, which it much resembles. The male,
however, is of a darker grey, and has a short black
stripe along the back between the wings, with a curved
one on each side of it, and one black stripe along the
abdomen. The female is much smaller than that of the
Onion Fly, otherwise is very like it. — (' Farm Insects,'
' Gard. Chron. and Ag. Gazette.')

Prevention and Remedies. — The application of lime-
water has been found very serviceable. The plan adopted
was soaking hot lime for twenty-four hours in water, and
watering with this, when clear, in the afternoon ; this
was found to destroy the maggot. — (J. M'K.)

The application of superphosphate of lime is advised
as a means of prevention in continental practice.

Plants that are attacked by the maggots may be easily
known by their yellow or dull lead -colour, and by the
leaves drooping or fading in the heat of the day ; and
unless the attack is checked, as above mentioned, these
plants should be carefully removed and burnt, or got rid
of in any way that may make sure of destroying the
maggots in them ; and any liquid application, such as
strong brine, or ley of ashes, such as will poison them
should be poured into the holes to kill any maggots that
have been left.

As these maggots turn to pupae just below the surface
of the ground, it has been found a good plan to draw the
earth away from the roots of the Cabbage with these
pupae or fly-cases in it, and to destroy it and them
together. By this means the coming brood of flies is
got rid of.

A proper rotation of crop would be one of the best
methods of prevention.

ROOT-EATING FLY. 33

The practice of taking one crop of Cabbage after
another off the same ground creates a nursery for the
propagation of all the insect-pests which prey on this
crop ; and in the case of such as turn to pupa in the
earth, the grubs or caterpillars simply leave the roots, or
descend from the plants into the ground, and there
undergo their transformations. This may be imme-
diately, or they may be in the earth during the winter,
to appear as perfect insects in the ensuing spring or
summer, and so on successively till the ground is
completely infested by them.

It will thus be seen that a simple turning over of the
ground, accompanied by heavy manuring, though it may
be a remedy for the exhaustion of the soil, will not get
rid of the grubs.

A change of crop is necessary — such as Beans, Cereals,
or even Potatoes ; these would not suit the Cabbage Fly
for the deposit of its eggs, and planting the Cabbage
afterwards on the clean uninfested land would greatly
reduce the risk of attack.

Root-eating Fly. Antlwmyia radicum, Ciu'tis.
(For fig. of Fly, see page 31.)

The grubs of this fly are sometimes to be found in the
roots of Cabbage and also in Turnips. They are of a
yellowish ochre-colour, with two dark bro-wm points at
the end of the blunt tail. These grubs, and also the
pupae of this fly, are similar in shape to the grubs and
pupas of A. hrossicce, the Cabbage Fly (figured at 1 and 3,
magnified ; 2, nat. size, p. 31) ; the pupae, however, differ
in colour, those of the Eoot-eating Fly being of a paler
and more ochreous colour than those of the Cabbage Fly.

The Pioot-eating Fly is figured at 4, p. 31, magnified ;
the male has an ochreous face, with a rusty stripe on the
forehead ; body between the wrings black, with three dark
stripes, and grey sides ; abdomen slender, grey, with
broad black stripe along the back. The female is grey,

D

34 CABBAGE.

with three dull stripes along the hody between the wings.
— ('Farm Insects.')

Prevention and Eemedies. — These flies are not noted
as causing any serious damage in this country, but may
be mentioned from their great resemblance to the
common Cabbage Fly. According to Bouche, the flies
inhabit dung by thousands in the summer, and, from
the nature of the excrementitious matter which they are
stated by him especially to frequent, it would appear
that the use of night-soil as a manure would be likely to
attract attack.

From experiments made by the Zoological-Botanical
Society of Vienna, it appears that these maggots were
injurious to crops on ground manured with bone-dust,
and also to those manured with horse-dung ; but that on
ground close by, manured with superphosphate, the
plants were not at all attacked.

AntJiomyia tuberosa, Curtis, figured p. 31, has been
found feeding in Potatoes, and the larvte and pupse have
been found where garden-ground has been long occupied
by Cabbages. — (' Farm Insects.')

Cabbage Moth. Mamcstra hrassictc, Linn.

This is one of the garden-insects from which we suffer
regularly in the summer and autumn of each year,
sometimes slightly, but often to a serious extent. The
caterpillars do not seem to dislike the leafage of any of
our common plants, whether sweet or acrid, and they
may be found on Marigolds, Dahlias, and Geraniums, in
the flower-garden, as well as on the leaves of the Tobacco ;
they frequent the Dock, amongst wild plants, and they are
sometimes found on the leaves of the Pied Currant ; but
we suffer most from their attacks on Cauliflower, and
on the hearted Cabbages in the autumn.

Their appetite seems insatiable (they are stated to eat
day and night), but however this may be, they soon ruin

CABBAGE MOTH.

35

the Cabbage by gnawing large boles clown into the heart,
and making what is left truly disgusting, by the excre-
ment from the caterpillars, which remains in lumps
between the leaves, or spreads downwards in wet green
masses.

The moth lays her eggs on the leaves, and the cater-
pillars hatch in a few days and immediately begin to
feed. They are usually green in their early stages, but
afterwards vary much in colour, some being pale dingy
green ; some green, and black above ; some blackish
above, variegated with llesh-colour, and on the back of
each ring or segment there is a short line or somewhat
triangular-shaped mark, lighter at the edge, and slanting

1, Moth; 2, cateqiillar ; 3, clirysalis.

backward. The head is ochreous, or marbled with
darker brown, and the next segment to it is black above.
When full-fed these caterpillars are upw^ards of an inch
and a quarter in length, and on being annoyed roll
themselves into a tight ring. They change to chestnut-
coloured chrj'salids in the earth (or sometimes on the
surface), and usually pass the winter in this state,
protected by earth. From these the moths come out in
the course of the following May or later in the summer.
The moths are of a rich brown, the upper wings are
variously marked (as in the figure) with black streaks
and circles, and have also a large ear-shaped spot,
bordered with white, and surrounded by a dark line ; the

36 CABBAGE.

lower wings are brown, dirty white at the base. — (' Farm
Insects,' ' Hist, of Brit. Moths.')

Prevention and Eemedies. — Where the autumn
Cabbage-crop has been much infested bj^ the caterpillars,
the chrysalids will be turned up in great numbers in the
winter digging. When seen these should be immediately
destroyed, or thrown into a basket to be effectually
destroyed at the first leisure moment, and by this means
the number of the next season's brood will be much
diminished. It is no use leaving them to be killed
by frost, for caterpillars and chrysalids of such kinds as
have been tested at present will stand being frozen stiff
without the slightest injury.

Poultry are of service in clearing the ground of these
chrj^salids, as the common barn-door fowls are particu-
larly fond of them ; but hand-picking is the surer
method.

When the caterpillars appear on the Cabbage it is
very important to attend to them, in some way or other,
at once. The grubs are very voracious, and very soon —
by what they eat and what they spoil by their excrement
— place the attacked Cabbage past all hope. Hand-
picking is of use, and may be best done by children, as
their small fingers are most suitable for getting between
the folds of the Cabbage-leaves, and, under proper
inspection, the Cabbages may be well and rapidly
cleared at a small expense. It is stated that, when
nearly full-grown, the caterpillars go down by day, and
feed by night ; and where this is the case, what we need
is something that, when once they are down, will keep
them from crawling up the plant again.

Probably soot throA,\T.i close up to the stems would
answer well ; ashes sprinlded with spirit of tar would be
useful ; and so would quick-lime, as long as it remained
caustic ; but the application of gas-lime is an almost
unfailing preservative. If this, whilst still fresh (and
l^oisonous alike to plants and insects, if incautiously
applied), is put in a narrow ring, about as wide as a

GEEAT YELLOW-UNDERWING MOTH. 37

finger, round but not quite close to the stem of the plant
to be protected, the plant is not in the slightest degree
injured, and, as far as experiment shows at present, the
caterpillars will not cross the poisonous ring. The cost
of the remedy is little, and in careful hands it answers well.

With regard to the hearted Cabbage, the application
of gas-lime which has been exposed for about three
months to atmospheric action — so as to neutralize its
poisonous effects, but still not entirely to destroy the
sulphury smell — has been found very serviceable. The
powdered lime rolls down and lodges in all the nooks of
the Cabbage, and thus makes the spots where the
caterpillars most resort to, before piercing into the heart,
the most distasteful to them. By comparison of gas-limed
and unlimed plants in one garden, the effect has been
found to be good in keeping down the grubs, without the
least injury to the Cabbage. Sprinkling a good dressing
of the gas-lime in this state on the surface of the
Cabbage-bed is a very good preventive to attack, and
acts well as a manure.

In the case of caterpillars that feed, like these, on
many of our commonest weeds, it is desirable to clear
away all such food-plants ; and if the grubs have been
noticed in summer in neglected corners, to turn over the
ground in winter to see if the chrysalids are there, and,
if so, to destroy them. — (' Farm Insects,' and Ed.)

Great Yellow- ) at ^ , /^^ ? \ ? t •

Underwing Moth, r^"'^""^ {Trypluma) pronuha, Lmn.

The eggs of this moth are laid on many kinds of
vegetables in July.

The caterpillar feeds by night ; during the day it
conceals itself in the ground, or under stones or clods of
earth ; it has been found with the caterpillar of the
Heart and Dart Moth at the roots of Turnips, and also
at the roots of Lettuces, and has been stated by various
authors to feed on the roots of grass.

38

CABBAGE.

When full-grown the caterpillars are one inch and
three-quarters long, and about as thick as a swan's
quill. The head is ochreous, with two black stripes ;
the general colour is very variable, from a sickly green to
a dull brown, variegated with rosy brown, and freckled
with a brown band down the back, marked with a pale
line along the middle, and a short line of black spots or
streaks along each side ; the caterpillar is pale green
beneath. These caterpillars are very fat, not at all
shining, and on being disturbed coil themselves into a
ring. They feed during autumn, and may be found
during the winter months beneath the turf, or just

1, Catei-pillav; 'i, chrysalis; •■^, moth.

beneath the surface of the ground. In spring they come
out again, and when full-fed, which may be from March
to June, they bury themselves and form earth-cases or
hollows in the ground, in which they turn to reddish
chrysalids, from which the moths come out in June or
July. They are variable in marking, but may be known
by their pale or rich umber-brown fore wings generally
mottled or spotted, as figured at 3, and by their hind
wings being orange-yellow, with a somewhat narrow
waved black band, but without any central mark. By
one or other of the three points of their large size, the
comparatively narrow black band on the hind wings, or

CABBAGE POWDEKED-WING. 39

the absence of the dull mark on the hind wings, this
moth may be distinguished from other species of
Yellow-Underwings.— (E. N., J. F. S., J. C.)

Prevention and Eemedies. — The moth shelters itself
amongst dry leaves and herbage, and in seasons when it
is numerous many might be got rid of at a small expense
by setting children to catch them with a bag-net, or
merely with the hand. The moth rises before the
passer-by from grass in hay-fields that have been lately
cut, or in rough neglected spots ; and its flight being
sluggish, and itself large and very conspicuous, from its
"yellow under-wings," it is easily taken. The same
means are applicable for prevention that are recom-
mended for destroying the Heart and Dart Moth, A.
exdamationis, and most of the remedies against the
Cabbage Moth, 3/. hrassiccB, are also applicable to this
one, but not all, as the Cabbage Moth caterpillar feeds
by day as well as by night.

The caterpillar of the Yellow-Underwing feeds on
Docks and on Bittersweet ; consequently clearing these
common weeds would be of much service. It is also said
to feed on the roots of the Primrose, which should be
carefully watched where this moth is prevalent.

(Aleyrodes proletella, Linn.
Cabbage Powdered-wing.j ,, ChelidonU, Latr.

( ,, / hrassiccB, Walker.

This is a small four-winged Fly, very like a small
powdery White Moth in its appearance, but in fact is
nearly allied to the Scale Insects and to the Aphides.
It may be found on different kinds of Cabbage, more or
less, all the year round, and towards autumn in such
enormous quantities that, if the plants are stirred, the
soft white iiies will rise and float in the air, and settle
down like miniature snow-flakes, whence its name of the
Snowy Fly. They rest for the most part beneath the

40

CABBAGE.

leaves, and draw away the sap with then- suckers ; and
at times do a good deal of harm. The attacked leaves
may generally be known by their patchy brown or yellow
state, but sometimes are entirely discoloured.

As far as is known, these Snowy Flies breed in winter
as well as in summer, and are not hurt by rain or cold.

Fly and pupa, much magnified. "Flies on leaf, twice nat. size.

The female lays her eggs in a patch on a leaf ; these
hatch in about twelve days, and the young spread them-
selves on the leaf and shortly become covered with a
scale, white, with two yellow spots. In this state they
much resemble the common Scale Insect, and they stick
fast to the leaf, which they pierce with their sucker.
In about ten days they turn (beneath this scale) to a pale
chrysalis, with red eyes, and in about four days more the
perfect insect comes out through the scale. This is very
small, only about the eighth of an inch in the spread of
the wings, and is covered with a white powder. The
head and the body between the wings are black,
variegated with yellow ; the abdomen is yellow or rosy,
and the four wings are white and mealy, the upper pair
having a dusky spot in the middle and towards the tip.
The head has a rostrum or sucking-tube with which it
draws away the juice of the leaf. — (' G. Chron.,' and
' Ag. Gazette,' 1846.)

CABBAGE GALL WEEVIL. 41

Pee\tention and Eemedies. — Cabbage infested by these
Snowy Flies may be known by the unhealthy look of the
leaves, which are sometimes withered, but more commonly
marked with whitish or yellowish patches.

These leaves should be gathered and destroyed at once.
They may be thrown into a farm-yard where they will be
trampled in wet manure, or into a dung-pit, and the
insects thus destroyed ; but it is a better plan to burn
them. Throwing the leaves to a rubbish-heap is of
little use, for the Cabbage keeps fresh quite long enough
for the grubs to feed and turn to the perfect insect as if
nothing had happened.

Probably dusting the plants with soot, or ashes
sprinkled with tar, or if possible giving a good syringing
with tobacco-water, or soft soap, might be of service ; but
if the Snowy Flies have got hold, cutting off the leaves
and burning them is the best treatment. — (Ed.)

Cabbage Gall Weevil. Ccutorhijnchus sulcicollis, Stejphens.

The Galls that are found singly or in clusters of
roundish knots, on the underground part of the stem
and sometimes on the root-fibres of the Cabbage, are
caused by this Weevil,

The female lays her egg on the root, or stem, or in a
small hole pierced in it by means of her long snout, and
the galls form in consequence, each gall being presently
found to contain in the middle of its soft cellular tissue
a legless yellowish white fleshy maggot, with strongly-
toothed jaws. The galls grow with the growth of the
Cabbage, the maggots meanwhile feeding on the inside,
till when ready for their change to pup^e they gnaw a
hole through the rind with their strong jaws, and go
into the earth. Here they form themselves each an
earth-case. Beginning by holding a little of the
material round them fast with the tip of the tail, they
keep adding to it by sticking on the smallest morsels of
earth, decayed wood, or pebbles that lie near, by means

42 CABBAGE.

of moisture from the mouth ; and so gradually build up
a case round themselves, smooth inside and rough
outside, in which they turn to pupse, and come out
again as the perfect beetle or " Cabbage Weevil" (in the
instances noted) in about two months. They seem to have
wonderful powers of endurance whilst in the grub state.
When the maggots are taken from the galls, even if not
fully grown, they will bury themselves; and if when com-
plete their earth-cases are broken open, they will repair
them and make them as a;ood as before.

Earth-case of the larva, nnd case in its chamber, both magnified. Cabbage
root with galls. For fig. of Weevil see " Turnip Gall Weevil."

An amount of cold that freezes them stiff in their cells
does not do them any harm, and on being thawed and
placed on soft earth they will make then- way into it and
form their earth-cases as if nothing had happened.

The perfect beetle or Cabbage Gall Weevil is about
the eighth of an inch long, blackish grey, with a long
and slender curved snout on which are placed the horns,
with a long joint at the base, so that they appear to be
elbowed ; see fig. When seen under a magnifying-glass
the beetle will be found to be marked as in the figure,
with ten lines along each wing-case, and pitted with
small holes ; beneath it has bufl'-coloured or whitish
scales. — (Ed, in 'Entomologist,' vol. x.)

CABBAGE GALL WEEVIL. 43

Prevention and Eemedies. — Generally the galls do
little harm, but occasionally run together in great
masses, and exhaust the strength of the plant. Though
distinct from the vegetable disease known as " Club,"
the galls may be found with it, and very probably may
add to the unhealthy growth, though they are not the
original cause.

A. great deal of good might be done by burning the
infested old Cabbage-stocks when drawn from the fields,
instead of throwing them into rot-heaps or of digging
them into the ground, as is often done. In this case the
maggots are perfectly well suited for the future ; they
leave the galls for the earth near them, and (unless the
galls are very deeply buried) in due time the beetles,
with the help of their long boring beaks, will come up
through the ground all well and strong; so that if
Cabbage is planted over the buried stocks, it is most
conveniently placed for the supply of the new brood.
This may seem an overdra^^Ti statement, but such
treatment and results are only too true.

In common garden cultivation the old plants might
easily be got rid of by throwing them to the pigs, or into
a farm-yard where the grubs (if they came out) would be
choked in wet manure. In field cultivation, where the
stocks are cleared by the cart-load, it would be desirable
to burn them, or shoot them into a field-pond away from
houses where the smell would not cause anno^'ance,
although it would hardly be worse in this way than when
the old stocks lie rotting in heaps. But whatever is
done, it should be done at once, before the maggots have
time to leave the galls ; and if this simple matter of
prevention was properly attended to, most likely very
little would be needed b_y way of remedy.

When seedlings are being planted, all with galls on
them should be rejected, or the galls scraped off and
destroj'ed. Change of crop is very important. These
weevils attack the Cabbage and Turnip, but not other
farm crops, such as Carrots, Parsnips, Corn, &c.,
and by the time that the Cabbage or Tm-nip rotation

44 CABBAGE.

comes round again, the ground would be free from the
weevils and their maggots.

Gas-lime, sown broadcast and then pointed in, has
been found of service in getting ground intended for
Cabbage-crops clear of this maggot. — (' Ag. Gazette,'
1879.) Gas-lime is also serviceable as a dressing,
accompanied by deep trenching ; so is caustic lime, or
soot.

Wood-ashes are also a good preventive for insect-
attack on the roots, and are otherwise very beneficial to
the growth of the plant. — (M. D.)

A dressing of marl or fresh soil is very serviceable on
old garden ground. It is also of great use to trench the
ground so as to bury the earth-cases well down, beyond
the power of the weevil when it develops to come up
again.

In some Cabbage-growing districts, spent Hops are
largely used as a manure, and are stated to be an
excellent preventive against the attack of this and many
other pernicious insects.

45

CAKEOT.

Carrot Fly. Psila roscB, Fab.

1, 2, and 3, Larvse, nat. size and magnified; 4, infested Carrot; 5 and C,
pupse ; 7 and 8, Carrot Fly, nat. size and magnified.

The damage done by this "Worm" or maggot is
known as " rust," from the pecuHar reddish or rusty
colour to which the gnawed parts tm-n.

The maggot is legless, white or yellowish, and shiny ;
about a quarter of an inch long, pointed at the head,
and cut short off at the tail. The head is a black horny
substance which contains the mouth, the tip of which is
like a hook ; the tail has two little black tubercles.
The grubs may be found in winter as well as summer,
and attack all parts of the Carrot-root by gnawing
galleries on the surface, or into the substance of the
root ; but whilst the roots are young, the grubs appear
generally to attack the lowest part. If infested Carrots
are carefully drawn from the earth, the grubs will be
seen on the root, sticking out of their burrows by about
half then- length. The attacked Carrots may be known
by the outer leaves tm-ning yellow and withering, while
the roots gradually sicken and die from the injury to the
fleshy part, the growth of the root-fibre being also
often completely destroyed.

46 CARROT.

When fiill-fecl, the maggots leave the Carrots and turn
to pupas in the earth. These pupae or fly-cases are
shiny, of a rusty or ochre colour, pale russet at the ends,
with two little black points at the tail. The fly comes
out in three or four weeks in summer, but in winter the
pupae remain unchanged, and the fly does not come from
them till the following spring or summer. It is very
small, less than half an inch in the sjjread of the wings,
blackish green, with a round rusty ochre -coloured head,
and ochre-coloured legs. The abdomen is sharply
pointed in the female, and the two wings are iridescent,
with bright ochre-coloured veins. — (' Farm Insects.')

Prevention and Eemedies. — The following notes
regarding Carrot-cultivation will be found to bear in
various ways, suitable to difl'erent circumstances of soil
and climate, on the main points of — 1st, such preparation
of the ground in autumn or winter as will ensure favour-
able conditions for a healthy, vigorous, and uninterrupted
growth from the first sprouting of the seed; 2nd,
thinning at such a stage of gro^\iih, in such circumstances
of damp weather, or with such watering or treatment
after thinning as may least expose the plants to the
attack of the Carrot Fly, which frequently occurs after
this operation. Whether the fly is attracted by the
scent of the bruised plants, or what brings it is not
clear, but it is very clear that as it goes down into the
ground to lay its eggs on or by the Carrots, that all
operations which leave the soil unusually loose and open,
lay at the same time the Carrot-roots open to attack ;
and it will be observed that the various methods of
treatment, in regard to thinning, bear on the means of
meeting this difliculty. Observations as to kinds of
manure, and special applications, as salt, gas-lime,
wood-ashes, &c., found to be serviceable, are also given.

The notes are classed as far as possible in groups, with
reference to the point mainly brought forward in the
observation.

At a locality near Dingwall, N.B., where the ground is

CARROT FLY. 47

a damp heavy clay, and consequently unsuitable for
Carrots, a piece was prepared in 1874, on which they
have been found to answer well subsequently year by
year. The soil was removed to the depth of two feet,
and replaced by a mixture of well-decayed leaf-mould,
sand, charcoal, soot, and light soil ; on this the Carrots
have only suffered slight injury, when other beds in the
neighbourhood have been destroyed by the fly.

It is advised that Carrots should be thinned out to the
distance at which they are to be grown, when they are
weeded the first time, for if they are thinned after they
come to any size, the soil is opened round the Carrots,
and if dry weather follows, the fly is sure to attack them.
— G. M'K.

At another locality near Dingwall it is the custom to
sow sparingly, and not thin the Carrots till fit for use ;
and — in illustration of attack of grub or " worm "
following on thinning — it is observed that in 1880, after
commencing this process with the second sowing of
Carrots, "the grub commenced too, and within three
weeks spoiled them for use. Late ones alongside escaped
until we began to use them ; but, by keeping to the side
the grub was on, it kept up, but did not advance beyond
the damaged part." — (A. S.)

" Unless the Carrots are thinned very early it should
not be done till they are fit for use, as there is great
danger of attracting the fly by the broken pieces of root
remaining in the ground." — (A. A.)

At Dunrobin, N. B., the ground is carefully trenched,
and the manure kept about a foot or fifteen inches from
the surface ; and it is the practice to use the best seed,
sow thinly, and thin early, or not till the Carrots are fit
for use. "If Carrots require thinning, this should be
done when an inch or two high ; if thinned after they
are from two to six or eight inches high, the fly seems to
attack them more readily." — (D. M.)

On ground near Kirkwall, in the Orkneys, where the
soil was of a strong cla3^ey nature, unsuitable for Carrots,
it was found, after all previous experiments had failed to

48 CAKKOT.

produce a good crop, that (instead of using ordinary
manure) digging in about the same quantity of peat and
sand, and giving a good watering with gas-water before
sowing, w^as quite successful. — (T. M'D.)

In a locahty where the Carrot-crop suffered severely
from the fly on the ordinary soil, a piece of peaty ground
was taken for Carrot-growing which produced good crops
yearly.— (J. D.) _

In the following notices the soil appears to have suited
the Carrots perfectly, and the attack of Hy to have
followed on thinning : —

At Lockerbie, N. B., where change of soil was tried as
a remedy for fly, a portion of ground was cleared out to
the depth of twenty-two inches, and the vacancy filled in
vdth a compost of four parts good brown peat, four parts
light fine yellow loam from Vinery border, two parts well-
decayed leaf-mould, and two parts river-sand ; the whole
being thoroughly mixed, and no manure being used.
The Carrots sown on this were thinned at the end of
May, and did well till the 17th of June, when the fly was
found to have begun its ravages. — (F. G. F.)

On a stiff clayey loam near Isleworth the same experi-
ment was tried on a smaller scale, by removing soil to
the depth of about eighteen inches, and filling in the
space with a mixture of about one-third decayed leaf-
mould of Elm-leaves, one-third of the loam that had been
dug out, and one-third of mixed coal-ashes, broken peat,
and a little white sand. The Carrots did well on this till
the end of June, when they were thinned, and the grub
shortl}^ after appeared amongst those most distm'bed by
the thinning. Copious watering with an occasional
application of dilute Soluble Phenyle stopped the attack,
and threw the Carrots into vigorous growth. — (Ed.)

The following notes have reference to methods of
cultivation of the ordinary garden ground, to the addition
of salt, and other occasional applications : —

At Skibo, N. B., the course is adopted of having the
ground double-dug before hard frost sets in, the manm-e
being put at the bottom of the trench. When complete,

CAEROT FLY. 49

a f];ood dressing of salt is given, which washes down
before spring, and previous to sowing a good dressing of
soot and wood-ashes is apphed. Care is taken to perform
the first thinning as soon as the plants can be handled,
leaving them an inch or two apart. When the thinning
is complete a sprinkling of guano is given, and a
thorough watering, if the weather is dry. Particular
attention is paid to keeping the Carrots growing without
any check till some time after thej^ are finally thinned,
when, if all has gone well previously, they are considered
safe. Still, however, it is thought well to look them over
occasionally, and if any are found drooping, to have them
pulled up and bm-ned. This method of cultivation has
been found, after many 3'ears' experience, to answer well.
—(A. F.)

Near Berridale, N, B., the method adopted is to turn
up the ground in winter as roughly as possible, and give
a good dressing of salt. In spring, before sowing, it is
forked over, and a dressing given of peat and ashes.
When the Carrots are thinned, a mixtui'e of soot and
water is poured over them ; paraffin is also used, in the
proportion of an English pint of paraffin to two gallons
of water, but care is recommended in the use of it in dry
weather, lest it should burn the plants. — (J, S.)

Frequent waterings of salt water are mentioned as of
service to an attacked crop. — (T, M'D.)

At Dalkeith, N. B., good Carrots, tolerably free from
injury by the fly, were gro^^ii on ground which had been
previously heavily salted for Asjmragus, This was upon
soil which had been used for a kitchen-garden for forty
years, and upon which endeavours had failed to get a
good crop in any other way. — (M. D.)

At Ballinacourte, Tipperary, the most severe poiiiou
of an attack of the Carrot Fly occurred in the centre of
a field which had not received the same treatment as the
part round it, and the plant was consequently more
feeble. In this case bad manure and the absence of salt
were considered to be the cause of the attack. It is
ad\ised that good manure — rich and well-rotted — should

50 CARKOT.

be applied at the autumn ploughing, and artificial
manure, with salt, applied in the drill at sowing-time. —
(D. S. S.)

In the following notes mention is made of the use of
paraffiu in regular course of cultivation, or as a dressing
in case of attack, proving a very good means of pre-
vention : —

The crops have usually proved good at Oxenford Castle,
N. B., on a bed of tree-leaves covered with soil composed
of emptyings of flower-pots, boxes, &c., and consequently
of a light friable nature. In 1879, however, the fly
proved destructive, and in 1880, in order to experiment,
the beds were beaten firm after the seed was sown, and
lightly covered with soil, as above mentioned. A good
dressing was then given with wood-ashes in which
paraffin oil had been mixed in the proportion of one
quart to a barrow-load of ashes (about one hundred-
weight). When the plants were about four inches high,
a second dressing of the same mixture was given, and a
thoroughly excellent and luxuriant crop resulted. It is
observed that mixing the paraffin with some absorbing
substance is better than simply watering with it in a
dilute form, as it lasts longer, and is more gradually
carried down into the soil. — (A. A.)

Sand saturated with paraffin oil and strewed amongst
the Carrots, and afterwards watered in, is noticed as a
good preventive. — (G. M'K.)

At Hopetoun, N. B., the Carrot-crop was not satis-
factory till the use of paraffin oil (in the proportion of
two wine-glassfuls to a gallon of water) run along the
drills after thinning was tried, and proved very successful.
— (D. M'L.)

Watering with paraffin oil in the proportion of a wine-
glassful to a gallon of water has been found to be of
service. — (E. S.)

It is also noted that, in an attack of the Carrot Worm
near Guildford, Surrey, the patches to which a dressing
of paraffin and soot were applied turned out well, and
yielded good roots.

CAKROT FLY. 51

The following notes refer more especially to the
successful use oi gas-lime, u-ood-asJics, and soajj-snds, and
also to successful cultivation on ground which has a
liberal supply of rich manure thoroughly incorporated
with it by the cultivation of the previous crop : —

It is mentioned that, at Marchmont, N. B., the system
adopted is deep trenching after Celery, and cropping
with Carrots without addition of manure, and as long as
this practice is adhered to, the fly rarely appears. — (P. L.)

At Dalkeith, a dressing of gas-lime forked into the soil
before sowing is found to be a good remedy, as also is an
application of ammoniacal liquor or strong liquid
manure, whenever the Carrot Fly is first noticed on the
wing. — (M. D.)

At Callander, N. B., where the grub has been found
troublesome, the use of gas-lime was tried with success.
The ground was rough-dug at the beginning of winter,
and the gas-lime was sprinkled over the ground till it
was white, and then pointed-in about four inches. The
Carrots on ground so treated escaped all attack from fly,
whilst those on another piece not so treated were
destroyed ; and a second sowing made to replace these
on ground dressed with gas-lime also did well. — (T. B.)

Gas-lime dug two or three inches thick into the bed
before sowing, is found to answer at Hopetoun ; but it
is observed that perhaps the best and cheapest cure for
the worm in Carrots is a solution of alum in water,
applied by a watering-can with a rose. This is mentioned
as perhaps even better than parafdn, as there is less risk
of misapplication. — (J. M'L.)

A note of treatment, in 1879, at Gordon Castle,
Fochabers, points to the effect of wood-ashes in pre-
venting attacks so far down the root as the alkali is
carried in solution by the rain. Some of the ground was
trenched, other portions sown without trenching, but the
whole otherwise treated alike, — that is, by covering over
the seeds in the drills with fully half an inch thick of
sifted wood-ashes. The Carrots were all attacked by the
grub, and proved an entire failure : but it is noted the

52 CARROT.

attack was about two and a half to three and a half
inches below the surface, the upper part of the Carrots
remaining perfectly sound. — (J. W.)

Wood-ashes are noted as applied in successful treat-
ment, after the ridges are levelled, in a dressing not less
than half an inch all over the ground ; this is dug-in one
spit deep (the ground being made level at the same time),
and soot well dusted over the surface. The ground is
then ready for the seed. — (A. I.)

At Torloisli, in the Island of Mull, the ground was
trenched about two feet deep, and a good layer of farm-
manm^e placed at the bottom of the trench in winter, and
prepared in the usual way in the spring ; but before
sowing, deep holes were made about eight inches apart,
and filled with a compost of soil from potting-shed, soot,
pigeon-manure, lime-rubbish, sea-sand, and wood-ashes,
and a few seeds were placed in each hole. The result
was an excellent crop of clean Carrots ; but a few lines
tried without the holes, but with a little of the compost
in lines beneath the seed, were destroyed — (A. G.)

The simple application of frequent waterings has a
very good effect in keeping down "rust" or attack of
Carrot grub in dry weather. The w^ater keeps the
gi'ound fairly compacted against entrance of the fly for
oviposition, and also keeps the plants from falling into
the checked and stunted condition in which they are
particularly liable to attack ; and if given with a rose
over the foliage, the watering has the further advantage
of clearing out, for the time being, all flies which are
harbouring there, and which at once take wing before the
falling shower.

One more remedy remains to be named, which has
been recommended for such a long course of years that
presumably it is of service. This is, to prepare ground
for Carrots by a dressing of spirits of tar mixed with
sand. One gallon of spirits of tar well mixed with a
barrowful of sand and then hand-strewed over the
ground, is enough to dress sixty or seventy square yards.
This dressing may be applied in the autumn and dug-in,

COMMON FLAT-BODY MOTH. 53

or after the Carrots are sown, or it may be strewed at
the thne of sowmg.

The above observations give a variety of means, all
tending to the same results of pushing on healthy
uninterrupted growth, with such subsequent treatment
as will either not induce attack of the fly, or is likely to
counteract attack, if it occurs.

To these methods of cultivation a note may be added
regarding treatment of ground on which there has been
a badly-infested crop of Carrots : —

Although the summer broods hatch in three or four
weeks, the maggots may be found in the roots during
winter, and they change to pupae in the earth adjacent.
It is therefore very desirable that all infested Carrot-beds
should be thoroughly cleared of roots in the autumn,
and the ground well dug, or trenched, so that such
maggots or pupae as remain in the bed may be destroyed ;
some may escape, but the larger number will thus be
buried too deeply to come up again, or be thrown on the
surface to the birds ; and a dressing of gas-lime will be
serviceable in destroying such of the grubs as are lying
near the surface.

Common Flat-body Moth. Bepressaria ciciUeUa, Curtis.

This little moth is one of three nearly-allied kinds, of
which the caterpillars injure our Carrots, and sometimes
also our Parsnip-crops. I only give a figure of one
kind, as they are much alike in shape. They may be
known by the rather long and narrow upper wings being
laid flat one over the other when at rest, and by the
abdomen being flat or depressed, whence the common
name of Flat-body Moth, and the scientific name of
Dejjressaria.

The caterpillar of the moth described above feeds on
the Carrot-leaves, which it cuts so that it can bend and
roll them up into small cylinders spun together by its
threads ; each end is left open, so that when alarmed it

54

CAKROT.

can lower itself to the ground by a thread spun from its
mouth.

The caterpillar is half an inch long, grass-green, with
a darker green line along the back and along each side ;
it has ten warty black spots on each ring, a brown head,
with two brighter brown spots, and the back of the
segment behind the head is brown, with a black margin.

Common Flat-body Moth, caterpillar, and cbrssalis.

When ready to change, the caterpillars become rosy
beneath, and then turn to chrysalids of a deep yellowish
brown, sometimes in a folded leaf, sometimes in cocoons
in the earth.

The moth is rather more than three-quarters of an
inch in the spread of the wings, shiny like satin, of a
pale reddish ochre-colour, the upper wings freckled with
brown and black, and with two or three white dots with
dark edges towards the middle ; the under wings are
yellowish grey, satiny, and fringed.

There are two broods. The June caterpillars come
out as moths in August ; those found at the beginning

CARROT-BLOSSOM MOTH. 55

of September come out as moths (which live through
the winter) at the end of November. — (From ' Farm
Insects.')

Prevention and Remedies. — I am not aware that the
caterpillar causes serious damage in England. Should
it be troublesome, probably shaking the Carrot-leaves
with a stick, or in any other convenient way, and
throwing soot, or lime, or anything that would injure
the caterpillars and keep them from returning to the
leaves, would be serviceable ; they fall on being disturbed.

Their natm-al enemies are the small solitary Wasps
{Odi/neri) which may often be seen in summer, and are
distinguishable from the common Wasps by being
generally smaller, and by their large heads, and the
broad stripes of black on the sharply-pointed abdomen.
These small Wasps make their burrows in sand-banks,
bramble-stems, decayed posts, and the like places, in
which they collect caterpillars for the food of their own
larvae.

Carrot-blossom Moth. Deprcssaria dcotcella, Curtis.

The caterpillars of this small Moth sometimes do
much harm to the Carrot seed-crop in July and August.

They draw the tips of the flowering head (the umbel)
together with their webs, and inside this chamber they
feed on the flowers and seeds.

The caterpillar is greenish gre}^ or yellowish, with
black hairy warts, and some faint streaks along the
back ; and the head, as well as the uj^per side of the first
segment behind it, is brown or black ; it is only about
half an inch long when full-grown.

Sometimes the caterpillar changes to the chrysalis in
the flower-head ; sometimes it bores for this purpose
into the stem.

The moth is little more than three-quarters of an inch
in the spread of the upper wings. The head and body

66 CARROT.

between the wings are recldisli brown, freckled with
black ; the upper wings are of the same colour, freckled
with white, and having black streaks, and the under side
is dark ; the hind wings are light grey.

Prevention and Eemedies. — The caterpillars fall down
by a thread when disturbed, therefore shaking the
Carrot-tops and destroying the caterpillars that fall is a
good remedy ; but it should be remembered that unless
the grub is immediately destroyed, or its return pre-
vented, it will go back again, and no good be done by
the shaking.

Powdered hellebore is suggested as being a good thing
to dust over the infested plants, applied when the dew
is on.

It is stated by various writers that this moth much
prefers the Parsnip to the Carrot for deposit of her eggs,
and consequently by planting Parsnips about eight feet
apart amongst the Carrots, the latter will be saved from
attack, and also the Parsnip-tops, with the caterpillars
and chrysalids thus collected, may be conveniently
gathered and burnt. This, however, needs a deal of
care, or the caterpillars will drop down by their threads
and escape. Breaking the heads off over a tub is
suggested as a good remedy by John Curtis in ' Farm
Insects,' from which the above notes regarding Carrot
Moths have chiefly been taken ; but it would be well in
this case to have a thick mixture of soot and water, or
quick-lime, or anything that would destroy them at once
or prevent their escape, placed at the bottom of the tub,
rather than to depend on burning.

Purple Carrot-seed Moth. Dejwessaria depresseUa, Curtis.

The caterpillars of this Moth resemble, both in habits
and appearance, those of the Carrot-blossom Moth, but
are rather smaller, being hardly more than a quarter of
an inch long. They are brownish grey in colour, and

CAEROT-SEED MOTH. 57

the black hairs grow from white instead of from black
warts. The sides of the bod}^ have swollen edges.

They feed (in company) in the flower-heads of the
Carrot, and there some of them change to chrysalids in
a light grey web ; as in the case of the Carrot-blossom
Moth this habit is not constant, for in the autumn they
eat into the stalks, and there change and winter. At
the first mild weather the moths come out, but shelter
themselves in any convenient spot on the return of cold.

The male moth is about half an inch in the spread of
the wings, and has the head and body between the wings
ochre-coloured ; the upper wings chestnut, with pale
ochre scales sometimes placed in patches ; the tail is
blunt.

The female is rather wider in the spread of the wings ;
the colour is similar, but the chestnut of the upper
wings is brighter, and the scales are whitish and form a
kind of oval mark ; also the tail is pointed. — (' Farm
Insects.')

Prevention and Remedies. — Their habits and food-
plants appear like those of the Carrot-blossom Moth —
which see for means of prevention, &c.

58

CELEKY.

Celery Leaf-miner. Tephritis onopordinis, Curtis.

Celery Fly, magnified; line, showing nat. size; larva and pupa figured
in blistered leaf.

The Celery Fly lays her eggs on, or in, the Celery-leaf,
and from these there hatch maggots much like the Onion
Maggot (of which see fig.) in appearance. These
maggots are fleshy, legless, pointed at the head, and
blunt at the tail, white or pale greenish in colour.
They feed between the upper and under sides of the
Celery-leaf and, by eating away the substance, cause
large blister-like patches, which are white at first, and
turn brown as the skin dries. Where there are many of
these blisters, the leaves are destroyed, and the plants
are consequently destroyed or much injm-ed.

When the maggots are full-fed, the skin hardens, and
they turn to brown or ochry oval pup» in the leaf or in
the earth ; generally they leave the leaf and turn to
pupre in the earth.

CELEEY LEAF-MINER. 59

The "miners " go through then- changes from the egg
to the perfect fly so rapidly as to give time for two or
more broods during the j^ear. The fly is rather
more than the eighth of an inch long, and about three-
eighths of an inch across in the spread of the wings.

The colour is ochreous or brown, the eyes deep green,
and the two wings are transparent and mottled with
patches of brown. The poisers (that is, processes like a
knob on a short stalk, which project from the body and
take the place of the second pan of wings in the Diptera,
or two-winged flies) are ochre-coloured.

They may be found in great numbers in the middle of
May, and grub-blistered leaves may be found from the
time the Celery is planted out till Christmas.

The maggots of the autumn brood turn to pupae, and
remain in the ground in that state during the winter.

Prevention and Eemedies. — A great deal might be
done in the way of prevention by attending to the
ground on which infested crops have been grown (and
which is almost certainly full of the pupae), and also by
taking care to have infested leaves, or refuse leaves with
grubs in them, destroyed at once. The plan of throwing
them on the rubbish-heap is especially bad in the case
of this maggot. It has great powers of endurance ; I
find, by experiment, it will stand damp and mouldy
surroundings, or, as a pupa, the extreme opposite of very
dry ones, and come out in due time as the fly in perfect
health.

The onlj^ certain way of destroying the maggots in the
leaves is to burn them.

With regard to treatment of the ground : — The greater
part of the maggots go down into the earth to change to
pupae, that is, to the little brown cases, out of which the
fly will come up presently ; these pupae may be found in
multitudes if the soil is turned up. It would be a
good plan to skim off about three or four inches
depth of soil where there has been a bad attack, and
bm'n it (if only a small quantity), or get rid of it

60 CELERY.

thoroughly, with its contents, in any other way that may
be preferred.

If this process cannot be carried out, the ground
might be trenched, care being taken to turn the to^J
spit into the bottom of the preceding trench, and so
bury the pupae too deep for them to develop and come up
again as flies. Eough-digging might be of benefit, by
placing some of the fly-cases within the reach of birds,
and burying others in the same manner as in trenching.
A more certain plan, however, would be to give the
ground a dressing of fresh gas-lime, which, on being
"pointed-in," or mixed with three or four inches of the
surface-soil, would destroy the pupae; and sufficient
time would elapse before the next crop was sown for the
gas-lime to have gone through the chemical changes
which turn it to a valuable manure. (See ref. to gas-
lime in Index.)

The plan commonly recommended to get rid of the
maggots is to pinch them in the blisters, and this is
good so far as checking further attack from the next
brood of flies which would have come from these maggots
is concerned ; but, with regard to the attacked plants,
unless the pinching is very carefully done, it causes
nearly as much damage to each leaf as the maggot itself.
If it is simpl}^ crushed, it is all very well, but if a piece
of the leaf is torn, or cut out, the damage is great from
the operation.

Sprinkling the leaves with a good coat of anything
that is disagreeable to the Celery Flies (and so prevents
them from egg-laying), and that will promote the
healthy growth of the plants, is certain to be of use.

Soot has been found serviceable for this purpose, and
also a mixture of one part of unslaked lime, one part of
gas-lime a month from the works, and two of mixed dry
earth and soot, all well stirred together, and scattered
liberally on the plants and the ground. A good start is
of great importance in this case, and a check at planting
out in the trenches particularly to be avoided. The
damage is from the plant being weakened by loss of

CELERY- STEM FLY. 61

leafage faster than it can make new gro"ui;li to replace it,
and any amount of manure or ^yatel•, or treatment of.
any kind that will run on healthy growth rapidly, will be
of service.

Celery being a plant that naturally grows in wet
places, suffers from drought, and the Celery Fly thrives
in dry weather. For this reason it is desirable, where
practicable, to tm-n a good supply of water into the
trenches from time to time. This makes the manure at
the roots available, and the evaporation keeps a damp
air round the plants very good for growth.

It is also of service to start with the garden-engine,
or hose from water-supply, or large-rosed watering-can,
at one end of the row, and send a good power of water
strongly at the leafage, going regularly forward from one
end of the row to the other. This clears off swarms of
insect-vermin, which may be seen preceding the operator
down the row ; and if, whilst the leafage is still moist,
any dressing that may be known to be serviceable is
sprinkled over the leaves, it will adlieie for a while, and
be very useful in keeping off" attack.

Celery-stem Fly. Piophila Apii, Westwood,

The maggot of this Fly may be found in winter and
early spring inside the solid part of the Celery-stem, and
in the stalks of the leaves. The attack seems to begin
at the lowest part, and gradually to be extended upwards ;
and may be traced by the worm-eaten passages, which
turn of a rusty-red colour on their gnawed surfaces.
The maggot is legless, cylindrical, and yellowish white ;
and, like many other kinds of maggots of the two-winged
flies, has the hinder end of the body bluntly rounded,
and the front end, when stretched out, shows a black
horny apparatus (in this case of two hooks) by which
the maggot cuts its food from the soft substance of the
plant, and which, with the head containing it, can be
withdrawn into the body at pleasure.

62 CELERY.

When full-fed the skin of the maggot hardens, the fly
forms inside, and the spring brood of flies comes out in
May — possibly there is a second brood later in the year.

The head of the fly is chestnut-colour, black above ;
the body, including the abdomen, glossy black, sprinkled
with fine hairs of a golden grey ; the two wings are
colourless, excepting the yellow veins ; the legs straw-
colour, with feet of a more dusky tint. The size of the
fly is about the same as that of the Celer}- Leaf-miner. —
( J. 0. W. in ' Gard. Chron. and Ag. Gazette,' 1848.)

Prevention and Eemedies. — The only method of
prevention that seems available is to destroy all worm-
eaten stems. These may probably have the grubs still
in them, and, if only thrown on the rubbish-heap, these
larvae would turn to pupae, and the flies come out
presently as well as if the}' had not been meddled with.
If this rubbish is burnt, it is the safest course ; but any
plan that buries the grub too deeply for the fly from it to
come up again, or secm-es that it is destroyed, will do
eg[ually well.

63

Grain Aphis,

COKN.

ApJiis fjranaria, Kirby ; Curtis.
Siphonophora granaria, Bucktou.

1 — 4, Aphides, winged and wingless, nat. size and magnified; J and (5,
Aphidius avencs ; 7 and d;Ephedrus plagiator (parasite flies) nat. size and
magnified.

This Aphis is to be found on "Wheat, Baiie}^ Oats, and
Eye, and is sometimes very hurtful.

Early in the summer the Aphides may be found
sucking sap from the leaves or stems of the young
plants, but later they attack the ears, inserting their
suckers close to where the grains spring from the
central stalk of the head. It is stated that the young
Aphides mostly attack the upper side of the leaf-blades,
and the winged female the ear. Sometimes as many
Aphides are found as there are grains in the ear,
sometimes the ear is choked with them, more than
two hundi-ed having been counted at once.

The injury is caused by the plant-louse inserting its

64 COKN.

beak or sucker, and thus exhausting the plant by
drawing away the sap, and also causing an irritation
(by means of the many punctures) that is injurious to
the plant-growth. When the ear begins to harden so
that the plant-louse cannot drive the sucker in, it is safe.
The fig. shows a winged Aj^his, and the dark colour of
those from which parasites have hatched.

The wingless viviparous females are described as
green or brownish green, with brown horns, and the
horn-like tubes at the end of the abdomen also brown ;
the eyes red. The winged females have the abdomen
green, and the rest of the general colour pale brown, or
rusty yellow; the tubes on the abdomen black; eyes red.
The wings are green at the base, with brown veins, and
the spread of the wings is about a quarter of an inch.
In its earlier stages the plant-louse is green ; the pupa
has a more golden tint in autumn, and its wing-cases
are pale brown.

It is not known where the eggs are laid. — (Mainly
from ' Mon. of Brit. Aphides.')

Prevention and Eemedies. — Dusting with lime, whilst
the Corn is still young and the plant-lice spread about
on it, has been suggested as useful ; and soot would be
likely to do good, it being a fertilizer, as well as
disagreeable to the insects ; but probably a dressing of
any kind of manure that would encourage healthy growth
would be best. The nature of this would depend on the
soil, and state of the crop.

It has been noted that, when the crop was late, it
suffered severely ; when early, it suffered less ; whether
this is always the case does not appear, but it is likely,
partly from the leaves and ears having passed the soft
delicate state in which the plant-louse can pierce them
with its sucker, before the insect appeared to attack
them, and partly from the larger and more vigorous
plants being better able to bear attack than the young
ones.

In a leadin" article of the * Gardener's Chronicle and

GRAIN APHIS. G5

Agricultural Gazette' for August 15tli, 1868, it is
remarked : — " The plant-louse in the hot summer of
1864 was, and is again during the present hot season, a
great pest. It mostly affects the later Wheats, which in
some cases are covered with hundreds of these creatures,
which can only live hy sucking out the juices from the
ear ; hence early Wheats are mostly too dry to be
injured at the time when the creatures are develojjed in
sufficient numbers to be mischievous."

In an extremely bad outbreak of this Aphis on one
hundred and ten acres of Wheat, in Cheshire, during the
wet summer of 1879, the Wheat was March-sown, and
was about six weeks later than in average seasons ; and
in the middle of September every green, head in the field
was blasted by them. — (S. L.)

In another instance recorded the infested ears were
noticed as tapering from the middle upwards, and it was
found the upper half was mainly infested by the Aphides,
this apparently from being rather less advanced, and
consequently softer.

The various observations point to any method of
cultivation or date of sowing being desirable that will
get the plant on in good time, ahead of the main
appearance of this kind of Aphis.

How this Aphis passes the winter is not clearly
known. Mr. Walker states that it migrates in autumn,
from Wheat to several kinds of grass. It certainly
infests several of our commonest grasses. It is found
on the well-known common grasses, Eough Cock's-foot,
Wild Oat, Soft Brome, Wall Barley-grass, also on Soft
Grass {Ilolcas), Meadow Grass (Poa) ; and though it has
not hitherto been noted as found during winter at the
roots, yet such may turn out to be the case. However
this may be as regards the roots, the rough grasses that
give it support on their tops w^ould be better away. It
is very desirable to encourage all the small Aphis-feeding
birds, especially Titmice, so far as they are not injurious
also to the Corn. — (From ' Farm Insects,' ' Notes by
Observers of Injurious Insects,' &c.)

F

66

CORN.

Daddy Long-legs.
Crane Fly.

Tipula oleracea, Linn.

1, Larva; 2, pupa-case standing up in the ground; 3, fly; 4, eggs.

The Flies commonly known by the name of Daddy
Long-legs, or Crane Flies (which produce "the grub"
known also as "Leather Jacket"), are to be seen in
multitudes, especially in autumn, in neglected grassy
spots, meadows, Clover-leas, and on marshy ground,
where they deposit their eggs, and are the cause of
enormous damage to Corn and Turnip-crops, in con-
sequence of "the grub" gnawing the young plant just
below the surface of the ground, and thereby destroying
or lessening the croj) very much.

The female lays her eggs (mainly during autumn) in
the ground, or on the surface, or on damp grass or
leafage close to the surface of the ground. These eggs
are small, black, and shiny, so small and so numerous
that as many as three hundred are to be found in one
female, forming a mass which occupies nearly the whole
of the abdomen.

DADDY LONG-LEGS. 67

The maggots or griihs hatched from these eggs (to
which the name of ''the grub" is especially applied) are
cylindrical, legless, of a dirty greyish or brown colom-,
wrinkled across, and when full-grown about an inch to
an inch and a half in length.

The tail of the grub is cut short off, and tubercled ;
the head is protruded as a blunt point, armed with two
strong black jaws. When the grub is in movement, by
this pointed shape and its great power of contracting
and expanding in length, it can pierce the ground, or
wriggle itself forward without the help of legs. The
grubs are to be found at night on the surface of the
ground. From the toughness of their skins, these grubs
are sometimes known as "Leather Jackets," and when
full-grown are of the shape and size shown at fig. 1.

Daddy Long-legs grubs may be found as early as
February (as during last year, 1880, when they were
destroying hundreds of acres of autumn-sown Wheat on
heavy land after Clover, round York at that date). The
work of destruction, however, usually commences later, —
about the beginning or middle of May, — and continues
till the end of June, or even to the beginning of August.
Much will depend upon the state of the weather, the
character of the soil, and the condition of the plant at
the date of attack, as to the amount of damage which
the farmer will have to sustain.

The flies and grubs may be found throughout the
summer, but for the most part the grubs change to the
pupa state, in which they can do no further harm so far
as eating is concerned, from July to September.

They change under ground, or under the protection of
weeds ; the j^ujmi (or fly-case) is furnished with stout
spines, jDointing backwards, by means of which it can
raise itself upward through the ground. Very soon the
horny covering splits, and leaving the empty case (fig. 2)
standing upright, with the hole in it through which it
has escaped clearly shown along the back (as figured),
the Crane Fly or Daddy Long-legs comes forth, spreads
its legs and two wings, and appears as seen at fig. 3.

68 CORN.

The males first appear in August.

Besides the species known as Tipula oleracea, of ^Yhieh
the tawny brownish appearance is well known, there is
a smaller kind, of a yellow colour, spotted with black,
known as T. inaciilosd, or the Spotted Crane Fly, and
another larger kind, known as T. ixdudosa, or the Marsh
Crane Fly. These two kinds are hurtful to the crops
in the same manner as the common Daddy Long-legs,
and require the same methods of prevention.

Prevention and Eemedies. — The points to be
especially attended to are : —

1st. Any measures tending to lessen the quantity of
eggs laid.

2ndly. Methods of cultivation which will destroy the
egg or the grub in infested ground.

3rdly. Such applications of manure as may push on
vigorous growth from the first sprouting of the seed, and
also such special application in case of attack as may act
rapidly — that is, be carried down at once to the roots,
and thus invigorate the growth and carry it through the
season when it is sufl'ering from part of the supplies being
cut off. Something may be added regarding means
adapted to destroy the grub, but it appears that little
confidence can be placed in any chemical applications
that have been tried at present for this purpose,

1st. Measures tending to lessen quantity of eggs
laid. — The parent fiy frequents damp meadows, neglected
herbage, and shady spots, such as are to be found by
hedges and strips left at the sides of cultivated fields;
and also under the shade of trees in open fields.

Eough-mowing the neglected ground, and burning the
mixed grass and tops of weeds, would destroy a deal of
shelter ; and, in meadows, penning sheep on spots where
the grass was not thoroughly eaten short would be a
sure preservative. The biting of the sheep would clear
off the shelter for the fiy, and the trampling and general
state of the surface consequent on their droppings would
stop all oviposition.

DADDY LONG-LEGS. 69

Bush-harrowing meadows is a good plan to diminish
fly-attack, as is also a good top dressing applied early in
autumn.

Where the land is so damp that the Daddy Long-legs
are present in most years to a hurtful extent, the ground
should be drained.

It may be noticed, in crossing a large space of grass-
land in autumn, that where the ground is dry and the
herbage short, there are not any of these flies to be seen;
whilst on the same land, with only the difference of
shade or some cause for longer growth of herbage, they
will rise in numbers before the passer-by. For this
purpose — that is, of lessening the amount of flies —
Books are of great service in the fields. Observation of
a flock of Books on ground much infested showed they
would catch and swallow the flies at a rate of four a
minute, and in the smaller consideration of garden-
ground, if a few tame and strong birds that can defend
themselves from cats, like the Book or Sea Gull, are
kept about the gardens, they will do much good, as they
are always on the search in the neglected corners which
are the head-quarters of protecting weeds, and conse-
quently of insect-vermin.

2ndly. Measures of cultivation which will destroy the
egg or the grub in infested ground. — The grub is to be
found most plentifully after a wet autumn, because this
state of weather suits the flies, and in such circumstances
the green crops are also suitable for oviposition, as well
as the meadows and grassy spots which are most
frequented in ordinarj^ years; and also because the
continued wet does not allow of the land being thoroughly
cleaned.

Deep ploughing of leas or old pasture is a good
practice, so as to bury the eggs and grubs deep in the
soil. The absence of heat and aii- in the first case
prevents or retards the hatching of the eggs ; and in the
second, some of the grubs are killed, and many are
injured, by the unnatural surroundings and want of food,
and thus made less hurtful to the crops.

70 COKN.

A dressing of gas-lime on the pastures before breaking
them up would prove serviceable. If it was applied in a
fresh state the noisome smell would deter the fly from
laying eggs, and the poisonous matter it contains would
destroy the eggs already deposited, or the larvse present
in the soil. There would be ample time before seed-
sowing for the necessary changes occurring to turn the
deleterious substance into a safe manure, which changes
can be effected in the soil, as well as when exposed to
the air.

Paring and burning the surface with the grubs
contained in it has been much resorted to, but the
practice is open to some objections. It usually requires
extra labourers, and it causes delay in cultivation,
especially inconvenient in the North, wdiere the climate
allows little spare time in getting the leas ready for
seed. Also the burning of the roots and plants tends to
impoverish the soil, by the removal of organic matter,
which would have benefited the crop much in its decay,
and leaves instead nothing but ash.

Thorough cultivation such as would break up, or bury,
or tear to pieces, all the clods of earth, tufts of grass,
and other rubbish that the grub shelters in, or feeds on
till the new crop is ready for it, is important, joined to
such manuring as may l3e best suited on each different
kind of soil to press forward the plant-growth. Attack
in the early stage of growth, at the time when the food-
stores in the seed are just used up, and the plant is
beginning to depend on the first rootlets, are particularly
to be guarded against, as a check sustained at this
Jirst period of growth is likely never to be entirely got
over. Therefore such treatment as will cause a rapid
healthy growth after sprouting will be found a good
preservative, rather than a state of soil wdiich will allow
only of the plant slowly struggling forward, exposed for
a much longer time in its weakest state to attack.

It is on cold wet land in general that this grub is
most destructive, and it has been observed that it is
upon the damp and clayey parts of a field that its attack

DADDY LONG-LEGS. 71

is worst. The seed germinates more slowly on the colder
soil, and the same amount of cultivation which is enough
to put the rest of the field in good tilth is not sufficient
to prepare an equally good seed-bed on this. The plant
takes longer to develop, the growth is slower, and
consequently, as it is not able by its growth to counter-
balance the effect of the damage from the grub, it
starves, sickens, and dies.

A well-drained soil, thoroughly worked and pulverized
ground, and plenty of manure, are the things most
likely to keep off attack ; and with a special view to lay
a foundation for strong growth where an attack is feared,
it is recommended to use guano as a top dressing, along
with the seed. This more particularly applies to clay-
land, as the ammonia contained in guano is especially
wanted on these soils.

3rdly. Applications that are of use when the grub is
"destructive to the growing crop. — With regard to
mechanical applications. The grubs pierce the soil by
means of their pointed heads, and draw themselves
through by their rings ; and therefore, though it is but
an imperfect cure, something may be done by com-
pressing the ground so that they cannot easily stray
about under the surface, and waste and weaken even
more than they totally destroy.

This may be done with a Crosskill roller, and rolling
at night is also to be recommended, as many of the
grubs are then on the surface. On a piece of ground
that is so much infested that as many as one hundred
and fifty or two hundred grubs are to be found in a
square yard, not one will be seen during the day ; but if
the ground is examined after sunset, or before sunrise,
the grubs will be found in numbers on the surface.

Where the land has been previously rolled so that no
shelter is afforded to the grub, a good many may thus
be crushed. Also they may be collected by a top-
dressing of Eape-cake, and the roller passed over the
ground early in the morning, with good results.

Hand-hoeing and horse-hoeing are noted as remedies,

72 COKN.

the former being preferable, as it disturbs the working of
the grub, and kills some, whilst it exj^oses others to the
birds ; at the same time this is " a dear remedy for a
bad attack," as the grubs lie so close in amongst the
roots of the plants. In a bad attack on a twenty-acre
field of Peas, the outlay was at the rate of 4s. to 5s. Qd.
per acre for five hoeings. — (E. A. F.)

The most successful application to the growing crop
appears to be a top dressing of guano, or of guano and
salt.

This latter applied at the rate of four hundredweight
per acre, in the case of a very bad attack of grub on
Oats, after Clover, was found perfectly successful in
checking attack and running on a good growth, resulting
in a fine crop, when all other means to stop the ravage
had failed.— (S. F.)

When the Cahhar/e tribe are planted in ground infested
by the grub, they should have their roots and stems up
to the leaves dipped in a thickish mixture of clay, night-
soil, and ammoniacal liquor from gas-works, or some
other equally nauseous compound which the grub does not
care to attack. As the stem of the plants just under the
surface of the ground is usually the part attacked, it is a
good plan, when the grub is observed to be active, to
draw back the soil around the stem to a depth of a
couple of inches, and put a ring of lime, soot, or even
rotten manure, round the stem of each plant, which
prevents attack and encourages groAAi;h.

The same traps that are used for the Wireworm are
also effective in catching the grub of the Daddy Long-
legs in garden cultivation. — (M. D.)

With regard to the action of salt ; probably it does
some good by driving the grub down ; but, as an a^Dpli-
cation by itself, it has failed in many cases, of which
notes were taken during the bad attack of last year. As
a dressing at the rate of seven hundredweight per acre
to a grub-run field of twenty acres, it did no good. —
(J. H. W.)

Special experiment by applying salt on three occasions

DADDY LONG-LEGS. 73

to a number of Cabbages, planted in i3ots and healthy,
before the grub was mtroduced, showed that even with a
quantity that killed the plants, the grubs were to be
found at increased depths below the surface, these
depths apparently regulated by the amount applied;
but the grubs were in no way the worse.

It was found that the grubs might be immersed in
strong brine for twenty-four hours without being killed.
— (K. S.) From the above it appears that salt does not
kill the grub, and in very wet weather, when the rain
washes it down quickly, it is probably of little or no use ;
but in moderately dry weather it may be of some
service in keeping the grubs from straying about on the
surface, as it annoys them.

From experiments tried by Mr. A. Smetham, of
Liverpool, by desu'e of Mr, S. Fitton, of Cheerbrook,
Nantwich, which I am permitted to quote, it appears
that a solution of four per cent, of carbolic acid and
water killed the grubs in a space of from one to two
minutes. In this solution, diluted to one-tenth of the
above strength (that is, one part of carbolic acid to two
hundred and fifty parts of water), the grubs lived about
eight minutes. A few drops of the four per cent,
solution of carbolic acid was poured on earth in which
some of the grubs were contained, which immediately
commenced wriggling about, and in a quarter of an hour
were all dead. Practically, however, the application did
not succeed in the field ; the grubs were found to be
presently within one inch of the surface on ground
where the strong solution had been applied.

A solution of sulphate of copper (blue vitriol) killed
the grubs in about eight to twelve minutes. Sulphate
of iron (green vitriol) was more rapid in its effects.

Caustic potash appeared to have little influence.

The above experiments are of much value by showing
how little these remedies can be depended on, some of
which have often been tried, and time, valuable for
checking attack at the beginning, thereby lost. It will
be observed that the application that caused the most

74 CORN.

rapid destruction of life experimentally, failed to have
any decided effect on the grubs in the ground, even when
applied at a strength which, without the greatest care in
using, would he destructive to the crop.

Immersion of the grub in nitrate of soda I have found
to be followed by an immediate and violent discharge
from the intestines ; and nitrate of soda, being a
stimulating manure, would be likely to do good on
strong land, both by encouraging the plant-growth, and
disagreeing with the grub ; but applications of mere
chemical poisons become so much weakened in passing
into the ground, that their direct effect on insect-life by
contact or by absorption is not to be trusted to as a sure
remedy.

With regard to effect of cold, I was permitted to have
some specimens frozen by artificial means, at Kew
Observatory, down to a temperature of —10°, that is,
ten degrees below zero, or forty-two degrees of frost; and
although most of the grubs died, yet it showed that the
grub could exceptionally survive even this temperature,
to all appearance quite uninjured.

The grubs have been noticed frozen until quite brittle,
and yet when thawed they w^ere perfectly active.

With regard to power of bearing immersion, I found
by experiment that although the grubs appeared to be
dead after remaining in water for about fifty-eight hours,
yet that they recovered after being exposed to the air ;
the exact time at which life was destroyed after being
replaced in water was difficult to tell, but the whole time
they lived from the beginning of the experiment might
be considered about four days and nights ; it certainly
did not exceed five days and nights — that is, one hundred
and twenty hours, for the grubs then burst.

The above experiments point to the fact that frost will
not rid us of these grubs, and also that flooding land to
get rid of them is not likely to be of much use unless the
water is mixed with sewage, or some similar ingredient
injurious to the grub, and is flooded on to the land so
completely and for so long a time that the grub has no

DADDY LONG-LEGS. 75

chance of escape. Where a field can be treated in tliis
wa}^, tlie plan has been found to answer well close to
sewage -works.

\Yith regard to want of food, some of the grubs
placed in a vessel with a little earth, but no plant-food,
were found to be alive and perfectly healthy after about
three weeks ; how much longer is not mentioned. — (S. F.)

Under drought, however, as far as experiment shows,
the grub rapidly fails.

To recapitulate the above notes, we find that in
natm-al circumstances the Daddy Long-legs Flies, that
is to say, the flies of the different species of Tipula
commonly so called, frequent damp places ; the eggs are
laid in damp places ; the grub feeds and shelters itself in
the dampest spots it can find, and onl}^ comes up to the
surface at night when it is secure from sun-heat ; and it
will bear any amount of wet, short of continuous thorough
immersion, for many days.

The application of strong chemicals which kill it when
brought in immediate contact, fail when in the weakened
state in which they must necessarily be applied
practically ; but some of these, as salt, and nitrate of
soda, which are also serviceable as manures, have a
deterrent effect. The grub does not like them, and to a
certain extent keeps away if it can.

The remedies turn on meeting the above points by
means varying with the soil.

1st. Drainage, and clearing away all unnecessary
amount of wet neglected herbage ; and such treatment
of rubbish in the fields as may prevent it serving for
food or sheltering places. 2ndly. Giving the plant a
good start, and keeping up a healthy growth by ordinary
measures of good cultivation and manuring ; and 3rdly,
in case of attack, although mechanical measures, as
rolling, hoeing, &c., are of some service, mainly
•depending on such fertilizing application as will be
available at once to the plant, and keep up its strength
by the extra supply of food.

76

CORN.

Ribbon-footed^Com Fly. i^cMorops t^mopus, Curtis.

^^rrrriTD). crui^

2 — 6, Larva, pupa, and fly of Chlorops tccniopus, nat. size and magnified
parasite flies ; 7 and 8, Ccclinius niger ; 2 and 10, Pteromalus micans, nat.
size and magnified; 1, 11, and 12, infested Corn-stem.

This Fly attacks various kinds of Corn, but in our
own country appears to be most prevalent on Barley.
In the summer of 1841 the Barley in Lancashire was
destroyed to a great extent by these flies, and in 1846 it
appears that from half to two-thirds of the crop was
destroyed at localities named in the north of Lincoln-
shire, in Norfolk, Essex, and in Middlesex.

Where Barley is attacked by this insect the plants will
be found stunted in growth, and late in ripening ; with the
stems sometimes distorted and swollen in the joints,
whence the name of "Gout."

The ears, even at full growth, are generally still-
sheathed, or partly sheathed, in the leaves, and on
opening them the stem will be found to have a long

RIBBON-FOOTED CORN FLY. 77

pitchy brown furrow from the base of the ear down to
the first knot in the stem. The ears are sometimes
wholly abortive, sometimes with many grains absent,
small, or mis-shapen ; this being especially the case on
the side of the ear on which the stem is furrowed.

The injury is caused by the egg of the Chlorops being
laid either on the lowest part of the ear, or at its base,
whilst the plant is still young ; and by the feeding of the
maggot hatched from it the growth is checked, and
consequently the proper development of the ear is
prevented.

The maggot is j^ellowish white, and legless, tapering
to the head and blunt at the tail ; it changes to a pupa
in the sheathing leaves, and the very small oval rusty
ochre-coloured lly-case may often be found lying in the
black furrow caused by the gnawing of the grub. From
this case the Chlorops, or Gout Fly, comes out towards
the end of summer, as a small two-winged fly, about the
eighth of an inch long, thick and stumpy in shape,
yellow, with three black stripes along the back between
the wings, and the abdomen of a greenish black, with
black cross-bands. The wings when at rest extend
beyond the tip of the abdomen.

These small flies may sometimes be found dispersed
in stacks, or collected together in great numbers in some
part of the stacks where corn may lie together from a
badly-infested part of the field. — ('Farm Insects,' 'Gard.
Chron. and Ag. Gazette,' and Ed.)

Prevention and Eemedies. — When a crop is seen to
be much attacked, it is desirable to draw the injured
X^lants by hand. This may be easily done, as their
stunted or distorted growth points them out plainly, and
they are chiefly to be found along the water-furrows or
in the wetter parts of the field. By this means the risk
■ of futm-e attack is much lessened, but measures of
prevention beforehand would be better. The injury is in
consequence of the feeding of the maggot lessening the
supply of food to the ear, a distorted growth being

78 CORN.

formed, and the date of development retarded ; therefore
whatever manure or treatment of the ground will
promote healthy gro-^i;h will be of service. One means
towards this is thorough drainage of the soil, as it is
upon the wettest parts of the field (by the water furrows),
and on the most retentive soils (stiff clays), that the
greatest amount of damage is noted as being done.
Drainage would also make the soil warmer (by enabling
it to retain the heat otherwise given off by evaporation
of the surplus water) ; the application of manure would
be more effective, and consequently the healthier plant-
growth promoted would give quicker maturity, with
increased quantity and quality of produce.

Barley, being a shallow-rooted plant, feeds in the
surface soil, and comes quickly to maturity, therefore it
needs that its food should be abundant and of a soluble
kind ; and it is for this reason that the application of
any nitrogenous or ammoniacal manure, combined with
phosphates, increases the yield to such an extent. This
necessity is of course greatly increased when the stems are
being injured by the maggot-attack, therefore the following
applications are of use, in these proportions.

One hundredweight and a half of guano mixed with
two hundredweight of superphosphate, applied at the
time of sowing, when fears are entertained of attack, or
one hundredweight nitrate of soda mixed with two
hundredweight of common salt (chloride of sodium),
applied when the braird has come well uj), or when the
crop is attacked, would prove beneficial. Salt would
check any tendency of the plant to run too much to
leafage, as a consequence of the action of the nitrate,
and would stiffen the straw by promoting the assimilation
of silica. The application of salt at the rate of from
three to four hundredweight per acre has been recom-
mended, but probably it is only of service upon soils in
which organic matter is abundant, and where in a moist
condition it principally acts as an antiseptic ; thus
checking too hasty decomposition, so that the plant-food
is liberated in a slow but equal manner.

WHEAT MIDGE.

79

The application of lime in a caustic state would also
be serviceable.

Wheat Midge. ] ,-> -i •.-.•• t- i
Red Maggot. } ^^'^''^«'"^*« i'-'tici' Kirby.

1, Infested floret; 2 — 6, larva, and cased-larva (? pupa), iiat. size and
magnified; 7 and S, joints of antenn.T, magnified; 9 and 10, C. tritici,
nat. size and magnified. Parasite flies. — 11 and 14, Platygaster tipuhe ;
12 and 13, Macroglenes penetrans, nat. size and magnified.

The grub of the Wheat Midge, known as the " Eed
Maggot," often does some harm, and at times causes a
serious amount of damage to Wheat-crops, by injuring
the young grains when forming in the ear, so that many
of them never reach maturity.

In June, when the Wheat is in blossom, the female
Midges may be seen laying their eggs, and are noted as
being busiest at the work about eight o'clock in the
evening. In the morning they may be foimd resting on
the lower part of the culm of Wheat, with their heads
downward, flying about, however, in great numbers near
the ground when the stems are shaken.

80 CORN.

The females are furnished with a long ovipositor, as
thin as a hair, which they can extend at pleasure, and
thus insert their eggs inside the florets. The eggs are
oblong and transparent, and (with the help of a glass)
may be found in little patches of from one up to twenty
in number.

The maggots have been found ten days after the
deposit of eggs was observed, some with their heads in
the woolly top of the germ of the future grain, some
inside the sheaths of the flower. It was not, however,
observable that any meddled with the anthers of the
stamens to an important degree, and it is therefore
supposed that the injury to the grains in the ear is from
the maggot so gnawing and drawing the moisture from
the germ that the pollen cannot act sufiiciently to
fertilize it.

These maggots are lemon or orange-colour, more
pointed at the head than the tail, and legless, but
wrinkled transversely into folds, by means of which they
can wriggle themselves along at pleasure. They are
very small, only about the tAvelfth of an inch long, but
their presence may be known b}^ the altered colour of
the lowest part of the floret, where they are to be found.

When full-grown, it appears that some of the maggots
go down into the ground, but such as have not left the
ears when the corn is cut are housed with it. This is
important as regards treatment, but does not show any
variation in the habits of the grub, as, if the corn had
been left alone, it would have fallen, and the grubs thus
come to the ground in the natural course of things. After
a time they may be found in filmy transparent cases (see
fig.), and turn to reddish pupae, lighter at the end of the
tail, from which the Midges appear in June.

The "Midge" is orange-yellow, or ochreous, with black
eyes, and (as observable in the magnified figure) the
longest vein of the wings is not forked.

The above species, that is, the Cecklomyia tritici, is
the kind usually meant when speaking of the "Wheat
Midge," but there is another kind that much resembles

WHEAT MIDGE. 81

it. This is the Ltisioptcri/.v ohjuscata (as identified by
the late And. Murray), differing from the above in tlie
fly being black, and the long vein of the wing being
forked at the end. The larvte or maggots, and also the
pupae of the two kinds, were indistinguishable ; and, as
far as is kno^^'n, their habits are also alike, and during a
series of observations made by myself on the habits of
the "Wheat Midge" in West Gloucestershire, in 1869
and 1870, it was found by Mr. Murray that all the
specimens sent to him, whether from chaff-heaps or
caught in the Wheat-fields of the neighbourhood, were
the black, not the oraurie Wheat Midge. — (See ' Gard.
Chron. and Ag. Gazette,' 1870 ; ' Farm Insects,' &c.)

Prevention and Eejiedies. — The best method of
prevention consists of such cultivation and thorough
treatment of the surface of any field (known to have
been infested), after the crop is removed, as may destroy
these grubs or " Eed Maggots" in the ground.

In Canada, where this maggot is much more hurtful
than with us, it is considered a complete cure to turn
down the surface of the field with the Michigan plough,
which, with the first turn-furrow, takes off about two
inches of the surface, together with the weeds and
stubble, and the insect-vermin in the roots, and deposits
them at the bottom of the furrow ; wdiilst the second
turn-furrow raises another land-slice, and, depositing it
over the previous one, buries it several inches deep.
If the course of agricultui'e allows this to be left
untouched till after the usual time of appearance of the
Wheat Midge in the followmg year, it is found to
completely destroy the maggot.

In our own case, such ploughing and working of the
surface might be effected by having a skim-coulter
attached to the plough, constructed in such a manner
as would cut and lay an inch or two of the surface in the
bottom of the preceding furrow, thereby burying the Eed
Maggots to such a depth as would render their coming
to the surface (or being brought to it by after cultivation)

G

82

CORN.

very improbable ; or broad-sharing might be adopted,
which would tend to break up the surface soil.

The weeds and roots of all plants being either carted
off or burnt, would help to destroy many of the maggots,
and a large proportion of the remainder would be left on
the top in reach of birds. These operations would be of
service by putting the maggot in unnatural circum-
stances, which a large number of experiments have
shown it to be particularly susceptible of injury from.

Another point of great importance is in regard to the
grubs housed in the corn. Enormous quantities of these
maybe found in the chaff or the dust after threshing;
and on neglected farms or small holdings where the
chaff is often thrown in heaps, to decay in out-of-the-way
corners, this treatment suits the Wheat Midges most
admirably. The following June brings them out in
clouds from the heaps to infest every Wheat-field near,
and this practice, therefore, of spreading them is most
objectionable.

It is also bad in another way by greatly increasing the
opportunities of multiplication of the Midge.

It has been noted by careful observation that the
Wlieat Midges seen in the Wheat-fields were all females,
consequently it may be supposed that few, if any, males
were there ; but from my own observations of the Midges
over the chaff-heaps, I am led to think that jDairing
takes place immediately on the hatching of these Midges
from the pupas, and thus these vast collections are
doubly hurtful. The heaps preserve the grubs through
the winter, and from the quantity (probably) of both
sexes that are hatched in one locality, the female is sent
out in a condition at once to lay fertile eggs.

Where chaff is thrown away, it would be no greater
loss to destroy it thoroughly by burning with other
rubbish, or, if used as litter, it could be placed in the
bottom of the yard, where the trampling amongst the
wet droppings of the cattle would kill the maggots. Or
again, the chaff' might be placed in the bottom of the
dung-pit, where the maggots would be effectually

WHEAT MIDGE. 83

destroyed, and in this way there would be an increase
of good farm-manure, with a saving of much more
mischief from " Eed Maggot" next season than is
generally supposed. Simpl}- burying the chaff in the
ground is not at all a certain means of prevention.

Fh'ing the stubbles (as mentioned under " Corn Saw-
fly") is an effectual way of getting rid of many of the
" Eed Maggots " which may be found after the corn is
cut, clinging about the lower part of the stalks.

In the American and Canadian experiments, it has
been found of great service so to time the Wheat-sowing
that the period of flowering should be clear of that of
the appearance of the Wheat Midge. In the uncertain
climate of our country any experiments depending on
weather are of doubtful use, still the point is worth
consideration. In this case the plant and the insect-
development are not necessarily similar^ affected by
weather ; a few days or hours warmth will bring the
"Midges" from their pupa-cases, whilst the retarded
plant takes much longer time to make up its lost
ground ; and the following observations, made in the
wet summer of 1879, show instances of escape of the
later Wheats from attack, because time of oviposition
of the Midges was gone by before the ears were ready to
receive the eggs.

On June 27th the AMieat Midges were abundant near
Maldon, in Essex, whilst there were as yet no Wheat-
ears on which they could oviposit, and the crop was not
damaged. — (E. A. F.) In the part of Hertfordshire
observed the "Eed Maggot" was abundant only in the
earlier fields (B. B.) ; and in the east of Norfolk, in the
ease of two small patches close alongside of each other,
one that was autumn-sown suffered, but the other, which
was spring-sown, was uninjm-ed. — (A. S. 0.)

Destroying such wild grasses as the Wheat Midge is
known to frequent, especially the Wild Oat, or Arena
fatiia, is very desirable, and also the encouragement of
the small insect-feeding birds. — (' Gard. Chron. and Ag.
Gazette,' ' Eeport on Inj. Insects,' 1879, &c.)

84

CORN.

Corn Sawfly. Cephus jnjfjmams, Curtis.

1 and 2, Sawfly, magnified and nat. size; 3, stem containinij larva;
4 and 5, larva, nat. size ami magnified; 6 and 7, i:iarasite fly, Pachyiiierus
calcitrator, magnified and nat. size.

This Fly attacks various kinds of Corn by piercing a
hole in the stem whilst it is still young and soft, and
laying an egg just below the first knot.

The young grubs feed on the inside of the stalk, and
as soon as they are strong enough they gnaw through
the knot and make their way upwards, sometimes
through all the knots ; they then come down again
(always inside the stem), and about harvest-time, or a
little before it, the}- cut the stem nearly through all
round at the level of the ground.

These infested stalks may be known by the thin white
ears standing upright and empty, or with few perfect
grains ; whilst the healthy plants are still green, and in
some degree bending with the weight of the head.

When the maggot has thus travelled down the stalk

CORN SAAVFLY. 85

find nearly cut it through (so that nothing may prevent
its escape presently as a liy), it goes clown into the
lowest part and spins itself a silken case, in which it
passes the winter. It changes to a pupa in the early
summer of the following year, and comes out as a fly
just in time to attack the new crops.

The maggot is about half an inch long, whitish and
fleshy, and has a horny brown head, with strong jaws.
It is very peculiar, for, though the larva of a Sawfly, it
has only the rudiments of three pairs of feet. It has
also a tubular appendage at the tip of the tail, which can
be drawn in and out like a telescope, and helps it in its
progress along the inside of the stalk.

The fly is four-winged, black, and more or less marked
or spotted with yellow on the head, abdomen, and legs.
The yellow is bright in the male ; more of a sulphur or
ochre-colour in the female ; and the wings are iridescent
in the male; more smoky in the female. — ('Farm
Insects.')

Prevention and Kemedies. — The grub winters inside
the lowest part of the stalks of the stubble, therefore any
means whereby the stubble may be destroj'ed, or buried
too deeply for the fly to come up again after it has
developed, will be serviceable.

Where there has been a bad attack, it is desirable to
collect the rubbish, that is, the roots of stubble, and
either burn it in heaps on the field, spreading the ashes
afterwards over the surface, or cart it ofl' the land with
the weeds, which, mixed with quick-lime or gas-lime,
forms a foundation for a good compost-heap, and is a
sure method of destruction of the grubs.

The clearing of the ground might be effected either by
a Biddle's scarifier or the broad-share paring-plough ;
or a common plough, with its mould-board unattached,
and fitted with a share a foot in breadth, might be set
to work on the stubble after the grain-crop is carted, and
skim off the surface to the depth of three or four inches ;
the harrows will shake the earth from the roots, and a

86

COEN.

turn of the cbain-liarrows collect the refuse, wliicb may
be disposed of as above mentioned.

Burning tbe stubbles bas been recommended, and is
an excellent metbod of destroj-ing tbe maggot ; in some
cases, by tbe elevation of tbe finger bar of tbe reaper,
tbe stubble may be cut at sucli a beigbt tbat tbe simple
act of setting tbe residue on fire will burn tbe wbole
surface of tbe field, and prove a tborougb remedy.

Commonly, bowever, tbe autumn-cleaning of tbe
stubbles ougbt to be a sufficient remedy.

Tbe Sawliy does mucb barm on tbe Continent, and is
common in tbis country, in Corn-fields and on grasses
growing in tbe woods in June ; but is not known as one
of our bad crop-pests.

-^ ^ rp, . i lltrips ceyealium, HolidsLY.
oorn J. nnps. - 7 t-- ^

I )) p/njsajjus, Ivn-by.

1 — 4, Corn Thrips (feniale), nat. size and magnitied. (5 — 8, Putato
Thj'ips, T. viinutissima, nat. size and magnified.)

Tbese very small insects are of tbe same kind as the
little black creatures (hardly large enough to distinguish
as insects) tbat are often exceedingly annoying by
settling on tbe face in warm w^eatber, causing a deal of
irritation by running to and fro, and twisting in all
directions.

CORN THRIPS- 87

If looked at under a glass, the perfect insect will be
found to be blackish, hardly the twelfth of an inch
long, the abdomen long, narrow, and smooth, with the
tip bristly; the male without wings. The female has
two pairs of long narrow wings, fringed with long hairs,
and curving outwards, so that when they are laid
straight along the body at rest the tips are apart. The
feet are very short and stumpy, without claws.

The two earlier stages of grub and pupa much
resemble the perfect insect, excepting that the grub is
deep yellow, and has no wings ; the pupa is of a paler
yellow, with whitish cases for the wings which are not
yet developed.

The Thrips are to be found on Wheat-ears 'in every
stage of growth, from June till the ripening of the ears,
also sometimes in the sheathing-leaves of the stem.

The common position, when feeding, appears to be
with the sucker fixed in the furrow, and towards the
lower part of the grain, thus drawing away the juice and
causing the seed to shrivel. They are said also to do
harm by sucking the juice from the stalk above the knots
whilst it is still soft and tender. — (' Farm Insects.')

Prevention and Eemedies. — I find very little bearing
on these points, but it is stated that Thrips do most
mischief to late-sown Wheat, the early-sown crop being
too hard at the time the Thrips appear for them to
injure it. Also these insects are to be found near
marshes, and in the damp hot weather accompanying
thunder-storms they have been noticed as especially
injuring the crop in the part of a field to the north of a
high hedge, and also the Potato Thrips, figured above,
have been noted as most abundant on plants sheltered
from the wind.

From these observations it would seem that a well-
drained soil, properly cultivated and free from weeds,
with surrounding hedges well trimmed down, so that the
sun and wind might have free play, would be the best
preventive, by inducing an early ripening of the corn

CORN.

that would be be3'ond the power of the insect to injure,
and would also do away with the damp close spots that,
in some cases at least, it had been found to frequent.

It does not appear that any of the applications, such
as dusting with sulphur, the use of tobacco-water, &c.,
which are serviceable in the garden, can be remuneratively
used in the field.

Wireworms.

Grubs of
Click Beetles.

FAater lineatus, Liun.
,. obscuncs, ,,
,, sputator, ,,
,, ruficaudis, Gyll.

1 and 2, E. lineatus; 3 and 4, E. obsctn-us ; 5 and (3, E. sputator, nat.
size and magnified; 7, larva of E . sputator ? ; Sand 9, larva of £. lineatus,
nat. size and magnified; 10, ini-pa of Wireworm (lines show nat. length).

Wireworms may perhaps be said to do the greatest
amount of mischief of any of our farm pests : they
destroy root, grain, and fodder-crops. From their
method of gnawing the roots or underground shoots,
and then going on to another plant, they waste and
destroy far more than they need for food ; and as
they live for several years as grubs, and feed during
these years on almost every kind of crop that is

WIRE-\VORJIS. 89

commonly grown, their ravages are of a ver}^ serious
kind.

The Wireworm is the grub of the long narrow greyish
brown, or blackish beetle (see figs. 1 — 6), often seen during
summer in grass-fields, commonly known as the Skip-
Jack, or Click Beetle, from its power of regaining its
position, when laid on its back, by a spring or skip,
accompanied by a sharp click.

Figs. 7 and 8 give the size of two kinds of these grubs
which are called Wireworms, from their likeness in
toughness and shape to a piece of wire. Like it they
are very smooth and shining, and somewhat cylindrical ;
but a little flattened, so that (like a wire that has been
pressed by a weight) they have a blunt edge at each
side. The colour is ochreous-yellow, turning to a darker
tint after death.

The Wireworms have three pairs of short legs, one
pair of these being placed on each of the rings imme-
diately behind the head, and tliej^ have also a sucker-foot
below the tail.

The egg from which this grub is hatched is laid either
in the earth close to the root of a plant, or between the
sheathing-leaves near the base of the stem. On being
hatched, the grub or "Wireworm" eats into the stem
just above the true root, about an inch below the surface
of the ground, and sometimes eats its way up the middle
of the stalk, even above the surface of the earth.

The Wireworms are said to live five years in the grub
state, but the length of time probably depends on the
supply of food. Where they are well fed, it is supposed that
they only take about three years before changing to the
pupa. But however this may be, with the exception of
any temporary pause in winter (when they go down
deeper and deeper into the ground as the frost increases),
they feed voraciously near the surface till the time has
come to turn into the chrysalis (or pupa). Then they
go deep into the soil, and form an earth-cell in which
they change, and from which the perfect Beetle comes
up through the earth in two or three weeks, probably

90 CORN.

appearing about the first weelis of August ; or tliey may
pass tlie winter in this state, and the beetles develop
from the chrysahs in the following spring.

Of the many kinds that are to be found of these
beetles, only four are noticed as being particularly
hurtful to crops. These were formerly all known
scientifically as different species of Elatcr. E. sputator,
fig. 5 (and 6, magnified), is the smallest. It has the
head, and part of the body behind it, black ; legs rufous;
and the wing-cases dusky.

E. ohscHnis (fig. 3, magnified) is larger and pitchy,
covered with ochreous down or hairs ; so that perfect
specimens appear dull brown all over, and rubbed ones
blackish. It has black thighs, and the shanks and feet
rusty.

E. lineatHs (fig. 2, magnified) is very like the pre-
ceding, but greyer; it has the wing-cases striped, and
the legs rusty red. The Wireworm of this species is
often found in dung and vegetable earth.

These three kinds are now generally known as Agriotes,
instead of Ehiter.

The fourth species, now known as Athbus, has its
special name of ii{ticati(Us, from the red colour of the
abdomen and tail ; this is larger than the others.

These four kinds of Click Beetle are, however, alike in
all important points in their manner of life.

Eluter I Acjriotes) ohscuriis, iiat. size and magnified.

The reader is particularly requested to notice the
figure and description of these grubs or larvse, that is, of
the " true Wireirorm," that he may distinguish it from
the grubs of other insects which are not altogether

WIRE WORMS.

91

unlike it, and from insect allies which pass under the
name oi false ]]l)-ctcon)is.

The Wireworm has six true legs ; this distinguishes it
from the grubs of the Daddy Long-legs, or Crane Fly
(Leather Jackets), which have none. Also the Wireworm
has oith/ six legs (besides the sucker-foot at the end of
the tail) ; this distinguishes it from the Centipedes and
Millipedes, which have many.

Of these the Centipedes are chiefly animal-feeders, or
feed like worms on the earth ; the Millipedes, of which
four kinds are figured below, feed on plant-roots, on
decayed vegetation, and more or less on animal matter,
such as grubs, earth worms, &c. — ('Farm Insects';
' Skip Jack, and the Wireworm,' by A. M., &c.)

False Wireworms.
Snake Millijiede^;.— 1, Julus Londincnsis ; 2 and 3, J. guttatus, nat. size
and magnified; i, J. terrestris ; 5, horn; G and 7, flattened Millipede,
Polydesmus complanatus.

Prevention and Remedies. — Soil from broken-up
pasture-land or Clover-leys often swarms with these
pernicious grubs, and it is from this infested ground
that the most serious damage arises both to garden and
field- crops.

With regard to garden-crops, the broken turf should
never be used without having been thoroughly examined,
so as to make sure there are no Wireworms in it. If it
is only wanted in small quantities, this can be easily

9'2 CORN.

done ; the turf can be broken by hand mto small bits, so
that its state can be seen.

Where a large quantity is wanted, it is a good practice
to throw the turf in a heap after being mixed with fresh
gas-lime, a dressing of gas-lime being also spread over
the heap.

The sulphide which is present in fresh gas-lime will
kill all the vegetation and the insects, and by the time the
turf is required for use it will be converted by the action of
the air and moisture into sulphate of lime (gypsum),
which is serviceable in various ways as a manure.

If turf-heaps are allowed to get covered with grass,
it is of no use, so far as getting rid of Wireworm is
concerned, to have them at all ; for these grubs will be
as perfectly well suited there as in the field. If we are
to get rid of the Wireworm feeding at the roots, we must
get rid of the growing grass or plants, and any treatment
is good that brings this about, whether it be turning the
heaps, liming, burning, or otherwise.

In cultivation of fields broken uj) from grass-land or
clover-leys, something may be done beforehand to
diminish the number of insects, and consequently of
eggs laid, by spreading lime-compost, ashes (on heavy
land), or any dressing obnoxious to insects, and
harrowing with a chain or brush-harrow.

Paring and burning is a good practice, so far as
getting rid of the grubs is concerned, as great numbers
of the grubs and other insect-vermin are thus destroyed,
and also a large amount of the live grass-roots and
weeds that might feed such grubs as remained in the
ground. The rubbish should be burnt as soon as
possible, or the Wireworms will quickly leave it, go down
into the earth, and escape. The habit of the Wireworm
to go down deep — even as much as a foot below the
ground in winter — should also be remembered, as a
paring that would clear off a large proportion of the
Wh-eworms in warm weather would very likely pass
above almost all of them in winter, and leave them
uninjured to come up to the surface in spring.

WIREWOEMS. 93

A summer fallow, and burning all rubbish on the
ground is also recommended. B}^ this means the grubs
at the shoots are destroj^ed at once, and those in the
ground die for want of food. The application of gas-lime
is also useful here ; it may be mixed with three or four
times its own bulk of earth, and applied as a dressing ;
or it may be spread thinly over the ground, and well
mixed with it a short time before the crop is put in.

It is probable that, where the land can be left free for
a sufficient time afterwards, it would answer well to
put a strong dressing of gas-lime fresh from the works
on the ground after ploughing and cleaning. This
would destroy everything it touched, and by spring
would be changed (as noticed above) into a good manure.

But, whether the object is carried out by special
applications, or by the common operations of thorough
cleaning of the broken-up ground and burning the
rubbish, it is of great importance to clear the field
thoroughly of the Wireworms before the new crop is put
in. No time is gained, /or us, by putting it in, to them;
they will take each crop in succession, and waste or
destroy till they begin their change to the condition of
Click Beetles.

Strips of grass or clover should not be left growing in
the field, or at the sides, for the Wireworms feeding in
these will spread themselves round and damage the
neighbom-ing crop.

Such methods of cultivation as will ensure a strong
healthy growth are of-'great importance ; the Wireworms
injure and weaken a great deal more than they destroy ;
and if the soil is so prepared as to ensure available
food to the plants, they will push on and get over the
attack, where weak plants would sink under it. This is
especially the case with grain-crops.

Drilling manure with the seed will help in this matter.
Probably any manure that acts rapidly will be of
service, but Lawes's Turnip Manure has been found to
answer well with Barley on a badly-infested piece after
dead or bare fallow, the parts of the held not thus

94 CORN.

treated having more than half the plants destroyed. —
(B. B.)

A mixture of guano with superphosphate of lime,
drilled with the seed on pasture-land broken up the
l^revious 3'ear, has similarly brought a good crop, whilst
the rest of the plants on the field perished by Wire-
worm : in this case Wireworm was found between the
drills, which seems to point to the safety of the crop
being from the dislike of the grubs to the manure, as
well as to the increased strength of growth. Dissolved
bones drilled with the seed also do good.

Soot and also guano have been found to stop the
mischief in bad attack on Oats. The soot was applied
at the rate of sixteen bushels per acre, the guano at the
rate of two hundredweight, "all in a pouring rain."
Many of the patches that were apparently destroyed put
out new roots at about half an inch below the surface,
and the crop was excellent.

In this case there would be benefit from the manure
being washed down into the soil for immediate use, and
if on the first signs of attack, before the strength of
the plant is gone, any kind of liquid manure that may
be preferred was applied at once, — by the liquid manure-
cart, where this is practicable, — it would do much good,
partly by driving some amount of the Wireworms away,
but chiefly by giving the plant strong food in a form
that it could take up at once, and so counterbalance the
lessened supplies conveyed up the partly-eaten stem.

Any stimulating manure, whether chemical or other-
wise, suitable to the soil, which is easily soluble by rain
and which would thus come quickly into action, would
be of service.

Nitrate of soda and common salt, mixed in the ])yo-
portion of one hundredweight of the first with two
hundredweight of the second, have proved useful for this
purpose ; but with regard to special applications there is
much difference of opinion, probably arising from
different circumstances as to soil, time of application,
and amount used.

WIREAVORMS. 95

Soda-asli is said to be of use. Salt applied at the
rate of twenty bushels per acre to badly-infested land
did well. In this case the salted part bore a beautiful
crop, whilst that to which salt was not applied did not
bear a fourth. Any manure which dissolves quickly and
that is suitable to the crop, and can be applied so as to
act at once, will do good.

Eape-dust is a good stimulating manure, and Eape-
cake has been found of use, applied in the proportion of
five hundredweight to the acre, crushed into about half-
inch lumps, and mixed well with' the soil. This acts by
drawing the Wireworms from the crop ; the Wireworms
are stated to collect in vast numbers in it, and the
plants are thus freed.

With regard to mechanical applications, one of the
common remedies used among corn-crops is, rolling with
a heavy roller so as to solidify the surface, and thus
j)revent the grubs from travelling through the ground.
The Cambridge or ribbed roller is serviceable for this, or
Crosskell's clod-crusher, where it can be used on lighter
land.

The remedies used amongst root-crops are, drill-
hoeing, horse-hoeing twice in a place, hand-hoeing close
to the rows, and chopping- out to stop the progress of the
Wireworm along the drills ; here the object of the
treatment is by stii'ring the soil, to encourage the growth
of the plants, and to harass and disturb the Wireworm.
— (E. A. F.)

Treading the Barley witli 3'oung sheep (tegs) is of use
in keeping the Wireworm from "running." — (T. H.)

In attack of Wireworms on young beds of year-old
seedlings of forest-trees, it has been found of use to
scrape the earth back from the collars of the young
plants to a distance of about six inches, so as to lay bare
the larger roots, and hand-pick and destroy the grubs.
The roots were then dusted freely with equal parts of
lime and fresh dry soot, and fresh soil used to cover
them ; the old soil being removed and charred, to kill
any Wireworm that might remain in it. — (M. D.)

96 CORN.

In garden-cultivation, one exceedingly important
means of prevention is to avoid the use of infested turf.
Deep-trenching is a good means of getting rid of the
Wireworm (P. L.) ; and where they are numerous and
injurious in gardens, great quantities may be caught by
burying Carrots or Potatoes two feet apart and six inches
deep in the borders, and examining them and destroying
the Wireworms found every other day (P. B.) ; or pieces
of Carrot or Potato may be run through with a stick (to
save trouble in search) and buried nearer the surface,
and examined daily.

Parafdn used in the proportion of one part to fifteen
of water, has been tried in the north amongst garden-
crops, especially amongst Carrots, and has proved an
effectual remedy.

Paraffin has also been found of service in stopping
bad attack on Turnips. In this instance a quantity of
dry sand was procured and moistened with paraffin just
sufficiently for it not to clog, but run freely in the hand ;
this was strewed lightly along the centre of the drills, so
as to fall directly aliove the roots of the plants, through-
out a four-acre field, and the result was satisfactor3\
The attack was stopped, and a good crop was obtained.
-(J. K.)

Two crops which "Wireworm are considered by most
observers to dislike are White Mustard and Woad, and
in experiments on fields of fifty and forty acres respect-
ively, of Wheat which suffered from Wireworm, the
portions which had been under White Mustard were free
from attack. If this should be commonly the case, a
crop of White Mustard would be very desirable to clear
the Wireworm from broken-up pasture.

The natural enemies of the Wireworm are the mole,
which does good service in this matter to a considerable
amount ; rooks, plovers, peewits, or lapwings also assist
m keeping them down.

97

HOP/

„ A >,• (Aphis liunniU, Schrank.
^ ^ Vii ' \ Phorodon humnii , ^chvA,\\\i.
Green Fly. | ^^ var. .Va/«A./>, Fonsc.

1 and 2, Female Aphis, nat. size and macjnified: 3 and i, larvcB or "nits,"
nat. size and magnified.

The Hop-plant has many insect-foes. Chief amongst
these is the Green Fly, or Aphis {Aphis humuli), which
in some seasons has caused the almost total destruction
of the crop of Hops.

The general appearance of these pale green Aphides
is too well known to require description, but it may be
observed that the genus Phorodon, to which they belong,
is distinguishable from others of the Aphidin(e by the
horns being hardly longer than the body, together wdth
the lowest joint being toothed or gibbous, and the
tubercles on the forehead each having a strong tooth.
The legs are short, and the honey-tubes long.

The variety " Malahch'' is distinguishable from the
species hiunnli by the females bearing living young
being larger, and, in the case of the wingless kind, of a
yellower green than /?»/«»/?"; in the case of the winged
kind, of a brighter green, with the head, horns, and legs

* In the papers regarding Hop-insects, I am much indebted for valuable
information to C. Whitehead, Esq., F.L.S., of Barming House, near
Maidstone.

98 HOP.

(excepting the thighs) black, instead of brown or browTi
and green ; and the markings on the abdomen dark,
instead of black, as in the case of humuli.

The male of P. humuli, which is winged, may be
known from the winged female by being smaller, but
with large head, small abdomen, longish horns and
wings, and the colour wholly pale green, save some
olive markings on the back : this is to be found in
the beginning of September on the Hop-plants.

According to the common rule of life in the ApJiidincB,
the appearance of the male in the later part of the
summer, or in the autumn, precedes by a few days that
of the ('(]fi-l<(>/iiig wingless female, and concludes the
generations of the year. It is only between these
that pairing takes place, and the fecundated female
subsequently lays the eggs which give rise to the
countless winged swarms of the following year, all
produced without the further intervention of the male,
until the season again closes with the autumn appear-
ance of the winged male and wingless oviparous female.
— ('Mon. of Brit. Aphides,' &c.)

The young, or larvfe,- — commonly known as "lice" or
"nits," — which may be seen whilst being produced alive
as early as the middle of Maj^ are at first of a semi-
transparent greenish white, afterwards the}^ are green,
and much resemble their parents, excepting in not
having wings.

The viviparous females always appear in greater or
less numbers in the Hop-gardens about the second or
third week in May. If the conditions are favourable,
they then deposit their first brood of larvae on the leaves
of the plants, and, from the early date at which these
young have the power of producing descendants, increase
goes on at a rate which words do not convey, but which
the state of the attacked plants shows only too plainly.

The result of this is, if the Aphides are undisturbed,
what is known in Hop-districts as "a hlighV occurs.
The powers of the leaves are exhausted by the millions
of insects drawing out the juice with their suckers, and

HOP APHIS.

99

the pores of the leaves are clioked by the fluid voided by
the Aphides, or by honey-dew; so that they cannot
perform their natural functions, and the growth of the
plants is consequently checked.

In some seasons the Aphides do not remain to breed.
It is supposed that they do not remain unless the plants
are in a peculiar condition — an unhealthy or abnormal
state in which the sap is grateful to their taste. — (C. W.)

Pkevention and Eemedies. — "When it is seen that the
winged flies stick persistently to the under surface of the
leaves, and that larvae or 'lice' have been produced, the
planters begin to wash the plants. This can hardly be
done too early, as when the lice swarm it is difficult to
dislodge them all. Washing is done by means of a
large garden-engine, fitted with a pump, and a long
length of gutta-percha hose on each side, having a single
jet, or rose, or spray syringe, which can be directed
under the leaves, and round the bines, thoroughly clean-
ing the plants. This engine is drawn along the rows or
alleys by three men, one of whom also pumps ; the
others take a hose each, which is long enough to enable
them to wash three rows.

"The wash is usually composed of from fourteen to
tAventy pounds of soft soap to one hundred gallons of
water; some add the juice of a quarter of a pound of
tobacco ; others think that the tobacco kills the ' ncgur '
— the larva of the Lady-bird, or Cocci ucUa, which feeds
on the Aphides.

"The cost of washing varies from thirty to thirty-five
shillings per acre each time it is done. Great care must
be taken to wash every leaf underneath, and the process
generally must be repeated twice, or even thrice.

"The great points are — to begin early, to have the
plants thoroughly washed, and to continue to wash
until the leaves are clear from hce. In ordinary seasons
washing is efficacious, if thoroughly carried out, and
there are many planters who have made good profits by
judicious washing. If, however, the weather is wet and

100 HOP.

cold, as in 1879, washing seems to be of little avail." —
(C. W.)

The following recipe for Hop- wash, used by an exten-
sive grower, has also been found reliable in dry-
weather : — To thirty-six gallons of water in a copper add
sixty pounds of soft soap. Then add either fourteen
pounds of bitter aloes or two pounds of tobacco, and
boil together. For use, add thirty-six gallons of water
to every gallon of this liquid. — (J. W.)

In some cases a little soda is found serviceable, mixed
with the solution of soft soap.

Quassia has been experimented with at a strength of
four ounces to one gallon of water, but proved quite
useless, either to kill or to drive away the Green Fly. —
(T. H. H.)

Many methods of treatment, such as dipping infested
shoots, fumigation, &c., are suggested by various writers,
but appear of very doubtful use. At present, though
"remedies" are found, as above mentioned, to cure or
mitigate the attack, no "means of prevention" of it
have been discovered.

It is found that circumstances of locality, whether
from soil or surroundings, exercise an influence in the
amount of attack, as " In some districts the Hop-plants
are more liable to l)e blighted than others, and in most
districts there are 'lucky' farms uj^on which the Aphis-
blight or mould rarely affects the plants. A hedge or a
stream frequently forms a line of demarcation between
Hop-land that is liable to blight and that which ordinarily
escapes blight." — (C. W.)

It is also observed, " Flat low lands, although the best
land, and generally the most productive and sheltered
from wind, are more subject to be blighted by Aphis
than higher and more exposed situations." — (S. E.)

Weather influences have great effect on the Hop.
Under favourable circumstances it grows rapidly, espe-
cially in warm nights — as much as four inches of gro"v\i;h
having been recorded as taking place in one night on
bines. East winds in the spring are unfavourable to

LADY-BIED.

101

the plants, and favourable to Green Fly. The sunshine,
and warmth m sheltered positions which often accompany
these winds, alternate with frosts at night that check
the growth of the tender succulent shoots, and thus a
state of sap is produced peculiarly suitable to the Aphides,
which increase rapidly under these circumstances.

Practically it has been known as far back as Tusser's
time, that —

" The wind in the North, or else Northerlj'-East,
Is bad for the Hop as a fray at a feast,"

and scientifically the recent observations of Mr. G. B.
Buckton, as to the more rapid development of Aphides
on plants of which the sap is sickly, and the amount of
food to be drawn from them insufficient, points to the
reason of the increased attack, but how this knowledge
is to be utilised does not appear at present.

Amongst natural means of protection we have some
help from the Aphis-eating birds, but the chief assistance
is fi'om the CoccineUidce, the beetles well known as
"Lady-birds," which feed (especially in the larval stage)
voraciously on the Aphides.

r^'-yi

Lady birJs and chrysalids; 1 — 4, egg and larva, nat. size and magnified;
7, Coccinella hipunctata; 8, C. dispar; 9, C. septempunctata.

The above figure shows the appearance of the slaty
grey six-legged grubs (magnified, with line giving length
when full-grown). These grubs are prettily marked with
scarlet and yellow, and when full-fed, which is in about

102 HOP.

a fortnight or three weeks, they hang themselves up by
the tail, and turn to a shiny black pupa or chrysalis,
spotted down the back with orange, from which the
beetle (known as the "Lady-bird") comes out in about
another fortniglit or three weeks. The figures give the
common red Lady-bird, distinguishable by its seven
black spots, and two smaller kinds.

These should be by all means protected, and especially
when they appear in the vast swarms in which they
frequently follow on a special outbreak of Aphides, and
in which to our great injury they are liable to be swept
up and destroyed, as in the instance of their great
appearance in 1869.

Hop Bug. Li/i/ns iimhcJlatanim.

■> \

1 and 2, Potato-biip-, L. Solani; :3 and 4, jniprfi of do., nat. size and
magnified; 5 and C, L. umbellatarum, nat. size ami niaptnified.

Li the case of the plant-bugs, whether of Li/f/tis
umbellatarum or other species, the injury to the plant is
effected by the insect inserting the sharp beak-like
sucker into the shoot, leaf, bine, or whatever part it feeds
on, and drawing away the juices. Thus it not only
weakens the plant by the quantity of sap it takes away,
but it also injures the tissues and disturbs the regular flow
of sap by the immense quantities of little holes it drills
with its sucker into whatever part it may select for attack.

HOP BUG. 103

The Lygus umheUatarum (of Panzer, figured nat. size at
5, magnified at 6) is for the most part red or rosy on the
head, horns and body between the wings ; a triangular
sjDace behind this portion white, with black at the base ;
abdomen shining-black above, witli ochre-coloured mar-
gin. The wing-cases are clouded with red, and the
horny or membranous part near the tip has a smoky
border. The wings (which when at rest are folded
beneath the half-solid, half-transparent wing-cases) are
large and iridescent, with dusky nerves ; legs varied with
ochre and red ; shanks tipped with brown, feet pitchy.

The plant-bugs in their earlier stages are similar in
shape to the parents, excepting in the absence of wings,
and similar in their method of feeding ; but in the case
of this Lygus it has hitherto only been noticed feeding in
the pupa state on the Hop. — (' Journal of Eoyal Ag. Soc.,'
vol. X., p. 79.)

Pre^'ention and Remedies. — In the autumn, winter, and
spring, Hemiptera (Plant-lnigs) ma}^ be found about the
roots of plants, in tufts of grass and in moss, among
dead leaves and the debris of hay-ricks, and corn-stacks,
and in field-rubbish. — (Brit. Hemiptera.)

This plant-bug, the L. umheUatarum, is to be found on
Potatoes, and is said by Curtis to be found on umbellate
plants later in the year ; and also on grass in May, and
another nearly-allied kind is found on Nettles. As far
as appears at present, the only way of diminishing the
attack (excepting by the s} ringings and dustings used
for other Hop-j)ests) is by clearing away the rubbish it
shelters in during the winter, and the weeds that it feeds
on in summer.

TT -m \ Haltica concmna, Curtis.
Hop Flea. ] , i \- \

^ ( ,, (syn. dentipes).

This species of Hop Flea, known as the Brassy or
Tooth-legged Tm-nip Flea, is very like the common

104 HOP.

Turnip Flea or Fly-beetle, but differs in being more
oval, convex, and shiny. It is of a greenish black
colour, with a brassy or coppery tint ; the horns are
only half as long as the body, and of a pitchy colour,
more rust-coloured towards the head ; the wing-cases
have ten lines of deep dots along each ; the legs are
black, but bright rust-colour at the base of the shanks,

1 and 2, Hop Flea, iiat. size and inagnitied ; o, liiud leg, magnified.

and the shanks on the second and hind pairs of legs are
toothed below the middle, whence the common name of
"tooth-legged" and the scientific synonym of dentijies.
This flea-beetle infests Hop-grounds and Turnip-fields,
and is also to be found in hedges, nettles, and grass. —
(' Farm Insects.')

It does not appear certain, however, that it is the only
kind of flea-beetle that infests our Hop-grounds, and the
following observations on the habits of the " Hop Flea"
are given with the note that (although resembling the
species described above by Curtis as Haltica concinna)
this may prove to be a kind especially confined to the
Hop : —

"These flea-beetles hybernate in the perfect state in
the ground close to the Hop-hills, or in the hollow dead
bines left on the stocks, or in the pieces lying on
the ground near them. They emerge in the early
spring, and attack the shoots of the Hop-plant, piercing
them as soon as they appear.

HOP FLEA. 105

"If the weather is cold, and the shoots unable to
grow away rapidly, the Flea occasionally causes serious
injuries, and makes them stunted. They are especially
active in dry seasons and when the land is rough. In
wet seasons, and in growing seasons, when the shoots go
quickly up the poles, they do not cause much harm in
the early stages of the plant-growth. But later on in
the summer, after a very dry season which has been
favourable to their increase, they get into the cones and
deposit their eggs. From these eggs the larvse — little
white maggots wath six pectoral feet — are hatched in
about ten days ; they immediately begin to burrow in,
and feed on the stalks or 'strigs,' causing their deca,j,
and making the bracts of the cones lose colour and
become disintegrated.

"During the spring and earlier part of summer the
eggs are laid in the bine, or under the skin of the leaves ;
and one female {vide J. Curtis's 'Farm Insects') will
lay about one egg daily, so that they are not extra-
ordinarily prolific." — (C. W.)

Prevention and Eemedies. — " To check the Fleas,
planters dust lime or soot over and around the Hop-hills
when the shoots are low% but there is no remedy adopted
against their onslaughts after the bines have been tied to
the poles.

" One means of preventing the spread of these beetles
is to have all the pieces of old bines carefully removed
from the Hop-garden after Hop -picking and all the
cuttings after the hills have been 'dressed,' and to
move and pulverize the ground as early as possible
in the spring. The Flea is very injurious to the bine in
early spring, particularly in dry weather, and where the
land is rough and badly cultivated." — (C. W.)

The following remedies have been suggested, namely,
to cover up the young shoots with four to five inches of
fine mould, which gives them security from being
injured by the Flea for several days, when the bines
will have acquired more strength and grow more rapidly

106 HOP.

away from attack ; and where much injury is done, the
application of a little rich manure, as Peruvian guano,
is recommended. — ('Farm Crops.')

In the ' Keport on the Flea-l3eetle of the Vineyards of
the United States of America,' where great losses are
caused by the species Grajjtodera (Haltica) chalijhea,
Illiger, besides the above mentioned measures of clearing
all pieces of old l)ine, broken wood, and rubbish, under
which the beetle can harbour in winter, it is stated that
when attack has commenced, good may be done "by
syringing the vines with a solution of whale-oil (^ fish-
oil, Ed.), soft soap, two pounds of soap to sixteen gallons
of water."

The following method, which was found to keep the
flea-beetles in check in a large vineyard at Arlington,
Virginia, might be serviceable : —

"A strip of cotton-cloth three feet by six, kept open by
cross-sticks at the end, is thoroughly saturated with
kerosine and held under the vine, which is shaken by
the supports being struck. The beetles fall readily by
the jar, and contact with the kerosene sooner or later
destroys them After striking the sheet the flea-
beetles show no disposition either to fly or jump." —
(Eeport of the Commissioner, Department of Ag., U. S. A.,
1879.)

It is stated that, with these sheets, three boys rapidly
clear the vines over a large space of ground, and in case
of bad attack the method would be worth a trial in our
Hop-grounds.

Hop Prog Fly. Eupteryx picta, Fab.

Little green and yellowish green insects, like tiny
Grasshoppers, weaken the Hop-plants much in some
seasons by boring holes in the leaves and bines, and
sucking the juices. They are endued with mighty
powers of jumping, and are called "Jumpers" in Kent.
— (C. W.)

HOP-DOG. 107

These are probably Eiiptcrij.r incin, a species very
similar in form to E. Solaiii, figured amongst insects
injurious to Potatoes, but larger, and more spotted.
They are of a yellow colour, spotted with black on
the head and on the body between the wings ; the
abdomen is black, with yellow margins to the segments.
The upper wings are clouded with brown, and have the
l)ase, tip, and various sj^ots, yellow ; the under wmgs
are transparent, with brown veins ; the legs are sulphur-
colour.

The pupae resemble the perfect insects in shajje,
excepting that they are as jet wingless ; and are of a
buff colour, with dark eyes, and tips to the feet. —
(' Farm Insects.')

PEEi'ENTioN AND PiEMEDiES. — When " -Tumpers " are
numerous, men are sent into the Hop-gardens with boards
covered with tar, held at the leeward side of the bine.
The poles are violently shaken or struck, and the
Jumpers, taking tremendous "leaps in the dark," fall
on the tarred boards held underneath. — (C. W.)

This Frog-fly also inhabits Burdock and Nettles, most
objectionable weeds in a Hop-district, being frequented
by varicms Hop-pests.

Hop-dog.

Caterpillar of [DasijcJiira pudibiinda,^!!!!!.
Pale Tussock Moth.

The caterpillar of this moth (commonly known as the
Hop-dog) is often to be found in Hop-grounds.

It is of a delicate green colour, with a good-sized
bunch of yellow hairs standing up like a brush on the
back of the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth segments,
each of which have a strij)e of velvety black between
them ; a longer and more slender tuft of hau's at the
extremity projects backwards like a rose-coloured tail.

The caterpillars feed during summer on the leaves

108

HOP,

of various kinds of trees, also on the Hop, and about
Sej)tember spin a slight web amongst the leaves in
vphicli each turns to a hairy chrysalis, from which the
moth comes out in the following May.

1, Female moth; 2, eggs; 3, caterpillar; 4, web; 5, chrysalis.

The moths are about two inches in the spread of the
fore wings ; those of the male are grey, with a broad
smoke-coloured transverse bar, and brownish markings ;
those of the female are paler grey, without the central
bar. The hind wings of both male and female are
nearly white, with a dusky streak near the hinder
margin. The head, body between the wings, and
abdomen are ashy white; horns whitish. — (E.N.,
J. F. S.)

Peevention and Eemedies. — If the caterpillars are in
any great quantity, a hard syringing is to be recom-
mended ; from the moisture lodging in its long hair,
heavy rain or any other application of water is a serious
annoyance to this caterpillar, and a help towards
diminishing its numbers.

OTTER MOTH.

109

From the size of the cocoons they are readily noticed,
and all that are spun in leaves or on twigs may he easily
cleared.

Foreign ohservations mention the caterpillars going
down the stems in autumn to turn to chrysalids in moss,
or at the sm-face of the ground ; and it is recommended
in that case to have them searched for and destroyed
near infested trees. In the case of Hop-grounds this
would be done in the regular course of cultivation.

Otter Moth. Hepialus ImmnU, Stephens.

V^£^5

1 and 2, Eggs, nat. size and magnified ; •"!, caterpillar; -4, chrysalis;
5, male ; 6, female.

The caterpillars of this moth (which is kno-^m also as
the Ghost Moth, or Ghost Swift) injm-e the Hop by
infesting the roots, "which they penetrate Avith their
strong jaws, consuming the inside as well as the bark."

The moths fi}^ in the evening, after Ij-ing concealed
during the day amongst leaves or grass, and it is stated

110 HOP.

that during this flight the females drop their eggs one
by one.— (E. L. T.)

The caterpillars are of a cream-colour, with brown
heads, and a scah' patch on the next segment. They
bur}- themselves in the ground, and feed below the
surface until they are nearly an inch and a half or two
inches long. When full-fed they spin a web amongst
the roots on which they have been feeding, and in it
they turn to stout, blunt, dark brown pupte with two
rows of spines.

This change takes place in Maj^ and the moths are
common in grassy places about the middle of June,
especially in the south of England.

They are very peculiar in appearance, from the wings
being somewhat straight and narrow ; also there is not
any great difference in size between the front and the
hinder pair.

The male is about two inches in expanse of the wings,
which are white above ; the head, body, and abdomen
are pale tawny. The female is about three inches in
expanse ; the fore wings are yellow above, with orange
markings ; the hinder wings smoky, changing to bright
tawny on the hinder margin. — (J. F. S., E, N.)

Pke"\-ention and Remedies. — The injuries occasioned
by the larvas of the Ghost or Otter Moth, Hepialus humuli,
and the Swift Moth, H. InpaUnus (large fleshy grubs
which attack the roots), are fortunately rare. — (C. W.)

As the caterpillars feed amongst roots, the best
remed}" is to examine these carefully, if the plants are
found to be flagging without obvious cause. From their
large size the}- are easily seen, and can be taken out by
hand and destroj'ed ; and if there is reason to suppose
them present, it is well to have a stock here and there
examined throughout the ground when the plants are
dressed in the spring.

Also as the moths frequent grassy places, and the
caterpillars feed on the roots of the Burdock and of the
Common Nettle, it would be very desirable to clear off

HOP-^^NE SNOUT MOTH.

Ill

these large weeds and also patches of neglected grass
which give harbourage by day to the moths.

Hop-vine Snout Moth.

Pi/ralis rostral is, Linii.
Hypcna rostralis, Stephens.

1, Caterpillar; 2, chrysalis; ."J ami 4, inotli.

The caterpillars of this moth injure the Hop b}' feedmg
on the leaves. They are of a pale green colour, with
clearer spots, and a whitish line on the sides and back ;
slender in shape and gradualh' smaller towards the
head, and of the size figured above ; and are distinguish-
able b}' having onl}- three pairs of sucker-feet in addition
to the true feet on the rings next the head, and the
pair of sucker- feet at the end of the tail.

When full-fed the caterpillar draws a leaf parti}'
together, and commonly changes to the chrysalis in a
light cocoon which it spins within the folds.

The moth, which appears in June and July, or earlier,
is rather more than an inch in the spread of the wings,
and is variable in colouring. In well-marked specimens
the fore wings are greyish brown, darker from the base
to about the middle, with a zigzag blackish streak
across near the tip, and some raised tufts of black scales
about the centre ; the hinder part of the wings is palest.
The hinder wings are brownish.

112 HOP.

The moths of this genus may he generally known by
the snout-like appearance of the front of the head,
whence they take their name. — (' Illus. Brit. Entom.')

Peevention and Eemedies. — Strong syringing, by
means of the engines, with some of the regular Hop-
washes, or with the common fish-oil soft soap procurable
at ten to twelve shillings per firkin of sixty pounds,
appears to be one of the best remedies known. The
soft soap makes the Hop-bines unpleasant to the
caterpillars, and, if applied as soon as any number of
the moths are seen about early in the season, would
probably deter a large proportion from laying eggs on
the syringed plants.

Striking the poles is also recommended, so as to make
the caterpillars (which loose hold on a slight shake) fall
to the ground ; but the difficulty in this method of
treatment is to keep them from going back again up the
plants. Trampling on them, throwing soot, lime, &c.,
or, in bad cases of attack, shaking them into something
placed below or on to tarred boards, are recommended.

Hand-picking the leaves with the moth-cocoons inside
gets rid of much of the second brood, and these cocoons
are also to be found about the stems of their various
food-plants, on the surface of the ground, or in sheltered
nooks ; and clearing aw^ay plant-rubbish generally, and
more especially the Nettle on which this caterpillar feeds,
would be of service.

Red Spider. Tetranychus teJarius, Linn.

The " Eed Spider," which causes enormous damage in
dr}' seasons to the Hop-crops, is neither an insect nor
(properly speaking) a spider. From the first it may be
distinguished at a glance, magnifier in hand (as shown
by the figure on next page), and from true spiders it may
be known by the body and abdomen being in one piece,
and not merely joined by an almost thread-like

RED SPIDER. 113

connection. Strictly speaking, it belongs to the " Spinning
Mites," and the figure gives a greatly- magnified view
of the long stiff hairs, with globular formations at the
tip,_ which are supposed to be of use in spreading
their webs on the leaves.

J^

Ked Spider. Hairs on the foot (from Claparede), magnified.

These mites being scarcely discernible, excepting when
collected together, and possible difference in species or
in variety not affecting the matter of their prevention,
I refer the reader, for their life-history and sjiecific
distinctions considered to exist by various writers, to the
paper on 'Eed Spider of the Lime Tree,' (/ T. tclarius
T. tiliarum, Mull.), with figures of the mite, eggs, and
webs, from life ; and to '' Eed Spider on the Plum.'

Pre\'ention and PiEMEDiES. — " Tliis little mitc, hardly
to be distinguished without the aid of a glass, works
much mischief in very hot dry seasons. Its effect upon
the leaves of the Hop-plant was until recently attributed
to heat and drought, and was called 'Fire-blast.' In
the unusually hot and dry summer of 1868 the ' Eed
Spider' did immense damage in the English and German
Hop-plantations. The leaves of the plants turned brown,
became shrivelled, and fell off; and thousands of acres
produced no hops.

"Mr. And. Murray, in his 'Handbook of Economic
Entomology' (Ai)tera, pp. 88, 89), thus describes the

I

114 HOP.

work of this Mite : — ' On leaves (especially the under
side of them) it finds a fit hold, and spins its web, affixing
the threads to the prominences and hairs of the leaf;
and under this shelter a colony, consisting of many of
both sexes in maturity, and young in all their ages, feed
and multiply with rapidity. The plant soon shows the
influence of their presence in its sickly yellow hue ; the
sap is sucked by myriad insect-mouths from the vessels
of the leaf, and its pores are choked by excremental
fluids.'

"Washing the plants with soft soap and water, or even
with pure water, is a remedy for these mites ; in 1868
some planters tried a solution of sulphur thrown over
the plants by the ordinary washing-engines, which
killed the " Eed Spider," but was done too late to save
the crops ; no doubt when hot and dry summers return
again, washing with solution of sulphur will be largely
adopted."— (C. W.)

The following note describes the progress of the
attack, and the effect of rain in checking it ; and also
gives some idea of the amount of loss consequent on
attack : —

"Eed Spider in Hops. This only appears in dry
seasons. It shows itself first by a brownish j'ellow
appearance in the middle of the leaf, generally at the
top of the poles, in large spots, spreading rapidly all
over the Hop-garden, unless rain comes, which, if of any
continuance, stops its progress. On looking under the
discoloured leaves a small web will be found over the
whole surface. After a time these leaves drop off", and
the Hops all become red or brown.

"In 1868 I had fifteen hundredweight per acre reduced
on several acres to five hundredweight, and then the five
hundredweight were only worth about half-jDrice. We
do not use anything to stop it, because of the Hop being
out."

"Eed Spider" does not spread in late Hops which
have been kept back by vermin, as the leaves are
young and full of sap. It is dryness in everything that

HOP WIREWORM.

115

conduces to its spread, and I should think that this year
one thousand acres of Hops have heen left unpicked
through it.— (J. W.)

The Eed Spider appears to shelter itself in any
convenient nooks — cracks in the Hop-poles, for instance,
or, in winter, beneath clods of earth, stones, &c. ; and
all observations show the prevalence of heat and drought
to be favourable to its increase ; but whether these
points can be met remuneratively by removal of
sheltering-places, dressings of the ground, or appli-
cations of moisture beyond the customary washes, is
still uncertain.

Hop Wireworm.

Larva of

Striped Click-beetle.

FAater Uneatus, Liun.
Afjriotes Uneatus, Esch.

Striped Click-beetle and larva (Wir.^worm), nat. size and nmgnified.

This species of Wireworm is the grub of the striped
Click-beetle ; it is considered to be probably only a
variety oi A. ohscurus, but differs from it in having the
wing-cases of the beetle marked lengthwise with greyish
or dusky lines, whence the name of linccttiis. It is stated
by Bouche that the Wireworm of this kind (the A.
Uneatus) is sometimes to be found in great multitudes in
dung, and in vegetable earth.

For life-history of " Wireworms," see this head
amongst Corn-insects.

116 HOP.

Prevention and Eemedies. — Wireworms are frequently
very injurious to fresh-planted Hop-sets, especially upon
recently broken-up pasture-land, eating off the tiny
shoots directly they appear, and sucking the juices from
the hearts of the sets. It sometimes happens that a
large percentage of the sets die in consequence, and have
to be rejjlaced, involving great expense to the planter,
as well as the loss of a year. The only efficacious way
of getting rid of the Wireworm in a Hop-ground is to
put traps of small slices of Mangolds, Potatoes, Carrots,
or Swede Turnips, or small pieces of Eape-cake, close
round the Hop-hills. These should be looked at twice
a week, and the Wireworms which have eaten their way
into them should be taken out and destroyed. As many
as one hundred and fifty Wireworms have thus been
trapped close to one Hop-hill. — (C. W.)

As these Wireworms, if once in possession, will live on
in the same ground for several years (it is said five
years), eating the whole time, excepting when they may
go down deep in cold weather, it is a very important
matter to save the expense of trapping or attack, by
taking measures that the ground should be as far clear
of them as is possible before planting, and also that
they should not be brought in with vegetable- soil.

When pasture is to be broken up for Hops, it is of
service to brush it early in autumn with chain or brush-
harrows, and dress it with lime-compost ; this is a great
preventive of the beetles laying their eggs. Folding
sheep so that the grass is eaten very close answers the
same purpose.

In preparing the ground it is much better, as regards
getting rid of the Wireworm, to trench with the spade
two spits deep than to plough with the subsoil plough
following. The weeds and grass-roots, and the like, in
which the Wireworm feeds are not as thoroughly got rid
of, even by deep ploughing, as by being thoroughly put
down below by the spade, and the Wireworm has con-
sequently plenty of food to keep it thriving until the
new crop is put in.

HOP WIKEWORM. 117

Paring and burning is serviceable as a means of
getting rid of the Wireworm and its food together, but
has its drawbacks agriculturally; and it should be borne
in mind that the Wireworm will go down as much as
twelve inches in cold weather, therefore it is well to pare
and burn before cold has set in ; also the parings should
be collected and burnt at once, or the Wireworms will
very speedily secure themselves again in the ground.

All possible care in removing the clods with grass-roots,
and clearing the ground of rubbish which would keep the
Wireworm in food-plants till the Hops come, would
answer, (See " Wireworms" in Corn.)

The fresh vegetable-soil from old hedgerows or similar
places brought in to restore old Hop-grounds is
particularly likely to bring in Wireworm. It would save
after expense to have the fresh field-soil heaped with lime
or gas-lime, and the surface of the heap turned from time
to time, to destroy grass and weeds which would, as in
the field, feed the grubs. Gas-lime would thoroughly
destroy all it touched — insect or plant — at first, if fresh
from the works, but the atmospheric action or mixing
with the earth would rapidly change its chemical nature
to the sulphate of lime or gypsum serviceable to the
crops.

It is noted that in planting, "one good well-rooted set
in good soil will make as good a stock as two or more ;
but it is safer to put two, for fear of Wireworm" (C. W.) ;
and in the early spring season, when the Hop-plants are
dressed and the hills covered with a little fine earth,
it would probably answer well to add some insect-
deterrent.

For Wireworm in Turnips it has been found to succeed
well to mix sand with just enough parafiin to moisten it
slightly — not enough to clog, but still to run in the
hand — and to sprinkle this very lightly over the roots by
hand. Ashes or dry earth would answer almost as well
as sand, and as the Wu-eworms usually feed near the
surface, the smell or the paraffin in dilute state driven
down by the rain would soon tell on them.

118 HOP.

Eape-cake at the rate of five hundredweiglit per acre,
crushed into luraps of about the size of half- inch ground
bones, ploughed or harrowed well in, is stated to answer
well ; on the other hand, it is stated on good practical
authority that Rape -cake is of no use as a preventive,
but rather encourages the Wireworm.

119
LETTUCE.

Lettuce-root Aphis. AjJiis (Fciiijihiiius) lactuac, Westwood.

These Aphides are found beneath the surface of the
ground on the roots of Lettuce. If the plants droop
suddenly without any evident cause, in warm weather,
it is likely that on examination the roots may be found
covered with small greenish plant-lice, which are
destroying the plant by sucking away the juices.

This species is very small, only about the twelfth of
an inch long, and scarcely a quarter of an inch in the
spread of the wings, and is much like the common
Aphides, the Green Fly of the Plum, for instance, but is
distinguishable, with the help of a glass, as one of the
Pemplugince by the third vein of the fore wings, counting
from the body, not having any fork. The perfect insect
is of a pale greenish yellow, with the head and body
between the wings of a browner green ; the pupa is also
of a dusky or dirty pale green colour, with the tip of the
body wrapped in cottony down.

This insect is without honey-tubes. — (J. 0, W., in
* Gard. Chron. and Ag. Gazette.')

Pkevention and Eemedies. — It is very hard to apply
either, as, the Aphides being under ground, the first sign
of their presence is the plant drooping from the extent
of the injury, and then it is very likely too late to save it.
Anything to be done to the attacked plants must then
be done at once, and those near should be carefully
examined by drawing the earth gently away for a few
inches down the stems, to see whether there is any
Aphis-attack beginning.

Drenching the ground round the Lettuces with strong
soap-suds, soap-suds and tobacco-water, lime-water,
tobacco- water (of a proper strength), or dilute Soluble
Phenyle, may be good as direct remedies if applied at
once ; at least there does not appear to be any more

120 LETTUCE.

hopeful method of treatment noted. The best treatment,
however, would probably be to give good waterings of
liquid manure, or dilute guano ; this would be in every
way beneficial; it would not suit the Aphides, and it
would throw the plants into luxuriant growth and carry
those that were only a little injured over the attack.

As matter of prevention, a dressing of sand or dry
earth saturated with spirit of tar, and placed by hand
round the neck of the plants, is recommended ; also a
good dusting of lime, or of soot over the ground, might
be of service in making it very unattractive to the plant-
lice to go down into.

The attacked plants should all be removed as soon as
possible, in such a way as would destroy the Aphides,
and neither leave them in the ground nor drop them all
about to crawl or fly to the neighbouring plants. If the
Lettuces are drawn, it would be desirable to cut off the
root of each plant just below the collar (as it is pulled
up), and drop it into a pail of any mixture that would
kill the Aphides, or cripple them for flying ; or the roots
might be cut off into anything convenient and burnt ;
or, if the plants were waste, the whole might be thrown
at once to the pigs. Any way in which the Aphides are
surely destroyed will serve.

The infested spots should be purified by half a spadeful
of quick-lime, or gas-lime, or something to kill the pests
remaining in the ground where each Lettuce has been
drawn, unless the bed is cleared completely, so as to
allow regular measures of cultivation which would
destroy the Aphides over the whole ground.

Lettuce Fly. Anthomyia lactucce, Bouche.

The maggot of this Fly feeds on the seed of the
Lettuce, and sometimes occurs in such quantities as to
cause a complete failure of the seed-crop.

The Fly lays her eggs on some part of the flower
(probably amongst the outer scales), and the little

LETTUCE FLY. 121

maggots on being hatched gnaw their way into the base
of the flower and into the seed-grains. These grains
they completely clear out, so that only the outer husk
remains, and when the seed is eaten they leave the skin,
and go on to another seed-vessel or turn to pupse in
the Lettuce-head, or in the ground if they have fallen
down.

The maggots are found in the latter part of the
summer, and are abundant in September. They are
much like those of the Onion and Cabbage Flies ; legless,
tapering at the head, and cut off short and toothed at
the tail; yellowish white, and about the third of an
inch long.

They turn to pupse in the autumn ; these pupae or
fly-cases are of a bright chestnut-colour and oval shape,
and (as seen through a magnifying glass) are rough.

The flies hatch in the following year, and appear from
April to June ; they are very like the Onion Fly in sha^je
and size (see fig.), but somewhat different in colour.

The males are black and bristly, with face inclining
to chestnut-colour ; four whitish stripes more or less
plain on the fore part of the body behind the head ;
abdomen grey, each ring blackish at the base, and with
one black triangular spot ; the legs are black ; and the
two wings are stained with black.

The female is grey, with a bright chestnut stripe down
the face ; blackish legs, wings, and nervures lighter than
those of the male. — (' Gard. Chron. and Ag. Gazette.')

Prevention and Eemedies. — A great deal may be done
to prevent the appearance of this fly by examining the
Lettuce-seed carefully before sowing.

If the pupae or little brown fly-cases are sown with the
seed, the fly will come out of them in due time and make
its way up through the earth, lay eggs, and so give rise
to an attack of the maggot. It is therefore recommended
that infested seed should be cleared in whatever way may
be preferred. Probably passing the whole through a
sieve with a mesh of such a size as would not let the

1'22 LETTUCE.

pupae fall througli would be the easiest method, taking
care of course to burn or scald these pupaB directly.

In this case, however, the seedsmen are the proper
parties to look to for remedy. More careful examination
of the seed on receiving it from the producers would be
necessary, and, if the seed was infested, measures might
be adopted to clear it which, on this large scale, would
probably be more effective than those the grower could,
or would, in most cases adopt for the small quantity
requh-ed for his crop.

It may also be worth consideration whether returning
seed unfit for use to the dealer is not a desirable plan ;
om* leading seedsmen would wish to be able to correct
their own suppliers, and, in the case of carelessness or
wilful mis- serving, attention ought to be drawn to the
matter.

Infested crops that are cleared off as worthless should
of course be bm-nt at once ; not thrown in a heap with
the pup® still in them, to hatch next spring.

123

ONION.

Onion Fly. AntJiomyia cepamiu, Bouche.

<!Ej W

Onion Fly, pupa, and larva, all magnified. Onion-bulb, showing pujia
remaining in stored Onion.

The injuiy in this case is caused bv the maggots of
the Onion Fly feeding inside the Onion-bulbs, which,
partly from the quantity gnawed away and partly from
the decay caused by the workings, are often completely
destroyed.

These maggots may be found as early as May, whilst
the Onions are still small, and the attack is stated to
begin by the fly laying her eggs on the leaves of the
Onion close to the sui'face of the earth, from which point
the maggots make their way between the leaves into the
lowest part of the Onion-bulb, where they may be found in
numbers varying from two or three upwards. Here these
yeUowish white legless maggots, of the shape shown
magnified in above figm-e, feed for a fortnight, then they
(usually) leave the bulb and enter the earth, and there
tm'n into chestnut-coloured pupte or "fly-cases,"' formed
of the hardened skin of the maggot, of the oval shape
also fifrured above.

124 ONION.

From these the fly comes out in from ten to twenty
days, in smnmer, and ahnost immediately lays her eggs,
and thus starts a new attack on the Onions which may
have escaped before ; and so the destruction goes on as
long as any of the Onions remain and the warm weather
continues.

In the case of the later broods, however, I believe,
from my own observations, that the eggs of the fly,
instead of being laid on the leaves (wdiich by that time
are far above the bulb), are laid either on the ground
close to the bulb or on the bulb itself. At that stage of
growth it is often much exposed, and in the bulbs
examined the grub appeared to have entered either quite
at the base or a little above it. — (Ed.)

The fly is figured magnified, with line showing nat.
size in spread of the wings. The male is ashy grey,
with black bristles and hairs ; the face white, with
black horns ; three dark lines along the body between
the wings, and a row of long blackish spots along the
abdomen ; the female more ochreous, with yellowish white
face. The flies may be found throughout the summer,
but such of the maggots as turn to pup» in the autumn
remain in that state till the following spring, and then
come out as flies in April or May. — (' Gard. Chron. and
Ag. Gazette.')

Prevention and Remedies. — The attacked Onions
decay, and may be known by their leaves fading and
turning yellow. These Onions should be cleared out of
the bed at once. This is a most important point, and,
if thoroughly done, will be likely to prevent all loss from
further attack, as thus all the maggots that would
develop into the next brood of flies are got rid of. But
these Onions should not be hand-drawn ; they should be
taken up carefully by means of a spud, an old knife, or
some similar instrument, so as to get the whole of the
Onion and the maggots in it up together. The Onion
that is badly attacked becomes a rotten mass towards
the lower part, with the maggots inside just covered by

ONION FLY. 125

the skin of the biilh. If the leaves are pulled-at in the
usual wa}' they come up easily, but the decayed base of
the bulb and maggots remain behind, and, though the bed
looks better, no good at all is done. If carefull}^ raised,
each rotten Onion will lessen the next hatch of flies by
the number of maggots contained in it. These should
be put as they are drawn into a pail or vessel of any kind,
out of which they cannot creep, and carefully destroyed.

The pupa or fly-case of the autumn brood remains in
the ground, or sometimes in decayed Onions, during
winter, and the fly comes out from it in time to attack
the young Spring Onions ; therefore Onions should not
be grown two years running on the same ground. It
has been observed that the fly, when buried a few inches
deep, has much difficulty in coming up through the
ground if it is at all firm. For this reason, when Onion-
beds have been much infested, it is a good plan to
deeply trench the ground, turning the top spit into the
bottom of the trench. By this means, the fly-cases are
buried so deep that the flies cannot come up from them,
and also the cases are not brought up to the surface
again by the common routine of digging or cultivation ;
it would probably answer every purpose, as far as
keeping the fly from coming up is concerned, if the
sm'face was simply turned down one spit deep, but it
should always be borne in mind that room must be
allowed on the top of the turned-down vermin for regular
processes of cultivation to go on without reaching them,
till after hatching-time. If ground with buried pup£e
that naturally hatch in April is turned up again in
March, no good will have been done by burying them.

It appears that the most successful method of culti-
vation is, to trench the ground for the Onions in
autumn, or at least early in winter, working plenty of
manure into the soil, or placing a good layer at the
bottom of the trench. Farm-yard manure, well-decayed,
is suitable for this. In one locality, where the soil is
heavy and damp, it is stated that horse-manure not too
much fermented answers best. — (J. S.)

126 ONION.

The soil is ridged or laid up rough for the winter, to
expose it as much as possible to the air and frost.

The ground is prepared for sowing about the end of
February, or as early in March as weather may permit,
by levelling it with forks. Before or after this levelling
(as may suit the views of the grower) some compost of
a stimulating kind is added, and slight differences occur
in details of successful treatment. In one locality, on
the first favourable day in March, the ground is well-
trodden, the seed is sown in drills, and before the drills
are closed a compost is sown broadcast and pretty
thickly over the ground, formed as follows : — Four parts
refuse soil from the potting bench, two parts dry soot,
and two parts wood-ashes ; these are thoroughl}'- mixed
together, and put through a fine sieve before being used,
— (F. Gr. F.) Soot and wood-ashes are also noted as
applied before levelling for seed-sowing earl}" in March.
-(A. S.)

In another case about the 10th of March, if the
weather is favourable, about six or seven cart-loads of
hen-manure are wheeled on to the Onion-break previous
to forking (care is taken to have the hen-manure well
turned during the winter, and covered with soil to keep
in the ammonia). After forking, the ground is well
raked, the seed sown in rows a foot apart, and, after it
is covered, the soil well trodden with the feet and raked
over. The trampling of the feet makes it quite hard,
and is considered to do good by preventing progress of
the maggot.— (G. M'K.)

The following notes refer more especially to ligJit
land : —

The same kind of general treatment mentioned above,
with some slight difference in detail, and successful on
light land, consists in manuring with well-made manure,
principally cow-manure. The ground is worked deeply,
and trenched if necessary. After lying exposed to the
frost, the sm'face is pulverized with a fork, but without
turning up the manure, and then trodden well down
before sowing, which is done as early in March as

ONION FLY. 127

possible. The lines are a foot apart, and a heavy roller
is i3assed a few times over the ground after the seed is
covered in. The Onions are sowed thinly, so that the
plants seldom require thinning. — (D. M.)

This method of treatment has been fomid very
successful, and the point of thin sowing deserves
particular attention.

With some of om* crops the mere fact of thinning
causes insect-attack, though whether this is from the
bruised plants attracting the insects, or the check to
their growth, or what the reason may be, is not 3'et
clear. — (Ed.)

On a light sandy loam which had been exhausted by
long use as garden ground, and the Onion-crop regularly
failed, a dressing of clay fertilised by strong liquid
manure was found to answer. In this case some rich
clay was laid down in July in a place "where all the
slops of the house" were thro-^Ti, and where it remained
till the February following. The ground intended for
Onions was dug in the autumn ; in February it was lined
into beds, and the manured cla}^ was spread three inches
thick on these beds, and left in this state till the second
week in March ; when it was broken smooth, and stirred,
stirring some of the earth below with it. A good
barrowful of pigeon' s-dung (fresh from the pigeon-house)
to every twenty yards was then spread on the surface,
and the seed was sown, pressed hard with the back of a
spade, and covered about a quarter of an inch deep with
well-broken earth from the alleys. The Onions thus
grown are reported as of excellent size and quality,
whereas those treated in the usual way of manuring
were nearly destroyed by maggot.^C Gard. Chron.')

With regard to special applications for prevention of
the maggot, it is shown, by observations of 1879, that
the use of paraffin-oil, either applied diluted with water
or mixed with sand as a dressing on the beds, is very
serviceable.

It is noted in one locality that, when the maggot
appears, paraffin is mixed with water in the proportion

128 ONION.

of a pint (English measure) to two gallons of water, and
with this the Onions that are planted in rows are
watered through the spout of the can without the rose ;
the paraffin should he used carefully in dry weather,
lest it should hurn the plants.

Another method of application is, to mix a good
glassful of paraffin-oil with about six gallons of water,
and throw this mixture carefully as a spray over the
Onion-beds ; this cured the maggot-attack after two or
three applications. — (J. W.)

In another locality the only means found serviceable
for prevention of maggot-attack was the use of sand
saturated with paraffin-oil, and sprinkled amongst the
Onions, this sand being afterwards watered by means of
a can with a rose. In this case experiment was made
as to the direct effect of paraffin on Onion-maggots, and
twenty-four hours after the application of three drops of
paraffin to the soil in a flower-pot containing sorne young
Onions and Onion-maggots, these maggots were found,
on examination through a magnifying glass, to be (with
the exception of two) all dead. — (G. M'K.)

Soap-suds are very useful; it has been found that
there is no trouble with the maggot where watering with
soap-suds is freely given on its first appearance ; the
suds usually destroy the maggot in two or three appli-
cations, and also nourish the Onions. — (P. L.)

It is a good plan to pour the suds over the plant
through the rose of a watering-can, so as to make them
disagreeable to the fly, as well as effective to the grub in
the ground.

The ammoniacal matter contained in house-slops make
them a valuable manure for Onions. They may be
applied with advantage to the growing plants, and, in
cottage gardens, good crops are taken oft" ground where
these slops have been thrown during the winter, and the
bed dug and sowed in the spring.

Liquid manure from farm-yard tanks, diluted with
water till reduced to a safe strength, has been found
useful ; also the use of liquid drainings from pig-sties

ONION FLY. 129

liave been observed to give good crops when all others
in the neighbourhood have failed by maggot-attack. —

A heavy watering, to render the fertilizing matter in
the soil available, is often of much service in running
the growth on healthily without check in dry seasons.

Soot, charcoal dust, and pulverized gas-lime have all
heen found of good service in checking attack ; but
probabty the use of ground clean from the Onion Fly to
start with, and so prepared that a healthy vigorous
gro^ih is likely to take place, a watchful eye to remove
infested plants as soon as they show, and the immediate
application of a strong drenching of the fluid most
obnoxious to the grub that can be found, are better than
dressings not rapidly soluble, for the fluid goes down
at once and lodges in the maggot-holes.

To the above I may add that the worst cases of
maggot-attack I have seen followed sowing on ground
which was not prepared beforehand, and had not received
a special dressing of manure.

Guano is recommended by some growers, but I have
known such severe attack of Onion Fly accompany its
use as a dressing, that I have not mentioned it as
desirable. — (Ed.)

130

PAESNIP.

Carrot and Parsnip Fly. " Rust." Psila rosm.
Parsnip and Celery Leaf-miner. Tejjhritis oyiojwrdinis.
Carrot-blossom Moth. Depressaria daucella.
Carrot and Parsnip-seed Moth. Depressaria depressella.

I am not aware of the Parsnip being seriously injured
in this country by any insect peculiar to itself. Its.
chief enemies are those above mentioned, which are
noticed under the heads of insects infesting Carrots,
and Celery.

Parsnip and Celery Leaf-miner. TepliriUs onop)ordinis, Curtis.

Parsnip and Celery Fly, magnified; line showing nat. size; larva and
pupa figured in blistered leaf.

131

PEAS.

Pea Moth. Grapholitha piscuia, Curtis.

1 and 2, Caterpillars ou Pea, and magnified; 3 and 4, moth, nat. size
and magnified.

The caterpillars of this Moth cause the "worm-eaten"
or "maggoty" Peas often fomid in old pods when the
crop is matm'ing ; the insides are eaten away, and filled
mth and partly surromided by the excrement left by the
caterpillar.

In the account of the method of attack of what I
believe to be this Pea Moth, under the synonym of
Grapholitha nehritana, Tr., it is stated by Herr E. L.
Taschenberg that, at flowering-time, the Pea-plants
often swarm with these little moths as soon as the sun
has set ; the females lay as many as three eggs on one
young pod (or embryo seed-vessel) in the blossom ; after
about fom-teen days the young caterpillars creep out of
of the eggs, and pierce their way into the pod, where
they feed on the seed, — (E. L. T.)

These caterpillars or maggots are fleshy, and slightly
hairy ; scarcely more than a quarter of an inch in
length, and are generally yellowish in colour, with a
black head, a brown band on the ring next to the head,
and eight brown dots on most of the following rings.
They sometimes, however, vary in colour ; in some

132 PEAS.

specimens the head and the next rmg are brown, and
in some they are intensely black. The legs on the
three rings next to the head are black.

The caterpillars go down into the earth to change,
where they spin a cocoon (that is, a kind of egg-shaped
covering formed of silken threads drawn from the
mouth) in which they remain till spring, when they
tm-n to chrysalids, out of which the moths appear in
June.

The moths are rather more than half an inch in the
spread of the wings, satiny, and mouse-coloured. The
upper wings have a row of very short white streaks
directed backwards from the front edge, and have a
silvery oval ring with five short black lines inside it
placed near the hinder margin. — ('Farm Insects,' and
' Praktische Insekten-kunde.')

Prevention and Eemedies, — In gardens where, as a
rule, the greater part of the Peas are picked green,
a large number of the Pea Maggots are destroyed in
them, and a portion only are left to arrive at full
development in the pods that may be left hanging.
In such cases, thorough raking over of the ground, and
deep-digging of the same before winter, may be expected
to destroy most of those that have remained. — (E. L. T.)

In this way many of the maggots would be brought to
the surface and cleared off by birds, and the operations
of digging or trenching afterwards would bury a large
proportion of the rest so deeply that, even if the cater-
pillar was not killed, the moth when developed would
not be able to come up through the weight of earth.

Where maggot-attack is noticeable in the pods, the
Pea-haulm should be cleared away directly the crop is
gathered, so that all stray pods (which are very likely to
be infested) may be cleared off the ground before the
maggot can go down into it. This haulm should be
carefully destroyed at once ; the safest way is to burn it,
but it may be thrown into the stock-yard, or buried
beneath wet manure in the muck-heap ; only it should

PEA AND BEAN WEEVILS. 133

not on any account whatever be thrown merely aside :
the maggots will in that case go clown into the ground
beneath the rubbish-heap, whence the moths will come
up again next j^ear to infest the crops in the neighbour-
hood as before.

Alternation of crops, so that Peas should not be on
the same ground, or close to the same ground on which
they were grown the previous year, is a desirable means
of prevention.

It is mentioned that the moths have been noticed
swarming on the plants immediately after sunset ; at
this time there would often be dew, consequently any
dressing thrown along the rows of plants would adhere,
and any insect-deterrent chosen at the pleasure of the
cultivator might do good service in keeping off attack.
Quick-lime, soot, or any similar application, would be of
use ; or hellebore-powder might be used in this case, as
it would not come in contact with any part to be used as
food, and even the pod containing the future crop would
be at the time of attack still in embryo.

Pea and Bean Weevils. \^''''''' ^'"f^f ' J^j^^-

( ,, crimta, Olivier.

These Beetles are often very injurious to the Peas, as
well as to other leguminous crops, as Beans, Clover, &c.
The attacked crops may be known by the leaves being
scooped out at the edge, as figured. The beetles begin
their work at the edges of the leaves, and gradually eat
their way onwards, until, in bad attacks, nothing is
left but the central rib, or merely the leaf-stalk.

The beetles appear about the end of March, and
are numerous till May, when they may be observed
pairing. The female is after this period full of white,
somewhat transparent eggs, which, when in captivity,
she deposits freely on the surface of earth, leaves, or
even glass ; but I have never seen larvae produced from
eggs in these circumstances, and, as far as I am aware,

134

PEAS.

the natural place of deposit of the eggs and the history
of these weevils in then- early stages is still unknown.

The Striped Pea-Weevil, Sitona lineata, is of an
ochreous or light clay-colour, with three whitish or
ochreous stripes along the back, and with ten punctured
stripes alternately of a darker and lighter clay-colour
along the wing-cases ; the horns and legs are reddish.

1 and 2, S. crinita, nat. size and magnified ; 3 and i, S. lineata, nat. size
and magnified; 5, leaf notched by weevils.

The Spotted Pea-Weevil, Sitona crinita, differs from
the above in being rather smaller, and more of a grey or
rosy colour, with short hairs ; and in the wing-cases,
which have short bristly hairs down the fmTows, being
spotted with black.

The colours of the beetles are caused by the scales,
with which they are thickly covered, and therefore only
show well on fresh specimens ; after a while they get
rubbed off, and the black skin of the beetle appears in
patches.

These weevils feed by day, and shelter themselves in
the ground, under clods of earth or rubbish, at night.
They may be found, according to season, and the crops
there may be suitable for their food throughout the
summer ; but it needs some care in approach to see
them on the plant, as they drop down at the vibration of
a heavy step, and lie awhile as if dead. — ('Farm Insects.')

PEA AND BEAN WEEVILS. 135

Pkevention and Eemedies. — Pea-crops suffer most
from attacks of the weevil in their early stages of
gro^v1ih, as at this time the plants are tender and the
leafage 3'oung, and therefore more liable to injury ; also
the number of beetles that would do but little harm to a
fairly grown plant, soon destroy one with only a dozen
or so of leaves. It should be kept in view that a stunted
gi'owth, whether caused by the nature or method of
cultivation of the soil, or the character of the season,
increases the evil by keeping the plants back for a
longer time in this critical stage of growth.

To obviate these difficulties it is desirable to provide a
good seed-bed, friable, sufficiently moist, and rich in
available plant-food, which may be obtained to a certain
extent by Peas following Cabbage or root-crops in the
rotation.

In garden cultivation, besides the liberal supply of
manure needed to run on a healthy growth, it has been
found to answer well "to jput a little broken tm-f and
wood-ashes along the drill, sow the Peas on this, and
cover them with a little more of the same." — (J. S.)

A good depth of coal-ashes, placed at sowing-time
along the drills on a clayey loam, answered excellently ;
the Peas received all the air and moistm-e needed for
germination, and came up luxuriantly, the roots soon
taking good hold in the soil. — (Ed.)

This helps to obviate "caking" or "crust-hardening"
over the sprouting Peas, a matter that no agricultural
practice will quite counteract in the field where it is
caused by the nature of the soil ; something, however,
may be done by careful stirring between the rows.

The attacks of the weevils are noted as being worst in
dry weather, and (as they feed by day) good syringings
with water or any addition thought fit, such as would
make the plants distasteful to the beetles and encourage
healthy growth, would be serviceable.

It is noted that a dressing of lime or soot given to the
Peas (wetting them first to make it adhere) is an easily-
applied and generally effective remedy. — (M. D.)

136 PEAS.

During the night the weevils shelter in the ground or
under any convenient protection, so that any dressing
which was ohnoxious to the insects, hut not bad for the
plants, would be serviceable in diminishing the numbers
that crossed it on their upward journey in the morning.
Paraffin mixed with sand, mixtures of lime, gas-lime and
soot, &c., — as for Turnip Fly, for which see Index, —
would probably be very useful ; and well-prepared
ground, free from clods of earth which may act as
shelter to the beetles at night, or from any destructive
application, is also desirable.

These beetles infest Bean as well as Pea plants, but
the same treatment being applicable in either case, they
are only noticed here under the head of " Pea and Bean
Weevils," by which name (or shortly as " Pea Weevils")
they are described by John Curtis and by Prof. Westwood
in their papers published in the ' Journal of the Pioyal
Agricultural Society' and in the ' Gardener's Chronicle
and Agricultural Gazette.'

137

POTATOES.

Colorado Beetle. Dori/pJwra decemlineata, Say.

1 and 2, Colorado Beetle, maguified, and nat. size; 3, caterijillar ; 4, eggs.

This Beetle is not mentioned here as a "British
Injurious Insect," nor as one which (from the experience-
and knowledge of its life-history gained since 1877) can
be deemed likely to be injurious to a serious extent in
this country, but relatively to the precautions which it
was thought desirable to adopt by our own Government,
to prevent this fearful pest making good its footing
amongst om- Potatoes.

The eggs, figured above, are laid on the young shoots
or beneath the leaves of the Potato; the grubs are
orange or reddish, and change to pupae in the ground ;
and the beetles are also distinguishable by then- orange
colour and by having (besides a large black spear-shaped
mark on the back) ten black stripes on the wing-cases —
five stripes upon each.

The natural home of this destructive beetle is in the
Western States of America, and from Nebraska and
Iowa it travelled eastward, until, in 1876, it reached the

138 POTATOES.

eastern shores of America ; and in the autumn of 1877
specimens were found at Liverpool in a cattle-boat from
Texas, which were identified by Mr. And. Murray (who
■was despatched to investigate the matter officially) as
the "Colorado Beetle."

From what we now know^ of its life-history (as well as
from the fact that, though nearly four years have passed
since it was first certainly known to have appeared in
this country, it has as yet made no settlement) we may
reasonably believe that we are not likely to suffer from
its ravages. Nevertheless it is a subject for prudent
care, and, looking at the reprehensible custom that arose
of sending living specimens in letters from America to
this country by way of curiosities, we are probably
greatly indebted to the Government restrictions still in
force for saving us from constant difficulties and danger.

Prevention and Eemedies. — By an order in Council,

published in the supplement to the ' London Gazette,'
August 17, 1877, it is provided that — If the ow^ner of,
or any person having the charge of, any crop of Potatoes,
or other vegetable, or substance, finds or knows to be
found thereon the Colorado Beetle, in any stage of
existence, he shall with all practicable speed give notice
of the same to a constable of the Police establishment of
the locality (the duties of the Police are unnecessary to
be entered on) ; but it is further provided that it shall
not be lawful for any person to sell, keep, or distribute
living specimens of the Colorado Beetle in any stage,
and any person failing to do anything he is required by
this Order to do is for each offence liable to a penalty not
exceeding ten i^ounds.

The surest remedy for attack is the use of " Paris
Green," sometimes known as " Scheele's Green," a
preparation of arsenic, and consequently a dangerous
poison. This is procurable of all qualities at a price of
sixpence per pound upwards, and " may be used in
liquid suspension, in proportion of one tablespoonful
of pm-e green to a bucketful of water"; and sprinkled

POTATO FROG FLY.

139

over the plants by means of a watering-pot ; a special
apparatus arranged for carriage on a man's back ; or a
■water-cart with tube and rose attached, or in many other
ways, mixed with other substances, which it is unneces-
sary to enter on in detail.

Potato Frog Fly. Eux>teryx Solani, Curtis.

:=^

1 and 2, Eggs; 3 and 4, pupas ; 5 and 6, Frog Flies, nat. size and
magnified.

This insect feeds in all its stages by inserting its
sucker into the stem or leaf of the Potato, and drawing
out the sap.

The eggs (figured above) are white and spindle-shaped,
and are to be found upon the under side of the Potato-
leaves.

The larva, which is much like the parent Frog Fly in
shape, but without wings, is green when hatched, and is
furnished with six legs, two horns, and a sucker ; in the
next stage (the pupa) it is green, nearly as large as the
parents, but narrower; with black eyes, long black
horns, and a stout sucker, by means of which it feeds
until ready to change to the perfect insect. It then
fixes itself firmly by its six legs to a stalk or leaf, the
skin bursts along the back, and through the opening
the perfect insect creeps out, leaving the deserted case
standing as an empty insect- skin on the plant, or fallen
beneath it. This "Frog Fly" is bright green, fading to

140 POTATOES.

a yellow tint, with short horns, brown eyes, and four
iridescent wings less than a quarter of an inch in
expanse ; the upper pair glossy, somewhat rusty at the
tips, and twice as long as the body ; the lower pair
exceedingly delicate. The length of the insect is about
a twelfth of an inch.

The flies are very nearly allied to the common Cuckoo
Spit Fly (Tcttigonia sjnimaria), but they have not the
power, like the Cuckoo Spit or "Froth Fly," of secreting
a mass of frothy matter round them in their larval
stages. — (' Farm Insects.')

It does not appear that, as yet, this fly has been
noted as causing any serious mischief to Potatoes
needing prevention or remedy, but a short account of
the insect is given here for reference in case it should be
found that this species, as well as the Eupteryx jpicta,
is one of the kinds of Frog Flies that at times do much
damage to the Ho^ds.

Death's-Head Moth.

Sphinx atrojws, Linu.
Aclierontia atropos, Curtis.

The caterpillar of this moth is sometimes found in
great numbers feeding on Potato-leaves, but it seldom
does any serious amount of damage.

When full grown these caterpillars are of great size,
sometimes measuring four or five inches in length.
They are thick and fleshy, with a pair of feet on each of
the three segments behind the head, four pairs of sucker-
feet, and another pair set close together beneath the last
segment which act as claspers. Above this pair, on the
back of the caterpillar, is a protuberance like a tail or
horn, tubercled, and bent do"s\Tiwards, but turned up
again at the tip. The head is horny, and furnished
with strong jaws. The colour is generally yellow, or
greenish yellow, speckled with black on the back, with
seven slanting stripes of blue or lilac on each side ; the
upper end of these stripes form a kind of row of points,

DEATH S-HEAD MOTH.

141

where tliey meet along the back, the lower end pomts
forward, and is white or bordered b}^ a wdiite line. When
about to change, the caterpillar turns to a lurid yellowish
or reddish tint. It then goes down into the earth,
throws off its skin, and turns to a large chestnut-
coloured chrysalis. The caterpillars that change in
July come out as moths in September and October;
those that change in the autumn do not come out till
the following spring.

4^ v«s«a«iS»-^»-

Death's-Head Moth aud Cateriiillar.

The moth is the largest of the British kinds. The
spread of the wings is from four to five or even to six
inches. The fore wings are of a rich brown, varied with
yellowish or rusty tints, with black lines or cross-bands
much waved and zigzagged ; they have a pale or ochre-
coloured spot in the middle, and are sprinkled with
small white dots. The hind wings have the margin
slightly scooped out, and are bright orange, with two
brown or black bands, the outermost being broadest.

142 POTATOES.

The head is black ; the back has markmgs, in its thick
black velvety clown of pale ochre and orange colour,
exactly like a painting of a skull or death's head, whence
the name of the moth. The abdomen is yellow, with six
black bands across ; and a line or row of spots down the
centre, and the tip of the tail are of a bluish grey colour.

Where the eggs are laid does not appear to be noted.

When the moth is alarmed it makes a sharp squeaking
plaintive cry, not unlike the squeak of a mouse. It is
said to enter Bee-hives and rob the Bees of their honey,
whence the name sometimes given of Bee Tiger-Moth.

Pkevention and Eemedies. — The caterpillar usually
hides by day, and comes out in the evening or at night
to feed. If it should occur in sufficient numbers to
cause serious damage, it would be well for the owner of
the Potatoes, or some one interested in the matter, to go
through the field carefully at different times and ascertain
when these great grubs are feeding. From then' large
size they are distinguishable in the twilight of the
evening, or in a clear moonlight, so that, when it has
been made out at what time they are to be found, they
might be easily got rid of by hand-picking.

143

TUKNIPS.

Turnip Aphis.

Green Fly.

A2)his rapa, Curtis.

,, fioris-rapm, Curtis.
PiJiopcdosipJnon diantJii, Schrank.

1 — i, Aphis floris-raiJcv ; 5 — 8, Aphis rapce, nat. size and magnified.

This Aphis is common in the summer on many kinds
of plants, and is especially hm-tful to Potatoes, Turnips,
and Swedes. It is chiefly to be found on the under side
of the leaves, but sometimes occurs in such numbers
as to smother the plants ; and the vast swarms of Green
Fly which at times fill the air, as in the autumn of 1834
and in 1868, are believed to have been of this species.

The Aphis is very variable in appearance ; the wingless
viviparous female is usually of some shade of green, but
often of an ochreous-red in autumn ; the winged female
is usually black, with reddish yellow abdomen, striped
and spotted with black ; ochreous legs ; and wings yellow
at the base, with yellow main vein ; the insect is,

144 TURNIPS.

liowever, sometimes entirely black, ochreous, or green.
The variety Jloris-rapcs that is mentioned by Cm-tis as
found on flower-stalks of the Turnip, is described by him
as dull pale green, dusted with white. — (' Mon. of Brit.
Aphides ' ; ' Farm Insects.')

Prevention and Eemedies. — In garden cultivation,
some good may be done by copious syringings with such
applications as ammoniacal water, tobacco-water, and
soft soap, the strength of the application being pro-
portioned to what the leafage will bear. One part of
gas-water or ammoniacal liquor to ten or twelve of water
will kill Green Fly, but the strength of the liquor varies
so much that experiment is necessary to ascertain its
power.

A proportion of twenty-eight pounds of soft soap and
half a pound of tobacco are used with one hundred
gallons of water at an expense of i;2 2s. per acre as an
Aphis-wash in the Hop-gardens, this being applied by
means of garden-engines with double hose, worked by
three men. How far under the present arrangements
of field cultivation the mixture could be applied to the
crop at a remunerative cost, or whether it could be
applied at all to a field of Turnips, remains to be seen ;
but if it could be brought to bear it would be likely to be
beneficial.

One great difficulty in counteracting Aphis-attack
arises from the skin of the Aphis being often of such a
nature, or covered with a mealy secretion of such a
nature, as repels water, and consequently many of the
applications simply run oft' them, without doing us any
good. Such poisonous applications as will kill them,
either by caustic action at once, or lodging where they
must be imbibed, are of service ; and solutions of
common salt and of sulphate of soda have been stated to
be serviceable, but I have no details of proportion or
precise results, and, generally speaking, an adhesive
medium like soft soap, which may also be a vehicle
of some Aphis-poison, is the surest cure.

TURNIP FLY. 145

Fish-oil soft soap, expressly manufactured for appli-
cation in field cultivation, is procurable from the City
Soai3 Works, London, at the price of ten to twelve
shillings per firkin of sixty pounds.

Aphides multiply most quickly in dry weather, and on
plants which are sickly from drought, exhaustion by
insect-attack, or other causes ; so that all measures of
cultivation tending to produce vigorous healthy growth
are serviceable in counteracting attack ; and where cir-
cumstances allow of the application of liquid manure, or
of water to an extent to make the plant-food in the soil
available, and push on growth that otherwise was being
checked by drought, such treatment would be desirable.

Where new growth is not being made, and the juices
are being constantly abstracted by the Green Fty, the
plant necessarily fails, unless extra food is supplied to
start it forward.

When Aphis-attack is found to be beginning in garden
cultivation, it will be of service to break off infested
leaves, or remove the infested plants, taking care to
crush the leaves under foot, or destroy the Aphides at
once in any convenient way.

Various kinds of Titmice, and especially the Blue Tit, are
of service in destroj'ing Aphides; and the common Lady-
bird Beetles and their larvae feed on them voraciously.

There appears to be no further remedy for this and
other insects that prey on the Turnip-crop when advanced
to maturit}^ than eating off the crop by folding sheep upon
it: their treading and urine would exterminate every-
thing, and thus be of some service as a means of
prevention for next season.

Turnip Fly. j Phi/Ilotreta nemonun, Chevi'olat.
Flea Beetle. [Haltica nemorum, Curtis.

This is one of our most destructive kinds of farm-
insects. With regard to its appearance little need be
said; we all know" the small black shiny beetles to be

L

146

TUENIPS.

found in myriads, in fine sunny weather, gnawing holes
in the Turnip-leaves as long as they are undisturbed,
but skipping off as briskly as the fleas from which they
take one of then- names on being meddled with.

1 — 3, H. nemorum; 4 and 5, eggs; 6 — f), maggot; 10 and 11, jiupa;
all nat. size and magnified.

When viewed in the hand or under a magnifying glass,
some difference may be found in their size and marking.
One of the largest and commonest kinds (JI. nemorum)
has a broad yellow stripe down each wing-case ; another
kind {H. concinna) is brassy, with a tooth on the second
and hinder pairs of legs ; another kind is black, and
dark blue above ; another is of a brighter blue above ;
but these are (as far as we know) alike in their method
of living, in the harm they do, and the way in which
they do it. The same methods of prevention or cure
apply alike to all; and as it is almost impossible to
distinguish them unless they are caught, and also as,
however much they may vary in marking, still they are
all " Turnip Fly," which is the point of view in which we
are concerned with them here. I have only named two
species, and refer the reader who wishes for further
information regarding the different kinds to the ' Farm
Insects ' of John Curtis.

TURNIP FLY. 147

During winter the Turnip Fly Beetles may be found
sheltered under bark, fallen leaves, clods of earth, and
the like places ; also amongst stubble, and especially in
heaps of long strawy manure left on the fields ; and on
particularly fine days they may be seen coming out to
sun themselves.

On the return of spring warmth they begin work, and,
till the crops are ready for them, are especially to be
found on weeds of the same family as the Turnip and
Cabbage, such as Charlock, Shepherd's Purse, and Jack-
by-the-Hedge.

When the attack begins on the Turnip the female lays
her eggs, which are few in number, for successive days
on the under side of the rough leaf. The maggots,
which hatch from these in ten days, are white or
yellowish, fleshy, and cylindrical; with three pairs of
feet in front, and a sucker-foot at the end of the tail.
The head is furnished with cutting jaws, and has large
dark eyes. Directly they are hatched they gnaw through
the lower skin into the pulp of the leaf, and make their
way onwards, forming winding burrows inside it. Here
they feed for about six days, then they come out and
bury themselves (keeping near the Turnip) not quite two
inches deep in the ground, when they turn into the
chrysahs stage, from which the " Turnip Fly" or "Flea
Beetle" comes up in about fourteen days.

It is in this state that the so-called "Fly" does most
mischief. It gnaws the seed-leaves, and the young
l^lant when it first springs, and thus often totally
destroys it ; and also gnaws the rough leaves, forming
large holes through the leaf.

There may be five or six broods in a season. — (' Farm
Insects.')

Prevention and Eemedies. — The points that need
particular attention are, 1st, clearing off such weeds as
the fly feeds on till the Turnips are ready for it ; 2nd,
such a method of cultivation and manuring as shall give
a fine, deep, clean, and moist seed-bed, rich in available

148

TURNIPS.

plant food, so that a healthy and rapid growth may be
promoted and all pomts of shelter or harbourage for the
"Fly" be reduced to the lowest limit; 3rd, available
means of applying moisture in dry seasons ; 4th, appli-
cations and special treatment to destroy the fly when it
is badly infesting a crop.

With regard to weeds : — The fly frequents wild plants
of the Cabbage tribe, as Shepherd's Purse, Jack-by-the-
Hedge, and is especially fond of Charlock. It has been
observed as unusually numerous where this weed has been
plentiful in the previous year, and also to spread (as
from a centre) to the neighbouring crops from a
Charlock-infested field. It is often supported in the
spring by these or other weeds till the Turnips are
large enough for it to attack, and therefore means
should be taken to get rid of them beforehand from the
autumn stubbles. In the case of Charlock a double
turn of the harrow over the stubble is of use, small
weeds may be cleared by broad-sharing ; the seeds are
thus covered sufficiently to induce immediate germination,
a,nd the sprouting weeds as w^ell as roots in the soil will
be cleaned by the regular processes of cultivation further
on. Waste spots of land and hedge-sides should also be
attended to ; the first is often overrun with Shepherd's
Purse; the second is often infested with the tall, large-
leaved, onion-like smelling plant with white flowers, the
shape of the Charlock-blossom, known as " Jack-by-the-
Hedge."

A deep cultivation that will turn down weeds and
destroy insects is very serviceable, and care should be
taken that all manure from the yards or sheds should be
completely buried. Any long strawy lumps left on the
surface will shelter the fly, and from these it will come
out to the destruction of the crop.

Plentiful rolling, harrowing, and other means of
securing a fine seed-bed are also desirable, both that
the ground may be in a state to push on a good growth,
and also that the surface may be free of harbourage.

"'Where clods prevail,
Turnips fail."

TUllNIP FLY. 149

The three requisites for healthy germination are,
warmth, moisture, and some amount of air ; and it is
only hy securing these that a rapid and healthy
development of the plant can be obtained. It has
therefore been recommended, when the surface is prepared
for drilling, to leave it undisturbed for three weeks ;
also, on the other hand, when partly-rotted farm-manure
is ploughed-in in spring, to sow immediately. In each
case the reason is the same, that is, to secure the
moisture in the ground ; in one instance by not opening
the pulverized earth more than can be helped, and in the
other by putting the seed above the half-rotted dung
before the moisture and warmth accompanying decompo-
sition has gone from it.

The Turnip requires moisture, and it is of great
importance to run on a healthy growth by furnishing it
with a sufficient supply, joined to a liberal application
of ammoniacal and phosphate manures, as well as farm-
yard manure.

, For these reasons watering the ground in garden
cultivation, and the use of the water (or liquid manure)
drill in dry v>reather is very serviceable. This makes
the food round the plant available at once, and where
the seed is put in with artificial manure, as " Peruvian
guano," superphosphate of lime, or whatever may be
known to answer, gives it a good start.

The first difficulty in Turnip culture is the fly eating
up the crop bodily whilst still in the seed-leaf, therefore
anything that will run it quickly and healthily through
this stage is a point gained ; nothing will do this better
than a well-prepared soil, with sufficient moisture to
enable the Turnips to have the benefit of it.

Thick sowing up to eight or ten pounds per acre is
advised by various growers, who state that thus, in case of
hot dry weather, the plants will thrive better for the pro-
tection they give to each other (being thus moderately damp,
with the roots shaded), and that some may be reckoned on
to escape the fly. This, however, needs careful looking
to, or the result will only be a worthless drawn growth.

150 TURNIPS.

The use of the horse-hoe is advised both before and
after the seed comes up, and its frequent use aftenvards
is strongly insisted on.

Where water can be supplied in a season of drought
to the young growing crop by a water-cart, or any other
means, it will be very serviceable. In an instance noted
where the plant was thus saved, the cost was fifteen
shillings per acre. Here there was water at both ends
of the held.

In garden cultivation watering would probably always
pay; in field cultivation this would depend on local
facilities.

With regard to Swedes, it has been found, from the
preference of the fly for the White Turnip, that if the
seed is mixed in the proportion of one quarter White to
three-quarters Swede, or again, if one drill of White is
put in at intervals amongst the Swedes, that the fly
will be attracted to the White, and thus allow the
Swedes to get well ahead. This plan was found to
answer well by several years' experience in East Lothian
and elsewhere.

With regard to direct applications to destroy the fly,
it should be borne in mind that very much depends on
the time of day and the state of the weather when these
applications are made.

The Turnip "Fly" is active in bright dry weather;
and wiien the thermometer stands at 75° in the shade, it
has been observed on the wing in great numbers : when
the weather, on the contrary, is cold and wet, it is
sluggish ; and in rain or heavy dew these beetles cannot
leap, from the moisture clogging their legs, and thus
preventing the powerful springs with which they
customarily leap out of the way of attack.

This circumstance has much to do with the very
different success, in different circumstances, of exactly
the same remedy. A dressing that is put on early in
the morning, w^hilst the dew is still heavy on the plant,
has a very different effect to what it has either on a
morning that is dewless or in the middle of the day,

TURNIP FLY. 151

"when the fly lias every chance to protect itself under
clods of earth, &c., before the dressing reaches it; and,
though the reason is not given, the advice is constantly
the same in observations on remedies — (ii)p^y wliilst the
dew is on.

Eolling with a light roller as early as 2 or 3 o'clock on
a dewy morning has been found to succeed well in bad
attack during very hot and sunny weather.

Where the nature and condition of the soil permits,
it has been found a good remedy, in attack of "Fly" as
well as of Turnip Sawfly, to drive a flock of sheep over
the attacked field very early in the morning, whilst the
dew is still on the leaf. The sheep must be kept in
motion, that they may not feed on the Turnips, and well
up in a body, so as to tread the whole of the ground,
which should be taken on successive days where there is
a large extent to avoid injury to the sheep, as they must
be kept moving. In one case noted the extent of
ground was thirty-seven acres, and from four to five
hundred sheep were driven over ; and the cure of a bad
attack was satisfactor3\ — (R. T.) The locality was a
high-lying spot, with warm exposure in a chalk district,
and probably it is only on a light or sandy soil that this
remedy is applicable ; on clay soils, or such as approach
to a plastic character, it would be hazardous, if not
simpl}' destructive.

With regard to dressings when the fly is present : —
Soot, lime, road-dust, and others of the usual applications
have been found useful, and may all be serviceable if
applied when the dew is on; but the remedy that
appears the best proved is the one noted by Mr. Fisher
Hobbs as having never failed during the eight years in
which he made use of it. I give the recipe and passage
at length from his statement made before the Council of
the Eoyal Agricultural Society, quoted in the ' Gardeners'
Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette' for May 28, 1859,
p. 473 :—

" One bushel of white gas-ashes " (gas-lime) "fresh from
the gas-house, one bushel of fresh lime from the kiln.

152 TUKNIPS.

six pounds of sulphur, and ten pounds of soot, well
mixed together and got to as fine a powder as possible,
so that it may adhere to the young plant. The above is
sufficient for two acres, when drilled at twenty-seven
inches. It should be applied very early in the morning
when the dew is on the leaf, a broadcast machine being
the most expeditious mode of distributing it ; or it may
be sprinkled with the hand carefully over the rows. If
the fly continues troublesome, the process should be
repeated ; by this means two hundred to two hundred
and twenty acres of Turnips, Swedes and Eape have
been grown on my farm annually for eight or nine years
without a rod of ground losing plants. The above is a
strong dressing to be used when the fly is very numerous,
and has never failed when applied at night. Numerous
experiments have been tried, and amongst them I

recommend the following in ordinary cases

Fourteen pounds of sulphur, one bushel of fresh lime,
and two bushels of road-scrapings per acre, mixed
together a few days before it is used, and applied at
night, either by means of a small drill or strewed along
the rows by hand. I have known sulphur mixed with
water applied in a liquid state by means of water-
carts during the night, and the horse-hoe immediately
following the water-cart. This has succeeded admirably."
-(F. H.)

The quantity that has been written on the matter of
prevention of fly is enormous, but all the notes show
that care should be directed especially to, 1st, cleaning
the ground ; 2nd, preparing, by good cultivation and
plenty of manure, to push on the growth healthily;
3rd, sufficient moisture, and a supply of water (where
this can reasonably be given), in case of the weather
being too dry for the Turnip-growth to run on properly
without ; 4th, all dustings, dressings, &c., should take
place when the dew is on the leaf, and the fly exposed to
them, not in bright sunshine.

For further information, the reader is referred to the
papers from which this sketch has mainly been taken,

TURNIP LEAF-MINERS.

153

namely, the ' Farm Insects ' of John Curtis ; a paper
"On the use of the Water Drih," hy A. S. Kuston,
'Journal of the Eoyal Agricultural Society,' 1859; the
paper ahoye-mentioned by Mr. Fisher Hobbs ; and
obseryations recorded by agriculturists too numerous
to quote indiyidually, given in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle
and Agricultural Gazette,' and also by observers recorded
in the yearly ' Reports on Injurious Insects.'

Turnip Leaf-miners.
Black Leaf-miner. Ph>jtoi)i>/za ni;iriconiis, Macquart.
Yellow „ Drosophila ? Jiava, Fallen.

P. nigriconiis, nat. size and magnified ; pupa ; and leaf, with minings.

The Turnip-leaf is attacked by the maggots of two
kinds of two-winged flies {Diptera), which, from their
method of clearing away the substance of the leaves in
galleries, are known as miners.

The Black-horned Leaf-miner, figured above, is a very
small ^x, only about the twelfth of an inch long, of a
slate black or ash-colour, with an ochreous head,
dark horns, and wings pale slate-colour ; its maggot
works beneath the skin of the under side of the Turnip-
leaf so regularly that tracks are not seen on the upper
side. The grub changed to pupa in the leaf, from which
the fly came out in a few days, in the instance noted.

154

TURNIPS.

The other Leaf-miner is also a small two-winged fly,
about the twelfth of an inch long — scientifically a
Drosophila ; the colour is generally ochreous, the face
white, and the wings yellowish. The maggot is of a
pale green colour, and is as constant in its habit of
burrowing under the skin of the upper side of the
Turnip-leaf as the other is in keeping to the under side.

D. i flat' a. — 1, blistered leaf; 2 ami •'!, inagLTdt; 4 and 5, pupa;
(j and 7, tlj-, nat. size and magnitied.

It also differs (or occasionally differs) in leaving
the leaf when full fed, and either remaining on the
ground or going down into it to turn to pupa. These
pupa or fly-cases are in both instances brown or
chestnut-colour. The blisters are disfiguring to the
leaves, but are not noted as ever occurring in such
quantities as to cause any serious damage requiring
prevention or remedy. — (' Farm Insects.')

Turnip Moth.
Common Dart Moth.

Noctua [Agrutis) ser/etum, Ochsen.

The caterpillars of this Moth are destructive to
Turnips, Cabbage, Mangold Wurzel, Carrots, Eadish,
Corn, Grasses, &c. ; in fact they seem to feed on any
plant that is not too hard for them to gnaw.

COMMON DART MOTH. 155

The egg is laid during the summer, as early as June
or towards autumn, and the caterpillars hatch in about
a fortnight.

These, when full grown, are about an inch or an inch
and a half long, nearly as thick as a goose-quill, and
smooth, with a few hairs ; of a pale smoky colour, but
sometimes pinkish, or purplish brow^n, and with two
dark lines along the back and one along each side ;
these lines, however, are not always distinct. The head
is a pale dingy brow^n, much narrower than the next
ring, and is stretched out on a plane with the body.

Moth and caterpillnr.

When first hatched, the caterpillars appear to feed
chiefly above ground, choosing the part of the plant just
at the surface of the earth (between the root and stem),
and, thus gnawing off the tops, they destroy the crop to
a serious extent ; as they grow stronger they go further
down, and generally remain wholly underground or only
come up at night to feed. Whilst the plants are young
the caterpillars feed on those near them, going on to
others as food gets short, gnawing off the tops as above
mentioned, or feeding on the leaves, which, after having
cut through the leaf-stalks, they drag partly down into
their burrows, to be eaten during the day. When the
Turnips are formed, the caterpillars establish themselves
inside the bulbs, and as many as twelve may be found
in one Tm-nip ; these gnaw large holes and cavities,

156 TURNIPS.

sometimes going completely througli from one side
to the other, and continue to feed there till the bulb
is consumed, or till they have to leave it on account of
frost or some other cause.

According to circumstances of climate, &c., they feed
during the winter, or pass it in cells formed in the earth,
coming out to feed again in the early spring. In May
or June they turn to smooth brown chrysalids in the
ground, from which the moth appears in about a
month.

This moth has the fore wings of a pale grey ground
colour in the male, dark umber-brown in the female,
with various markings, as figured ; the hind wings are
pearly white, clouded towards the hinder edge in the
female, and with dark rays. The colour of the body
(including the abdomen) varies, like the ground colour
of the fore wings, with the sex ; it is lighter in the males
than in the females.

It is not fully ascertained whether there are one or two
broods of this moth in the year. — (' Brit. Moths,' ' Farm
Insects,' &c.)

Prevention and Eemedies. — These are not easy to
find. In garden cultivation something may be done,
where a plant is found to have had its head gnawed off,
by turning up the soil close to it, and destroying the
caterpillar, which will very likely be found an inch or
two below the surface. If not removed, it will certainly
go on and destroy another or more plants the following
night, and continue so doing ; so that the work of
removal will probably pay.

It is stated to be a regular part of cultivation in some
of our Cabbage-growing districts, in attacks of this kind,
to put on a number of workers to dig down round the
suspected plants, and thus turn out the grubs and
destroy them.

Watering the ground with any special application does
not seem of use, as the grub is perfectly well able to go
down deeper, and so get out of the way of annoyance.

COMMON DART MOTH. 157

Tobacco-water is, however, said to kill all the cater-
pillars that it touches, and if this is the case, it might be
useful as a watering applied overhead to the plants (of a
strength tested relatively to safety of the foliage) at
night, as soon as the caterpillars are out at feed on the
leaves.

In the case of Cabbages where the roots were attacked,
the treatment of applying a handful of soot round the
stem of each of the plants and earthing them up
immediatel}" has saved the crop, and been followed by a
good growth ; this would do good by encouraging the
growth when only a part of the roots had been hurt, and
it would be ver}^ likely to keep the caterpillar from coming
up through it to attack the plant.

We thus have some hold over night-feeding grubs, for
(when the plant is once clear of them) if we can find
anj^thing to put round the stem that they will not come
up through, or walk over, and that will not hurt the plant,
we can keep it clear from their attack.

Gas-lime would do a great deal of good in this way.
It is an excellent means of keeping off attack, and w^hen
put carefull}^ by hand in a narrow^ ring round the stem
of an infested plant has been found to answer well.
The amount that is safe would vary with the age of the
plant and time of exposure of the gas-lime to the air,
but in the case of half-grown kale and gas-lime about
two months from the works, a ring about as thick as a
finger round (but not against the stem) is quite safe.

The mixture of gas-lime, &c., found serviceable by
Mr. Fisher Hobbs as a remedy for Turnip Fly (see
p. 151) would also be worth trying as a remedy for the
" surface caterpillars."

Something may be done by hand-picking the cater-
pillars that are hidden under clods of earth, stones, &c.,
during the day, and the operation has been recommended
for clearing the plants at night ; but this is so very
troublesome it seems a rather doubtful expedient.

With regard to field cultivation, as the caterpillars
feed on almost all plants that are soft enough to gnaw,

158 TURNIPS.

and are voracious eaters, it is of great service to clear
the ground of all plants some time before the new crop
is sown. In districts where catch-cropping prevails, the
land onght to be ploughed and cultivated so as to be
cleared of all food for these grubs for (say) a fortnight
before the Turnips are sown ; the caterpillars will thus
(as far as observations go) have either been literally
starved out or — as they are very active when in search of
food — will have strayed away to find it elsewhere.

The chief means of prevention, however, with this
caterpillar appears to be the encouragement of the birds
that especially feed on it. The Crow, Eaven, Jackdaw,
and Magpie are all said to be useful, but the great
helpers are the Eook and the Partridge. The Eook
works down into the earth with his bill, the Partridge
turns out the grub by scratching, and where (as well
j)ointed out by the late Edward Newman) we increase
the quantity of any special crop so as to attract any
special insect, and at the same time allow the birds
which feed on those insects to be destroyed, we can
hardly fail to suffer severely. — (' Brit. Moths,' ' Farm
Insects,' Ed., &c.)

Diamond-back
Turnip Moth.

' Cerostoma xylostella, Curtis.
Plutella xylostella, Doiibleday.
,, (syn.) cruciferarum.

The caterpillar of this Moth seldom does much damage,
but in 1851 it appeared in enormous quantities in
England and Ireland, in some cases almost clearing the
attacked crop. It feeds on the leaves of Turnips and
Swedes, and occasionally on Cabbage. This caterpillar
is about half an inch long and spindle-shaped (that is,
gradually tapering towards the head and tail), of a pale
green colour, with the head rather yellower, or grey ; it
has a pair of short-jointed feet on each of the three rings
next to the head, and the foremost of these rings has a

DIAMOND-BACK TURNIP MOTH.

159

number of small black spots ; the two next have each
two yellowish spots on the back.

As many as two hundred and forty of these caterpillars
have been counted on a single plant of moderate size.
They gnaw the leaves away down to the veins, and, where
the attack is bad, clear off these afterwards so as utterly
to destroy the crop.

Moth (nat. size and magnified), caterpillar and cocoon.

TMien full fed they spin a cocoon of threads on the
remains of the Turnip-leaves or on the ground, formed
of such open network that the chrysalis can be seen
through it. In the specimens observed this light cocoon
was left open at each end, so as to allow the chrysalis to
leave its old caterpillar-skin outside at one end, and the
moth (on coming out of the chrysalis) to escape at the
other.

The chrysalis is greyish white, with several black
streaks down the back and sides. The moth hatches
from it in about ten to eighteen days, and to the naked
eye appears not unlike the Clothes-moth. When
magnified it will be seen (as figured above) that the
fore wings are long and narrow, with several pale spots
on the fore edge, and a white or ochreous stripe along
the hinder edge, this stripe being waved so that when
the moth is at rest the two edges of the wings laid flat
along the back form a row of pale diamond-shaped
markings, whence the name of "Diamond-back Moth."

160 TURNIPS.

The hinder -wings have a very long fringe. There
appear to be a succession of broods, as the moth is
observable from the end of June until October. — (' Farm
Insect&j' and J. 0. W., in ' Gard. Chron. and Ag. Gazette.')

Prevention and Eemedies. — This caterpillar is too
small to be conveniently got rid of by hand-picking, and,
as it feeds chiefly beneath the leaves, it is thereby
protected from most attempts to injure it ; so that hot
lime, soot, and salt have all been tried without more
than partial success.

Something more effective might possibly be done
(as with Turnip Sawfly) hj taking a scuffler between the
rows with a bough of Fir or Broom fixed so as to sweep
the grubs off the leaves. From the habit of these
caterpillars of throwing themselves down and hanging
by their threads on being alarmed, many would be so
thoroughly swept away that they could not get back
again. In bad cases of attack, it would be worth while
to try this plan rather than have the whole crop
destroyed ; or it might answer to send a man and boy
through the field, one with a bough to sweep with, the
other with soot or (in careful hands) with gas-lime, to
throw under the plants on the fallen grubs. Again, the
mixture mentioned at p. 151, of gas-lime, lime, and soot,
would be safe in all hands, do good to the plants, and be
very bad for the caterpillars.

The growth that this or any other suitable manure
would cause would be very favourable. In the severe
attack of this caterpillar in 1851, it was observed that
the "growing rains" towards the latter part of July
saved some of the crops ; also that in those badly
attacked the hoed and singled portions perished, whilst
in the parts not hoed enough was saved for about half a
crop.

This caterpillar rarely occiu's, but when it does is apt
— unless prompt measures are taken — to sweep the crop
fairly away.

HEAET AND DAET MOTH.

161

Heart and Dart Moth. Xoctua {Juj-otis) exclawationis, Linu.

^loth, caterpillar, and chrysalis in earth-cell.

The caterpillars of this Moth live during the day just
under the surface of the earth, or beneath clods, stones,
loose rubbish, and such like places ; and from this
peculiar habit they (as well as a few other very destructive
kinds) are commonly known as "surface cater^nllars.''
They curl themselves up when disturbed, can walk fast,
and can bury themselves in a few seconds ; they come
out in the evening and feed during the night, passing
from one plant to another and gnawing the leaves off at
the crown, so as to do far more mischief than those that
only eat straightforwards at one spot.

This caterpillar is about an inch and a half long when
full grown, of a dull lilac colour, with a paler stripe down
the back, having one dark line along each edge, and a
double one along the centre of the back. Beneath it is
whitish green ; the head is brown, with black jaws, and
the first ring of the body behind the head is horny and
brown above ; all the other rings have little tubercles on
them, each tubercle having a short hair growing out of
it. The caterpillar is flatfish and has little power of
holding on with its feet, so that it readily falls when the
plant is shaken. When full fed it forms a cell in the
earth in which it changes to a rust-coloured chrysalis,

M

162 TURNIPS.

from which the moth comes out in June of the following
year, or sometimes a little earlier.

The moth is of a clay- colour, with markings as at
fig. 1 ; the spot hehind the head is black ; the upper
wings are dark towards the front edge ; the under wings
in the male are white, with the upper margin and nerves
brownish ; in the female the under wings are dark
brown. — (' Farm Insects,' and ' Gard. Chron. and Ag.
Gazette,' 1844.)

Prevention and Eemedies. — The moth may be seen
towards the close of day, flying about neglected weedy
spots, and the caterpillar may be found during the day
under clods of earth, rubbish, &c., as mentioned above ;
therefore clearing away weeds and useless encumbrances
on the ground is of great service.

The caterpillar comes out at night, and therefore
hand-picking at night does good ; but probably the
application of waterings, or dressings, of anything
offensive or injurious to the caterpillars, would be a
much better plan.

Watering the infested ground with gas- water has been
found effective in destroying these grubs. A thick coat
of soot dug into the surface is of service ; also it has
been found (as with the caterpillars of the Turnip Moth)
that when Cabbage and Cauliflower-plants are going off
with these grubs, scattering a handful of soot round
each plant and earthing it up will make it throw out
fresh healthy root-fibres, and the plants will recover and
do perfectly well.

This treatment is worth noting, for here, as with
several other kinds of caterpillar-attack, the plant dies,
oiot from being eaten up, but simply from starvation.
The grub or caterpillar goes wandering from plant to
plant, gnawing and injuring numbers successively so
that they cannot draw up their full supply of food ; and
if soot or any other material is api)lied that drives away
these creatures, and acts as a stimulant to the plant, it
will often save the crop. The grubs grow quickly and

TURNIP SAWFLY.

163

require so much food that the plants fail quickly under
their attack ; as soon, therefore, as a plant is seen to be
flagging, the roots should be examined, and, if the
caterpillar is there, treatment should be applied. Guano
is a very useful application in such cases, as it is good
for plant-life, and often injurious to insect-life ; but it
should be borne in mind that, as soon as the presence of
the grub is discovered, the remedy should be applied
at once.

In this instance, as with others of the surface cater-
pillars, thorough cultivation of the ground, so as to
clear it of weeds on wdiich the grubs may live before a
new crop is put in, and a thorough turning over of the
soil, so as to bring as many as possible of the grubs
to the surface where they will be picked up by birds ;
and, generall}^ to put the soil in a state favourable to
the in-coming crop, is very important.

Turnip Sawfly. Athalia spinarum, Fabricius.

Caterpillai's, pupa, and puj^a-case. Sawfly, magnilied, with Hues
showiusr nat. size.

The caterpillars of this Sawfly, which are known
under various names, as "Blacks," "Black Palmers,"
"Niggers," &c., ajppear from time to time in very large

164 TURNIPS.

numbers, and do serious damage, sometimes clearing
the leafage of a whole field of Turnips, excepting such of
the veins as are too hard to be eaten, in the course of a
few days.

Taking the dates of some attacks which are especially
recorded, we find them noticed in 1756, 1760, 1782,
1806, 1818, 1833, 1835, and the following years up to
1838 ; in 1782 it was estimated that about two-thirds of
the Turnip-ground in Norfolk had consequently to be
ploughed and re-sown ; but the worst attack recorded took
place in the dry summer of 1835, when the injury to the
Turnips extended as far north as Durham ; and in the
southern counties, from Somerset to Kent, the crop was.
a failure, the second and even the third sowing being
devoured by these "niggers."

The Turnip Sawflies which produce these caterpillars,
are dull and torpid in moist and cloudy weather, but
they thrive and fly actively in warmth and sunshine ;
and it is during the period when the sunshine is hottest.
that pairing takes place.

The eggs are laid one by one in small slits cut for
them in the leaf by the saw-like ovipositor of the female
(from which apparatus the Sawflies are named) ; and
the eggs are very numerous, one female laying from two
to three hundred.

These eggs hatch in about five days, or less in warm
weather, but take more than twice that time if the
weather is damp and cold. The grubs begin to feed
immediately on coming out of the eggs, and are at first
usually of a greenish white colour; afterwards they
become jet-black, with a paler stripe on each side, and
when nearly full-grown they are slate-colour and pale
beneath, in addition to the pale stripe just mentioned.
Before their first change of skin (or moult) they cling
to the leaf, and, if disturbed, let themselves down by a
thread and go back again up it at pleasure ; afterwards
they fall down, having no power to spin threads at this
stage of growth, and remain awhile as if dead, and then,
crawl back again up the stems to the leaves.

TUBNIP SAWFLY.

165

These caterpillars have in all twenty-two feet, con-
sisting of a pair of "true feet," horny, and furnished
with claws on each of the three segments next the head ;
a pan* of "sucker-feet" (fleshy cylindrical masses by
which the caterpillar can hold fast at pleasure) on each
of the succeeding eight segments, excepting the fourth
from the head, and another pair of sucker-feet at the
end of the tail — thus having only one segment, besides

Sawfly caterpillars destroying Turnip-leaf.

the head, unfurnished with feet. They greatly enjoy
being exposed to the full heat of the sun. When full
grown, which is in about three weeks, they go down into
the earth, spin a silken cocoon, which is smooth and
white inside, but not easily distinguishable from the
earth, which sticks to it externally; and from these
cocoons the Sawflies come out in about three weeks in
the early summer, and are ready to lay eggs and start a

166 TURNIPS.

new attack immediately. Later in the season, three
months pass before the caterpillars turn to chrysalids,
and many of the autumn brood are believed to remain
in the cocoons during the winter, and not to change
to chrysalids (and thence to Sawflies) till the next spring.

These flies are very pretty, of a bright orange, with a
deeper reddish colour just behind the black head ; the
four transparent wings are netted over with veins, and
are yellowish towards the base ; the legs are stout and
short, with the shanks hairy ; and the feet are whitish,
with the tips of the joints and all of the lowest joint, as
well as the claws on it, black.

The mischief caused by these flies when they occur in
large numbers is simply overwhelming, and often (in
such cases) only ceases with the total destruction of the
crop, in consequence of the voracious appetites of the
grubs and the rapid succession of broods. For further
details of the enormous quantities in which they have
been recorded as appearing in various places, the
swarms in which they pass from one spot to another,
and much valuable information too long to be entered on
here, the reader is referred to the account (from which
the above note is abridged) given by John Curtis in his
' Farm Insects.'

Prevention and Eemedies. — The best of these are to
be found by looking at the habits of the grubs.

If these grubs or caterpillars are disturbed whilst they
are changing their skins, which happens every six or
seven days during the three weeks in which they
continue feeding in grub form, they die ; for if they
loose hold with the pair of feet at the tip of the tail
during this operation they cannot fix them again, con-
sequently they have nothing they can pull against to
drag themselves out of the old tight skin, and therefore
they perish in it. Also — as mentioned above — if alarmed,
they drop from the leaf, and after the first few days
they have no power of spinning a thread, consequently
have some difficulty in getting back again.

TURNIP SAWFLY. 167

Looking at these points, it has been found useful to
dislodge the grubs by sweeping the Turnip-leaves with
boughs of light leafage or twigs, such as Fir, Furze, or
Broom.

Many different ways are noted — such as fastening the
boughs on a cart-rope, held by a man at each end, which
thus may be dragged along so as to brush the Turnips ;
or fixing them to a bar supported by two wheels so that
the boughs may lightly sweep the leaves as they pass
over them ; or again, fixing a good-sized Fir-branch or
bunch of Broom in front of a scuffler, and thus, whilst
the blades do their regular work, the branches sweep
down the grubs, many of which are killed or do not come
up again.

In slight attacks, it is of use for a man to brush the
plants with a light bough, and in this case the grubs
can be stamped on, or lime or soot thrown on them, and
also over the leaves, which w^ill do something towards
protection.

It is also stated to have been found serviceable to
drive sheep through an infested field. The passage of
the sheep distm-bs the caterpillars, many of which fall
from the leaves and are trodden under foot ; but the
desirableness of the remedy is somewhat doubtful
(especially on lieaA^y land), excepting in very extreme
cases of attack.

When the attack is bad the Turnips should not on any
account be hoed or thinned (the grubs will thin them
only too much), and, if left alone, enough may escape
for a crop ; also the hoeing does not hurt the SawHies or
their grubs to any useful degree, and the pests from the
destroyed plants will move on so as to be in double force
on the remaining part of the crop.

Thick- sowing is of advantage against Sawfiy, as well
as against the common Turnip Fly, both for the reason
just given of some part of the crop escaping, and also
because the Sawfiy likes sunshine and dryness. Where
the leaves are plentiful there is more moisture and
shade, and these parts are safer from attack ; and also

168 TURNIPS.

in the hot dry seasons in which these Sawflies thrive the
thicker vegetation will help on the plant, which loves
moisture.

For these reasons — that is, a plentiful supply of
moisture being needed for the proper growth of the
Turnip-plant, and moisture being prejudicial to the
Sawfly — thorough watering with liquid manure by means
of the water-cart on a dull day, or after sunset, would be
most beneficial. It would stimulate the growth of the
plant, and destroy many of the caterpillars by washing
them off the leaves into the wet soil. A dull day for the
watering, or a time when the sun is not shining, is
desirable) to avoid a sudden chill, which would be bad for
the leafage), or the sunshine burning spots where the
water might have run together in drops, on the leaves.

In all attacks on leafage it is of the utmost importance
to keep up the strength of the plant ; the damage done
is by the grubs destroying what for its own vegetable
uses are in fact its breathing and digestive organs. It
cannot live without its leaves, and if a larger portion of
these are eaten off each day than is replaced by growth,
it fails just in that proportion. By the application in
moist weather of nitrogenous or ammoniacal manure, or
by watering with liquid manure in drought, a plentiful
supply of food is brought to bear at once, and thus we
may possibly tide the plants over the difficulty and save
the crop within the bounds of remunerative outlay. —
(' Notes of Observations of Injurious Insects,' ' Farm
Insects,' &c.)

Turnip Gall Weevil. Ceutorhynchus sxdcicoUis, Stephens.

This Weevil is injurious to Swede and White Turnips
by causing the growth of knobs or galls on the surface of
the bulbs, similar to those that it causes on the roots of
Cabbage.

On opening these knobs one or more maggots will be
found inside, of the same species as those in the Cabbage,

TURNIP GALL WEEVIL.

169

but commonly of a yellowish colour when they are
feeding inside galls of the Swede Turnip. As the habits
of this Weevil in its various stages, and also its power of

1 — 5, Gall with maggots nat. size and magnified; 6 and 7, Weevil,
nat. size and magnified; 8, leg of Weevil, magnified.

endurance of cold in the maggot state, appear to be the
same whether it feeds on Cabbage or Turnip, the reader
is referred for the life-history to the notes of Cabbage
Gall Weevil, p. 41.

Prevention and Remedies. — These galls are rarely
numerous enough to injure the Turnip, and commonly
the soft juicy swellings do not lessen the quantity of
nutritive material in the bulb to an important amount ;
still they are better away.

Clean cultivation and regular rotation of crops is a
means of keeping the attacks of the weevil in check, and
good dressings of chalk and lime are excellent pre-
ventives ; also gas-lime, sown broadcast over the soil
intended for Cabbage and then pointed-in, is a good
means of getting clear of the maggot ; see also pp. 43,
44.

PAET II.

FOREST TREES

AND

THE INSECTS THAT INJURE THEM.

PAKT II.

FOREST TREES

THE INSECTS THAT INJUEE THEM.

ASH.
Ash-bark Beetle. Hijleshms fraxini, Fab.

Workings oi Hyle sinus fraxini, showing forked "mother gallery,"
with larval galleries from the sides.

^The Hylesinus fraxini is injurious, both in the beetle
and grub state, to Ash trees, by boring galleries beneath
the bark, sometimes slightly cutting into the outside
wood of the tree. The beetles are often attracted in

174 ASH.

large numbers by newly-felled Ash trunks, in the bark of
which they propagate, and from whence the new brood
spreads to the neighbouring trees, mainly attacking
those that are sickly or decayed ; or 3'Oung trees, which
they sometimes injure to a serious extent. The damage
is caused not only by the bark being loosened and the
regular circulation of the sap interfered with, but also
by the multitude of small holes which the beetles bore in
escaping after they are developed, allowing rain or
moisture to soak into the substance of the bark and
cause decay.

The larvae are small whitish fleshy legless maggots,
much like those of Scolytus ; the head is furnished with
a pair of jaws by means of which the maggot gnaws
its gallery beneath the bark.

The beetles are about the sixth of an inch long, of
various dusky shades from black to ochreous, covered
with an ashy down beneath, and mottled with ashy or
brownish scales above. The head is short and robust,
horns red, lowest joint longest, and the end club-shaped
and pointed at the tip ; body behind the head stout,
convex; abdomen short, ovate; legs pitchy, and feet red,
with the last joint but one bifid. — (J. F. S.)

The following notes are from personal observation of
the method of attack on trees newly-felled in the neigh-
bourhood of Isleworth : —

The beetles appeared about the 19th of April, and
after wandering about on the bark for a few days the
workings were begun by each beetle boring a circular
hole just large enough to admit it. Here it was shortly
joined by a companion, and pairing took place.

At about half an inch at most from the entrance,
instead of carrying the tunnel straight forward (as with
those of the Elm-bark Beetle), the workings forked, and
the two galleries were carried on to right and left, until,
in about five weeks they were at their full length, and the
working was shaped much like a T with a short stem.
During this time one beetle was usually to be found in each
of the side galleries, but occasionally they were together.

ASH-BARK BEETLE. 175

By the 4th of July most of the parent beetles "were
dead in their buiTows, and a few of the grubs hatched
from the eggs which had been laid along each side of the
tunnels had begun their borings ; about three weeks
later these larval tunnels were to be found completed,
and pupge were then fairly numerous in the cells formed
by each larva at the end of its gallery. The beetles
began to appear about the 10th of August : each beetle
as it developed eating its way out, and soon, from the
number of these perforations, giving the bark an appear-
ance as if it had been riddled by shot-holes. — (' Entomo-
logist.')

Prevention and Eemedies. — The damage caused by
these beetles is chiefly to decayed or sickly trees, or to
young trees ; the attacks on felled trunks are only of
importance by serving to propagate the pest.

Attention to suitable locality and soil, and such
management as may keep the trees in health, is the
best method of prevention. The Ash has a large
number of lateral fibrous roots, and likes "a good dry
soil within reach of water." "A free loam with a mixtm'e
of gravel" is considered suitable, but a boggy soil or low
swampy ground, or stiff clay, are not suitable to its
continuous healthy growth.

Judicious thinning and removal of injured or infested
branches are important matters.

The Ash likes shelter, but if plantations are allowed
to run on too long without thinning, it suffers much
from the sudden exposure ; and where dead or dying
boughs have not been removed, these attract insect-
attack, which spreads till the ruin of the whole tree
ensues.

Careful removal of dead, or decaying, or sickly boughs,
or such as are suffering from insect-attack, is highly
desirable.

Where felled wood is found to be attracting attack
(which may be easily known towards the end of April by
the little heap of chips lying at the mouth or below the

176 ASH.

mouth of each beetle-burrow) the removal of the bark is
a sure remedy. If, however, barking is a heavier
operation than is wished, a good thick coat of mud laid
on the timber and well rubbed into all the crannies is a
very fair protection, particularly if some paraffin is
stirred into the mud before application.

With regard to attack on live trees, this should be
watched for between the middle of April and of May, and
if chips are found to be thrown out from small burrows
about as large as a shot-hole, measures should be
immediately taken.

The best method is probably to set a man with ladder
and pail, to rub a good coat of soft-soap into accessible
parts of the tree by means of a common scrubbing-brush,
or in any other way that may be more convenient.

In a case like this, where the season of attack probably
only lasts for a short time and the injury is often to a
few trees, it is well worth while to stop it at once ; and
a coating of any substance that is offensive to the insect,
and, like soft-soap, chokes up its breathing-pores,
clings to its limbs, and fills up its boring, is very
serviceable.

Any application which is not injurious to the tree, and
will gradually be washed off by the rain, will be of use ;
and probably (as these Bark-feeding Beetles do not
frequent dung) a thorough coating of cow-dung mixed
with clay and water, and laid on thickly with a long-
handled whitewasher's brush, would answer well.

Ash-bark Scale. Chionaspis fraxini.

This Scale-insect is sometimes to be found in large
numbers on the bark of Ash trees, infesting the parts
which are still soft enough for it to pierce with its
sucker, by which means it injures the tree both by
drawing away the sap and also by the innumerable
punctures it makes into the tissues.

The Scales containing the female and her eggs are

ASH-BARK SCALE.

177

white, of a soft papery consistency, and from their soft
texture and the large numbers fixed side by side or
partly on each other are often compressed into all kinds
of irregular shapes. When perfect they are somewhat
mussel-shaped, but rather broader for their length, and
without much difference in the shape of the two sides.

Scale, containing female and eggs ; egg. showing larva within ;
female, ranch shrivelled; all much magnified. Scales on bark, slightly
magnified.

On raising this Scale during the winter months the
shrivelled body of the female will be found beneath,
towards the smallest extremity, the rest of the space
being filled with a multitude of crimson eggs containing
the young Scales, which may be seen with a high
magnifying power, as figured above, through the trans-
parent membrane of the egg. The mother-insect in my
specimens was too much shrivelled for the parts to be
clearly distinguishable, but appeared (as usual with
female Scale-insects) to be a mere fleshy mass, with a
sucker so far beneath it as to seem to arise from the
breast, and without legs or wings. Amongst the
mussel-shaped Scales were others onlj^ about a third of
then- length, and with parallel sides, which, from com-
parison with other species, I presume to be the pupa of
the winged male ; but my observations being taken in
winter, and this Ash-bark Scale being rarel}^ studied, I
am not able to give its complete life-history.

N

178 ASH.

Pkevention and Eemedies. — Where this Scale occurs
on trees in nurseries it is desirable to clear it, which
may be done by the use of any of the applications
mentioned under the head of "Apple Scale," such as.
brushings with soft-soap, &c. ; or if only a few trees are
attacked it is well to cut them down and burn them, to^
keep the attack from spreading, as, though not material
at first, in time it affects the health of the tree.

Little information is given as to causes disposing to
attack, but in the case of specimens forwarded from
West Gloucestershire, the infested Ash grew in a wet,
tenacious, lias clay, sometimes completely sodden with
moisture, and precisely the situation considered to bo
prejudicial to healthy growth of the tree. — (J. U.)

179

BIKCH.

Bud Gall-Mite. Phytoptus (? sp.)

Infested buds, magnified; Gall-mite and egg, much magnified.

The diseased growths formed of irregular masses of
twigs sometimes nearly a yard long, which are often seen
hanging from Birch-boughs, and are commonly known
as "Witch Knots," or "Witches' Brooms," are caused
by this Gall-mite.

Gall-mites, or PhytoptidcB, are a subfamily of the order
Arachnoidea; of quite a distinct class from insects, and
easily distinguishable from them (in any stage of insect-
life) by having two pairs of legs ; but as they are the
cause of a good deal of injury to plant-life, it seems
desirable just to mention them.

The Gall-mite of the Birch is so minute as to be
imperceptible to the naked eye, except when collected in
masses ; when magnified it appears as figured above ;
dull white, long and cylindrical in shape, much wrinkled
transversely, and furnished with two pairs of legs placed
together near the foremost extremity, which can hardly
be called the head, but contains the feeding apparatus
by which the various species of Gall-mites cause much
injury to the soft surface of young leaves or other part
of their food-plants.

180 BIRCH.

The eggs may be found at various seasons during
the whole year, for I have found them with the Gall-
mites hatching from them amongst diseased bud-scales
in February, and at the end of August eggs were still
to be found.

The formation of the Witch-knots begins with a
diseased growth of the Mite-infested bud, which is
distinguishable by its swelled, irregular loosely-opened
api^earance, from the smooth and pointed shape of the
buds in healthy condition ; in the next stage (also
in figure) the attacked shoot is thickly covered by
the buds, which in healthy growth would have been
distributed at distances of some inches along it. As
time goes on, repeated forkings of the twigs from these
unhealthy and infested buds, and from successive
growths of the same kind, give rise to the knotted and
confused masses known as Witches' Brooms. Some-
times these make little progress, and the knot merely
resembles a rough mass like an old rook's-nest thrown
down and hanging loosely from the Bii'ch -bough ;
sometimes the twigs regain healthy growth, and pushing
on for as much as a yard in length form a pendant mass
of some beauty, from the delicacy and gracefulness of
the sprays.

The formation of the Witch-knots was first traced
to the action of PliyUypti in England in 1877 (see papers
in ' Entomologist ' and in ' Gardeners' Chronicle ' for
that year) ; and it was stated by Mr. A. Murray, in his
comments on the observations, that the Plii/toptus above
described which infests the buds is quite distinct from
the species producing the appearance on the back of the
leaves known by Schumacher as Erineum hetidiimm, and
as far as I am aware it has not yet received a specific
name. It is of considerable interest as producing a
diseased growth of the twigs, whereas most of the
Phytopti simply feed on or produce diseased growths
of the soft tissues of the leaves. — (' Entomologist, 'and
' Gard. Chron.')

BUD GALL-MITE. 181

Prevention and Eemedies. — Witches' Brooms should
be cut off and burnt, and in cases where the tree is
much infested with the small gradually-forming tufts of
diseased growth it is desirable to cut it down and burn
the Mite-infested twigs. The Gall-mites have no power
of flying, but the wind wafts them about on leaves or
broken twigs, or birds carry them in their plumage, and
when once well established the attack spreads regularly
onwards (as may be seen on the roadside trees at Spring
Grove, near Isleworth), slowly but steadily to the
neighbouring Birches.

Note. — The Black Currant and the Filbert are some-
times injured by Gall-mites, known respectively as
Phijtoptus ribis and Calycophthora avellance. The presence
of these may be known by the swollen and partly-opened
condition of the bud, like that figured at the end of the
shoot. In these cases it would be desirable, if possible,
to clear away the bushes or the boughs that are infested;
probably all the various remedies or means of prevention
for attack of Red Spider, such as dressings of quick-lime
or gas-lime beneath the bushes, stirring the surface soil,
and measures of good cultivation generally, would be of
service. In the worst instances that I have seen of
Gall-mite infested buds on Filberts, the bushes appeared
to have been neglected for several years, and were also
overshadowed by trees.

182

ELM.

Elm-bark Beetle. Scoli/tns destructor, Oliv.

Beetle, magnified ; and beetle and maggot workings in Elm bark.

This beetle is well known as causing much injury to
Elm trees by means of the galleries that it bores between
the bark and the wood, mainly in the soft inner bark,
but so as also to leave just a slight trace of the working
on the surface of the wood.

The females may be seen early in June, making their
preparations for egg-laying by working their way along
the bottom of cracks in the bark, which they widen for

ELM-BAEK BEETLE. 183

some distance before beginning to burrow, so that the
real opening of the galleries may be at some distance
from the heap of rejected matter or little heap of wood-
dust that marks the first point of entrance.

The male is present for only a short time after the
bmTow is begun, before egg-laying commences.

The burrow of the parent beetle is usually about three
to five inches long, and takes about three weeks to form.
The eggs are laid along each side of it, and are a
hundred and upwards in number. As many as a
hundred and sixty have been observed.

The young grubs, when hatched, start at right angles
from the parent gallery, and gnaw their way onwards,
the burrows gradually increasing in size and curving to
allow room for the growing size of the tenant (as shown
in the fig.)

Most of the larvae are full fed towards the end of July,
when some turn to pupae at the end of their burrows,
and the beetles from these pierce the bark and come out
from the tree during August. The greater number,
however, of the grubs, appear to form a little chamber
either just within the wood or in the thick bark,
where they pass the winter, and come out as beetles
about the end of May ; thus, in case of the bark
being removed or falling from the tree, although the
beetle-maggots in the open galleries beneath it are
exposed, to be cleared off by the birds, the others buried
in their chambers, with the openings stopped up by the
rejected matter, are safe from attack.

The maggot is whitish, curved, tapering bluntly to the
tail, fleshy, much wrinkled across, and legless.

The beetles are black, 1|- to 3 lines long, with rounded
rough head and reddish horns ; wing-cases rounded at
the sides, and cut short at the tip, pitted lengthwise with
rows of dots, with irregular punctures between, glossy,
and sometimes of a pitchy colour or rusty red ; abdomen
cut short, slantwise beneath ; legs pitchy ; feet reddish.

It has been observed that these beetles prefer a tree
that has already been attacked rather than a young and

184 ELM.

vigorous one, and it is easy to tell where thej^ are or
have been present by the great number of small holes,
as if the bark had been pierced by shot or holes made
by a bradawl, and also (whilst the beetles are boring
their way out) by the wood-dust observable on the bark,
or fallen on the ground beneath the openings of their
burrows.

The cn-cumstance of Scolt/tus attack, and sickly growth
of the tree or decay of the bark occurring together, has
given rise to much discussion as to whether the Scolijtm
attack caused the decay, or weakened health induced
attack.

It is observed by Dr. Chapman, from whom I take
much of the above life-history (see ' Entomologist's
Monthly Magazine,' 1869, pp. 126, 127), that healthy
growing trees are supposed to repel the attacks of this
genus of beetles by pouring sap into their burrows. He
notes that in the case of the Scolytiis pruni he had
observed "burrows less than one inch long, some of
which, containing a few eggs already laid, had been
abandoned uncompleted by the beetles, apparently on
account of the presence of a fluid which must have been
sap, as no rain had fallen to account for it." — (Ent. Mo.
Mag. ; Illus. Brit. Ent. ; &c.)

Prevention and Remedies. — The best method of
remedy aj^pears to be that adopted with great success in
France by M. Robert, after careful observation of the
circumstances which stopped the operations of the female
beetle wdien gnawing her gallery for egg-laying, or which
disagreed with or destroyed the maggots, and is based in
part on similar observations of the effect of flow of sap
to those noticed in England by Dr. Chapman.

It appeared, on examination, that the grubs died if
they were not well protected from the drying action
of the air ; on the other hand, if there was a very large
amount of sap in the vegetable tissues that they fed on,
this also killed them, and it was observed that, when
the female was boring through the bark, if a flow of

ELM-BAKK BEETLE. 185

sap took place she abandoned the spot and went else-
where. It was also noticed that the attack (that is, the
boring of the galleries which separates much of the
bark from the wood), is usualty mider thick old bark,
such as that of old Elm trunks, rather than under the
thinner bark of the branches. Working on these obser-
vations, M. Kobert had strips of about two inches wide
cut out of the bark from the large boughs down the
trunk to the ground, and it was found that where the
young bark pressed forward to heal the wound, and a
vigorous flow of sap took place, that many of the maggots
near it were killed, the bark which had not been entirely
undermined was consolidated, and the health of the tree
was improved.

Working on from this M, Robert tried the more
extended treatment of paring ofl' the outer bark, a
practice much used in Normandy and sometimes in
England for restoring vigour of growth to bark-bound
Apple trees, and noted by Andrew Knight as giving
a great stimulus to vegetation. M. Robert had the whole
of the rough outer bark removed from the Elm (this
may be done conveniently by a scraping-knife shaped
like a spokeshave). This operation caused a great flow
of sap in the inner lining of the bark (the liber), and
the grubs of the Scolytus beetle were found in almost all
cases to perish shortly after. Whether this occurred
from the altered sap disagreeing with them, or from the
greater amount of moisture round them, or from the
maggots being more exposed to atmospheric changes, or
any other cause, was not ascertained, but the trees that
were experimented on were cleared of the maggots. The
treatment was applied on a large scale, and the barked
trees were found, after examination by the Commissioners
of the Institute at two difl'erent periods, to be in more
vigorous health than the neighbouring ones of which the
bark was untouched. More than two thousand Elms
were thus treated.

This account is abridged from the leading article in
the * Gardener's Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette ' for

186 ELM.

April 29, 1848, and the method is well worth trying in
our public and private parks. It is not expensive ; the
principle on which it acts as regards vegetable growth
is a well known one, and as regards insect health it is
also well known that a sudden flow of the sap that they
feed on, or a sudden increase of moisture round them, is
very productive of unhealthiness or of fatal diarrhoea to
Tegetable-feeding grubs.

A somewhat similar process was tried by the Botanic
Society in 1842 on trees infested by the Scoltjtus
destructor in the belt of Elms encircling their garden in
the Eegent's Park, London; "it consists in divesting
the tree of its rough outer bark, being careful at the
infested parts to go deep enough to destroy the young
larva, and dressing with the usual mixture of lime and
cow-dung." This operation was found very successful,
and details with illustrations were given in a paper read
in 1848 before the Botanic Society.

Various applications have been recommended, such as
brushing the bark of infested trees with coal-tar or with
whitewash, in order to keep off the beetle attack. Any-
thing of this kind that would make the surface unpleasant
to the beetle would certainly be of use so long as it was
not of a nature to hurt the tree, and if previously the
very rugged bark was partially smoothed it would make
the application of whatever mixture might be chosen
easier and more thorough.

Anything that would catch the beetles, either going into
or out from the bark, like coal-tar, would be particularly
useful, and probably strong-smelling and greasy mix-
tures, such as fish-oil soft-soap, would do much good.

Washing down the trunks of attacked trees has not
been suggested,, but, looking at the dislike of the female
beetle to moisture in her burrow, it would be worth while,
in the case of single trees which it was an object to
l)reserve, to drench the bark daily from a garden-engine
for a short time when the beetles were seen (or known
by the wood-dust thrown out) to be at work forming
burrows for egg-laying.

GOAT MOTH. 187

The possibilit}' of candying out the important point of
clearing away or treating infested standing trees depends,
of course, on local circumstances ; but, whatever care is
exercised in other ways, it is very unliliel}^ that much
good wall be done in lessening attack so long as the
inexcusable practice continues of leaving the felled
trunks of infested Elms l^'ing, witli their hark still on,
when containing myriads of these maggots, which are all
getting read}^ shortly to change to perfect beetles, and to
fly to the nearest growing Elms. Such neglected trunks
may be seen in our parks and rural wood-yards all over
the country, where, without dilficult}", the hand may be
run under the bark so as to detach feet and yards in
length from the trunk all swarming with white Scolijtus
maggots in their narrow galleries.

This bark, with its contents, ought never to be permitted
to remain. Where it is loose it may be cleared of many
of the maggots by stripping it off and letting the poultry
have access to it ; or, if still parti}" adhering, it may be
ripped from the wood by barking tools, and burnt, but it
is a tangible and serious cause of injury ; and if our
landed proprietors were fully aware of the mischief thus
caused to their own trees and those of the neighbourhood
they would quickly get rid of it. — (' Gard. Chron. and Ag.
Gazette,' Ed., &c.)

Goat Moth. CossHs Uijnipenla, Fab.

The caterpillars of this Moth are injurious to many
kinds of our timber and fruit trees, as Elm, Ash, Oak,
Beech, Lime, Willow, Poplar, Apple, Walnut, &c., by
gnawing large galleries in the live wood.

The Moth lays her eggs in crevices in the bark com-
monly at the lowest part of the tree, and the caterpillars
which hatch from these eggs feed at first in the bark, or
between the bark and the wood ; as they grow stronger
they eat their way into the wood, and form chambers and

188

ELM.

galleries of various size and width, some as large as a
man's finger.

The caterpillar is three inches long (or mroe), of a yellow
colom- with a black head, two black spots on the ring
behind the head, and either a row of dark reddish
patches or a stripe of the same colour along the back ;
when young it is of a more fleshy colour. It has the
power of exuding an oily fluid from its mouth with a
remarkably pungent goat-like smell, whence the name of
the moth. Infested trees may often be known by this
disagreeable smell, and sometimes by heaps of dirt or
wood-dust thrown out by the caterpillars lying below the
entrance to their burrows. Sometimes the workings of
the caterpillar are shown by a dark wet patch formed
just below the entrance by the sap oozing from within.

Guat Moth.

During the winter they lie quiet, otherwise they feed
for a period of three years, and, when ready to change,
form cocoons of little bits of wood roughly spun together
just inside the entrance of their burrows, in which they
turn to a reddish brown chrysalis. Shortly before the
moth is ready to emerge the chrysalis forces itself partly
through the cocoon, where the empty case remains
sticking out from the tree, and is a useful guide as to
infested timber.

GOAT MOTH. 189

The moth is upwards of three inches in the spread of
the fore wings, which are mottled with ashy white, and
rich brown with many irregular black streaks and mark-
ings ; the hinder wings are of a more dingy colour, with
the markings less distinct ; the head duskj^ brown ; body

;^

Young caterpillar, and chrysalis.

between the wings marked across with dark brown and
grey or ochreous ; the abdomen brown and grey in
alternate rings. It is to be seen at the end of June
and beginning of July. — (Loudon's 'Arboretum,' 'Brit.
Moths,' &c.)

Pre\'ention and Eemedies. — The moths are heavy
and sluggish, and may be taken easily by hand as they
rest quietly during the day on the bark of the tree out
of which they hatched.

The caterpillars sometimes leave the trees, and may
be found straying about in May and in the autumn, and
in such case they should always be destroyed ; but
generally (as above mentioned) they change to chrysalids
at the entrance of their burrows, and where trees are
known to be infested these reddish chrysalids should be
looked for during June or earlj^^ in July.

Any mixtm-e that can be laid on the tree, so as to
prevent the moth laying her eggs on the bark, is useful,
and a thick coating of clay and cow-dung has been found

190 ELM.

to answer well. It is a point worth consideration that
the conditions needed for the existence of the live timher-
feeding and the dung-feeding caterpillars are so totally
different, that the instinct of the mother insect will
almost certainly keep her from depositing eggs on
unsuitable material ; consequently, in the case of the
Goat Moth and in many other kinds of insects producing
wood-horing caterpillars, a good coating of cow-dung,
mixed with enough clay to make it tenacious, would he a
very useful application. Whale-oil (or fish-oil) soft-soap,
is also stated to be a good protection, used as follows : —
Several pounds of the soft-soap are mixed in a pail
with warm water to about the consistency of thick
paint ; the operator, who is also supplied with a bag of
sand and a coarse cloth, dips the cloth in the soap and
sand and rubs the bark thoroughly, and then, with a
painter's brush, lays on a thick coat of oil.

This treatment is a good means of preventing ovi-
position, and also of rubbing off or destroying eggs that
may have been laid on the bark ; but the application of
oil afterwards is less desirable, relatively to the chance of
hurting the tree. If only applied to old thick bark
it probably would do no harm, but, where the outside of
the bark had still any life in it, it would be injured by
the pores being choked up. The same difficulty occurs
in the use of tar ; it is often a most serviceable means
of prevention when used in moderate quantity, or only
on old bark, but if applied over too large a surface, or on
young bark, or again, if exposure to hot sunshire should
melt the tar, and so allow it to sodden into the bark, it
causes much injury.

The caterpillars may be diminished in number by
crushing them in their holes with a thick strong wdre ;
a glance at the state of the end of the wire when it is
withdrawn from the hole will show whether the cater-
pillar has been reached or not. If the direction of the
hole admits of the caterpillar being dragged out by a
finer wire doubled at the end, so as to form a kind of
hook, this plan is also serviceable.

GOAT MOTH. 191

Paraffin injected by a sharp-nozzled syringe with as
much force as possible into the holes where the cater-
pillars are working is a good remedy (M. D.) ; and any
fluid poisonous to the caterpillar, or which would make
the wood of its hole poisonous or distasteful to it for
food, would be serviceable, as tobacco-water, or a solution
of soft-soap. The fluid might also be easily injected by
means of a gutta-percha tube, of which one end was
fitted on the sharp nozzle of a syringe and the other
passed a little way up the hole.

The fumes of sulphur blown into the hole are very
effective in destroying the caterpillars of the Leopard
Moth (M. D.) ; and probably this application, or a strong
fumigation of tobacco, would be equally serviceable in the
case of the Goat Moth caterpillars.

Where a tree is much infested, it is the best plan to
cut it down, split it, and destroy the caterpillars within ;
as many as sixty or more caterpillars may be taken from
one tree, and when in this state it will never thoroughly
recover, and it becomes a centre to attract further attack,
as well as one to spread infection.

" The green woodpecker preys on these caterpillars,
and its stomach, on dissection, has an intolerable
stench."— (J. 0. W.)

192

LARCH

Larch Aphis.

„ "Bug." I Chennc's lands, lisii-tig.
„ "Blight."]

Female, with eggs, winged specimen, and larva; all magnified. Twig,
with females and eggs, slightly magnified.

The attack of this Aphis, known also as Larch
Chermes, Larch Bug, or Larch Bhght, causes injury by
means of the insects in all their stages piercing the
tender bark or leaves of the Larch with their suckers,
and drawing away the sap. It occurs on old as well as
young trees, but is most injurious to the latter by reason
of the larger proportion of the tree liable to attack.

The Chermes laricis never produces living young ; it
propagates entirely by eggs, and when the Larch-leaves
are beginning to appear in the spring, the mother
Chermes may be seen at the base of the leaf-knots along
the Larch twigs, laying the eggs which will give rise to
the successive generations of the year. These eggs are
oval, and furnished with a kind of hair-like stalk ; of a
yellow or yellowish purple colour at first, which deepens
in tint towards hatching-time to a dark violet. They

LAKCH APHIS. 193

are laid slowly) sometimes at the rate of about five a day),
and more or less covered up with a kind of powdery down
removed off herself by the mother, and gradually are piled
round and over her till she is half-buried in them, and in
hardening drops of turpentine which she constantly
exudes with a kind of pumping motion.

This female, the mother of the colony, is of the shape
figured above, greatly magnified ; wingless, with short
legs, and a strong sucker ; dusky violet in colour,
becoming darker with age, and more or less covered
with a white powdery or cottony secretion. The legs
and sucker are dark, or black.

The young soon hatch ; eggs may be found in the
south of England in course of laying on the 2'2nd of
April, and twigs swarming Avith young at the beginning
of May. These are of the shape figured above, with
distinctly-formed head and horns ; trunk (or thorax)
with six legs ; and abdomen : at first they are of a
l^owdery black, or violet, with several rows of tubercles
along the abdomen, and (though Hot showing as clearly)
also along the trmik ; afterwards they change " to an
olive-3'ellow or clear olive-green, with horns, legs, and
sucker darker olive-green or olive-brown." — (C. L. K.)
These disperse themselves over the leaves, and, piercing
into them with their suckers, begin the work of mischief,
and the infested shoots may be known by the Ckermes
scattered over the leafage, like little black or darkish
specks bearing bunches of white down. Later on — about
the middle of May — fully-developed winged as well as
wingless specimens may be seen : the winged females of
the shape figm-ed, of a yellowish tint, with brown head
and horns, and various brown markings ; and with wing-
veins of a j-ellowish green. The reader is requested to
notice that the long vein forked at the end, placed at the
fore edge of the upper wing, has only ttco side veins
from it : this veining of the wings is characteristic of the
tribe Chermisime, and distinguishes it from the three
other tribes of the Aphidiche (for details of wings, see
"Aphides" in Index).

0

194 LARCH.

The Chermes-attack continues, or may continue, unless
checked by weather or special circumstances, till August
or later, and the last laid eggs of the year produce
again the large shapeless "Mother Chermes," the
foundress of the family of each successive year, which
lives through the winter, and in spring lays her eggs as
above described. Descriptions of the male Chermes have
been given, but our best authorities on the subject
consider that at present it has not been observed. —
(' Mon of Brit. Aphides,' ' Die Pflanzenlause,' and
observations by Ed.)

Prevention and Eemedies. — The following remedies
have been of service in checking attack of Larch Bug
when already commenced : —

A note is given of a plot of young Larches planted in
nursery-ground a year previously, which became so badly
infested with "bug" in May that they appeared as if
covered with mould, with the sap exuding over the stems,
so that the shoots were soft and supple, and the plants
becoming rapidly exhausted. These were watered over
head with dilute paraffin, in the proportion of a wine-
glassful of paraffin to a watering-can full of water, and
the first application checked the depredations of the
Bug. The waterings were repeated at intervals of three
or four days, for about three weeks, when the j)lants
were entirely cleared of the Bug, and assumed a healthy
and vigorous appearance. The application was found
similarly serviceable in clearing Pine Bug, and in no
way injm'ious to the trees when applied judiciously. —

(J- ^•) . .

The following remedies have proved efficacious in

destroying "Bug," and preventing attack on Larch and

Silver Fir.

One method is as follows : — To every thirty- six gallons

of water add half a pound of perchloride of mercm-y ;

with this the infested trees are drenched in the early

summer, when the sap is flowing freely ; a dry day is

preferred for the operation, as it gives time for the

LARCH APHIS. 195

solution to soak thoroughly into the bark. This has
been ai:)plied to ornamental trees and plants in the
nursery, and it is noted that trees operated on in 1873
continued, at the time of writing (1880), free from the
"bug" and in thriving condition. This application
requires to be in careful hands, being poisonous ; Wood-
peckers that fed on the poisoned insects were destroyed
by it ; and especial caution is given against using it to
fruit-trees.— (D. F. M'K.)

Another method found serviceable was the use of
lime-water prepared and a^jplied thus : — One hundred-
weight of best lime-shell to eighty gallons of clear water:
slake the shells in the water, and allow it to stand for a
week ; drain off the clear liquid, and wash or syringe
the infested trees. This was found to clear the tree
thoroughly of the Bug and eggs. The trees appeared to
be a little sickened for a time, but all recovered.

Washing with lime and water was also found to
answer both as a remedy and means of prevention, but
made the tree unsightly. — (D. F. M'K.)

The use of quick-lime, in a plantation of Larches from
eight to twelve feet high, is noted as "very disagreeable,
and only partially successful." Tobacco-liquor is also
mentioned as being applied for Aphis-attack to Silver
Firs, the solution being rubbed on the tree and branches ;
this was more successful than the lime, but more
expensive and difficult of application. — (J. M'L.)

Looking at the good effects both of tobacco and of soft-
soap for general use in clearing off Aphides, it is
probable that some of the Hop-washes in which these
are combined (and which might be easily applied by a
garden-engine) would be very serviceable.

The following recipe from amongst those given under
the head "Hops" is simple, and found reliable for
regular use in the Hop-gardens : — To thirty-six gallons
of water in a copper add sixty pounds of soft-soap, then
add either fourteen pounds of bitter aloes or two pounds
of tobacco, and boil together. For use add thirty-six
gallons of water to every gallon of this liquid. — (J.W.)

196 LARCH.

The common fish-oil soft-soap manufactm-ed by Messrs.
Gibbs for use in the Hop-grounds may be purchased at
ten to twelve shillings per firkin of sixty pounds.

Paris green (arsenite of copper) is a more expensive
application, being sixpence per pound, but it might be
worth trying mixed with dry lime. The proportion used
for dressing Potatoes is one part of the green to twenty
of lime ; it should, however, not be entrusted to any but
thoroughly careful hands, being a deadly iioi son.

In dealing with the Larch Bug we have advantage,
from its flocky coat, as washings and dressings,
especially those of a sticky nature, clog the down, and
thus take good effect.

The amount of the presence of this CJtermes (like that
of other Aphides) appears to depend partly on such
states of the weather and local atmospheric surroundings
of the trees as may be suitable for increase of the
insect, partly on the health of the trees, and also on
their neighbourhood, to such as are infested.

Late frosts are noted as being injurious to the Larch,
and favourable to increase of the "Bug"; this, pre-
sumably, for the same reasons as in other cases of
Aphis-attack, that late frosts commonly accompany clear
skies, with bright sunshine by day, and the sudden
alternations of heat and cold are unsuitable for healthy
growth, but cause a condition of sap suitable to the
Aphides. In 1880, in which year the "Blight" was very
prevalent, it was observed in connection with frost in
June, and with hard dry winds ; and looking back to
published records of former years, it is noticed as "most
prevalent when the frosts were very severe late in the
season."

The health of the Larch depends greatly on local
conditions ; it suffers from drought and from exposure of
its roots to sunshine, and also from a stagnant wet soil.
Although it requires a constant supply of moisture for
its roots, this moisture must be fresh, and free ; and it
needs a clear dry atmosphere, with great amount of
sunshine for its leaves.

LARCH APHIS. 197

A position amongst broken rock, with plenty of good
loam, either on the side of a ravine or so placed that
water may constantly trickle by, may be considered the
tyjDC of what is most suitable for its growth ; in its natm^al
habitats it thrives best on declivities connected with
summits of perpetual snow, by the thawing of which the
plants are fed, and where their heads are well exposed to
sunlight.

It has been pointed out by Prof. DeCandolle that the
fine slender Larch leaves having less surface for action
(that is, for elaboration of sap) than those of other
deciduous trees, the action of the surface requires to be
greater in proportion, to keep the tree in health ; and
from this, and also from observation of the localities in
which Larch thrives, he shows the desirableness of a
clear dry atmosphere, with plenty of sunlight, and
freedom from fogs and damp which tend to diminish the
evaporation from the leaves necessary for the health of
the tree ; and — to give a single instance — it is noted
that at a height near Geneva (not less than that at which
fine Larches were to be found) the trees did not thrive
near the lake and river, whilst in the dry air of the Alps
they prospered.

It appears plain that any cause, great or small, that
induces a damp stagnant atmosphere, or want of light
round the Larches, will produce ill-health, and in such
situations the Larch Bug thrives.

We may do something to diminish the amount of
attack by planting on proper soil, and especially avoiding
such flat moorish land as is likely to cause stagnation of
moisture in the ground ; and also by thinning Larch
plantations in time, so as to allow as much sunshine as
possible on the leaves ; and all overtopping by deciduous
trees should be carefully avoided.

Hopelessly-attacked trees should be felled and all the
twigs burnt, to avoid spread of attack ; and in nurseries
it might be worth while, besides the dressings given
when the Bug is seen to be present, to give one or two
thorough drenchings with soft-soap towards the middle

198 LAKCH.

or end of August, to deter attack when the eggs for next
year's "mother Chermcs'" are being laid.

With regard to such connection as may exist between
"Larch BHght" and the diseased cancerous formations
known as " Larch BHster," we have no certain knowledge
at present.

The causes mainly under consideration as giving rise
to this great evil are four : — fungus ; frost-bite ; " Blight,"
or Chermes-attack ; and deranged circulation of the sap;
and (without venturing to offer a definite opinion) many
circumstances appear to point to this last, which may
arise from any cause affecting the health of the tree, but
especially from weather influences, such as rapid alter-
nations of heat and cold, moisture in the air, and want
of sufficiency of sunlight, as at least very possibly the
cause of the blister.

Prof. DeCandolle observes that, as an Alpine tree, the
Larch is singularly free from disease, and the trunks re-
markably healthy ; and that, though sometimes Larches
may be seen having a wound of "resinous cancer,"
it seems to proceed from some accidental cause, such as
a blow when the tree was in full sap ; and after noting
that he considers the cause of diseases in British
Larches must originate from some difference in the
physical structure or culture of British or Alpine-grown
trees, he observes : — " The want of a sufficiently intense
light, owing to the obliquity of the solar rays, and to the
opacity of the atmosphere ; and the over damp state of
the latter, appear to me i^ermanent causes which, in
your climate, must predispose the Larch to a kind of
watery plethora." — (See Loudon's 'Arboretum,' vol. iv.,
p. 2384.)

It has also been observed that a form of blister affects
young trees after being transplanted, in which case also
the regular circulation of the sap is disturbed.

By examination of diseased specimens (although this
is far from affording a complete view of all forms of the
disease), the formation of the blister may be traced
backwards, from the large open diseased wound, to the

LAKCH APHIS. 199

swelling just bursting, and not yet burst ; and then
(keeping as a guide the similarity of the diseased spots as
shown microscopically) from a patch beneath the bark
with no external swelling, to a few small spots connected
by a canal, or to a single spot filled with brown
disorganised tissue, which appears to me to be the origin
of the evil.

In these spots (as far as observable in all the specimens
examined by means of a quarter-inch object-glass) there
was no trace of mycelium, or of any kind of fungoid
presence ; after a time, when the blister has become an
open wound, it is impossible to say that Corticiiim
amorpkum (from which "blister" has been conjectured
to arise) or other fungoid growths may not be present,
just as Peziza or other fungi may be found on the bark ;
but in all the first states of the blister that I have
examined, whilst still it had not burst into an open
wound, there has not been any such presence.

In these cases — that is, where the "blister" was
originating from a mere speck — it differed markedly
from the effect of ivo^i-hite on twigs of the same age, as
the effects of the frost-bite which had then taken place a
few weeks before affected the cells in the bark over a
surface of several inches, and the condition of the many
injm'ed cells in this case, and of the one or few diseased
ones in the other, was very different. This observation
merely refers to the complete frost-bite, not to effect of
weather on health of the tree.

Observations as to the state of the precise spot where
the mother Clienncs has been noticed to be attached by
her sucker during oviposition would give much in-
formation as to whether any diseased state of tissues was
set up by the irritation of suction ; when once the disease
has taken the form of an open wound, it is very
probable that the presence of manij of the Chermes
sucking on such young diseased bark as they may find
would increase the commenced disease; but the great
point is the origin.

This appears, as far as specimens show, to be not a

200 LARCH.

growth, hut a death ; a spot or spots joined by canals filled
with dead discoloured and disorganised tissue, which may
exist for one, or possibly two or three seasons unseen
beneath the bark, until the consequent stoppage of sap
causes a swelled growth, and the diseased mass, composed
of the discoloured cells and passages, and the tumid
swellings, is set on foot ; and may be traced forward in
section, increasing year by year from its starting-pomt.*

* The above remarks on Larch blister are offered with hesitation, as
venturing on a subject where those who have better opportunity than
myself for observations are still in doubt, and therefore I take leave to
mention that they are mainly based on specimens forwarded for exam-
ination, or observations on Larch in West Gloucestershire ; but not
having the opportunity of studying the subject in the large plantations of
the North, with the thoroughness requisite for a knowledge of the
different developments of the disease, and the different coincident cir-
cumstance on which alone conclusions can be based, I merely give these
points as all I have at present to offer.

201
LIME.

BufF-tip Moth. l')/(j(fr(i hicephala, Stephens.

Female iiioth , caterpillar, and pnpa.

The caterpillars of this Moth feed on the leaves of the
Lime and also on those of the Elm, Oak, and other
trees, sometimes doing thereby serious damage.

The eggs are laid during June or July, in patches
of about thirty to sixty, mostly on the upper side of a
leaf, and are distinguishable by being convex and white
above, smoke-coloured and flat beneath, with a black dot
in the middle of the convex part.

The caterpillars hatch in about fourteen days, and at
first feed in company on the skin of the upper side and
on the pulp of the leaf. After eight days they undergo
the first moult (that is, cast the skin for the first time),
and separate into parties of eight or ten, which feed at
the edge of a leaf, but, when resting, place themselves
side by side on its surface. When full fed, which is
towards the beginning of autumn, infested trees may be
known by the twigs of the higher and outermost branches
(or in bad attacks, almost the whole of the tree) being
stripped of its leafage.

202 LIME.

The caterpillars, when full grown, are about one inch
and three-quarters long, and sprinkled with silky hairs ;
the general colour yellow, with black head, black lines
running from the head to the tail, interrupted by a
transverse orange band on each ring, and a black horny
plate above the tail-segment.

When full fed they come down from the tree, and,
without spinning any cocoon, they change at the roots of
herbage, amongst fallen leaves, or on or just below the
surface of the earth, to a dark brown chrysalis, with two
spines at the tail.

The moth (figured above, life-size) comes out in June.
The fore wings are of various shades of pearly or purplish
grey, with rusty coloured and black markings, and a
yellow or buff patch at the tip, whence the moth takes
its name of Buff-tip ; the hind wings are whitish, with a
dusky cloud towards the middle. The head is ochreous,
and the body between the wings and abdomen is also
ochreous ; but variously striped or spotted with more
dusky or rust-coloured tints. — ('Brit. Moths,' &c.)

Prevention and Eemedies. — The method of getting
rid of the caterpillars that is chiefly recommended is, to
shake the infested boughs ; it is stated that, on this
being done, they fall down "in a perfect shower" (E. N.) ;
and when attack is found to have begun, this plan should
be adopted at once.

Any method by which the boughs or infested twigs can
be shaken will answer, such as jarring the larger boughs
with a pole, or throwing sticks or handfuls of gravel at
such parts as may be out of reach ; but a better plan
would be for a man to go up the tree, and, by means of a
strong pole furnished at the end with a worn-down birch-
besom, to shake all the infested boughs thoroughly,
beginning at the uppermost and working downwards, so
as to shake off the caterpillars that may have lodged in
falling on the lower branches. The addition of this
worn-down stump at the end of the pole makes it a
much more effective instrument, for, by using it upright,

BUFF-TIP MOTH. 203

the smaller boughs can be lifted up sharply, to come
down with a jerk ; or a heavy blow can be given that will
shake all twigs near without any injury to the tree,
whilst in the case of the sharp knock of hard wood
on soft bark given by the pole, much harm is apt to be
done.

Before beginning the operation, a good thick band of
hay or straw, or cloth well tarred, should be put round
the foot of the tree, to prevent the caterpillars getting up
it again ; for directly they reach the ground they start
on their return journey towards the trunk, and, unless
they are stopjDed, will soon be once more at work on the
leaves. All that fall to the ground should be crushed
with the foot, or killed in whatever way may be most
convenient ; and where a tree is much infested it would
be worth while to spread large cloths or pieces of
tarpaulin, or anything that might be preferred, beneath
it, upon which they would fall, and from which they
might be collected more easily than from the grass.

The large size of this insect in all its stages and its
habits throws it open to attack. "At the beginning of
June these singular moths may be frequently found
coupled in pairs on the trunks of Lime, Elm, and other
trees, or on the herbage below them ; the truncate heads
and closely-convolute wings giving each pair the appear-
ance of a single piece of dead and dried stick." — (E. N.)

By destroying the moths at this stage many future
broods are got rid of. The chrysalids may be collected
by children for a few pence, under or near trees where
the caterpillars have been numerous ; and poultry also
are of service, as they will search eagerly for them.

When the caterj^illars are about to change, they are so
conspicuous, from their bright colouring, large size, and
habit of straying about everywhere in full daylight, that
many might be captured and killed (as above mentioned)
hj children.

As the caterpillars come down the tree to the ground
for then- change to chrysalids, it might be worth while
to throw a few spadefuls of gas-lime or of anything they

204

LIME.

would not cross, in a circle at about a yard or two from
the tree ; or a rough band of any material soaked in tar,
or tar and oil, which would keep wet longer, would stop
them from straying off. It being matter of instinct for
these caterpillars to come down to the ground for the
change to the chrysalis state, probably few, if any,
would return up the trunk, and they might be cleared in
sufficient numbers as to considerably lessen futm-e
attack.

Lime-tree Mite.

„ Red Spider.

Tetrani/chus tilianim, Miill.

,, ttiarius, Claparede.

Mite, greatly magnified; web with eggs (magnified), in dried state, and
after being moistened.

Opinions differ as to whether the Eed Spider of the
Lime-tree is the common Eed Spider, T. telarius, or a
distinct species, T. tiliarum (so named, from infesting
the Lime), but which is also at times injurious to French
Beans, and some other garden-crops.

These Acari or Mites, which are of an orange-colour
and too minute to be clearly discernible by the naked
eye, excepting when heaped together, are of the shape
figured above, enormously magnified, from specimens
infesting Lime-trees at Walthamstow, to which they
were exceedingly injurious in the autumn of 1880.

LIME-TREE MITE. 205

From their extreme minuteness and transparency,
the various parts show very indistinctly when magnified,
and the nipping-jaws and sucker were not clearly visible.
I have therefore only been able to give the general figure
of the mite, with the peculiar long stiff hairs with knobs
at the ends (which are believed to help the Ked Spiders
in spinning) figured on those feet, on which they were
distinguishable.

These mites spin their webs over the trunks and
branches, and beneath the leaves of the infested trees,
giving a kind of glaze or silky lustre to the surface ; and
on this web they can travel easily. They are to be
found heaped like masses of living yellow dust at the
foot of the tree, and those on the leaves congregate
chiefly on the lower side, sometimes so thickly that none
of the green colour of the leaf is visible. Here they
draw away the juices with their suckers, and, though
they are but small, there are so many of them that the
leaves shrink and die from the injury.

Pre\t:ntion and Kemedies. — The eggs may be found
attached to the webs (see figs.), and it has been found
that brushing the tree-stems hard and thoroughly, so as
to remove the webs, is serviceable in some degree in
clearing attack ; and would be still more so if some soft-
soap was brushed in at the same time.

With regard to the masses that congregate together at
the base of the tree, something might be done by
banking round at a few feet distance and a few inches
high, and filling the space enclosed with mud made as
thin as would be retained by the raised edge. The Ked
Spider particularly dislikes moisture, and a few experi-
ments would show what chemicals or other additions
might be mixed with the mud, to poison as well as
drown the pest.

A liberal mixture of fish-oil soft-soap, so as to
completely plaster round the foot of the tree and stick all
wandering mites fast that touched it, could not fail to do
good at a trifling cost ; but, excepting by such continuous

206 LIME.

and thorough drenchings as it is scarcely possible to
apply to large trees, it is most difficult to do anything
for the infested leaves.

The following recipe, however, might be of service : —
Gas-water, three gallons, to which is added one pound of
flour of sulphur ; these to be held over the fire whilst
being mixed, and soft-soap added in such quantity as to
make the mixture adhere. This may be applied to the
branches by means of a painter's brush, and where
remedies are needed on a large scale it may be diluted
to the state in which it is a safe application, and the
liquid thrown over the leaves by means of the garden-
engine. Probably fifteen parts of water to one of the
mixture would be quite safe, but this would require trial.

This attack has been considered to follow peculiar
atmospheric conditions, and its severe occurrence at
Walthamstow last autumn was after heat and drought,
which is generally favourable to Ked Spider. — (A. M.,
F. H., and Ed.)

For life-history of T. telarius and general remedies,
see Eed Spider on "Plum," and on "Hops."

207
OAK.

Cockchafer. Mclolontha vuUjaris, Stephens.

Larva and pupa of Cockchafer. Club of horn of niale Beetle (^) with
seven leaves ; of female ( J ) with six leaves, magnified.

The Cockchafer, known also as the May Bug, is
injurious both in the larval and perfect state. As a grub
it feeds under ground on the roots of grass, vegetables,
and young trees ; as a beetle it feeds on the leaves of
Oak, Elm, and other trees, sometimes entirely strij^ping
the foliage. The eggs are white or pale yellow, and are
laid (early in the summer) about six or eight inches
below the surface of the ground, the female burrowing
down to deposit them, and laying thirty or more, near
together amongst the disturbed earth.

The grubs are thick and fleshy, white or yellowish in
colour, with strong jaws, and three pairs of legs ; and
usually lie on one side, somewhat curved together, as
figured above. At the commencement of spring they
come up to within a few inches of the surface of the
ground, where they feed on roots of growing plants ; and
at the end of the thhd summer, when full fed, they
again go down into the earth to a depth of two feet or

208 OAK.

more, and change to piipas (as figured above) in oval
cells.

During the following winter they develop into the
j)erfect Chafers, but do not come up through the ground
until the next summer, that is, the fourth year since
they were hatched, when they may be found as early as
May hanging half-torpid or sluggish beneath the leaves
during the day, and coming out on the wing during the
evening, when they fly in search of their mates or feed
on the foliage of the trees.

The beetle is too well known to require description,
but it may be observed it is about an inch in length,
densely covered with down on the breast, and more or
less throughout ; part of the front of the face and the
wing-cases are rusty or brown, the latter having five
raised lines running along each ; the abdomen is
prolonged into a tip curved downwards, and marked
at the sides with alternate triangular patches of black
and snow-white ; and the horns are terminated by fans
or clubs of seven leaves in the male, six leaves in the
female.

This Chafer is sometimes confused with the "July
Bug," the "Small" or "Summer Cockchafer" {Rhiso-
trogus solstitialis) , but the two may easily be distinguished
by the " Summer Cockchafer" being much smaller than
the "Common Cockchafer"; also it is hairy, has a
blunt tip to the abdomen (not a prolonged tail), and the
fan at the end of the horns has only three leaves.

The grub of the Cockchafer is very like that of the
Green Rosechafer {Cetonia aurata), but is distinguishable
by having few or no hairs and by not having a rusty spot
on each side of the first ring behind the head, which is
plainly to be seen on the grub of the Rosechafer. —
(J. 0. W., in 'Gard. Chron. and Ag. Gazette,' 'Illus.
Brit. Ent.,' &c.)

Prevention and Remedies. — When the May Bugs or
Cockchafers appear in the large quantities sometimes
recorded, as when eighty bushels are stated to have been

COCKCHAFER. 209

collected on one farm ('Encyc. of Agriculture,' 2nd ed.,
-p. 1166), it is worth while to heat or shake them from
the trees, preferring noon-time or early on a bright warm
day, when the beetles are clinging beneath the leaves and
are dull and sluggish.

They may be shaken down on to large cloths spread
beneath the tree, or may be swept together and destroyed,
taking care in either case that the Chafers are collected
before they have time to recover from the fall and take
wing ; or, as pigs and poultry devour these beetles
greedily, it would save trouble to drive them below the
trees and shake the Chafers down to them. Poultry
would take some time about the work, but pigs would
make a rapid and effectual clearance.

In field or garden cultivation, where many grubs are
turned up by the spade or plough, some means should be
taken for destroying them. Hand-picking by children is
of use, but probably in the fields the pigs would be the
better helpers. Their instinct and fondness for the grub
makes them hearty and well-qualified searchers.

Wild birds, such as Books and Sea Gulls, should on
no account be driven off. The Black-headed or Peewit
Gull follows the plough in the same manner as the
Books, and feeds on Cockchafers both in the grub and
beetle stages ; the Common Gull will go for miles inland
to follow the plough in search of insects and grubs ; and
the Nightjar, by "feeding almost entirel}^ on Cockchafers
and moths" during the morning and evening hours, is
also of great service.

In pasture lands, where the grass has been seriously
injured by Cockchafer grubs feeding on the roots, much
service has been done by Books turning up the grubs
and devouring them : in such cases the birds should be
carefully protected from molestation ; they pull up little
— if anything — more than the infested plant (which
would have died), and are in this case almost our only
means of clearing oft' these large grubs, which otherwise,
excepting when changing their skins or torpid during
severe cold, would continue feeding for three years.

p

210

OAK.

In garden cultivation, where the ground is infested, a
tame Book is of much service. The bird will set to work
as soon as it is introduced, and keep on steadily at the
task, clearing the grubs from spots that could not be
reached otherwise without injury to the plants. — (W. S.)

From the circumstance of the Cockchafer grubs
feeding amongst roots and giving no signs of their
j)resence till the fading of the attacked plant draws
attention to the injury going forwards, it is difficult to
find any remedy, excepting by means of the insectivorous
birds, which appear to have an instinctive knowledge of
the position of the larva below the surface ; but wiiere
examination of the roots of injured plants shows this
grub to be present, it would be worth while to try the
effect of good drenchings of some fluid, such as tobacco-
w^ater (properly diluted), gas-water, fluid drainings from
pigsties, or anything else preferred that would not be
injurious to the plant, but would be sufficiently offensive
to the grub to drive it from the roots. — (' Brit. Birds,'
' lUus. Brit. Birds,' &c.)

Marble-Gall Fly. Cynips Kollari, Hart.

L.'irva and pupa of Cynips; Cynips Kollari, magnified. Marble Galls.

The " Marble Galls," figured above, seldom cause
much injury, but they occasionally occur in such large

MARBLE-GALL FLY. 211

numbers that they appear to be the most hurtful of the
forty-two or more kinds of Galls which are to be found
on Oaks in Great Britain.

Oak galls infest all parts of the tree ; seventeen kinds
occur on leaves, fifteen affect the formation of the buds,
others occur on the bark, root, and catkins, one kind is
to be found in the twigs, and one in the acorn ; but with
the exception of the Marble-gall and the "Common
Spangle" gall {Neiiroterus Unticidaris) , which sometimes
so completely loads the back of the leaves as to cause
premature withering, it does not appear that any kinds
are materially hurtful.

The females of these Gall-flies (which belong to the
order Hymenoptera) are provided with a peculiar
apparatus for egg-laying, by means of which they are
able to insert one or more eggs with a small quantity of
fluid into the part chosen for attack, and thus set up an
irritation in the living tissues which causes the diseased
growth, resulting in the shape of galls.

In the case of the Cynips Kollari the egg is laid in the
young bud when forming in the axil of the leaf, and the
consequence is the globular growi:h of cellular tissue
which we find (before the Marble-gall is mature), with
the grub lying in the middle : towards autumn this
changes to a pupa, similar to that figured above, and
generally the Gall-fly comes out shortly after, but some-
times not until the following year, or possibly even later.
It is furnished with four transparent wings of the
expanse marked by the line beneath the figure, the body
and abdomen are of a rusty or ochreous brown, and the
l)ase of the abdomen pitchy. As yet females only have
been observed.

This gall of the C. Kollari was noticed in such great
numbers in the south-west of England, about the year
1854, as to give rise to an impression that it had then
first appeared in this country ; and, from it being
especially observed in Devonshire, the name of " Devon-
shire gall" was bestowed upon it. Further investigation,
however, showed that its presence had been noted

212 OAK.

previously, and that the appearance was only remarkable
for its great amount ; now it is widely spread throughout
the country, and is to he found as far north as the hills
of Bayndee, near Banff, and Eedcastle, in Koss-shire.

Pkevention and Kemedies. — This gall is chiefly to be
found on low-growing Oak — such as trees stunted by
want of shelter from sea-blasts or by other causes ; Oak-
bushes in underwood and hedgerows ; the shoots upon
the stumps of felled trees ; and also on young trees, and
is especially undesirable in Oak nurseries.

It has been recommended to employ children to break
off the galls before they are full-grown, and thus destroy
the insect within in its maggot state ; but this is but a
rough remedy, for the children would probably break off'
every leaf with the gall attached. It would answer
better in nursery management for a man furnished with
a common j^enknife to go through the trees whilst the
galls were still young, and with a touch of the knife
remove the gall without injuring the leaf. The operation
would be an effectual cure, and very rapidly performed.
In cases where the galls are formed in clusters of three
or four to perhaps eight or ten, it is desirable to cut the
shoot off below the cluster. If the galls are cut off
whilst they are still soft and young, there is no need to
take the trouble to burn them ; they will dry and shrivel,
and the maggot within will perish. The encouragement
of the Tomtit, or Blue-headed Titmouse, and also of the
Black-headed Titmouse, is an excellent means of pre-
vention of increase of these Gall-flies in Oak nurseries.
Where galls are numerous, these bu-ds are of great
service, by making a rough hole in the gall and picking
out the contained maggot.

Other larvae or maggots, besides that of the Ciinips
Kollari, are often to be found in these galls, sometimes
what are known as "inquilines," or fellow-lodgers, which
are dispersed in small cells through the substance of the
gall ; sometimes parasite larvae, feeding on the larva of
Cynijys Kollari in the large central cell.

MAEBLE-GALL FLY.

213

The following list, taken from the ' Gardeners' Chronicle
and Agricultural Gazette' for 1868, p. 295, gives the
various species and varieties of Oak on which "the gall"
was noticed by Mr. J. Barnes as plentiful at Bicton, in
Devonshire, but without interfering with plentifulness
also of the acorn-crop : —

Quercus pedunculata.

,, australis.

,, dentata.

,, pendida.

,, puhcscens.

,, sessilifiora.

,, Loiiettii.

,, mongoUca.

,, xalapeiisis.

Quercus Tauzin.

,, Turneri.

,, heterophylla,

,, alha.

,, inontana.

,, jiyrenaica.

„ magna-maculata.

,, asplenifolia.

,, rnhra, dec.

The following species or varieties, though growing
contiguous to others infested by galls, had never been
found to be similarly attacked : —

Quercus laciniata nova,
americana alba.
Hodf/insii.
jmlustris.
Chinquapin,
tinctoria.
JEgilops.
apennina.
ccrris variegata

Q uerc us a q uatica.
Phellos.
falcata.
ambiqua.

laurifolia.

coccinea.

h ctcrophylla minor.

lietcrophiiUa vulgaris

macrocarpa, c&c.

Common Spangle Gall. Xeuroterus lenticularis, 01.

The gall of the Xeuroterus lenticularis is distinguishable
from the four other kinds of Spangle-gall found in Britain
by its somewhat larger size, and also by being raised in
the centre and hairy. It sometimes occm-s in great

214

OAK.

quantities on the backs of Oak-leaves, but rarely to an
extent to cause serious damaffe.

Common Spangle Gall on Oak-leaf, nat. size and magnified; also in
section, magnified.

Oak Leaf-roller Moth. Toi-tn.v viridana, Stephens.

The caterpillars of this moth cause serious injury
from time to time in our Oak woods and forests,
especially in the South of England, by feeding in such
vast numbers on the young leaves as to strip the trees
of their foliage, and thus retard the growth of the first
shoots, and injure or entirely ruin the acorn crop of the
season.

The eggs are laid during the summer or autumn of
the year preceding the attack of caterpillars, either on
or in the leaf-buds, or on the boughs (opinions differ as
to the precise spot) ; but in the following spring, when
the Oak leaves are appearing, the caterpillars hatch, and
sometimes swarm in myriads over the infested trees on
many acres of ground.

The caterpillars are at first greenish grey, or lead-
colour ; when full grown they are dull green with dusky
spots, and about half an inch long. They have the
power of rolling the tip of the leaf and spinning it
together into a cylinder (as figured), within which, when
full-fed, they turn to chrysalids, but meanwhile, on
alarm, or as matter of choice, they let themselves down

OAK LEAF-ROLLER MOTH.

215

by scores or hundreds, by means of silken threads, for
about seven or eight feet, and sway about as the wind
may waft them beneath the infested boughs, catching on
any passing object, and also a prey to many kinds of
birds ; but, if nothing else happens, they crawl presently
back again, each up its own line to the bough. The
chrysalis is brown, and is formed in a silken cocoon on
a leaf.

The moth, which appears towards the end of June, is
about an inch in the expanse of the fore wings, with the
head, body between the wings, and fore wings, of a light

Moth; caterpillars hanging from their threads ; and rolled leaf.

green ; the hind wings are brownish, and the fringes of
the wings, as well as a line on the front edge of the
foremost pair, are whitish. — ('Brit. Moths,' Prak.
* Insecten-Kunde,' &c.)

Pre\"ention and PiEMEDiES. — From the circumstance
of the eggs of this moth being so small as not to be
observable on the tree, and also from the caterpillar
attack (which sometimes extends over miles of woodland),
occurring at irregular intervals without any previous
signs to give warning of its approach, it appears im-
possible, as far as is known at present, to apply any

216 OAK.

remedy of general service, excepting such as may be
found in the encouragement of the wild birds.

In a very severe attack on the Oaks in 18'27 it was
observed that the Willow Wrens and Whitethroats were
useful in clearing the caterpillars ; the Chafdnch also ;
and the House Sparrows "were indefatigable in search
of them " ; and poultry searched under the trees for
such as fell to the ground (Mem. Lit. and Phil. Soc,
Manchester, '2nd Series, vol. v.) Rooks, Jackdaws,
Thrushes, Starlings, Titmice, Nuthatches, and Wood-
peckers are said to be of use in the matter (E. L. T.)
Eooks and Jackdaws have been especially observed as
tlocking to the infested trees, and a second crop of
leafage to be soon afterwards established. — (J. H.)

In cases where only a single tree is attacked some-
thing might be done to save it by sending a man, furnished
wdth a new birch broom, into the branches, where, by
starting ojDerations at the top and jarring the boughs,
he would cause large numbers of the caterpillars to fall
down, and, with the long fine twigs of the broom, could
clear away those that floated at the ends of their
threads, without hurting the young leaves, and thus much
diminish the amount of attack. This plan would be
worth trying in the case of any special tree that it was
wished to save, but not for general use.

In case of attack occurring on young trees it is
probable that drenchings thrown powerfully at the
foliage by large garden-engines, would be serviceable.
Any of the washes of soft-soap — or soft-soap, sulphur,
and gas-water — might be used, for which see Index.

Note. — For Goat Moth {Cossus ligniperda), Wood
Leopard Moth {Zeiizem .J^scvU), and Buff-tip Moth
(Pygcera hucephala) , of which the caterpillars attack the
Oak, see Index referring to them under the heads of
the trees they more especially frequent. Many other
insects also feed on the leaves, or in the wood or bark
of the Oak, concerning which space does not allow
details in the present volume.

217

PINE.

Pine Beetle. Hyhuyus jdniperda, Curtis.

I

1, 2, Pine shoots pierced by beetles, in section ; 3, 4, Pine Beetle, nat.
size and magnified ; ee, jaws; fg, chin, ■nith feelers, &c.

These beetles are destructive to Pine plantations (from
those newly planted, at all stages of their growth, up to
fifty years of age), by boring through the side of the
tender shoots into the pith, and eating theii- way for an
inch or two along the centre. This is done in summer,
and in the following spring, during high winds, these
shoots are blown off. The injury to side shoots by this
means is considerable, but in the case of the leading
shoot being thus lost the tree often becomes bushy-
headed, its groT\i,h is retarded, and its ultimate value is
reduced. — (W. M'C.) Some amount of injury is also
caused by the tunnels which the beetles form in the
under side of the bark for egg-laying, but they rarely
select healthy trees if sickly ones are at hand, and chiefly
frequent fallen wood, felled trunks, or dead or decaying
trees and branches for this purpose.

The female appears in April or May, and begins her
oj)erations by boring a hole through the bark, beneath
which she forms a gallery or tunnel of a little more than

218

PINE.

her own width ; along each side of this she lays her
eggs, from which the larvfe or maggots soon hatch, and
each larva eats its way forward beneath the bark, thus
forming a series of burrows, gradually getting larger
towards the extremities, sometimes running nearly at
right angles with the first (or mother beetle's) tunnel, at
others bending in various directions (as figured, from
near Blairgowrie, E. C.)- The burrows are eaten out of
the under side of the bark, but often show just a trace of
working on the outside of the wood lying against it.

The maggots are about a quarter of an inch long,
legless and fleshy, and largest in the rings behind the
head, which is of an ochreous colour ; the rest of the
maggot is whitish, with a light ochreous tint towards the
tail. The maggots turn to pupae at the end of their
tunnels, from which the beetles come out in July and
August.

The Pine Beetles are of the size figured above, and
of the shape given more clearly in the magnified figure,
of a pitchy colour when mature, but paler previously,
rough, punctured, with longish hairs, and furnished

PINE BEETLE. 219

with strong jaws. The wing-cases are rounde'd down at the
sides, and cover a pair of wings capable of strong flight.

In their first stage — that is, whilst they are still feeding
as maggots — they do little harm, this part of their life
being rarely passed in healthy trees ; it is after they are
developed that the real work of destruction begins. Then
they pierce a little round hole through the bark, at the
end of their burrow, come out through it, and fly to the
neighbouring trees, where they may be found in
September in great numbers, boring into the young
shoots and injming them, as above mentioned.

Where the beetles pass the winter is not clearly
proved ; it is considered by some observers that they
shelter in rubbish and moss on the ground, or in crannies
in old bark, and similar places, but it is also stated that
they are to be found in standing trees, the resting-place
where each beetle has gnawed a burrow into the soft
outer wood being marked by a lump of turpentine
which has oozed from the wound and hardened outside
on the bark. We need more information on this matter ;
but however this may be, it is clear the maggots feed
and develoj) under the bark, and this is the point mainly
to be looked to for means of jn-evention. — (' Keports of
Inj. Insect Observations,' ' Prak. Insecten-Kunde,' &c.)

Prevention and Eemedies. — " When j-oung Fir plan-
tations are thinned, all the brush ought to be at once
removed, or burned on the ground, as this beetle propa-
gates in the deca3dng branches in legions. They ascend
the standing trees and commit extensive ravages. When
Fir thinnings are lotted within the plantations it is a very
common practice to dress the bark off to lighten the
carriage in transit. The dressing of the bark off should
not be permitted within the plantation. In a year after
I have seen, around these heaps of bark, the ground
covered with green shoots blown from the young trees
which had been pierced by this beetle." — (W. M'C.)
" Pinching off the infested shoots and burning them is
the best remedy in the case of small trees. Decaying

220

PINE

wood or bark is the favourite breeding-place of the Pine
Beetle (and troops of other noxious insects), and these
should be systematically collected and burned in Pine
woods to prevent the increase of insect pests." — (M. D.)
Standing trees that are sickly should be observed,
and, if found to be infested, should be felled and
removed.

In German forestry it has been advised to bark the
trunks and large branches of Pines felled in forest
clearings, and thus prevent any mischief from eggs laid
by Pine Beetles that have been attracted to the spot.
How far this plan may be desirable (or practicable) here
does not appear, but the importance of clearing all dead
and decayed timher, or Pine-nihhislt hrus]i, which may
serve as breeding-places, cannot be too strongly insisted
on. — ('Eeports of Injurious Insect Observation,' 1879,
1880, &c.)

Pine-bud Tortrix Moth.

Fu'tinia turionana, Hubn.

( hthotccnia turionana, Curtis.

Pine-slioots injured by caterpillars of Tortrix. Pine-bud Tortrix, E.
turionana, magnified, with lines showing natural size.

The caterpillars of the Pine-bud Moth are injurious to
Scotch Fir, Silver Fir, and various species of Pine, by

PINE-BUD TORTRIX MOTH. 221

feeding in the buds, and especially inside the terminal
bud of the leading shoot. By this means some of the
buds are killed, and the leading shoot is often destroyed
and its place taken by a side one, the uniform growth of
the branches is interfered with.

The moth appears during July, and lays her eggs on
the buds of the young Firs (chiefly selecting those of
from five to fifteen years old. — E. L. T.) ; the caterpillars
hatch in about twelve days, and feed inside the buds.
" At the end of October the caterpillar eats its way from
below upwards into the strongest central bud, wdiich is
by thtit time formed for the next year's growth, and there
hybernates." — (V. K.)

The caterpillars are usually about half an inch long,
reddish or purplish brown, with brown or black head,
and with dark bands on the segments ; or with one dark
or black band across the segment next to the head.
When spring returns they feed again till, at some time
between April and June, they change to chestnut-brown
chrysalids at the bottom of the chamber they have
hollowed out in the bud.

The moth hatches from these in July, and then may
be seen resting on the Pine- stems, which it somewhat
resembles in colour. The fore wings are from half an
inch to a little less than an inch in expanse, and of
rusty red colour (sometimes of a darker tint or of a
tawny orange), varied with irregular silvery markings
(see figure). The hinder wings are whitish grey in the
male, darker towards the edge, wdiicli has a white
fringe ; in the female they are grey throughout. —
(' Naturgeschichte Schad. Insecten,' ' Prak. Insecten-
Kunde.')

The Pine-bud Moth (above mentioned) and the Pine-
shoot Moth {Retitiia huoliana, mentioned below), which
are species of Tortrix, resemble each other in so many
points of appearance and habits that it is not always
possible to ascertain which of the two species is referred
to in observations of methods of attack. From the
descriptions here quoted it appears that the II. tarionana.

222 PINE.

is the smallest of the two moths, the caterpillars of
which feed chiefly inside the buds, the feeding-season
heing both in autumn and in the following spring. The
caterpillar of the li. huoliana, which is stated to be the
most injurious of the two kinds, feeds mainly in the
spring of the year on the growing shoots, under a shelter
of threads of its own spinning and hardenedturpentine.

Pine-shoot Tortrix Moth. Retinia huoliana.

These Moths are to be found during July about 3'oung
Pine-trees of various kinds.

The female lays her eggs between the buds at the ends
of the boughs. The caterpillars which hatch late in the
summer gnaw these so as to cause a How of turpentine
that gives them a slight coating, and here the caterpillars
hybernate. Their operations are first noticeable in the
following spring when the trees begin their growth, after
which the grubs attack the shoots nearest, or one side
of them, and are to be found sheltered under a kind of
web and the turpentine that flows from the wound.

The caterpillars are at first of a dark brown, which
changes to a lighter colour afterwards ; the small head
and a band on the segment next to it are of a shining
black. These are to be found from September to May,
and on ceasing to feed they change (at the same spot) to
chrysalids of a dirty brownish yellow, blunt at the tail,
and furnished on the abdomen with prickle-like
processes pointing backwards. They are to be found
in June in the young shoots, and after lying in this
state for four weeks the moths appear.

These are rather larger than the foregoing species.
The upper wings are reddish yellow, changing to a
darker tmt at the tip and marked with light stripes from
the base, and silvery spots and transverse wavy lines ;
the hinder wings are blackish grey, with a yellow tint,
and yellow-grey fringes. In the dusk of the evening
they swarm round the tops of the young Pines out of

PINE-SHOOT MOTH. 223

which they have hatched, but by day they rest and are
not readily seen, from their similarity in colom' to the
withered shoots of ^Yhich the}^ have been the cause.

This species is common wherever Pine-trees are to be
found from the north to the south of Europe.

The infested trees are easily known by the distorted
shoots; those that have been injured (and the growth
consequently checked) on one side turn downwards,
gradually lengthening, till after a while the shoot raises
itself upwards at the tip and takes a straight course
again ; but meanwhile a knee has been formed, and a
crippled state given to the branch. The shoots that
have been destroyed turn brown and die on the tree,
many break off at the bend, and stumpy growths from
the number of buds thrown into unnatural development
entirely spoil the characteristic appearance of the tree.
— (' Prak. Insecten-Kunde.')

Prevention and Eemedies. — More information is
greatly needed; it is noted that a vigorous gro\\i;h,
attention to the trees not being over- crowded, and a
suitable soil and situation, are important matters of
prevention (E. L. T.) ; but even the most healthy
plantations are not exempt from attack.

Where the state of the buds or shoots shows the
caterpillar (or chrysalis) to be present, these should be
carefully removed, so as not to injure the remaining
shoots, and all these infested pieces should be burnt.
This will lessen the amount of future attack, and the
earlier it can be done in the season the better, so as to
push on a good growth in the healthy shoots that are
left by means of the sap that otherwise would have been
shared with the infested growths.

From the fact of the moths being sometimes noticeable
in large numbers flying in the evening over the infested
trees, it is worth consideration whether washings of some
kind \Yhich would lodge on or amongst the buds where
the moths lay their eggs would not be of service to
prevent oviposition. These might be applied in nm'sery

224

PINE.

ground with an engine, and although tobacco-Hquor
failed on trial in a plantation in Linlithgowshire much
infested by moths, of which the description agrees with the
habits of the above species (J. M'L.), it is very likely
that some more adhesive wash would be of service
(see Index) ; such as would make a light sticky coating
over the buds for the short time the moths were about in
large numbers, and which would lodge between them,
and so especially protect the spot which the Pine-shoot
Tortrix selects for deposit of its eggs.

Pine Sawfly. Lojjhynis jnni, Curtis.

Pine Sawtiy, pupa, and larva, mngnified. Pine-leaves injured by Savvtly

The caterpillars of this Sawfly cause great damage to
Pines, and especially to young Scotch Fir-woods, by
feeding on the leaves. In some cases they scoop away
the sides of the leaf, leaving only the midrib ; in others,
beginning at the tip, they eat the leaves almost down to
the sheath. They also feed on the bark of the young
shoots, and, as they have voracious appetites and appear
in companies, the mischief they do is enormous ; and,

PINE SAWFLY. 225

unless checked by treatment or weather, is continued
year after jenv by successive generations over large
areas, sometimes extending to two thousand acres or
more of plantation.

The Sawflies appear early in summer, when the female
inserts her eggs in the Pine-leaves by cutting a slit along
a leaf with her saw-like ovipositor and laying a few eggs
in the opening, which she covers with a resinous material
scraped from the leaves, repeating the operation until all
the eggs have been laid. The caterpillars hatch in
about three weeks, and, like others of the genus Lophyrus,
are 22-footed. They have a pair of claw-like feet on
each of the three segments immediately behind the head,
the next segment is footless ; the succeeding seven
segments have each a pair of sucker-feet (or "prolegs"),
and the tail is also furnished with a pair, known as the
"caudal proleg." The colour varies much with age,
health, and weather ; at first the grub is green, paler or
whitish beneath, with a brownish yellow head, and black
sucker-feet ; when full grown it has a rusty brown head,
dark forehead, and black jaws and eyes ; it has an
interrupted black line along each side formed of a patch
of black dots on each segment ; the true feet are black ;
the sucker-feet are yellow, with a black line at the
base ; when full grown it is about an inch long.

They feed for eight weeks, and then form cocoons in
the moss and leaves or decayed matter beneath the tree
upon which they feed, or on the leaves, or in crannies of
the bark.

This cocoon is oval, scarcely half an inch long, and
small for the size of the caterpillar (which lies doubled
on itself within), and is remarkable for the hard compact
nature of its exterior.

" The colour of specimens spun under moss is com-
monly of a dull brown, and of those fastened to the tree
either a silky ash-grey, dirty white, or with a yellow
tinge ; a clean white and a rusty red (the latter commonly
with a woolly surface) occur sometimes, but only
occasionally." — (Th. H.)

Q

226 PINE.

The time taken for development varies ; in some
cases the caterpillar remains michanged for nine months
in the cocoon, sometimes even for a longer time before it
turns to the pupa (figured above, removed from the
cocoon) ; but the appearance of the perfect Sawfiies may
be looked for early in the summer.

The male and female differ from each other both in
colour and size ; the male is black, with four transparent
iridescent wings, which are about half an inch in
expanse, and the feather-like rays of the horns are more
developed than in the female. The colour of the female
is whitish, with black head, breast, and horns ; a black
patch on the back of the abdomen, and a black patch or
spots between the wings, which are about three-quarters
of an inch in their expanse, and iridescent with purple
and green, varied with yellow, like those of the male. —
(' Die Blattwespen,' ' Naturgeschichte der Schadlichen
Insecten,' ' Stephens's Illus. Brit. Ent.,' &c.)

Pkevention and Eemedies. — Clearing away cocoons
from under infested trees during the winter is the best
method of preventing attack in the ensuing season.

A large proportion of the Pine Sawfly caterpillars
which leave the shoots in autumn bury themselves (as
mentioned above) in the dry leaves, moss, or decayed
rubbish beneath the tree, and are stated for the most
part to form their cocoons near the stem of the tree,
where they are sometimes to be found lying together in
masses as large as a man's fist.

" The ground underneath Scots Fir-trees is generally
bare, and covered only with the fallen leaves and
tree debris ; so that it is an easy matter to examine
the surface of the ground near the base of the trees,
and, if found infested with cocoons, to scrape it together
and hum it in small heaps, so as to destroy the insects.

"Another plan might be useful; that is, turn over with
a spade the loose surface-soil and tree debris containing
the cocoons, and give it a heavy beat with the back of
the spade, thus smashing and destroying the cocoons.

PINE SAWFLY. 227

"However, nothing is so effective as collecting the
surface-soil and rubbish into small heaps, and burning
or charring it. Even where the surface is covered with
rough herbage or heather, this is the best plan, as the
rough material will all help the charring of the soil, and
hurning of the cocoons." — (M. D.)

With regard to clearing caterpillars off the trees, the
following method was found successful on a plantation of
about eighty acres near Forres, which was infested by
the larva of a Sawfly : —

""When the caterpillars were first noticed, a careful
man was provided with a pair of strong gloves, with
directions to examine the state of the trees daily, and
when he found the caterpillars — which are generally in
clusters — to destroy them by infolding the branch on
which they were feeding in the gloved hand and pressing
it firmly. The caterpillars (which had not appeared in
the whole of the plantation, but in great numbers in
some parts of it) were thus prevented from doing any
great amount of damage." — (D. S.)

Near Dunkeld (where Sawflies had been ver}- injurious
for several seasons previous to 1879, on a young
plantation of two thousand acres of Scots Fir) an
experiment was tried on a small plantation of twenty
acres, five miles distant from any other Scots Fir wood,
which, up to the date of the observations sent, had
proved successful. The plan adopted was to send a
number of bo3's through the plantation, each furnished
with a small vessel containing naphtha, and a brush
roughly made of feathers, with which the clusters of
larvae were slightly sprinkled or touched, when they
immediately fell down, and by this means the plantation
was almost cleared. — (J. M'(j.)

In the case of a bad attack of Pine-leaf Caterpillars in
Pioxburghshire, after various means of destrojdng them
had failed, — such as dusting the trees with quick-lime, —
the use of hellebore in solution, applied by means of the
syringe, was found a deadly application to the caterpillar
and an effective cure. — (C. Y. M.)

228 PINE.

In the case of larger trees, much good may be done by
shaking down the caterpillars and destroying them
l)efore they have time to creep away. They fall in great
numbers (especially when chilled and slightly torpid in
the morning) on the tree being shaken or jarred ; and in
German Forestry it has been found that one man to
shake the tree, accompanied by two women or children
with a sheet for the caterpillars to fall on, from wdiich
they can be collected and destroyed, can clear fifteen
trees of twenty-five years old before nine o'clock in the
morning. — (Th. H.) If some fresh Pine-boughs are
strewed under the trees before they are shaken, the
fallen caterpillars will collect immediately on the sprays,
and may be trampled on, or more conveniently shaken
on to the cloths to be destroyed, than by simply letting
them drop on the cloths from the tree.

It is also desirable, before shaking, to put a band of
some nature that the caterpillars will not cross on the
ground at the foot of the tree, to keep all that may have
escaped from making good their return up the trunk.

Quick-lime would answer this purpose, or gas-lime ;
or a hay-band (or pieces of any old rags twisted together
into a rope) well tarred or soaked in a mixture of tar and
oil that would keep wet and sticky for some time, would
be a sure preventive of traffic of the caterpillars
across it.

When the caterpillars have consumed the leafage on
one tree, they migrate to another, and where tracts of
forest are affected it has been advised to dig ditches not
less than two feet deep and two feet broad, with the sides
as perpendicular as possible. Looking at the clinging
powers of the caterpillars, it does not seem likely that
this plan would do more than delay progress, and also
afford a clear space where the caterpillars, when they
occur in the myriads described by Hartig and Kollar in
the German Pine-forests, might be duly dealt with by
regular watchers ; but, generally speaking, a broad band
of something which they would not cross laid on the
ground, appears a more practicable remedy.

PINE SAWFLY. 229

Sand, or ashes, or dry earth, well sprinkled with
paraffin and water, would probably check the onward
progress more effectually at less cost ; or a band of fresh
gas-lime would be effective. Quick-lime would be of
little use in this case, as something is needed of which
the effects would last for at least a few days.

When infested and uninfested trees are mixed together,
it may be worth while to isolate such as have not been
attacked. Save where the boughs touch, the caterpillars
can only reach them by crawling up the trunk, and a
large number might be protected at a small expense by
placing rings of any deterrent the forester might choose
at the lowest part of the trunk, or on the ground round
it. A band about a foot wide of fish-oil soft-soap, mixed
to a thick consistency and laid on with a large brush,
would cost little beyond the wages of the operator, and
probably be a preventive.

Something may be done by picking cocoons off the
leaves, or clearing them from crevices on the bark ; or
by removing the leaves that have eggs laid in them;
but these operations are not practicable on a large scale,
and (looking at the susceptibility of the caterpillars to
injury from wet and cold, in their young state and
when they are changing their skins) something might
be done in attack on trees in nursery ground, and on
limited areas, by syringing. The kind of engine used in
Hop-grounds with a double hose would be applicable to
the work, and, where water was at hand, the rapid
clearing it would be almost certain to effect would be
worth a trial.

Ungenial weather acts powerfully on this insect. In
the autumn of 1880 it was noted that the first frosts,
coming suddenly, destroyed many of the caterpillars that
still remained on the trees at Earlston, in the south of
Scotland (W. W. E.) ; and the absence of the Sawllies
from the Athol forests, and also their almost total
disappearance from the young plantations in the neigh-
bourhood of Beauly in 1880, after having ravaged the
young Fir-woods for five or six years until acres were

230 PINE.

complete!}' stripped of their leaves, is attributed to the
low temperature of the preceding summer.- — (D. D.)

We have some help in keeping down this pest both
from birds and the smaller Mammalia. Woodpeckers of
various kinds, Jays, Cuckoos, Titmice, Hedgesparrows,
and Swallows, are of service in destroying the perfect
Sawilies and also the cocoons, with the contained cater-
pillar ; but they shun continuous attack on the
caterpillars on the trees, and diet on them appears to be
prejudicial to the nestlings. Amongst four-footed enemies
the Field Mouse and the Short-tailed Field Mouse (Field
Vole), both of which when driven by hunger are
carnivorous, are stated to destroy cocoons lying beneath
the moss, together with their contents. Squirrels are
not less destructive, as many as a hundred of these
spun-up caterpillars having been taken from the stomach
of a single specimen ; but they will not eat the cater-
pillars whilst feeding on the leaves. — (Tli. H.)

The surest methods of prevention of these pests,
however, appear to be in taking advantage of their
habits of forming their cocoons in large numbers beneath
their food-trees, and of falling from the branches on a
sharp shake being given to the tree.

Giant Sirex. Sirex gigas, Linn.

The maggots of this beautiful Fly are injurious to Fir-
timber by boring galleries in the solid wood. The method
and amount of injury are variously estimated, but by
comparison of the observations of many ■v\T:iters it appears
that the female Sirex lays her eggs in various kinds of
Pine — Scotch Fir, Silver Fir, and Spruce — which, though
not decayed, are not in full health ; such, for instance,
as trees past their prime, or that have been uprooted, or
broken by wind or accidents, or are sickly from any
other cause.

" Zinke and Bechstein agree that an insignificant local
injury to the tree affords a jpoint for attack ; that the

GIANT SIREX.

231

females lay their eggs on such damaged spots, from
"which the brood spreads, and thus in a few years an
otherwise healthy trunk is destroyed." — (Th. H.)

The eggs are also stated to be deposited in felled Fu*-
trunks left lying in the woods.

Female Sirex ; larva. Jaws of lan^a and fly, magnified.

The female (as figured above) is furnished with a long
ovipositor, by means of which she bores a hole through
the bark of the stem of the tree for the deposit of her
eggs.

The maggots from these are whitish, soft, and C3din-
drical, with a scaly head armed with strong jaws; a
blunt j)oint on the tail-segment, and they have three
pau's of very minute feet. These larvas feed in the
solid timber, and are full grown in about seven weeks ;
and then or later (for how long the larval and pupal
state last seems uncertain) they change to chrysalids in
the tree. The pupa resembles the perfect insect lying
still, soft, and white, with the limbs laid along the
breast and body.

The further change to the complete insect may occur
in a month, but if the maggot has not turned to the
chrysalis till autumn the ^j will not appear till the
following summer, or even a much later period.

232 PINE.

The female Sirex is usually an inch and a half long,
cylindrical, and with the head and the rest of the body of
the same diameter. The colour is black, banded with
yellow on the first two and last three rings of the
abdomen, and there is also a yellow spot on each side of
the head. The abdomen has a short blunt point at the
tip, and underneath it is furnished with the ovipositor,
which is long and black, and lies in the yellow sheath
shown in the figure. The thighs are black, the shanks
and feet yellow, and the four large membranous wings
are of a brownish yellow.

The male is smaller, with the abdomen flat and yellow,
excepting at the base, which is black, as well as the last
segment (or end of the tail) and its appendage. The
hind pair of shanks and feet are black or dusky; pale, or
with yellow rings at the base. The horns are yellow ;
those of the male are nearly as long as the body, those
of the female are rather more than half that length. —
('Die Blattwespen,' ' Naturgeschichte der Schad. In-
secten.')

Prevention and Eemedies. — The best methods of
prevention are to clear away trees that are in a condition
to attract attack — such as trees that have been injured
by accident or ill-treatment, or that are weakened by
disease or attacks of other insects, and also those that
have been blown over or that have been felled, as the
Sire.x lays its eggs in felled as well as in standing timber.

Any trees which are found to be infested (either by the
Sirex being seen escaping, or by the large holes in the
trunk showing the escape to have taken place) should be
felled and disposed of according to their condition, so as
to stop further spread of the insect from them.

If they can be taken to the saw-pit and converted to
any rough use it is best, for thus the infested parts may
be cut off and burnt, and the sound timber preserved ;
but if this cannot be managed, something should be done,
both with trees in this state and felled trunks lying in
the woods, to prevent the insects escaping.

STEEL-BLUE SIREX. 233

If nothing else occurred the tree might he spht for
firewood to be used at once, or it would be worth while
to heap up any rubbish near over the trunk and char the
outside.

Sometimes the insects appear suddenly in great
numbers. I have seen twelve to twenty specimens
captured in a few hours, as they came out of one Larch-
trunk lying by a Fir-plantation in West Gloucestershire
(Ed.) ; and in such a case a child with a net could easily
catch and kill them. Generally, however, they appear
singly or a few at a time, often over a period of several
years from one trunk.

Steel-blue Sirex. Sirex juvmcus, Linu.

This Sirex is said to be "decidedly the most common,
at least in this country, of the genus" (J. F. S.) ; but,
as its habits resemble those of the Giant Sirex, that
species has been selected for illustration on account of
its great size and beauty.

The S. juvencus is often much smaller than S. gigas,
and generally of a blue-black, varied with bright or rusty
red. The colouring, however, is very variable. Some-
times it is blue-black, with rusty red thighs, and reddish
shanks and feet; black horns, and somewhat transparent
brownish wings, with rusty veins and spot on the fore
edge. Sometimes, however, there is a larger amount of
bright red marking ; the abdomen is bright red, save the
two rings at the base, or the six lowest joints of the
horns are red instead of black, and many other small
differences of colouring also occur in different specimens.
—{' Illus. Brit. Entom.')

Pine Weevil. Hylohius aUctis, Stephens.

The Pine Weevil is injurious to Scotch Fir, Spruce,
Larch, and some others of the Coniferae, by feeding on

234

PINE.

the tender bark of the young shoots. It mamly attacks
young trees, especially plantations formed on ground
from which a crop of old Fir has recently been removed,
and eats away the bark of the stems, sometimes com-
X)letely stripping them upwards. It also eats the bark of
the shoots, and destroys the bud; and, in the Larch,
it gnaws at the base of the leaves so as to render the
shoots bare.

1, Pine Weevil, magnified ; line showing nat. length (snout included) ;
9, 3, Larch twigs injured by Weevils; 4, head, with snout and horn and
fore leg, magnified.

The beetles appear early in the summer, sometimes in
May, but chiefly in June and July. In unfavourable
weather they remain under shelter of the leafage, but
when it is warm and sunny they are more active, and
pairing then takes .place.

The females deposit their eggs, which are transparent
and whitish, in rifts of the bark, in logs, root- stocks,
stumps of felled trees, and on exposed parts of roots.

The maggots hatch in two or three weeks, and may
be found from June onwards throughout the winter.
When full grown it is about half an inch long, fleshy and
white, with a brown head, w^iich, as well as some
portions of the maggot, is beset with bristles. It is
either legless, or with mere indications of legs on the
three segments behind the head, and in general shape
resembles other weevil maggots (excepting that the

PINE WEEVIL. 235

three segments above mentioned are so much enlarged
as to give a swollen appearance to this part of the
maggot, which is also much wrinkled transversely), for
figs, of which see references to "Weevil" in Index.

The maggots form more or less winding galleries m
the soft wood beneath the bark, which gradually increase
in size with the gro-^i;h of the maggot, and, following the
course of the root, go dovm to some depth below the sur-
face. These galleries are gradually filled with the results
of the wood-gnawings ("worm-meal") left by the maggot,
and at the extremity of the boring there is a cocoon-like
accumulation of chips forming a nest for the i^upa.

The pupse resemble the beetles in shape, but with the
legs and partially developed wings and wmg-cases, and
also the long snout or proboscis folded under them ; the
rings of the abdomen are slightly saw-like at the sides.
These pupte are to be found in spring m their cocoon-
like nests, and in this state they lie quiet for about
four weeks, when the young beetles develop and come
out, whilst some of the beetles of the previous year that
have hybernated are again to be found. These latter
have passed the winter in moss, or fallen leafage and
twigs, or even in holes in the earth, or roots under the
trees, or similar sheltering places, and may be known
from the freshly-developed beetles by their more faded
and worn appearance.

The beetles are about half an inch in length, black,
with some patches of j^ellowish hairs on the head and
on the body behind the head, which is also thickly and
deeply pitted. The wing-cases are rounded at the sides,
and bluntly pointed at the tail (so as to be somewhat
boat-shaped) ; they have alternate lines of punctures
and tubercles, and are variegated with spots and bands
of yellowish hairs. The legs are black. The beetle is
especially distinguished by its long snout or proboscis,
with elbowed horns, of which the long lowest joint fits
into a hollow formed for its reception in the side of the
jDroboscis (see fig. magnified). — ' Prak. Insecten-Kunde,'
' Illus. Brit. Ent.,' &c.

236 PINE.

Prevention and Eemedies. — One of the chief points
to be observed in the habits of this beetle is that it
frequents forest clearings, that is, spots where Fir trees,
few or many, have recently been felled. Here it
harbours under pieces of bark, broken wood, &c., and
lays its eggs on the logs, stumps, and exposed roots.

It is therefore desirable that all such points of
attaction should be got rid of out of the wood. There is
no occasion that anything should be wasted, for the
fragments that are only useful as fire-wood may be burnt
long before any eggs laid in them can develop through
all their transformations, but they should not remain in
the woods. Fragments of roots left in the ground
should be thoroughly covered with at least six inches of
earth, and no logs (which are an especial haunt of the
beetle for oviposition), should be left about, unless some
of them, or of the fragments of bark, are used for
traps. This has been found practically useful in German
forestry, and if these traps were regularly examined,
and the contents destroyed, they would probably be
an excellent means of getting rid oi many of the
weevils, which will frequent a clearing so long as it
is in progress, and the air pervaded with the scent of
turpentine.

Bark-traps are made by laying pieces of bark with the
inner side downwards on the ground. Pine bark is said
to answer better than Spruce, as it remains fresh longer.
The pieces should be well weighted down with stones,
and examined early or late in the day. The number
of beetles caught is greatest in dull weather or during
soft rain.

Log-traps make a good decoy to attract the female
beetle to lay her eggs ; in this plan thick pieces of logs
with bark on them are partly buried in the ground. The
beetles resort to them, feed on the sap, and lay in them,
and numbers of beetles may thus be caught and the
brood from the eggs got rid of afterwards by burning the
logs when convenient.

Brush-traps are made of Pine or Spruce twigs, tied

PINE WEEVIL, 237

together in bundles, about the size of a birch-broom ;
these are scattered about infested spots, and attract
many weevils, which may be easily shaken out of them
and destroyed.

It cannot be too strongly insisted on that all such
places for propagation as dying trees, waste timber,
broken bark, stocks, roots, &c., that cannot be removed,
bm-ied, or utilised as traps, should be carefully gathered
together and burnt.

The neighbourhood of forest saw-pits should be
similarly attended to, and any logs of felled timber,
whether in or out of the woods, should be observed
relatively to their serving for breeding-places. In the
summer the beetles may be found pairing on planks,
cleft timber, &c., far from woods.

It is, however, not worth while (unless special circum-
stances should point out otherwise) to meddle with
rubbish under Pine trees, such as moss, dry Pine-
needles, small twigs, and such like ; the Weevil does not
feed on these, and does not lay in them (for they would
not afford food to the maggot) ; it only shelters itself in
them for the winter, and the small number that would
be destroyed would scarcely repay the labour.

The second and most important point in the habits of
the Weevil is that of attacking young plantations, and
especially those that have been formed on recently cleared
Fir forest lands. It has been found that on land cleared
of Scots Pine and planted within four years with Coni-
ferae, that there would be few remaining uninjured in two
years after.

The following method of treatment has been thoroughly
successful : —

After the Pine crop is cut and cleared the ground is
properly enclosed, so as to exclude stock of all kinds,
and, if required, it is drained. The ground is permitted
to rest the first summer for the purpose of getting up all
herbage as strongly as possible, and in dry spring
weather the whole is burned, so as to destroy the eggs
and food of the beetle, and as far as may be stamp it out.

238 PINE.

After this the ground should be planted with strong two
years' transplanted plants. After each young tree is
planted a layer of earth is laid round about two inches
in thickness and eighteen inches in diameter ; this layer
should be beaten smooth with the back of the spade to
prevent the beetle lodging under any part of the rough
surface. This treatment was found to answer well, for
as soon as the beetle in search of food comes in contact
with the bare earth it immediately steers its course in
another direction, and leaves the plant untouched.
The beetle is most destructive in dry warm seasons. —
(W. M'C.)

Following up the same principles with different details,
it has been found a good plan, where planting has to be
done on a large scale, and the beetle is present to any
extent, to take out as many of the old roots as possible,
burn all the rubbish that is lying about, and graze the
ground with cattle for three or four years before replant-
ing.—(W. W. E.)

In the first method of treatment, allowing the growth
of grass, and firing it (as is observed), " stamps out " the
attack ; in the second, the turning the land into grazing
ground for "three or four years," gives time for all eggs
or maggots to have passed through their transformations
before replanting, and the presence of the cattle and
their droppings on the ground are an excellent preser-
vative from weevils being attracted to the spot.*

The following remark is also valuable : — " I strongly
recommend surface burning when successive planting is
contemplated. This is the safest method of destroying

* In a young Fir wood of about eight acres in West Gloucestershire
that it was wished to keep in trim order in connection with pleasure-
grounds, it was the custom yearly to " skirm " (i. e., rough-mow) the
ground with briar or common scythes, and fire the rubbish in a large
number of small heaps piled amongst the trees, and, where convenient,
on the stump of a felled Fir. When proper attention was paid the fire
did not run, and this surface treatment, together with the general slight
smoke from the smouldering heaps throughout the plantation, was accom-
panied by (if it did not cause) an absence of Pine Weevils which some
years before had appeared in great numbers at the locality. — (Ed).

PINE WEEVIL. 239

the Fir Weevil in its various stages. If for special
reasons the surface cannot be burned, it is well to delay
planting for a few years until the weevils are exterminated.
— (D. S. S.)

With regard to remedies that are applicable when
Weevil-attack is present in young plantations of limited
extent, hand-picking is a sure but a tedious and expen-
sive cure. The beetles may be gathered into wide-
mouthed bottles (J. M'L.), or they might be shaken
down on to tarred boards (see " Otiorliyyichus.")

Quick-lime has been found to answer well, when
thrown on the ground round the trees, and from the
observations of the beetle attack, commencing at the
ground level and gradual^ stripping the trees upward of
their bark, it would appear that any deterrent thrown
round the stem would be useful. Ashes or sand
sprinkled with diluted paraffin, or gas-lime scattered
round the trees, would probably do much good, but,
though the beetles occur to a certain extent on the
ground, their low and short flights exactly suit them for
attack to the young trees, to wdiich they are mainly
hurtful ; and mere isolation at the roots can only be
looked upon as a partial remedy.

The plan of painting over the stem of the young trees
with a mixture of paraffin and red-lead has proved fairly
successful (up to the date of the note of observation),
but was not considered by the experimenter to have then
been tried long enough to l)e certain of its success or its
effects on the tree. — (W. W. E.) It has been found that
young trees dressed with a mixture known as Messrs.
Davidson's composition, used to keep off rabbits, have
been free from Weevil-attack.

From these notes it is plain that direct applications to
the stems of the young trees are serviceable, and it.
would be well worth trying whether applications of soft-
soap and sulphur, or of gas-water, soft-soap, and sulphur,
well laid on with a brush, would not answer (for recipes
see references in Index). Probably smearing the stems
with a mixture of cow-dung and lime would do good, or

240 PINE.

in this case, as the application is not to a food-crop,
there would be no objection to using some of the regular
insect poisons. Paris Green (Scheele's Green) is retailed
at sixpence per pound, and, as an arsenite of copper is
a virulent poison; under proper superintendence it would
be worth a trial, either laid on dilute with a thick lime-
wash or mixed with fine ashes in the proportion of at
least twenty of ashes to one of the arsenic green.

One important point yet remains ; it appears that the
young plants are most attacked after transplanting, and
probably in this case, as in many others, the temporarily
altered state of the sap attracts the insect feeder, and
(as in other cases) all possible care to avoid what would
prolong this state, or cause a sickly growth, should
be afforded ; and when a large extent of ground is
covered with Pine plantations, a very strict supervision
of the method in which the labourers put in the young
trees could not fail to do much good.

Spruce-Gall Aphis. Chermes (pini) abietis, Linn.

The Spruce-Gall Aphis, known also as the Spruce
Adclges, or Spruce Chermes, causes the small bright
green, or green and rosy, galls, shaped like miniature
Pine Apples (or somewhat like Scotch Fir cones furnished
on each of the divisions with a short leaf), which may
be found not unfrequently in the early summer forming
at the ends of the shoots of the Spruce Fir.

The mother Chermes, from which the brood of the
year originates, is very similar in shape to that of the
Larch, but rather smaller, oval, wingless, and woolly, of
various shades of green or purj^le, with dark legs, and
may be found in spring with her sucker inserted in the
base of a Spruce bud, thus causing the irritation which
starts the diseased growth known as the " Pine Apple
Gall" or " Pseudo Cone." Sometimes the shape is
perfect, but often only one side of the shoot is swollen,
and the other is merely stunted.

SPRUCE-GALL APHIS.

241

The first growth of the gall and the first egg-laying
of the Chermes begin in May, or sometimes in the later
part of April, and deposit of eggs goes on slowly, the
Chermes never stirring from the spot during the time,
till, having laid a mass amounting to about two hundred,
of various tints of yellowish green or grey covered with
wool from her own body, she dies.

Winged female, pupa, eggs, and horn, all magnified. Section of Chermes
gall in dried state alter departure of Chermes.

The larvas, which hatch shortly from these eggs, are
mere specks in size ; when magnified they are seen to
have six legs, and a head with horns, and to be in shape
much like the pupa figured above (at first without
signs of the future wings). The colour is greenish, or of
a red tint. Meanwhile the growth of the gall — the
** pseudo cone " as it is called — has been continuing, and
the young Chermes larvffi spread themselves, soon after
hatching, on its surface, drive their suckers into the soft
substance of which it is formed, and, according to various
observers, become buried in it from the continued enlarge-
ment of the base of the unnaturally swollen leaves, of
which the gall is chiefly composed, gradually oi:c;iapping

242 SPRUCE FIE.

tliem. This point is one of much interest. With regard
to the larvae that were hatched outside presently be-
coming tenants of the inside of the gall, there is no
doubt, but, according to ni}^ own observations after long
and careful watching of the growing specimens, I believe
that at a certain stage of the growth of the gall a minute
slit opens along the upper part of the sutures that mark
the divisions of the swollen leaves of the gall from each
other, and through these ojpenings the larvae creep into
the chambers within.

On this point enquirers may satisfy themselves by
watching the Cliermes galls at hatching time, with the
help of a strong magnifying glass, especially on the
afternoon of a sunny day, and noting (should the process
coincide with the above observations) the larvae spread
themselves along the lines which divide the galls into
diamond-shaped scales, apparently piercing into them
with their suckers, and then disappearing into the
chambers of the gall. When this " pseudo cone" has
reached its full growth, which may be in four to six
weeks, it hardens, the cells split open, and the contained
young Chermes come out in numbers. The pupae are
powdery, lead-coloured, and margined and greenish at
the sides from the indications of the tint of the coming
wings. When fully developed the skin cracks, and the
2)erfectly-winged insect appears — figured magnified above
(the natural length, at rest with the wings folded, is
about the eighth of an inch). The colour is of a
yellowish green, with whitish green wings, transparent
green legs, and five-jointed horns, also of transparent
green ; sometimes the colom- of the insect is reddish.

The winged females disperse themselves and begin
to lay, and soon may be found dead by their little heaps
of about twenty eggs. ' ' The larvae which hatch from this
second deposit of eggs" . . . "are, in the next spring,
the mother Cliermes of the attack of the current year." —
(E. L. T., Prak. ' Insecten-Kunde,' * Forst-Zoologie,'
^Gardener's Chron.,' Ed., &c.)

SPRUCE-GALL APHIS. 243

Prevention and Eemedies. — When Spruce trees in
young woods are much infested they should be felled,
and, if cut down in summer whilst the galls are green,
all gall-laden shoots should be cut off and burnt. In
winter this precaution is not needed, as the old galls are
empty, and, if the mother Chermes should lay on the
felled shoots, the buds would not develop enough to
nurse up the young brood. This clearing of mature
much-infested trees is very important, — cure is hopeless
when they are in this condition, — and whilst each year
they become more unhealthy under the attack, they
form centres to spread the Chermes all around.

Where young trees only a few feet high are attacked,
it is desirable to go over them and remove the gall
carefully, so as not to bruise or tear the other shoots, and
it is well to do this as soon as the galls begin to show.
The sap that would have gone to the distorted growth is
thus preserved for the healthy shoots, and hatching
of the Chermes out of the galls is prevented. When
growth is more advanced their removal is best per-
formed by a man furnished with an apron with a
large pocket ; into this each gall should be put as it
is cut, and the collection should be most carefully
destroyed. An apron is more convenient than a basket,
which requires the use of the second hand ; but if the
galls, save in their earliest stages, are merely thrown to
the ground, the Chermes will develop within, and probably
be in no waj^ checked by the operation.

How far soil and situation affect the amount of attack
does not appear to have been fully noted, but probably
they have the same influence as in other cases of Aphis
attack. The worst instances of gall presence that I
have seen were on trees of about thirty years old, which
were somewhat overcrowded and in a damp locality, on a
cold, stiff clay ; and also, after removal, on some fine
young trees about three or four feet high, which had
been planted in a space in a Fir wood so sheltered by
the neighbouring trees and hedges, and also by long rough
grass and weeds, that there was no free play of air.

244 SPRUCE FIR.

Where there are only a small number of young trees
to be attended to, drenchings with any of the Aphis
washes in July, or when the Chermes were seen to be
hatching, would be useful in clearing many from the
trees.

PAET III.

FRUIT CROPS

THE INSECTS THAT INJUEE THEM.

PAKT III.

FRUIT CROPS

THE INSECTS THAT INJUEE THEM.

APPLE.

American Blight. Xo.Mzonenm lanu/era, Hausm.
Woolly Aphis. ]

Winged Woolly Apbis, magnified ; larvfe nuicli macrnified. Apple twig,
with the same larvae nat. size at the lower part of the infested spot.

The attack of the Apple-bark Plant-louse, or Woolly
Aphis, commonly known as American Blight, may be
easily detected by the woolly or cottony growth on the

248 APPLE.

insects, giving the appearance of a white film growing at
the bottom of the crevices where a few of them are
lurking. Where there are many the spot appears as if
a knot of cotton-wool was sticking to the bough, or even
hanging down in pieces several inches in length, ready
to be wafted by the first gust of wind, with all the insects
in it, to a neighbouring bough.

The "Blight" is chiefly to be found in neglected
Apple orchards. Its head-quarters are in crevices in the
bark, or in hollows where young bark is pressing for-
ward over the surface where a bough has been cut off, or
broken by accident so as to leave a shelter of the old
dead bark outside ; it may, however, be found on almost
every part of the tree into which the Aphis can pierce
with its sucker ; and the harm caused by the attack is
not only from the quantity of sap drawn away from the
bark or young shoots, but also from the diseased growth
which is thus set up. The bark is at first not much
affected by the punctures, but the woody layers beneath
become soft, pulpy, and swollen. The cells and fibres
divide and subdivide, and the bark splits open over the
swelling, showing the tissue beneath, which is thus
exposed for a fresh attack.

At the end of summer these watery swollen growths
dry up and die, and thus form deep cracks. With the
return of spring (as in other cases of injury) a new
growth forms round the dead part, and this soft tissue is
ready for the young Aphides. Thus, from the swollen
diseased growth caused partly by the Aphides, partly by
the natural attempts of the tree to repair damage, a
constantly increasing diseased mass arises which shelters
the insects in its crannies, and finds food for them in its
young hypertrophied formations.

The above note of the progress of diseased growth
is from the paper by M. Prillieux in ' Comptes Kendus '
for April, 1875.

The " American Blight " Aphis is stated to have been
imported from America in 1787, but whether this is
a fact appears somewhat uncertain. It may be known

AMERICAN BLIGHT. 249

at a glance from the common Apple Aphis (scientifically
Ajihis mali), which is injurious to the leaves, by the
white wool with which it is more or less covered, and
from which it takes its name of "Woolly Aphis," and
examination of the wings through a magnifying-glass
will show that they are differently veined. A strong
vein runs down the fore wing near the front edge, and
from this three veins turn off' towards the hinder edge.
The tldrd of these veins from the body has only one
fork in the American Blight or Woolly Aphis. By this
the Schizojieurince, to which division it belongs, are dis-
tinguished from the Ajjliidina, which have two forks to
this vein (as in Hop Aphis) ; from the PempMgince,
which have this third vein icitliout a fork (as in Lettuce
Aphis) ; and from Chcrinisince, in which this third vein
is absent (as in Larch Aphis and Spruce Aphis). This
difference in the veins of the fore wings is one clear
distinction between the above-mentioned four tribes, of
which the great family of Aj^hidiche (which includes all
the various kinds commonly known as Aphides) are
composed.

The Woolly Aphides are without honey-tubes, and
underneath the wool are mostly of a yellowish, reddish, or
reddish plum-colour. The winged specimens are
described as pitchy between the wings, and green, or
with the abdomen of a chocolate-brown. The wingless
females may be found packed closely together in the
cottony masses, with the pale reddish young (similar to
those figured above, much magnified, from specimens
taken near Isleworth during the winter), moving about
amongst them. Winged specimens may be found in
July and August. — (' Prak. Insecten-Kunde,' ' Mon. of
Brit. Aphides,' &c.)

Pre\'ention and Eemedies. — The great harbouring
points of this Aphis, and the nooks from which the
broods come forth in spring to infest the trees, are
crevices, especially such as are formed of young bark
sheltered under old dead masses. It is therefore very

250 APPLE.

important to keep up a clean, healthy, well-trimmed
state of the hranches, such as will not allow of lurking-
places, or, if they do exist, will allow of these points of
attack being carefully watched. Boughs must be
removed in pruning sometimes, and where the Woolly
Aphis exists it is certain to try to effect a lodgment
under the ring of young bark that comes rolling forward
over the stump, but an eye to this matter and a few
strong soap-suds brushed on the first bit of wool seen
will keep all right ; whilst on trees with the boughs
maimed by beating the crop off, bad pruning, pieces
torn off' by the wind, &c., the Aphis gets such a hold in
the rough bark as can hardly be got over.

For the same reason the bark should be kept clear of
lichens and moss, which form excellent lurking-places
for the Aphides. It is also very desirable to keep the
trees from touching each other, to keep the ground below
them in decent order, at least not totally overgrown with
weeds, and to have the soil properl}^ drained. By this
means light will be let in, with a free and healthy
circulation of air, and the insect-feeding birds will have
a chance at getting at the "Blight," whereas in many
of the orchards in the West of England, where the
principle is held "trees should touch," the tops look
well enough to the passer-by, but there is a different
story beneath. Here a pale green light struggles through
the thick canopy of leaves, nettles and rubbish are
often knee-deep, and the limbs of the Apple trees are
disfigured with the blight and tumours of many years'
growth, and hung with tassels of the wool of the Aphis
which show its presence in destroying hosts. A clean,
healthy bark, with a proj)er allowance of air, light, and
drainage, is the best of all means of prevention.

With regard to remedies : — The colonies of insects
remain in one place, and soon die if their food is cut off
or their breathing-pores choked ; so that anything which
will give such a t^aint to their harbouring-places that
they cannot feed, will do good. Soft-soap, tar, or, in
fact, anything oily, greasy, or sticky that can be well

AMERICAN BLIGHT. 251

rubbed on, and which, by adhering for a time, will
choke all the Aphides that it touches, will be of use. In
the case of an orchard so badly infested that the owner
had begun to clear the trees, an application of coal-tar,
well rubbed into the infested spots with a hard brush,
was tried and succeeded well. The trees were cured of
the attack and became healthy. Another observer
mentions that his trees on which this was tried were
injured and some killed. Probably this different result
was from the state of the trees. An application that
would be perfectly safe on the blight-tumours of old
trees, would be very injurious on young bark that was
still living and in an active state.

For washes, or mixtures to be laid on as paint, the
following applications have been found of service ; but
it should be observed that in the case of tobacco-water
it is desirable to try what strength tender leafage will
bear without injury: —

Take a quarter of a pound of tobacco, infuse it in
half a gallon of hot water ; when cool enough dip the
infested shoots in it for a few seconds, or wash the in-
fested parts in the liquor. Eepeat this in a few days, if
necessary, after which the plant may be washed with
clean water. Then dissolve one pound of soft-soap and
one gallon of lime in enough water to make it about the
consistency of thick whitewash. Apply this with a
painter's brush to the stem and all the branches that can
be reached, and sift some lime on the ground.

An application is also recommended of half a peck of
quick-lime, half a pound of flour of sulphur, quarter of
a pound of lamp-black, mixed with boiling-water so as
to form a thick paint; this to be applied warm. In
winter, when the leaves are off, the branches and stems
may be i^ainted with this, all loose bark being first
removed. It is very desirable to remove the soil from the
bottom of the stem, down to the main roots, and paint
that part also.

For special applications to nooks and crannies any-
thing that is oily, soapy, or greasy will do good, but, as

252 APPLE.

far as killing the insects is concerned, the thicker it is
the better, so that it may fairly fill up the crevices in the
bark, if possible, and not run off the Aphides till it has
killed them by choking up their pores, but at the same
time care should be exercised not to oil or grease young
bark that may be hurt by the application.

" Machine oil " is stated to be a perfect remedy, and to
do no harm to the bark. Pure whale oil is said to
answer perfectly, put on as a paint on the stems and into
the crevices. Neats'-foot oil is also advised. Probably
any cheap oil will serve the purpose ; the great point is
to get it thoroughly into all the crannies with a brush,
so as to come in contact with the plant-lice, and that
many of these creatures may be rubbed out and killed in
the operation. A simple lather of yellow soap, laid on
with an old shaving-brush, does all that is needed some-
times without fear of hurting the plants, and soft-soap,
well rubbed in, would probably be a very effective and
lasting remedy.

It is also recommended, on good authority, that about
the end of February the trunks and large branches
should be scraped, excrescences cut off, and the whole
well scrubbed with soap-suds, after which a good coating
of lime and water is recommended. Probably the form
of "whitewash" that has some "size" in it would be
better than the simple lime and water, as the "size"
makes it stick better, and thus it is more injurious to
the Aphides.

Ammoniacal liquor, diluted wdth ten to twelve parts of
water, will kill Aphides, but (for the reason of it varying
in strength, as mentioned elsewhere), experiment should
be made as to the quantity of water to be added to make
it a safe application to such leafage as it may touch
before it is used on a large scale. Apple trees that have
the shoots and leaf-stalks infested may be well cleaned
for a while by means of water sent from a garden engine
with a flexible hose, or, where the water supjjly is laid
on with a good pressure, the use of a hose with a spreader,
throwing the water with considerable force, is better

AMEKICAN BLIGHT. 253

still. A strong and steady stream of water should be
directed against every part ; this will wash out the
crevices, and knock off many of the Aphides, as well as
helj) to keep up a healthy leafage. If the attack
reappears, the treatment should be repeated.

For washes of soft-soap ; soft-soap and sulphur; and
gas-water and sulphur, with more or less soft-soap,
according as the application is needed for a wash or a
paint on the boughs, see references to "Washes" in
Index.

A careful watch, and something done as soon as the
wool appears, is what is wanted ; but if the small tufts
are left alone, as of no consequence, the insects will
soon spread far and wide, and a thoroughly infested tree
is an injury to a whole neighbourhood that ought not to
be allowed.

With regard to the Woolly Aphis on Apple roots,
doubts have been expressed whether it is of the same
kind as that infesting the trees, but it appears now to be
considered to be so, and, excepting in the matter of
stopping passage down to the roots from an infested
tree, this question does not affect means of prevention.
Where Woolly Aphides are found on the roots it is
advised by Dr. Asa Fitch to clear away the soil as much
as possible from the infested roots, and pour strong
soap-suds in sufficient quantity to soak into all the
crannies or diseased spots, and either to remove the old
soil and replace it with fresh, or to mix ashes with it.

Another observer recommends partially laying bare
the roots, and following this up by the application of
night-soil. Ammoniacal drainage from stables is said to
cure the evil. As the root Aphides in all likelihood pass
down from the trunk, it would probably be a great
preventive to put a loose rope of hay soaked in tar round
the tree, at its junction with the ground, placing the
band so as to stop passage but not injure tender bark.

Besides the above applications, so many others are
mentioned as being used with more or less success, it
may be worth while to give the list in some kind of order.

254 APPLE.

We find it includes tar, kerosine, paraffin, turpentine
(diluted), also resin (with an equal quantity of fish-oil,
and put on warm) ; oils of various kinds ; soaps of
various kinds ; ammoniacal liquor from gas-works, and
ammoniacal animal fluid, especially drainings from
stahles ; tobacco-water ; paints of lime and soap ; lime
and sulphur ; whitewash ; oil and soot ; and also
plaster of grafting-clay to stop up chinks with the blight
enclosed.

Of this vast collection of means of remedy, probably
the most serviceable are thorough drenchings of some of
the soap-washes applied by means of the garden-engine
to the tree directly the attack is noticeable, accompanied
by special applications of thick mixtures of soap, or of
any kind known to be deshable to kill such of the blight
insects as may have remained sheltered in crevices of
the bark. — (' Gard. Chron. and Ag. Gazette," 'Eighth
Eeport of State Entomologist, Illinois,' Ed., &c.)

Apple Aphis. \jjMsmaH,F^hv.
„ Green-fiy. J ' '

These Aphides infest the leaves, and are sometimes
very injurious.

The following notes are taken from the excellent
account given of the species by Mr. G. B. Buckton,
E.R.S., in his ' Monograph of British Aphides,' vol. ii.,
that being the only life-history I am aware of giving
information up to the present period, and to it I refer
the reader for full details : —

"The black eggs of A. mali in.a,y be found deeply
buried in the crevices of the bark, and these hatch as
soon as the spring sap begins to swell off the buds.
The young Aphides puncture the backs of the thick
fleshy leaves, which pricking causes them to curve
backwards from their points ; and in this manner safe
retreats are formed, and shelter from the effects of rain
and hot sun."

APPLE APHIS. 255

" The winged insects abound most in JuW, when they
spread their colonies so much that sometimes the vast
orchards of Devonshire are wholly robbed of their fruit
through shrivelling of the leaves. The bark of the trees
sometimes is blackened by the glutinous secretion voided
by these Aphides."

This species of Apple Aphis is stated to be very
variable both in form and colour. Of the females that
produce living young, the icingless ones (hatched from the
egg first in the season, which may be called the mother-
Aphides of the successive generations of the j'ear), are
globose and soft, larger than those born afterwards, of a
dark slat}^ grey colour, mottled with green, with short
dark grey horns and legs. The later viviparous broods
are variable in colour, as green, yellowish, rusty red, &c.
The icing ed female bearing living young {viviparous) has
the head, horns, 'and body between the wings, black ;
abdomen green, with dots on each side ; legs yellowish,
with black knees and feet. The wings are long, and pale
green at the base. The u-ingless egg-laying female is
almost globose, of a brownish green colour, with a rusty
stain on the head and part of the body next to it. The
tail and rings next to it are very hair3\

In the case of this plant-louse, there are wingless
males; whether there are winged ones also is not
certain. The wingless kind is described as "exceedingly
minute, perhaps one-eighth the size of the female"
(of which the greatest length given is about the tenth
of an inch), legs long, horns longer than the bod}^, and
sucker almost equal to it in length.

The early stages of this species of plant-louse much
resemble each other in form ; the pupa, however, has
reddish wing-cases ; also it is usually of a paler yellow
in colour than the larva, and has three green stripes on
the abdomen. — (' Mon. of Brit. Aphides,' vol. ii.)

Prevention and Kemedies. — ""WTiere practicable, a
syringing with tobacco-water made by pouring four
gallons of hot water upon a j)ound of tobacco will be

256 APPLE.

found efficacious. Anointing the branches with soft-soap
or strong soajp-suds kills all bark-pests, and the alkali
has been said so far to act on the sap passing to the
leaves that it sickens the Aphides, and causes them to
fall and die on the ground." — (G. B. B.)

In the case of this Aphis which blackens the bark and
gives the tree a sickly smell from its excretions, thorough
and repeated washings that will clean the leaves and
shoots, as well as knock off the Aphides, are particularly
useful. Where shoots are still in the first stages of
attack, before the leaves are ruined, good drenchings
applied powerfully by means of the garden-engine (as
recommended in the case of American blight) are useful
for this purpose, and may be of water, or of any of the
washes mentioned. Washes containing soap or anything
that will adhere to the Aphis, instead of being repelled
by its mealy coat, are the most useful.

It is desirable to cut off all infested shoots that are
past hope of recovery, or can be spared, and destroy
them at once, so as not to allow the Aphides on them to
fly or otherwise get about.

The common Blue Titmouse is especially useful in
destroying Aphides ; and the Cole, Marsh, Long-tailed,
and Great Titmouse ; also the Lesser Spotted Wood-
pecker, the Creeper, the Nuthatch, and the Warbler, are
stated to be serviceable in clearing insects from Apple-
trees. — ('Observations of Inj. Insects,' 'Mon. of Brit.
Aphides,' &c.)

Apple-bark Beetle. Scohjtus [Immorrhdus?), Megerle.

This Beetle is sometimes injurious in old orchards, in
which it has been noticed in Lincolnshire, Yorkshire,
Notts, Worcestershire, and Wicklow, Ireland. — (M. D.)

The female beetle forms a passage under the bark,
along which she lays her eggs. These hatch into fleshy
yellowish white maggots with ochreous heads and brown
jaws, which gnaw each their own gallery, starting from

CODLING MOTH. 257

the sides of the central passage and increasmg m size
^vith the increase of the grub that formed them.

The maggots in the case observed were hatched about
the end of Ma_y, fed on the bark or occasionally on the
sap-wood till the autumn, and came out of the infested
branch as beetles in April of the following year.

These beetles are very small, only about half to two-
thirds of a line in length. Under a magnifj-ing glass
this small Scoli/ttis will be seen to be black, with the
front and hinder margins of the body behind the head
(thorax) rust}' colour, the wing-cases rusty at the tip,
and the horns on the head ochreous.

This Apple-tree Scoh/tiis appears only to attack un-
healthy trees, but when it does occur it has great powers
of destruction, for a few females which wore allowed to
establish themselves on the stem of a tree (for the sake
of experiment) laid so many eggs that the maggots from
them destroyed the bark for nearly a foot in length. —
(' Gard. Chron. and Ag. Gazette,' 1845.)

Prevention and Remedies. — Eemoval of all dying or
unhealthy branches in which the beetle may be found to
have established itself should take place directh' the
attack is noticed, and these should be burnt at once, to
prevent all jDOSsibility of the insects in them spreading to
neighbouring trees. For habits and means of prevention
of Scolytus, see Elm-bark Beetle {Sculijtiis dcstnictor).

Codling Moth. Carpocupsa jminonana, Sclimidberger.

The caterpillar of this Moth causes what are called
*' worm-eaten" Apples, which, falling a little l)efore they
are ripe, may be known by having a small discoloured
spot with a hole in it on the lower side ; from this a
gnawed passage leads to the middle of the Apple, which
is commonly nearly filled with dirt.

The method of attack consists in the moth (when the
young Apples are beginning to form in the early

s

258

APPLE.

summer) laying one egg in eacli fruit, usually in the
eye of the Apple ; from this the caterpillar or maggot
hatches, and gnaws its way downwards, taking a direction
so as not to huii the core.

The caterpillar is about half an inch long, and slightly
liairy ; whitish, with a brown or black head and dark
markings on the next ring, and about eight dots on the
others ; the food-canal shows as a dark line along the
back. As it grows it continues its gallery towards the
stem, or the lower side of the Apple, where it makes an
opening through the rind, and thus is able to throw out
the pellets of dirt which could not be got rid of by forcing

Apple injured Ly caterpillar of Codling Motli.

them upwards through its small entrance-burrow. After
this opening is made it turns back to the middle of the
Apple, and when nearly full grown pierces the core and
feeds only on the pips ; and as a result of this injury the
Apple falls. After this the caterpillar leaves the i'ruit,
crawls up a tree, and, when it has found a convenient
crevice in the bark, gnaws a little more of it away so as
to form a small chamber, where it spins a white web
over itself.

Here in some cases (according to German observations)
it turns to the chrysalis immediately, from which the

CODLING MOTH. 259

moth comes out in a few clays to begin a new attack on
the fruit ; or (as recorded in this country) it hves still as
^ caterpillar for several weeks, and then changes to the
chrysalis, in which state it usually passes the winter;
•and from this the moth comes out in the following
•June.

The moth is about three-quarters of an inch in the
■spread of the fore wings. These have a light grey or
ashy brown ground, wdth delicate streaks, and broader
markings of a dark tint, giving a kind of damasked
appearance ; and at the hinder corner is a large sj^ot of
a brownish red or gold-colour, wdth paler markings
•on it, and a border of coppery or golden colour around it.
The hinder wings are blackish. — ('Ent. Mag.,' ' Illus.
Brit. Ent.,' ' Xaturgeschichte der Schad. Insecten.')

PiiE\'ENTioN AND Eemedies. — The iufestcd Apples droj)
hefore they are full}' ripe, but (as it has been observed
ihat the caterpillars usually leave the fruit immediately
it has fallen) removing these Apples does little good.
If, however, where attack is prevalent, a slight shake
was given to the tree, many of the "worm-eaten" Apples
Avould drop; and clearing these away directly, before the
caterpillars escaped from them, would much lessen the
;amount of future attack.

Looking at the habit of these caterpillars of crawling
up a tree as soon as they have left the fruit, it is
probable that throwing a shovelful of anything that they
would not cross round the stems of the trees as soon as
the worm-eaten Apples began to fall from the boughs,
would do a deal of good. They probably could not cross
gas-lime, or again, ashes or sand that had been well
sprinkled with spirits of tar or with paraffin would most
likely answer well. A band of hay or straw, well tarred
and laid on the ground round the trunk of the tree to be
protected, is a sure defence as long as the tar is wet,
and, to keep it moist and sticky for a longer time, the
addition of fish-oil, in the proportion of one ounce of oil to
"three ounces of Archangel tar, has been found suitable ;

2 GO APPLE.

if the tar be moderateh' liquid, the addition of oil in the
proportion of a quarter instead of a third would answer.
For mixing, the tar and oil ma}' be placed over a slow
fire, but care should be taken not to allow them to-
become hot, as a very slight degree of heat will serve for
all that is needed, and, if heated much, the mixture will
dr}' more readily, or, if allowed to boil, will become hard
and brittle on cooling down.

A band of soft-soap laid thickly a few inches wide just
above the ground would most likely keep off attack, as
few caterpillars would like to crawl over it. This kind
of protection does good not only by keeping the trees,
clear, but also by keeping the caterpillars exposed for
such a much longer time, that the birds are able to help
us materially b}^ picking up stragglers.

As the caterpillar harbours in crevices, it would be of
service in this case, as well as with other Apple-pests, to-
reduce the number of these sheltering-places as far as
possible, by dressing off loose bark and rough l)roken
stumps of boughs, stopping up any particularly l^ad
chinks, and — generally — keeping the trees in health}^
and properly-tended condition.

It has been suggested that fires of weeds, such as.
would cause smoke (not flame), lighted near the trees at
the time of egg-laymg of the moths, would be of use ;
l)ut probably the arrangement for "trapping" the eater-
pillars, mentioned by Prof. "Westwood (' Gard. Chron.,'
1879) as practised by Mr. "Wade in Tasmania, would do-
more good.

This consists in fastening a bandage of sacking or
similar material round the stem of the tree from one to
three feet from the ground, and it is advised that it
should be put also round the branches. The grubs when
seeking shelter ''on coming to one of these traps seek no
farther," and may thus be readily destroyed.

LACKEY MOTH.

2G1

Lackey Moth. Bomhjx (('lis'iocaiii])a) neustrui, Curtis.

1, Cluster ©f eggs; 2, caterpillar; -j, motb.

The caterpillars of the Lackey Moth are injurious to
Oak, Elm, Birch, l^-c, but are especially pests when they
attack the Apple.

The eggs are to be found in winter and spring, laid on
naked twigs, in compact spirally-arranged rings about
half an inch long (see fig.). From these eggs small
black hau'v caterpillars hatch about the beginning of
May, and immediately spin a web over themselves, which
they enlarge from time to time as needed for their
accommodation. In these webs they live in companies
of from fifty to two hundred, and from them the cater-
pillars go out to feed on the leaves, returning for shelter
in wet weather or at night. When alarmed, they all let
themselves do'svn by threads, either to the ground, or else
after hanging in the aii* till the alarm is past the}- go
up again by their threads to the tree.

When full fed, which is about midsummer, they are
an inch and a half in length, and hairy ; of a bluish grey
colour", marked with two black eye-like spots on the
head, two black spots with a scarlet space between
them on the next ring, and three scarlet stripes on each

2G2 APPLE.

side and a white one on the back, all bordered witb
black along the rest of the caterpillar. At this stage
the caterpillars no longer live in companies, but each
finds some sheltered spot, between leaves, in hedges,,
beneath the bars of railings, under roofs of sheds, or
even on the top of walls, where it spins a sulphur-
coloured silken cocoon, mixed with sulphur-coloured
powder and with hairs from the skin woven into it, from
which the moths hatch in Jul}'.

The moths are variable in colouring, mostly with
rusty fox or ochrey markings, but some have the fore
wings of a red-brown, with two pale ochreous streaks ;
others ^yellowish, with dark brown bars ; and others are
variously tinted : the hinder wings are reddish brown.

It is stated that the moths, and especially the females,
seldom fly, but remain concealed by day under leaves and
in long grass, and come out at night.

The caterpillars seldom do the enormous quantity of
mischief with us that they are noted as causing in
France, where, according to the old law, it was compulsory
on proprietors to have the webs on the shoots cut off with
shears and destroyed, in consequence of the ravages of
the caterpillars (if left unchecked) ruining the Apple-
leafage over an extent of miles of country ; nevertheless
their attacks are often the cause of much loss in this
country, and need attention. — (' Brit. Moths,' ' Illus.
Brit. Ent.,' and ' Gard. Chron.')

Prevention and Bemedies. — Some good may be done
by looking for the rings of eggs on the shoots, cutting-
these off and destroying them ; also by destroying any
yellow silken cocoons that maybe found about the trees;
but these methods are tedious, and, though they are of
use where just a few trees can be carefully tended, are of
little service in orchard treatment.

A far better way is to watch for the webs, and, as soon
as they are seen, to carry out the old French method and
cut the shoots through with a pair of nippers and destroy
them. It is well for one person to cut, and another ta

SMALL ERMINE MOTH. 2G3

hold a pail below for the web and all the caterpillars
(which on the first alarm would throw themselves down
by their threads) to fall into. The pail should have a
few inches depth of water in it, or mud thick enough to
prevent the caterpillars from escaping.

A less troublesome but less complete method is to
shake the boughs, or strike them smartly, so as to make
the caterpillars drop, and sweep those that dangle by
their threads in the air, down with the hand. These
ma}' be trampled on, or gas-lime, quick-lime, or anything
that will kill them, may be thrown on them ; but it
should be done at oner.

As the moths harbour under leaves and long grass, a
properly kept state of undergro^vth in orchards, free
from overwhelmmg weeds and rank herbage, is of service
in preventing attack.

Much more attention to this matter is needed relatively
to keeping down Apple-pests than is commonly supposed.
The dark, damp, confined air of the neglected over-
crowded orchard fosters all kinds of insect-pests, and as
no grass cut in such circumstances would dry, it is often
left for rough feeding, or an occasional "skirming" of
what is too long to remain uncut, and thus "pests" have
possession ; whilst where the trees stand apart, as the}'
should, there is sunshine and fresh air to cause ripened
growth, and lighten up the dark nooks that insects hide
in ; the grass can be properly pastured and attended to,
and also the small birds have fuller access to do their
work as insect-clearers.

Small Ermine Moth. Yponomnita padcUa, Stephens.

The caterpillars of this Moth are particularly destruc-
tive to the leafage of Apple-trees and also of Hawthorn
hedges. The female lays her eggs in roundish patches
on the small twigs, and covers these patches with a kind
of strong gum, which is yellow at first, but gradually
changes to a dark brown, so as not to be easily dis-

2G4

APPLE.

tinguishable from the brown twigs. The eggs may be
found hatched by the begmnmg of October, but the
caterpihars (which are then Httle yellow creatures with
black heads, and only about half a line long) remain
sheltered under the patch of gum during the winter, and
do not come out till the leaves begin to unfold in spring.

Small Irniiiie Apple IMotli, cnterpillni-s, and cocoons.

Then it appears (see 'Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond.,' vol. i.,
l). 22) that they burrow into the young leaves and feed
on the soft matter within, until they are strong enough
to eat straightforward at the whole leaf, when they come
out from their minings and thus make their appearance
suddenly in large numbers where none have been notice-
able just before.

The shoots may be seen covered with caterpillars early
in the summer, and these continue feeding on the leaves
and spinning webs in which they live together in large
companies, until, in severe attacks, the hedge or tree
infested is strii)ped of its foliage, and left hung over with
a kind of sheeting of the dirty ragged remains of their
deserted webs.

When full fed each caterpillar spins a light cocoon in
which it changes to the clnysalis inside the general web.

The moths, which come out towards the end of June,
are about three-quarters of an inch in expanse. The
fore wings are usually livid or whitish, dotted with black;
the hind wings livid or lead-colour ; but they are so

SMALL ERMINE MOTH. 265

variable as to be divided in some of our lists into distinct
species. The kind ligm-ed opposite (see ' Gard. Chron.
■and Ag. Gazette,' 1849), characterised by the white
:ground of the fore wings, thick cocoons, and by feeding
■especially on the Apple, is sometimes distinguished as
Y. m(iUron'U(i.—{' Illiis. Brit. Ent.,' E. H. L. in ' Trans.
Ent. Soc.,' vol. i.. Sec.)

Prevention and Eemedies. — As the caterpillars of this
moth turn to chrysalids in cocoons in their large nests
•or masses of web, the simplest method of prevention is
io cut these webs off and destroy them.

Something towards getting rid of the caterpillars at
^n earlier stage may be done by shaking the trees or
striking the boughs, so as to make the grubs fall ; but,
from their habit of letting themselves down by their
ihreads on any disturbance and then going up them
again, as there is sometimes much confused web
about the leaves, it takes some trouble to ensure that
"they do not return.

If they can be shaken in parties from large nests or
wel)s, they may be caught in a pail held just below, like
those of the Lackey Moth ; but if they are scattered, care
should be taken to sweep down with the hand all that are
hanging at the end of their threads before the}' have
time to go back. This will prevent one method of return
to the boughs, and if anything they cannot cross is put
•on the ground round the stem of the tree (as a ring of
tarred hay, a good thick painting of fish-oil soft-soap, or
anything else that may be known to be avoided by
■caterpillars), then all means of getting back again
■appears to be cut off. It is desirable, however, to
irample on the ground beneath a shaken tree, or throw
quick-lime, to get rid of the wanderers.

It has been observed that the whole brood of moths
usually hatch from the chiysalis at the same time,
when their light colour makes them easily seen, and they
are sluggish by day ; it has therefore been found useful to
'Spread a sheet under the trees, and by beating or shaking

26G

APPLE.

the boughs make the moths fall into the sheet and.
destroy them.

Fish-oil soft-soap, being procurable at a price of ten to-
twelve shillings per firkin of sixty pounds, is an appli-
cation that can be used at remunerative rates, and, as in.
many other cases of insect-attack, good drenchings of it.
would probably be of service in clearing the trees of
moths when they are hatching out of the chrysalids ;
and it would help to disperse the caterpillars if syringed
on to, or into, their nests.

Mussel Scale. Asiiidiotus co)ichifor)uls, Curtis.

Aiiple Scale; with female; female and e.Lj-g-s, magnified.

The Mussel Scales are so named from their resemblance-
to very small mussel-shells. They are to be found both
on Apple and Pear-trees, but chiefly on the former,,
where they occur on the more tender bark of the trunk,,
as well as on the branches, in such large numbers as tO'
cause serious injury. Some kinds of Apple-trees are-
more infested than others, and the ""Wellington" is
esj^ecially subject to attack.

The Scales are about the eighth of an inch long, dark,
brown, slightly curved and rounded at one end, much
smaller and of a rusty colour at the other, and wrinkled
across. They adhere firmly to the bark, and on lifting
full-grown specimens the females will be found inside

MUSSEL SCALE. 2G7

the smaller end of the Scale (sheltered by it, not fastened
to it), the larger end of the Scale being filled with fifty
or more white oval-shaped eggs. The young Scale-
insects that hatch from these eggs are very small, flat,
and white ; furnished with eyes, horns, six legs, and a
sucker. These run about with great activity for a few
days, but after a while fix themselves and begin to grow,,
and gradually change in ai:)pearance and turn to pupae..
The female resembles a fat fleshy maggot of a greenish
colour, globular, somewhat flattened, and with lines.
across showing a division into rings, but without,
articulated limbs ; after depositing her eggs she dies,
and may be found shrivelled inside the Scale, The
male does not appear to have been yet observed. —
(' Gard. Chron.,' ' Prak. Insecten-Kunde,' &c.)

Prevention and Piemedies. — Scale may be removed
at any time of the year, but the best season for destroying
it or applj-ing dressings is in spring, so as to clear it,
away before the .young insects which creep out in May
from under the old dead shells have appeared, to begin
the new attack.

It may be removed by thoroughly moistening the
surface of the infested bark with lathers of any kind of
soap (or any dressing that may be preferred), and then
scraping the surface with a blunt knife, or rubbing it
with pieces of coarse canvas, or well brushing it, so as to
clear off the Scale without hurting the bark.

Scraping with a blunt knife is a good plan, as in this
way the Scales, moss, and everything on the surface are
mixed up in a plaster with the soapy lather, and got
thoroughly rid of together ; if brushing is preferred,,
good drenchings of soap and water, or of dressings
poisonous to the Scale, should be given in addition to
the first thorough moistening, so as to wash down or kill
all that may have only been disturbed or be lodged in
crevices.

Soft-soap or common coarse household soap are
useful for this purpose, and the following recipes for

•268 APPLE.

<lressings are mentioned as having been found service-
:able, and might be varied in proj)ortion of the ingredients
as thought lit.

One ounce of soft-soap, one pound of tobacco-paper,
•find four handfuls of sulphur to one gallon of water ; this
is to be applied with a painter's brush, taking care to
rub thoroughly ; use plenty of the liquid, and flood every
part of the tree. Three applications in this way are
stated to have been always found to be a complete
'Cure.

As a means of clearing the Scale out of crevices, it is
advised to scrub the trees well at the proper season
{that is, during April or early in May) with soft-soap and
Avater, and then brush them over with the following
mixture : — Two pounds of soft-soap and one pound of
Hour of sulphur, well mixed in about fourteen gallons of
"water.

The following mixture has been found serviceable in
•destroj'ing Scale-insects, Thrips, and other plant-
vermin : — One hogshead of lime-water (use half a bushel
■of lime to this quantit}' of water) ; add four pounds of
flour of sulphur, six quarts of tobacco-water, and four
pounds of soft-soap. This mixture is to be Avell stirred
and incorporated together, and applied by dipping the
infested boughs or by syringing. The composition may
•be allowed to dry and remain on for about a week or ten
<la_ys, when it may be washed off with clear water.

It is also said to answer to get some tenacious cla}',
dilute it with water to about the consistency of paint,
•and to every gallon of this add half a pound of sulphur ;
mix them well, and paint the trees all over. It is
advised to apply two dressings of this, allowing the
first to be thoroughly dry before the second is put on.
It requires a fortnight to kill the Scale by this appli-
cation, and when the cla}' drops off it will bring the
Scale with it.

For Apple trees on walls, it is advised to un-nail the
trees, prune the young wood Imck as far as can properly
■be done (and carefully burn the cuttings), and then wash

APrLE-BLOSSOJI WEEVIL.

2G9»

the wall with cement-wator and the branches with any
application known to answer.

Oil has been advised, in the proportion of two parts of"
cold boiled linseed-oil with one of the same oil raw, as a
sure means of destroying Scale ; but the application of
oil where it can soak into the bark of trees has been
found in various cases so very prejudicial to its health
that it is not to be recommended generally, and is,
merel}' alluded to on account of the great risk of injury
from its use. — (' Gard. Chron.,' &c.)

Apple-blossom Weevil. Antlionwius jwmonnn, Curtis.

1 and 2, Apple-bud pierced b}' "Weevil. '!. maggot; 4. pnpa; 5, "NVeevil
all maKuified, witb fi"ures showiD" iiat. size.

These Beetles attack the flower-lnids of the Apple just,
before they begin to expand, and in backward seasons,
they sometimes do much harm in the cider counties ;;
such was the case in 1816, 1831, 1832, and 1838.

The female lays only one egg in each flower-bud ; this-
she inserts by boring a hole for it with the jaws which
are placed at the tii> of her long curved proboscis ; she-
then lays an egg in the hole, and with the help of her
proboscis she closes the opening ; she then goes on to
another bud, and may continue egg-la,ving for two or
three weeks ; but the date and amount of attack depend
much on variation of the season influenced by the
weather, for the buds must be formed before the eggs.

270 APPLE.

■can be laid, and immediately the petals begin to mifold
«gg-laying ceases. Hatching may take place from the
beginning to the end of April ; if the weather is warm
the eggs hatch in about six days. Meanwhile the bud
.grows and the petals are of their usual colour, but
presently, instead of opening, they wither, and inside, in
place of the stamens and germ, which have been eaten
•away, will be found a curved fleshy whitish wrinkled
maggot, legless, with a few hairs, and a black horny
head. This maggot turns to a pupa of a rusty brown
■colour in the hollow chamber in the bud, and in about
■a month from the time when the eggs were laid the
Weevils develop from the pupae, and disperse over the
'tree, where they feed on the leaves during the summer.

These beetles are of the shape figured above, of a
reddish brown colour, with three indistinct stripes of a
paler colour on the body behind the head; the wing-
cases have a large pitchy-coloured patch, with a pale
■oblique stripe on it, and two ochreous spots towards the tip.

They pass the winter in chinks and crannies, or under
loose pieces of the bark, or under clods of earth or
stones, and come out when the flower-buds are swelling
in spring, when the males may be seen flying round the
trees, and the females generally crawling on the branches.
— (John Curtis, in ' Gard. Chron.,' 18-44.)

Pkevention and Eemedies. — Much good can be done
by clearing away all rubbish round the trees that may
serve for shelter during the winter, and also b}^ removing
rough useless bark, and generally keeping the stems
and branches of the trees in a well-tended condition.

Where the bark is clean and in good order there will
be few hiding-places on the trees, and, as the female
Weevils seldom fly, a large proportion of attack may be
prevented by putting tarred bandages, or throwing some-
thing that they will not cross, on the ground round the
stems, and thus preventing the females that have
wintered under rubbish near the tree crawling up it in
spring to lay their eggs.

ArrLE-BLOSSOM -WEEVIL. 271

The Weevils fall to the ground on being alarmed, and
.-at egg-laying time many might be shaken down from the
trees on to cloths spread below, and thus got rid of at
-an expense which would certainly be remunerative in
garden cultivation, and worth a trial for orchard ground
in cases where seriously bad attack was known to be
going on.

It will be noticed that the Weevil lays no more eggs
:after the Hower-buds begin to expand, so that in fine
sunshiny weather the time of egg-laying is much
shortened ; also she lays on calm days, sheltering
ierself from wind or fi'ost ; and following up these habits
it would appear that (in addition to other precautions)
trees so i)laced and managed as to have plenty of
sunlight and air around them and amongst the boughs
•are less likely to suffer, than where close-growing trees
(even at the flowering time) keep sunlight and air from
circulating j^roperly, and where, though the buds on the
upper parts of the trees expand in their due season,
there are many others coming on slowly on the
imperfectly-ripened wood beneath still available for the
Weevil.

Many of the applications noted under the head of
American blight would be of service in preventing attack
of this Weevil.

272

CHEERY.

Cherry AtdMs ^^^^'^''' "''''""'' ^^^•

^ ^ ' \Mi/z}is ccrasi, Bucktou.

This Aphis, -which is often known as " Black Fly," is
found m such enormous quantities on Cherry-trees in
the early summer as at times to cause great damage.
This arises chiefiy from loss of the sap sucked away by
the Aphides, but partly from the pores of the leaves,
being choked by the sweet sticky fluid ejected by the-
insects.

The females, both winged and wingless, that i)roducc-
living young are black ; the egg-bearing females are
much smaller, and of a dark or ochreous-brown ; and
the male has the head and the body between the wings,
brownish black, and the abdomen of an ochreous-3'ellow,.
with brown transverse bars and spots.

The pupa3 are olive-green, Avitli vellow wing-cases. —
(' Mon. of Brit. Aphides,' &c.)

Prevention and Bemedies. — Picking off the infested
shoots and destroying them with the Black-fly adhering
relieves the trees, and diminishes the amount of the
coming attack. — (A. S.)

The following application is stated to answer well : —
Mix some tenacious clay with water, so as to form a thin
puddle. Then loosen the infested shoots (in case of the
tree being on a wall), dip them in the mixture, and leave,
them to dry. After the imprisoned Black-flies have died
the mixture may be washed off. This application should
be made in tolerably settled weather, when there is
neither violent rain to wash the mud off nor hot sunshine
to crack it. — (' Gard. Chron. and Ag. Gazette.')

Probably a little Paris green or hellebore infused in
the water would make this application much more
certain.

CHEREY APHIS. 273

Probably thorough drenchings with some of the regular
Hoi^-washes used to destroy the Green-fly would be about
the best treatment also for this Aphis ; a good stream of
water driven at the tree is of service both in knocking
Aphides from the shoots and in cleaning the coatings of
<lirt off the leaves ; and it is also desirable to add
something of a sticky nature that may adhere in some
degree to each Aphis, and may be fairly reckoned on as
likety to clog them together in the mass.

For this reason soft-soap is always a useful ingredient
in an Aphis-wash, although tobacco-water, bitter aloes,
and many other additions are serviceable, as specified
under the heads Hop Aphis, Plum Aj^his, &c.

The following application, in which a certain amount
of sulphur is dissolved in the wash, would probably be
highly serviceable : — Take four ounces of sulphuret of
lime (which may either be purchased or produced by
boiling the sulphur with lime), and two ounces of soft-
soap to each gallon of hot water ; the soap and sulphuret
to be well mixed, and the hot water gradually added, the
mixture being stirred during the time. A uniform fluid
is thus obtained, which may be used when cool enough
to bear the hand in it, and is serviceable for destroying-
many pests either by dipping infested twigs in it or by
brushing it well into all nooks where the insects may
have settled themselves, whether on the branches or in
crannies of the walls.

274

GOOSEBEEKY.

Magpie Moth. Abraxas rjrossidariata, Stephens.

Moth, aud larva.

The caterpillars of this Moth are not so injurious as
those of the Gooseberry Sa^Yfly, but they occasionally
occur in sufficient numbers to strip the bushes of their
leaves. They frequent the Gooseberry and the Black
and Eed Currant, and also the Common Sloe, or Black-
thorn.

The egg — one or more — is laid on the leaves towards
the end of summer; the caterpillars hatch in September,
and feed for a short time ; and then either fall to the
ground with the fall of the leaves in autumn, and remain
sheltered amongst them for the winter (E. L. T.), or they
spin the edges of a leaf together, which they have
previously fastened by threads to the bough, and inside
this protection remain until the return of spring. — (E.N.)

When the new leafage unfolds, the caterpillars come
out and feed till May or the beginning of June, when
they change to chrysalids.

The caterpillar is one of the kind knoTNTi as " loopers,"
from the peculiar looped shape it draws itself up into
when alarmed (see fig.) ; the head is black; body cream-
coloured, with a reddish orange stripe along the sides ;

MAGPIE JIOTH. 275

the whole of the second ring, and the under side of the
third and fourth, and of the four nearest the tail, are
also reddish orange. A row of large irregular black
spots runs along the middle of the hack.

When full fed it spins a light transparent cocoon
attached to twigs, or palings, or in crevices of walls ;
and in this it changes to a chrysalis, yellow at first, hut
afterwards shining black, with orange -coloui'ed rings.

The moth is very variable in appearance ; commonly
it has a black head, yellow body between the wings, with
a large black spot in the middle ; the abdomen also
yellow, with five rows of black spots. The wings are
white, spotted with black, and the fore wings have a
yellow blotch at the base and a yellow band across them.
There are, however, almost endless varieties of markings,
from black of different shades, to white ; some have the
upper half of the wing white and the lower black, or the
reverse ; some have the ground colour of the wing
(instead of merely a band) yellow ; and in some cases
the hinder wings are striped with black.

The moths appear about midsummer or rather later.
— (' Hist, of Brit. Moths,' &c.)

Prevention and Eemedies. — The best method of
preventing attack from these caterpillars in the spring is
to destroy them whilst they are torpid during the winter.
There is a difference of opinion as to whether the cater-
pillars winter beneath the fallen leaves on the ground or
each in its folded leaf-cradle hung from the bough.
However this may be, they may easily be got rid of by
gathering the fallen leaves together from under the
bushes, scraping up just a film of the surface-soil with
them (so as to ensure none of the grubs being left
behind), and at the same time casting a glance over the
bush and picking off any hanging leaves that may be
seen.

This is best done shortly after the leaves have fallen,
but before there has been time for them to be dispersed
by the wind, or for the caterpillars to be hidden in

276 GOOSEBERKY.

surface-crevices. The clearing of the boughs is most
conveniently clone at pruning-time, but, if this does not
take place till late in the winter, it is probable that
many of the leaf-cradles will have fallen, and the tenants
thus escape being destroyed.

Thorough cultivation is a good preventive for this
attack ; where the bushes are properly pruned, and
consequently carefully examined during the winter, there
can be very little harbourage left on the boughs for the
caterpillar ; and a good forking beneath the bushes,
with an addition of manure, especially of the rich sorts
applied in Gooseberry-growing districts, cannot fail to
much diminish the number of cateri^illars sheltered on
the ground. A ring of ashes sprinkled with tar, or of
gas-lime, put towards March or April round each
Gooseberry-stem (at a few inches from it), would keep
any cateri^illars from being able to crawl up it.

When caterpillars are first found to be attacking the
bushes (as tlie}^ do not throw themselves down readily on
disturbance), manj' may be got rid of by a man with
scissors in one hand and a jug or pail (with some
mixture in it that the grubs cannot escape out of) in the
other, snipping off the infested leaves into the vessel.

Dusting the bushes with sulphur, quick-lime, soot, or
any other of the usual dressings, will do good, and
j)robably be very much more effective if applied in the
dew of the morning than later in the day.

Syringing the leaves with Gishurst compound has
been found very serviceable (F. A.) ; and probably lime-
Avater would be of use, or alum, used as a weak solution
lightly sj-ringcd over the leaves, as recommended for
*' Gooseberry caterpillar" by J. M'L. Syringing with
soap-suds or a solution of soft-soap is always a means of
lessening insect-attack, and would be useful also for
clearing off Green-fly, which is often injurious to Goose-
berry-bushes.— 'Notes of Observation of Inj. Insects,' &c.)

GOOSEBEKRY AND CURKANT SAWFLY.

277

Gooseberry and (Nonntus ribesii, Curtis.
Currant Sawfly. | Ttvi^/uTf^o ijrossuJnrifc.

Gooseberry Sawfly; larva anJ puiia.

We are only too well acquainted with the havoc caused
by this grub to the leaves of our Gooseberry bushes, as
the attacks occur throughout the country yearly, and to
a serious extent.

The female sawfly appears about April, and lays her
eggs on or beside the largest veins beneath the Goose-
berry leaves. The grubs hatch in about a week, some-
times less, rarely more, and begin to feed at once
by eating small round holes in the soft part of the leaf.
As many as sixty or seventy grubs are recorded as
having been found on one leaf, and the attack of the
grubs on the under surface may be discovered by the
appearance of a number of small holes pierced through
from below.

The grubs feed on the leaves on which they were
hatched until each leaf is stripped of all that is eatable,
after which they disperse themselves over the bush, and,
in a bad attack, eat away the whole of the leafage save
the stalks and some of the hard veins.

These caterpillars may be easily known from those of
the Gooseberry moth, by having a larger number of

278 GOOSEBERRY.

sucker-feet ; they have a pair of sharp horny feet on
each of the three segments next to the head ; the fourth
segment is footless, but the following six segments are
each furnished with "sucker-feet,'' or "prolegs," like
short fleshy legs, and there is a similar pair at the end
of the tail, known as the " caudal proleg," making twenty
feet in all.

These grubs are of a bluish green, with black head,
feet, tail, and also black spots on each segment, and
with a yellowish space just behind the head and another
just before the tail. "When full-grown, and after chang-
ing the skin for the last time, these yellow patches still
remain, but they are otherwise of a delicate pale green,
with sometimes two little black dots on the head, and
are about three-quarters of an inch in length. After the
operation of casting the skin they rest awhile, and then
crawl down the stem of the bush or drop from a bough,
and at once begin to bury themselves. When deep
enough, which may be from two to eight inches, accord-
ing to the nature of the soil, they form a cocoon of a
gummy secretion, in which they turn to chrysalids.
This takes place in about three weeks during summer ;
in the case of the late broods the grub remains un-
changed in the cocoon during winter, and does not turn
to the chrysalis till spring, in time for the Gooseberry
sawfly to make its appearance as the Gooseberry and
Currant bushes are coming into leaf.

The sawfly is of the shape figured above, and of the
length marked by the straight line ; the head and body
between the wings are ochre-colour or yellow, variously
marked with black ; abdomen yellow or orange ; legs
yellow, with brown or black tips to the feet and hinder
shanks ; horns brown or black. The four wdngs are
transparent and iridescent. — (' Gard. Chron.,' &c.)

Prevention and Eemedies. — An excellent and effectual
method of preventing attack in the coming season is to
remove the soil from beneath the bushes to the depth of
a few inches early in spring, and give a good sprinkling

GOOSEBERRY AND CURRANT SAWFLY. 279

•of lime ; by this means the caterpillars which winter in
the ground are completely cleared away. — (J. M'lv.) A
slightly different method, but thoroughly successful, is to
remove the surface-soil below the bushes in winter, dig a
•deep hole, and bury the whole of the removed soil,
cocoons and all (so deeply as to ensure having no
fm'ther mischief from them), and replace the earth
removed with manure and the soil dug from the hole. —
(A. A.)

This complete removal of the soil with the cocoons is
quite worth while wherever Gooseberry caterpillar is
prevalent, and a layer of unslacked lime, well mixed
with the soil as deep as the cocoons are, w^ould be highly
beneficial in case of the surface-soil not being removed.
"Oas-lime also would be of service, well sprinkled on the
surface, if fresh, or lightly pricked into the surface-soil
beneath the bushes after it had been au'ed for a few
weeks, taking care not to lay it against the stem.
Drenching the soil with urine, taken from the tanks of
the cattle-folds, is also a remed}^

When the caterpillars appear on the bushes, it is of
.great importance to attend to them at once ; whilst still
very young two or three dozen may be found on one leaf
«,nd got rid of together, which in a few days would have
spread themselves over the bush. This early stage
•of attack may be known by the leaves appearing as if
riddled with dust-shot. At a later stage thorough hand-
picking, or shaking the bushes so as to make the cater-
pillars fall, is of service. If the caterpillars are allowed
to drop on the ground, they should be crushed with the
foot, or with the back of the spade, but a sm-er plan,
"with little more trouble, is to spread cloths or put
some tarred boards under the trees, and thus collect and
kill them.

It has been found that S}Tinging with water of a
warmth just bearable to the hand is a good means of
clearing the caterpillars (experimentmg first as to what
heat the foliage will bear, as the tender leafage may be
discoloured or killed by a temperatm'e that will not

280 GOOSEBEKRY.

cause the slightest injui-y to the leaves a few weeks later)-
—(J. M'K.) _

The following mixture has been recommended : — Three-
gallons of warm soai)-suds, half a pound of soda, half a
pound of salt, and a handful of soot ; the bushes to be
syringed on a still day when the sun is off them. Half
an hour after the application the plants should have
clean water dashed over them. It is stated that this
mixture does not injure either the young fruit or leaves.
— (' Gard. Chron.') Soap-suds sjTinged on the bushes-
have been found a useful remedy. — (E. S.)

Syringing with tobacco-water has been found an
effectual cure, if applied in time (P. L.) ; and a solution
of alum and water, applied by a watering-can with a
rose slightly over the bushes, has been found to be a
good as well as cheap cm-e. — (J. M'L.) Lime-water is
also said to be serviceable. Quick-lime also does good as
a dusting over the bush, but the use of sulphm- is.
particularly to be recommended. Flour of sulphur "is.
easily applied by dusting it over the bushes with a
pepper-box while they are under the morning dew, or, if
dm'ing dry weather, the bushes ought to be watered and
then dusted. It is only necessary to dust the lower pai-t
of the bushes if taken in time."— (W. M'C.) This,
treatment has been confu-med by further experiment,,
showing the sulphur to be " as efficacious as hellebore
powder," without risk in the application. — (J. W. W.)

This matter is well worth attention, for, whilst on one
hand the effect of hellebore on the caterpillars is so>
certain as to make it a generally adopted application, on
the other, the very serious illness following on partaking
of berries from wdiich the powder has not been removedj.
make it an unsafe treatment, and dangerous to advise..
— (' Notes of Observations of Injurious Insects.')

281
NUT.

Nut Weevil. Balanimis nucuw, Germar,

Nut Weevil ; pupa ; maggot, nat. size and magnified ; pierced Filbert.

The fat whitish maggot found in Filberts and Hazel'
nuts is the larva of the Xut-weevil.

These beetles, or weevils, may be seen about the Nut.
bushes early in the summer, the females usually creeping
along the twigs, the males often on the wing. Whilst,
the nuts are still young the female pierces a hole through
the soft shell by means of the jaws Avitli which she is
furnished at the end of her long snout. In this hole she
lays one egg, which hatches in about ten days. The
maggot feeds inside the nut, consuming a large part of
the kernel. "When full-grown it is of the shape and size
figm'ed above, of an ochreous-white, with horny chestnut--
coloured head, furnished with strong black jaws ; without
legs, but supplied with muscles inside the large trans-
verse folds or wrinkles, which enable it to draw itself
through the earth.

When full-fed the maggot eats a hole through the
nut-shell, sometimes whilst the nut is on the bush,,
sometimes after it has fallen to the ground in the

282 NUT.

premature ripening ■which appears to follow on the
maggot-attack. It then buries itself, forms a cell in the
earth, and " frequently rests there during the winter, and
■only changes in the following spring or later " to a pupa
or chrysalis of whitish colour, like the future weevil in
shape, but lying quiescent with its limbs folded against it.

The weevils are of a tawny brown, and covered with
short down ; the snout is of a bright chestnut colour.
This snout or rostrum (see fig.) is furnished with a pair
of elbowed horns or antennse set half-way down it, and
the wing-cases, which have ten lines of punctures on
each, are variegated with reddish brown or ochreous
marks.

The weevils may be found as early as May, at which
time development from the chrysalis has been recorded,
but it is stated that some of these beetles do not develop
till July or August, and it is still open to observation
whether some of these do not hybernate and appear with
those newly out of the chrysalis in the following May. —
(' Gard. Chron.,' ' Prak. Insecten-Kunde.'

Prevention and Eemedies. — In this case the best
means of prevention lie in the regular measures of good
cultivation. It is stated the Filbert likes a hazel loam
of some depth, "which should be dressed every year, as
the Filbert requires a considerable quantity of manure."
— ('Enc. of Gardening,' J. L.)

In Kent the Nut-grounds are "well-manured every
other year with rags, shoddy, fish, or fur waste, and are
always cultivated by hand, and kept scrupulously clean."
— (C.W.)

This course of treatment, which involves stirring the
surface-soil as well as additions, is suited to expose some
of the chrysalids and bury others deeper, and is generally
useful for insect prevention, but especially as regards the
Nut-weevil, which (in instances observed) has been found
to be so tender at the time of its transformations as to
require eight or nine days to gain its colour and hard-
ness, and also strength enough to force its way up

NUT-WEEVIL. 283

tlii'ougb the ground. Looking at these points, it seems
likely that if the chrysalids were buried a little beyond
the natural depth many of the weevils from them would
not be able to come up at all.

Where weevils are very abundant on the trees, it has
been advised to beat them down, but this should not be
done on a sunny day, or they will speedily take flight and
escape ; and (saving for treatment of a bush or two)
probably the only way to carry out the plan of beating
serviceably would be either to put tarred boards, or for
one man to throw a sprinkling of quick-lime or gas-lime
under the Filbert trees whilst his companion beats down
the weevils.

It is desirable to remove all nuts that fall before tlieii"
proper time, that the maggot inside may thus be carried
away before it has bored its way out ; and also, looking
at the powers of flight of the weevils, it would be well
not to have many Hazel-nut bushes in copses adjacent
to Filbert ground.

284

PEAE.

1, Caterjnlliir; 2, clirysalis; 8, moth.

The cateipillars of this moth feed in the live wood of
many kinds of trees. They are to be found in Pear,
Apple, Plum, and Walnut ; also in Ash, Beech, Birch,,
Elm, Holly, Lime, Oak, and others, besides Horse
Chestnut (J^JseuUis liij^jwcastamini), from ^Yhich the moth
takes its specific name, though not appropriately, as it
rarely attacks this tree.

The eggs are laid during July, or later in the summer,,
in crevices of the bark, and on the branches as well as
the trunk of the trees ; these eggs are oval and salmon-
coloured, and as many as three hundred have been seen
laid by one moth. The caterpillars, which soon hatch,,
feed at first in the bark, but not long afterwards they
make their way into the live wood, where they bore
galleries rather wider than themselves, and as much as
a foot in length. When full grown they are about
an inch and a half long, whitish or pale yellow, with a
black horny plate on the segment behind the head and.

WOOD LEOPARD MOTH. 285

-tinother above the tail ; the other segments are spotted
with black, and the head is black or has two black spots.
They feed wholly or at intervals until May or June
(statements are made that they live for two years), and,
when full-fed, they spin a web, or form a case of wood-
dust, in which they change to an ochreous-brown, long,
cylindrical chrysalis. This web is usually woven just
inside the bark, near the entrance of the boring, so that
when the time for development is come the chrysalis
forces itself through the opening, and, by means of the
iine prickles with which it is furnished along the back, it
is held firmly in the web whilst the moth frees itself,
and leaves the empty case projecting from the tree.

The moth is large and handsome, with a white head ;
the wings are somewhat transparent, and are white with
black spots, the spots being darkest on the fore wings,
which also have yellow veins. The body between the
wings is white spotted with black, and the abdomen grey,
■or grey banded with black.

It is stated that the female moths appear somewhat
later than the male, and may be found until the end of
August. — (' Illus. Brit. Ent.,' ' Gard. Chron. and Ag.
Gazette.')

Prevention and Eemedies. — It has been suggested
that fruit trees infested by this caterpillar sometimes
bear better than those which are uninjured, but even if
this is the case for a time, which is very much to be
•doubted, the health of the tree is gradually so much
injured by the borings that sooner or later the fruit will
suffer in consequence, and it is in every way desirable
that the attacks should be prevented.

The caterpillars may l)e destroyed (like those of the
Coat Moth) by drawing them out of their burrows with
liooked wires, or by running a strong wire into the hole,
and thus crushing the caterpillar within to death. If
the wire, when withdrawn, is found to have wet whitish
matter on it, such as would result from having crushed
the larva, or again, if gnawed wood should have been

286 PEAK.

passed out of the burrow up to the time of the operation
and no more appear afterwards, it may be supposed the
creature is killed ; otherwise the operation should be
repeated.— (W. S.)

Syringing is also of service in getting rid of these
caterpillars. For this purpose a gutta-percha tube with
a sharp-pointed nozzle may be fitted to the syringe, and
thus, by placing the point of the nozzle well into the
hole, it may be filled with strong tobacco-water, soft-soap,
or any mixture that may be preferred, such as will make
the hole too unpleasant or poisonous for the grub to
remain in, even if it is not killed by the application.

The fumes of sulphur blown into the holes are also
very effective in destroying the caterpillars (M. D.) ; and
tobacco-smoke has been suggested for the same purpose.

This moth is preyed on by bats.

Jumping Plant-louse. |^-^V«« i^.'/ri, Schmidb.
Pear-sucker. Yhermcspyn,

\J sijKa p)jrisuf/a, xorst.

Pear-sucker, magnified.

In its early stages this little four-winged fly is injurious,
to Pear-trees by sucking away the juices of the shoots,
and consequently hurting the leafage ; and also by
voiding the sap in such great quantities as to defile
everything near it.

It is nearly allied to the Aphides, but more like a
Cicada or Frog-hopper in shape ; the horns are peculiar,
from being furnished with two minute bristles at the tip ;

JUMPING PLANT-LOUSE. 28T

and, from the formation of the hmcl legs, the fly has the
power of leaping. It does not appear to have any
regular name in this country, but, from the habit above
mentioned, it is known in America as the " Jumping^
Plant-louse"; and, from its method of feeding, it is
known in Germany as the " Pear-sucker."

The following notes of its life-history are from German
observations : —

As soon as the Pear-trees begin to blossom in the
spring, the male and female Psjjlla come out from their
winter hiding-places, pairing takes place, and the females
lay their eggs (which are of a yellow colour) either on the
young shoots, the under side of the leaves, or some j)art
of the flower, selecting for the purpose such parts as
are covered with woolly hairs.

The larvae commonly hatch in ten to fourteen days ;
they are of a dusky yellow, with lighter abdomen, head
with whitish horns, and six legs. In the next stage they
are darker, with dark wing-cases, and, from their broad
flattish shape, very like small bugs or scales. In this
state they crawl from the leaves and collect in great
numbers on the shoots, and suck away the juices, which
they discharge in such quantity that the presence of the
Psylla may be known by the numbers of Ants and other
insects attracted to the sweet excretion. When the pupa
is matured it leaves the feeding-spot, fixes itself on a
leaf, and, cracking the outer skin, the perfect insect
comes out, leaving the pupa-skin empty. These Pear-
suckers are about the size of a large Aphis, and are at
first greenish, with red eyes ; but gradually change to
various shades of crimson, dusky red, and black. The
four wings are snow-white, and the head is remarkably
broad. — {Mainly from ' Prak. Insecten-Kunde.')

Prevention and Eemedies. — During the last season
(1880) a note is given of this insect being most destructive
to Pear-trees on walls, as well as standards and
espaliers, ruining the leaves by extracting the sap, and
also by the immense quantity of their gummy adhesive

•288 PEAK.

-excretions. The treatment found serviceable was, first,
syringing the trees with soft-soap, in the proportion of
one pound of soft-soap to eight gallons of water, which
helped to sicken the insect before using a further appli-
'Cation of Gishurst compound and tobacco-water mixed.

It is also noted as a successful method of prevention
to put the proportion of soft-soap and water above
mentioned into a large garden-engine and apply it all
over the trees when there is not less than six degrees of
frost, so that it becomes a sheet of ice as soon as put on.
■On thawing it clears off all adhering matter, as well as
insect eggs, &c. — (J. W.)

This application would be well worth experimenting
^vith relatively to clearing Aphis-eggs off all garden fruit-
trees ; I have experimented with it since receiving the
•above note, at a lower temperature than that named,
without the slightest injury to the shoots or subsequent
leafage, and, if found to answer for general application
(by means of the contraction and expansion of the
moisture, in freezing and thawing loosening and clearing
the eggs out of inaccessible crannies), it would meet one
of the points we need in Aphis prevention, as well as
^'ith regard to "Pear-suckers."

The Pear Psjjlla winters in protected nooks of the bark
■or similar sheltering places ; therefore any measures to
•diminish the amount of these hiding-holes, or make
them unpleasant to the insect, are of use ; and, generally,
the same applications and measures of prevention used
for Aphides are serviceable here.

Pear Oyster Scale. Asjmliotus ostretrformis, Curtis.

These Scales are of the same nature as the Mussel
Scale of the Apple, and injure the branches in the same
way by sucking out the juices.

They are about the seventeenth of an inch across, and
remarkably like oyster- shells (from which they take their
name) in miniature. They are for the most part

SLUG-WOEMS. 289

wrinkled, and slightly raised in the middle ; grey, \Yith
a lighter or white margin, and with a raised semi-
transparent ochreous spot near the centre.

The female usually fixes herself so firmly to the branch
by her sucker that she remains behind when the Scale
(above mentioned) is lifted. She is much like a globular
flattened somewhat heart-shaped maggot, yellowish
white and shiny, with a few hah-s, and yellow at the
tail ; and is without wings or observable legs.

The male is ochre-colom% furnished with one pair of
wings, six legs, and horns very nearly as long as itself;
and has the abdomen suddenly narrowed to a long point.
— (' Gard, Chron. and Ag. Gazette,' 1843.)

For fm-ther notes of life-history of Asjndiotus see
"Apple Mussel Scale."

Prevention and Eemedies. — Syringing the infested
trees with hot water and soft-soap during the winter
clears them from the Scale, and prevents further attack.
-(J. D.)

The same applications that are noted as serviceable
for the Apple Scale would also be useful here, excepting
that, as the Oyster Scales are very small and flat,
probably rubbing with a cloth or brushing with soft-soap
would be safer for the bark than scraping it.

Slug-worms. \Tentliredo [Sclandria) cerasi.

Larvae of Pear Sawfly.t Curtis.

The Slug-worms feed on the upper surface of the
leaves of the Pear and Cherry, clearing away the whole
of the soft substance of the leaf, so that the veins and
the skin of the lower side are all that remain ; they are
also to be found on Plum, Hawthorn, and Sallow, from
the middle of August until October.

For all practical purposes the Slug-worms may be
known (when at then* work of destruction) by their
blackish or bottle-green colour, together with their

u

290 PEAR.

peculiar shape, and the covering of slime or moisture
exuding from their skin, which gives them something
the appearance of a slug, hut still more that of a lump
of wet hlack dirt fallen on the leaf and run together at
one end. They appear also to he known hy the
sickening smell observahle where many trees are infested.

A. Slug-worm and Sawfly, mngnified; lines showing nat. size.
B. Cocoon.

In respect to the scientific definition of the species
there has been much difficulty, from some kinds of
Sclandria being nearly alike in their perfect state, and
probably in appearance and halnts whilst still " Slug-
worms " ; and consequently, whilst there are manj'
synonyms for one species, there is also doubt whether
two species are not given under one name. Therefore,,
for clearness, I give the following note entirely from
the observation of John Curtis, attaching to it the name
he applied of Tcnthredo cerasi, and quote the description
of colouring of the legs of the Sawfly in full, as this is
one of the points requisite in determining the species.

The Sawflies appear in July, and deposit their eggs on
or in the upper side of the leaf; these eggs are oval, and
hatch in a few days. The larvae are of the lumpy shape
figured above, much the largest at the back of the head ;
they are furnished with ten pairs of feet, that is, one
pair on each of the three segments next to the head, and
a pair of sucker-feet on each of the other segments,
excepting on the fourth from the head and the tail-
segment, which are footless. When feeding, they keep
the end of the tail a little turned up.

SLUG-WOEMS. 291

In four or five weeks these Slug-worms arrive at their
full growth, which is about half an inch in length, cast
their dark hottle-green skins, and appear as j-ellow or
buff caterpillars, free from all shine, and transversely
wrinkled, instead of being perfectly smooth. In the
instance noted this happened at the beginning of
October, and the caterpillars shortly after left the leaves
and went down into the ground, where they spun an
oval brown silken cocoon covered outside with earth,
from which the Sawflies came up in July in the following
year.

The female fly (figured above, magnified) is of a
shining black, tinged with violet ; the wings often stained
with black, with dark nerves, and a dark brown mark
(the stigma) along the fore edge.

" The four anterior legs are brownish ochre, and the
others are more or less of that colour, but generally
much darker ; and the thighs, or at least the base, are
pitch-colour." — (J. C, in 'Gard. Chron. and Ag. Gazette,'
1842.)

From the notice of " The Pear-tree Slug" published
by the Entomological Society of Ontario it appears that
the Sawflies are double-brooded in Canada. The flies
appear in May ; the eggs are deposited singly in little
slits cut for them in the skin of the leaf by the ovipositor
of the female, and these produce a brood, coming out in
the perfect state in July ; from which a second brood
arises, which is full grown in September or October.
These remain in the ground during the winter, and for
the most part appear (as above mentioned) fully
developed in the following May ; but some remain in the
ground unchanged till the following year. — (' An. Eep.
Ent. Soc. of Ontario,' published by the Legislative
Assembly, 1874.)

Pkevention and Remedies. — An excellent method of
prevention for the next year's brood is, to skim off the
surface-soil beneath infested trees (as m the case of the
Gooseberry Sawfly), and get rid of it so as to destroy the

292 • PEAR.

contents. The cocoons are stated to be at a depth of
from one to three or four inches below the surface,
accordmg to the nature of the soil; and it "svould be
desirable to ascertain this before beginning operations.
A light stirring of the surface-soil and pointing in a good
dressing of quick-lime would also be of service.

The Sawflies have been found to fall to the ground on
the tree being shaken, and to remain for a short time
motionless ; consequently it would be a good plan to
place boards covered with wet tar, or cloths, beneath the
tree, and shake the flies down on them early in the
morning or late in the evening (or at whatever time it
was found they were collected on the leafage), taking
care that they were destroyed before they could escape.

Dusting with caustic lime destroys the Slug-worms,
but has to be repeated to make sure work, for it has been
found that the larvae at the first application can cast
their skins with the obnoxious matter, but are not able
to do so at the second dusting. The lime may be
dredged on them from any kind of tin box pierced with
holes ; or, if something on a larger scale is needed, may
be sifted through a sieve, or a common willow garden-
basket may be very conveniently used for the purpose.

Tobacco-water will destroy them ; and lime-water has
also been found useful, in the proportion of a peck of
lime to thirty gallons of water ; it is noted that if two
pounds of soft-soap are added, it will improve the
mixture, and that the best times for syringing are before
seven o'clock in the morning and after five in the
evening. — (J. C, in ' Gard. Chron. and Ag. Gazette.')

Heavy syringings of the trees with strong soap-suds,
applied by a powerful garden-engine, are very effective
in getting rid of this pest. — (M. D.)

A solution of hellebore showered over the infested
trees has been found effectual in clearing them of the
Slug-worm. — ('Notes of Observations of Inj. Insects,' &c.)

293

PLUM.

Plum Aphis. I J . j,^^,^^^^,

„ Green- fly. ] ^ '

" Aj^liis j^runi is exceedingly destructive. Multipli-
cation takes place by millions, and the insects close up
the pores of the leaves by their tenacious excretions and
the meal}' exudations from their bodies. By the constant
iiTitation of their rostra [suckers] the leaves roll up,
and under this cover from the weather both the winged
and apterous forms live overspread by the before-
mentioned mealy powder, which probably to them is a
protection." — (G. B. B.)

The wingless female bearing living young is of various
tints, from green to slight olive-brown, with three faint
green stripes on the abdomen, short olive-brown horns,
and brown eyes; the winged female is apple-green; with
head, horns, body between the wings, and feet, black.

The male is small, dingy ochreous, "^"ith the head, part
of the body immediately behind it, some markings on
the back, and the feet, umber-brown ; the fore wings are
large and broad ; sometimes the insect is black. It is to
be found in November in company with the egg-laying
female, which is small, pale greenish j-ellow, and trans-
parent; and usually shows the matm'e eggs within,
which are ready for laying.

The variety of the Green-fly of the Hop (kno^^Ti as
Aphis JLumnli, var. malalieh) is also common under the
leaves of the Garden Plum in May and June. — (' Mon.
of Brit. Aphides.')

Pre\-ention and Eemedies. — Amongst various washes
recommended are tobacco-water, ammoniacal liquor,
soap-suds, and soft-soap.

Where trees have to be treated on a large scale.

294 PLUM.

probably nothing \\-oiilcl be more serviceable than some
of the washes already noticed as in regular use, and
found to answer well in the Hop-ground.

In one of these the proportion is of fourteen to twenty
pounds of soft-soap to one hundred gallons of water, with
the juice of a quarter of a pound of tobacco added, if
thought desirable. — (C. W.)

Another, mixed on a large scale to be diluted for use,
is of sixty pounds of soft-soap added to thirty-six gallons
of water, with fourteen pounds of bitter aloes, or two
of tobacco ; the whole is boiled together, and, when
applied, thii-ty-six gallons of water are added to every
gallon of the mixture.

If these washes were applied as in the Hop-grounds,
by means of a large garden-engine fitted with a gutta-
percha tube and jet, or rose, or spray- syringe, so as to
send the mixture under the leaves, as well as over and
round the whole of the tree, and thus drench it down
completely, the effect would be excellent.

A thorough application of this kind unites many good
points ; it knocks many of the Aphides off, it cleans
the leaves of the accumulating dirt which is choking
them, and makes the surface distasteful to the jolant-lice
for a while ; also the soft-soap washes have the great
advantage of sticking in some degree to the Aphides.
When these insects (as noted above) are covered with a
kind of mealy powder, many of the washes used simply
run off them at once ; and, unless the application sticks
to them, so as to poison them, or is given so violently as
to knock them from their position, the labour does little
good.

On a small scale soap-suds are a good remedy. They
may be used by syringing, or a lather of yellow soap may
be applied to the infested parts with a brush, or the
shoots may be dipped into the mixture.

Ammoniacal liquor diluted wtth ten to twelve parts of
water will kill " Green-fly " ; but this liquor (gas-water)
varies in strength at different works, and the leaves also
vary, according to their nature and age, in the power to

PLUM APHIS. 295

l^ear such an application ; therefore it is desirable to
experiment where there is any doubt as to safe strength.

A recipe given for making tobacco-water is, to infuse
half a pound of tobacco in a gallon of water, and dip
infested shoots in the liquor, repeating the operation in
a few days if necessary, after which the plants may be
"washed with clear water; a strong solution of tobacco
has also been advised as a syringing for wall fruit-trees,
w'ashing (as mentioned) with clean water afterwards.
Here, however, as with gas-water, some care is needed,
for the strong solutions are apt to be injurious to the
leafage as well as to the Green-fly ; so that a mixture of
soft-soap with a moderate quantity of tobacco-water will
probably be a surer and safer remedy.

A decoction of quassia-chips and soap, or soft-soap,
has been found serviceable both for syringing infested
trees and also on a smaller scale for dipping shoots in.
One recipe for the mixture is — One ounce of quassia
boiled for ten minutes in a quart of water, and a piece
of soft-soap the size of a small hen's egg then added.
Quassia is a well-known "fly-poison," but, having found
that sometimes flies which appeared to have been killed
recovered afterwards, it suggests that the different
amount of success from the use af this remedy may
depend in part on the strength, but also on the Aphides
being well washed down by syringmg, or otherwise
cleared from the shoots whilst they are still stupefied.

The enormous number of different applications recom-
mended for destroying "Green-fly" make it impossible
to enter into detail ; but the same principle runs
throughout — to get rid of the Aphides either by heavy
syringings that fanly sweep them, or many of them, down ;
or by poisoning them, or coating them with sticky
matter that will kill or injure them ; or by making the
surface of the leaves and shoots distasteful to them.
With a foundation of soft-soap, or fish-oil soft-soap, and
a small addition of anything poisonous or deterrent
according to fancy, each cultivator may make for himself
.at a small cost a thoroughly serviceable wash.

296 PLUM.

Fumigation may be of service, even out of doors,,
where, by means of matting supported on poles (or on
anything else that will serve the purpose), the smoke can
be confined, and thus be brought to bear on a badly-
infested wall fruit-tree or an espalier ; l)ut, excepting in
this wa,y, though stated to have been found useful, it
does not appear conveniently practicable.

A great deal might be done in the autumn of one year,
to lessen the impending attack of the next, by cutting ofi"
all infested suckers and long succulent shoots, which are
often left in neglected gardens to become a perfect head-
quarters swarming with Green-fly. These should be
carefully destroyed ; probably a firm pressure under the
foot, given to each shoot as it is cut off, is the surest way
of getting rid of them ; but if they can be burnt or
thoroughly destroyed any other way at once, it will be
all the better.

In almost all cases the oviparous female of the
AjjJiidiiuc ( that is, of the tribe of the Aphidiihe to which
the Green-fly of the Plum, Hop, Turnip, Cabbage, Bean,,
and of many other common plants, belong) lays her eggs.
in late autumn, and dies. These eggs may be found
attached to the twigs, or by the buds, sometimes almost,
singly, sometimes in clusters of several hundreds ; and
any measures by which infested shoots which are nursing-
attack in the autumn can be cleared are desirable ; and,,
though I am not aware that the plan has been tried, I
believe a few heavy syringings of the trees with a strong
wash about the beginning of October would probably be
very serviceable in preventing egg-laying. These autumn
egg-laying females being wingless, a good drenching,,
even with mere w^ater, such as would sweej) them from
the tree, would be of use.

Cold cannot be depended on to kill insect-eggs. —
(* Gard. Chron. and Ag, Gazette,' ' Eeport of Observatiort
of Inj. Insects,' 'Mon. of Brit. Aphides,' Ed., &c.)

THE "WINTER MOTH. 29T

The Winter Moth. Clwimatohia hrumata, Stephens.

"Winter Moths, male ; and female, showing abortive wings.

The caterpillars of this moth are injurious to almost.
all om' fruit aud forest trees. The}' feed on the young-
buds, and leaves of the Plum, Apple, Pear, Elm, Lime,
Willo"w, Ha"wthorn, and many others, and occur at times
in such great numbers as to cause a very serious amount
of damage.

The moths (kno"«'n as " Winter Moths," from the
season of then* appearance), come out about the end of
October. During November and December the females,.
■which have only abortive "^ings (see fig.), creep up the
trees and lay their eggs on the leaf or flower buds, on
the twigs, or in crevices of the bark.

The eggs are greenish at first, and gradually change to
bro"wn or red. They are very minute, and very numerous
(a single moth laying as many as t"wo hundred), and they
batch about the beginning of April. The newly-hatched
caterpillars are only about as thick as a horse-hair,,
greyish in colour, and may be seen swinging in the air at
the end of then- threads ; when full-grown they are half
an inch long, of a yellowish green, with pale green head,
black or blue line down the middle of the back, and
■whitish lines on each side. When walking they form a
kind of upright loop, whence the name " Looper cater-
pillars." They feed first on the young unopened buds^
and, as the leaves expand, they draw two or three
together with their webs, and shelter themselves within
■when not feedmg. When full-fed, towards the end of

'298 PLUM.

May (by which time they have often caused great
■damage), they let themselves down by a thread to the
:ground, bm-y themselves, and tm-n to chrysalids about
two or three inches below the sm-face, from which the
moths come np towards the end of October.

The male moths have the fore wings of an ash-grey,
with various transverse markings, and the hind wings of
a greyish white. The females have a most extra-
ordinary appearance, from the great size of the abdomen
■and the small size of the abortive wings ; they have no
powers of flight, but fall down as if dead when alarmed,
or run with some speed to hide themselves. In November
the males may be seen, after sunset, flying from tree to
tree, and the females creeping up the stems to deposit
their eggs. — (' Brit. Moths,' ' G. Chron. & Ag. Gazette,' &c.)

Peevention and Eemedies. — The best method lies in
preventing the moths laying their eggs on the trees. As
the females cannot fly, it is quite in our power to prevent
attack to standard trees by cii'cling the stems round, at
the beginning of November, with something which they
will stick fast in if they touch it, or which is too
XDoisonous or unpleasant for them to attempt to cross.

For this pm'pose various mixtures are recommended,
•especially Stockholm tar and cart-grease, mixed in equal
proportions ; but, in case of the tar becoming fluid with
sun-heat, it is liable to soak into the bark, and be very
injurious ; therefore it would appear safer, in garden
■cultivation, to dip a rope of rough woollen rags or a
twisted hay-band in a mixture of tar and oil, which
would keep moist for some time, and lay it on the ground
near the tree, all round it, but not touching it. Probably
a few spadefuls of gas-lime (such as has been exposed
fibout a month) thrown round the stem, but not piled
against it, would not be crossed by the moths. This also
•{if proving efl'ectual on experiment) would meet the diffi-
culty of the trafiic of the moths up the posts of espaliers or
up fruit-walls. The females come out about sun-down,
and may be seen travelling up the stems till ten o'clock

THE WINTER :\IOTH. 299

tit night, so that, where the moths are numerous, a very
little inspection with the aid of a lantern would show
whether the remedies were acting. Also (where the
moths are known to he numerous) it would he well to try
shaking the boughs at night over a cloth ; it is stated
that when alarmed they often fall and feign death, and,
if the plan answered (on trial with one tree), it would
diminish the attack much at a small expense.

Trees that are infested by the caterpillars may also be
cleared to a great extent by shaking. When the cater-
pillars are nearly full-grown they will fall to the ground,
or hang by their threads on a blow being given to the
bough on which they are feeding, and (as in many other
cases) may be collected on a cloth spread beneath the
■tree and destroyed, or they may be trampled on, or
quick-lime, or anjihing else that will kill them, thrown
down on them, or they may be shaken on to tarred
boards. Care should be taken to sweep down all that
are dangling in the air at the ends of their threads, and
also to keep them from going back up the trunk of
the tree.

The means above mentioned for prevention of traffic
of the moths up the stems would serve equally well
in case of the caterpillars. The caterpillars bury them-
selves about two or three inches deep in the ground
Tinder their food-trees, where they turn to chrysalids
about the end of May, from which the moths do not
■come up till October ; so that, meanwhile, forking the
surface and a good dressing of quick-lime would help to
get rid of the pests ; also, where it is possible to flood,
or thoroughly to soak, the infested ground for a few days,
it has been found a good measure of prevention.

It is desirable to remove and destroy all boughs and
twigs that may be pruned late in the winter, so that there
may be no chance of caterpillars hatched from eggs on
the shoots or buds getting up the trees.

With regard to this pest on the large scale in which it
occurs in orchard-ground, it is probable that if at the
end of October a dressinrr was mven round each tree-stem

300 PLUM.

of gas-lime that had been exposed to atmospheric'
action for a month or two, so that it would not he
injmious to the trunk if some lay against it, that little
further trouble would be needed, and the trees would be
much benefited by the application. (For note on gas-
lime, see references in Index.)

Encouragement of birds, and especially of Titmice and
Starlings, is serviceable with regard to this pest.

Red Spider. Tctranyclim telarius, Linn.

Led Spider [T. telarius), and foot witli hristles, after Clapai'ede.

A bad attack of "Eed Spider" is a matter affecting-
the trees both for the passing season and the next ; as a
present evil the leafage, and consequently the fruit crop,
is hurt, and (from the injury to the leaves) the shoots for-
the ensuing season are also w^eakened.

To save trouble in reference the figs, of " Bed Spider,"
Tetraiuichiis telarius, after Claparede, and of T.tiliariim,
from life, are here repeated.

The egg is oval, or spherical, and colomdess, and may
be found amongst the webs on the leaves. The larva
(as it is called, although the name is hardly appropriate^
the Eed Spider not being an insect) hatches from the
egg in about eight days, and is much like the parent^
excepting in having only three pairs of legs ; it acquires.

RED SPIDER.

301

ihe fourth pair with the change of skin (according to
M. Duges, at maturity).

Eed Spider of Lime trees (T. telarius, Clapar^de; I', tiliarum, IMull.);
webs with eggs in dry aud moist state; all much magnified.

When mature the Eed Spider is oval, furnished with
four pairs of legs, two pointing backwards and two
forwards ; the head, body, and abdomen form a solid
mass, by which it is distinguishable from true spiders,
which have the abdomen joined to the rest of the body
by a fine stalk ; and also from insects, which have the
head, body (thorax), and abdomen commonly distinct
from each other, and which also, in their perfect state,
Jiave never more than three pairs of legs. The head is
furnished with a beak or sucker by means of which it
•draws the juices from the leaves, and beneath the abdo-
men, near the end of the tail, is a conical protuberance,
from which the threads are produced with wiiich it forms
its webs.

The colour is various ; of transparent yellowish white,
orange, reddish, or brick-red, and other tints, depending,
as far as present observations sliow% on the colour and
nature of the food within, and partly also on the age of
the individual, as these " mites " have been noted as of a
green colour in early life, changing with maturity to the
rust colour we are best acquainted with.

302 PLUM.

The Red Spider has difficulty in moving on perfectly
smooth sm-faces, but, by means of its claws and the pin-
headed bristles with which they are furnished, it moves
readily on the under side of the leaves, and fastens its
threads to the hairs or slight prominences, thus gradually
forming a coating of web, amongst which it lays its eggs,
fastening them by some glutinous secretion to the threads,
and amongst which also Eed Spiders of all ages are to be
found.

The attacked leaves may be known by their greyish or
yellowish, somewhat marbled, appearance above, whilst
beneath they are whitish and shiny from the covering of
web. This kind of Eed Spider has been found sheltered,
as if for the winter, beneath stones.

Whether the Tetranychus of the Rose, Lauru.stinus,
and Clover is of this species (that is, T. telarlus), or
whether these are respectively T. rosarum, T. tini, and
T. sociiis, is a subject on which writers hold different
opinions. — (' Economic Entomology,' ' Gard. Chron.,' &c.)

Prevention and Remedies. — The Red Spider is most
injurious to vegetation in the open air, in hot dry
weather ; and consequent!}' washings and syringings, or
drenchings by means of the garden-engine, wiiich will
render the leafage and ground, and the walls to which
the trees may be attached, moist, will be very serviceable.
The extreme dryness of air and soil are thus counter-
acted, and a healthy growth encouraged, which more or
less counterbalances the injury to the leaves from the
suction of the mites.

It is important to check the attack at the very begin-
ning, and for this purpose syringings morning and
evening are advised, sent hard at the under side of the
leaves, so as to break the webs and wash them down
with the contained mites, if possible, or more probably
do good by lodging something in them offensive to the
mites.

Sulphur "is the active principle and most efficient
agent " in preparations for destroying Red Spider, and

RED SPIDEK. 30B

sulpliur and soft-soap combined in various ways are
amongst the most reliable remedies.

Amongst the Hop-gardens in Kent "washing the
plants with soft-soap and water, or even with pure water,
is a remedy for the Eed Spider, and some planters triecl
a solution of sulphur, thrown over the plants by the
ordinary washing-engines in 18G8, which killed these^
mites."— (C. W.)_

Looking at this point of sulphur being generally an
ingredient in washes or applications for the destruction
of Eed Spider and other Acari, and the circumstance that
in its crude state it does not combine with most of the
fluids used for this purpose, may account for frequent
failures in home-made applications. In order to make it
combine with whatever liquid may be used, the sulphur
should be boiled with an alkali, and the following recipe
has been recommended : one pound of flour of sulphur
and two pounds of fresh lime boiled together in four
gallons of water ; or, to save the trouble of boiling, the
sulphuret of lime may be purchased and used thus : — Of
this sulphuret take four ounces ; soft-soaj), two ounces
to each gallon of hot water ; the soap and sulphuret to
be well mixed before the addition of the water, which is
to be gradually poured on, the mixture being stii-red
during the time, when a uniform fluid will be obtained
without sediment, which may be used when cool enough
to bear the hand, and has been found to destroy insect-
pests effectually and quickly. This may be used as
a syringing, or a dip for infested shoots, or well-rubbed
with a brush into infested bark.

"Gishurst compound, Veitch's Chelsea blight compo-
sition, Frettingham's liquid compound, are all good.
Sulphur in any form seems potent." — (A. M.)

The following recipe for dressing fruit-walls answers
well as a preventive of attack : — Having obtained some
soot-water, tolerably clarified and as strong a solution as
can be procured, this is worked up with clay till the
whole is of the consistency of thick paint, and can be
applied by a common painter's brush ; to this, flour of

;304 PLUM.

sulphur and soft-soap are added in sucli proportion as
may be preferred : one pound of sulphur and two ounces
of soft-soap to the gallon has been found to answer.
Every part of the wall is then painted with the mixture,
care being taken to get it well behind the shoots, and also
to paint a broad thick band along the bottom of the wall.
This application, made once in the season as a regular
yearly treatment, has been found to prevent Eed Spider
attack quite satisfactorily. — (' Gnsixl. Chron.,' 1845.)
This plan acts by poisoning and burjdng the " Eed
Spider" in the walls, and also by putting a band in the
way of such as have been wintering under stones and
rubbish, that they will not care to cross to get at the
tree ; other mixtures, as preferred by the cultivator,
might be similarly used.

Clean and properly-pointed walls are a preventive of
attack, as is also ground so cultivated and attended to
that there shall be no neglected surface the mites can
lurk in, or hiding-places under stones, clods of earth,
or rnJobish beneath which they can hybernate. An
autumn dressing of gas-lime would be a desirable appli-
cation to neglected borders where there arc infested wall-
iruit trees.

If by means of experiment it should be found that
there is any fluid capable of dissolving the Eed Spider's
webs without at the same time injuring the leafage, we
•could thus, by clearing off its breeding-grounds, probably
get rid almost entirely of the pest. — (' Economic Ento-
mology,' by Andrew Murray ; ' Gard. Chron. and Ag.
'Gazette,' Ed., &c.)

305

KASPBEKEY.

Black Vine Weevil. Otiorhynchus sulcatiis.

Clay-coloured Vine Weevil. ,, picipes.

Red-legged Garden Weevil. ,, tenebricosiis.

1 — 4, 0. sitlcatas, larva and pupa, magnified and uat. size, or with lines
showing nat. length ; 5, 0. picipes.

The 0. sulcatiis, and two other kinds of Otiorhynchus
or Weevils, are exceedingly hurtful by feeding on the
shoots, leaves, and buds ; sometimes also on the fruit
and flower-buds ; and in the larval state they are
injurious by feeding on the roots.

The larvae and pupae of each of these three species of
Weevil are ver}^ similar to the others, and so are the
remedies and means of prevention ; therefore I place
them under one heading.

The 0. sulcatiis chiefly attacks Vines, and is also
hurtful to Strawberries.

The eggs are laid a little below the surface of the
earth. The maggots are legless, whitish, somewhat
hairy, and are to be found from about August until the
following spring, at the roots of their food-plants.

The pupa is yellowish white, with brownish hairs, and
is to be found in April lying three or four inches below
the surface, where it is stated to remain only fourteen
days in this state before development.

The Weevil is of a dull black, with a short snout or
proboscis ; the body between the head and abdomen is

306 RASPBEKRY.

granulated, and the wing-cases are rough, with several
raised lines ; and, like the other species of Otiorhynchus,
it has no icings.

The 0. picipcs, or Clay-coloured Weevil, differs from
the above in being smaller and of a clay-colour, with
darker spots on the wing-cases. This species is also
very injurious to wall fruit-trees and Vines in hot-houses,
and was identified in 1879 as being the species which
caused great damage to Raspberry-plants in Cornwall.

A third species — the 0. tenebricosus, or Red-legged
Weevil — is the kind noticed as being the most hurtful to
garden fruit-trees. The beetles feed on the buds, young
shoots, bark, leaves, &c., of Apricots, Nectarines,
Peaches, Plums, &c. ; and have been found also in the
maggot state doing much harm to the roots of Rasp-
berries, Currants, Gooseberries, Strawberries, and to
vegetables.

This Weevil, when recently developed, has the wing-
cases dotted over with spots of delicate yellow down ;
these soon rub off, when the beetle appears to be of a
shining black ; it is sometimes of a reddish pitchy colour,
whilst still immature. The wing-cases are united to each
other, and the legs are bright chestnut-colour. — (' Gard.
Chron. and Ag. Gazette,' ' Prak. Insecten-Kunde,' &c.)

Prevention and Remedies. — These Weevils feed by
night. By day they hide away, either buried in earth by
the walls against which their food-trees are trained, or
round the stems of the trees, or in rough bark ; crevices
■where mortar has fallen out of old garden walls often
swarm with them, and generally they shelter in any
dark nook near at hand to their nightly resort.

The commonly-adopted method of destroying these
Weevils in Vineries and Peach-houses is, to spread
cloths below the boughs, and shake the beetles down on
them at night ; then gather the beetles together and
destroy them with boiling water. This plan is equally
applicable to standards, and, with a little management,
to wall-fruit trees ; but it should be borne in mind that

BLACK VINE WEEVIL. 307

the beetles drop off on any disturbance, or when a light
shines on them.

It is recommended that a white sheet should be
laid under the boughs the day before, and a large and
bright light used, so that when the beetles fall they may
be easily noticed ; otherwise, if no sheet has been spread
and the light is dim, many of the beetles are almost
certain to escape, from their colour being so like that of
the ground. — (M. D.)

Another method is, for two people to hold a sheet
below the boughs, and for a third to shake and then
bring a light to catch the beetles by; but the above
mentioned plan is better.

In 1878 the Easpberry-plots in the large fruit-gardens
in Gulval and part of Madron, in Cornwall, were injured
by Weevil-attack, the loss being estimated at many
hundreds of pounds. On two acres of Easpberry-ground
at Gulval the loss of crop from injury to the canes was
estimated at one hundred pounds, and specimens for-
warded from this ground in 1879 were identified as
O. picipcs.

These Weevils fed on the bushes by night, and towards
dawn went down and hid themselves beneath the surface
of the earth, or under stones, &c. As all the remedies
tried had proved useless, a number of wooden trays were
constructed, the inside of which was smeared all over
with tar ; and after dark one man held a tray beneath
an arch (arch-training being the plan used) ; another,
whilst carrying a lantern, gave the bush a smart tap,
and the Weevils fell into the tray ; the tar held them
j)risoners for a time, and after the tray had been placed
under a bush or two, the Weevils collected were killed by
pom-ing boiling water upon them. Thirty or forty
persons were thus employed, and each bush was thus
treated three times. An immense number of Weevils
were caught, estimated at hundreds of thousands, and it
was hoped, by continuing this plan, to avoid much future
loss.— (J. T.)

On a small extent of ground the use of a common

308 RASPBERRY.

"sweeping-net" is found to answer for clearing bushes
after dark.— (W. S. M. D'U.)

Looking at the habits of the Weevil of hiding during
the day in any crannies, or under clods of earth, stones,
or rubbish, it would be very desirable to keep fruit-walls
well pointed ; also that all clods of earth, &c., should be
cleared away that might serve as lurking-places. As
they especially go down close to the wall, it might
answer to run a line of ashes sprinkled with dilute
paraffin, or with carbolic acid diluted in the proportion
of one part of acid to a hundred of water, just along the
junction of wall and ground.

The beetles cannot fl}^ therefore, as they leave the
trees by day (excepting such as may lodge in the
bark), any application that they could not cross would be
very serviceable.

Tar has failed to prevent attack, but possibly it dried ;
if it was mixed with oil, so as to remain wet and sticky,
and a band run along the soil at the foot of the wall, or
round the stem of standard trees, it would seem im-
possible for the beetles to cross it.

Soft-soap well rubbed into all crannies of the bark
where harbourage could take place would do good ; and
sulphur is of service to dust on attacked plants, but
needs renewing too often to be a convenient remedy.

With regard to getting rid of the maggots : — Where
attack has been going on during the growing season, the
roots ought to be thoroughly examined during the
winter, and all maggots that are found picked out and
destroyed ; and the roots dressed with hot lime, soot, or
similar applications. The best remedy for an infested
Vine-border (where such a plan can be carried out) is to
clear it and replace it with clean soil. Watering with
strong solution of ammoniacal liquor and common
agricultural salt is effective in preventing the increase of
this pest.— (M. D.)

Skimming oif the uppermost four inches of soil for
about a foot in front of the walls on which the trees were
infested would be worth trying, as an experiment to be

BLACK VINE WEEVIL. 309

carried out further if many maggots were found ; by
throwing some of the removed earth into a large tub of
water it would be seen directly whether there were either
maggots or beetles present.

Small plants may have their roots washed out, and
thus be saved; but the ground on which they grow
should be thoroughly dealt with at once. A good
handful of fresh gas-lime put into each hole at once is a
good cure for what evil may remain.

These pests should be looked to on their very first
appearance, for they are most difficult to get rid of, and
severe cold has little effect on the maggots. From
experiments in my own garden I found they would stand
a temperature as low as ll'S", that is, just over twenty
degrees of frost, without being (as far as could be seen)
in the least injured.

310

STRAWBEERY.

Green Rose Chafer. Cetonia aurata, Curtis.

Larva ; back of pupa ; cocoou ; and Beetle.

This Chafer is injurious both in the larval and perfect
state. In the first — that is, as a grub — it feeds on the
roots of Strawberries, grass, and other plants ; as a
beetle it frequents many kinds of flowers, mcluding the
Eose, from which it takes one of its names ; but is more
especially injurious by its attacks on Strawberry-blossom,
and to the flowers of Turnips left for seed, where it eats
off the anthers from the stamens and thus renders the
flowers abortive.

The eggs are laid in the ground, where the maggots
hatch and feed for two or three years. When full grown
they are upwards of an inch and a half in length, thick
and fleshy, of a whitish colour, with an ochreous head
armed with strong jaws ; the pairs of short feet are of a
rusty ochreous colour, and tbe hinder portion of the grub
or maggot is enlarged, curved towards the head, and of
a lead-colour. These grubs are much like those of the
Cockchafer, but are distinguished by having a horny
rusty spot on each side of the segment behind the head,
and by the body being clothed with transverse rows of

GREEN ROSE CHAFER. 311

rusty- coloured hairs ; whereas the grub of the Cockchafer
is ahiiost hairless, and is without the rusty spots.

When full-fed they make earth-cases " as large as a
walnut" at a considerable depth beneath the surface,
which are smooth inside, but covered outside with pellets
of soil which have passed through their own bodies ; and
in these cocoons they turn to ochre-coloured pupae.
The figure shows the appearance of the hack of one of
these, the legs and wings being folded beneath.

The Chafers, which sometimes appear as early as the
beginning of May, are of the shape and size figured, of a
rich metallic golden green above, with white or ochreous
spots or streaks looking like cracks running across the
bright green of the wing-cases ; beneath they are
coppery, with a rose-coloured tint. The horns are much
like those of the Cockchafer, excepting that the club is
formed of only three leaves (see fig. of horns of Cock-
chafer) .

Beneath the wing-cases are large brown membranous
wings, by means of which when they have finished
whatever is eatable in one place they can liy with ease
to another ; it may be a Strawberry-bed, or may be a
field of Turnips in blossom ; and thus, if the weather is
fine, they continue to attack whatever may attract them
throughout the summer ; in wet weather they die earlier
in the season. — ( 'Card. Chron.,' ' Farm Insects,' &c.)

Prevention and Eemedies. — The beetles are so large
and so sluggish in dull weather that there is then no
difficulty in taking them by hand; during sunshine they
may be taken with a bag-net, and destroyed in any way
that may be most convenient.

Where the maggots are numerous, they should be got
rid of by turning over the soil, or by spreading neglected
heaps of rich earth, old cucumber-beds, and similar
places which they frequent, and hand-picking all that
are seen. Poultry will help very much in clearing the
grubs, if driven in whilst the ground is being turned over.

Where the attack is on the roots of growing plants, it

312 STRAAVBERRY.

will be found serviceable to have a few tame Rooks or
Sea Gulls in the garden, as they can dig down with their
bills amongst the roots which could not otherwise be
meddled with, and clear large numbers of the grubs
without harming the plants.

The Eose Chafer when about to deposit her eggs will
sweep round on the wing until she sees a suitable spot,
and — hardly pausing from her flight — will disappear at
once down any crack that may be open in the ground, or
into a nook amongst boards, or otherwise ; and the grubs
may be found in the decayed wood-soil that accumulates
within old hollow trees. It is therefore desirable to remove
all wood-rul)bish, and also heaps of decaying sawdust
that may attract the beetle or shelter the grubs.

For other remedies, see " Cockchafer," p. 207.

313

LIST OF CONTEIBUTOES.*

Anderson, Alex.

Bairstow, S. D.
Boyd, Tlionia.s.
Brown, George, Jnnr.
Brunton, Thomas.

€oupar, Eobert.

Dewar, D.

Dickson, J.

B'Urban, W. S. M., F.L.S.

Dunn, Malcolm.

Pindlay, Frank Grant.
Fitch, Edward A., F.L.S.
Fitton, Samuel.
Forbes, Ales.

Crrierson, Charles.

Hart, Thomas H.

Kay, James.
Kough, S. Harley.

Iioney, Peter,
liong, James.

M'Corquodale, William.
M'Donald, Thomas.

M'Gregor, John.
M'Kenzie, D. F.
LI'Kiulay, George.
M'Laren, John.
Mathison, John.
MelviUe, D.

Norgate, Frank.

Parfitt, Edw.

Robertson, W. W.
Kussell, James.

Scott, D.
Scott, D. Sym.
Service, Eobert.
Shipman, W.
Shearer, Alex.
Simpson, A.
Sutherland, John.

Webster, J.
Wilkie Thomas.
Whitehead, Charles, F.L.S.,

F.G.S.
Whitton, J. W.

Upton, John.

* The above list contains the names of those to whom I am mainly
indebted for information expressly contributed for this volume.

314

BIBLIOGEAPHICAL EEFERENCES.

The following list contains the names of the works
which have been chieHy referred to in this volume, and
amongst these I wish especially to acknowledge the great
amount of information obtained from the writings of the
late John Curtis, contained in his 'Farm Insects,' and
also in papers published in the 'Journal of the Royal
Agricultural Society'; and also in the 'Gardener's
Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette.'

' Manual of British Beetles.' — J. F. Stephens.

' British Beetles.'— E. C. Eye.

' Catalogue of British Hymenoptera.' — Fred. Smith.

' Die Blattwespen, und Holzwespen.'— Dr. Th. Hartig.

' Die Mitteleuropaischen Eichengallen.' — Dr. Gustav Mayr.

' Illustrations of British Entomology,' — J. F. Stephens.

' The BiTtterflies of Great Britain.' — Prof. J. 0. Westwood.

' Introduction to Classification of Insects.' — Prof. J. O. Westwood.

' British Moths.' — Edward Newman.

' Monograph of British Aphides.' — G. B. Buckton, F.B.S.

' Die Pflanzen lause.' — C. L. Koch.

' British Hemiptera Heteroptera.' — Douglas & Scott.

' Farm Insects.' — John Curtis.

' Economic Entomology.' Aptera. — And. Murray.

' Praktische Insekten-Kunde.' — Dr. E. L. Taschenberg.

' Naturgeschichte der Schadlichen Insecten.' — Vincent Kollar.

' Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society.'

' Gardener's Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette.'

' Arboretum et Fructicetum.' — J. Loudon.

' Reports of Observations of Injurious Insects.' — Ed.

315

GLOSSARY.

Alate. — Winged.

Alula. — Small membranous appendage to the base of the hinder edge of

the wings of Diptera (two-winged flies).
Anteume. — "Horns" or "cranial feelers" placed in front of the head;

various in form, sometimes tliread-like, and longer thnn the insect;

elbowed (see p. 2:34:) ; with a club of leaves (see p. '-207) ; also saw-
like, featherv, and many other forms, in butterflies somewhat like

fine small-headed pins (see jj. 2!)).
Apterous. — Without wings.
Cauda. — Tail.
Caudal prolegs. — Sucker-feet attached to the tail-segment of manj' kinds

of larva;.
Chrysalis. — A term applied to the pupa or inactive stage of life of various

insects, chiefly that of butterflies and moths,
Clypeus. — Portion of the front of the face above the up^jer lip.
Cocoon. — A case, formed of silk or other materials by vnrious kinds ot

larvse, commonly for i^rotection whilst tliey change to pupie.
Coxa. — The hip; the first division of the legs of perfect insects, between

the thorax and the thigh or femur.
Elytra. — Horny wing-eases — term commonly applied to the upper wings

of beetles.
Eyes, compound. — The common form placed on each side of the head,

and composed ot a large number of separate eyes placed side by side.
„ simple. — Ocelli; minute single eyes placed on the crown of the

head.
Feelers. — Palpi; small appendages on the lower jaws and lower lip.
Femur, plural Femora. — Thigh; second division of the leg.
HausteUum. — Term applied to difi'erent kinds of insect-mouths formed

for suction.
Halteres. — Poisers; short thread-like appendages with club-shaped heads,

to be found in two-winged flies, taking place of the absent hind

wings.
Horns. — Antennae; organs of various shape placed on front of head.
Imago. — Insect in perfectly-developed stage, as butterfly, fly, beetle, ifcc.
Labium. — Lower lip.
Labrum. — Upper lip; this is placed vertically over the lower lip, with the

two pairs of jaws placed horizontally between the two lips.
Larva. — First active stnge of insect life, as caterpillar, mngtrot, &c.
Legs. — In the perfect insect, formed of four pieces, hiji, thigh, shank, and

foot ; in laiwse, short legs of various forms, and sucker-feet, or prolegs.
Mandibles. — Upper jaws, placed horizontally opposite each other beneath

the upper lip.
Maxilla. ^hov,'eT jaws, placed similarly to the above, just below the

"mandibles," and furnished with feelers; thence called feeler-jaws.
Maxillary palpi. — Feelers on the lower jaws.

316

GLOSSARY.

Mouth. — Formed of six pieces, an upper lip ("labrum"), lower lip
("labium"), with two pairs of jaws opposed horizontfdly between
them, of which the upper pair ("mandibles") are often stronp;, and
serve for biting with ; the lower pair (maxilla; or "feeler-jaws") are
usualljr smaller and weaker, and are furnished with feelers or
"palpi," as is also the "labium." In Butterflies, Aphides, &c., that
have sucker-mouths, some of the above-mentioned portions are
variously altered in shape. — See " Proboscis."

Ocelli. — Minute single eyes, usually three in number, fixed on the crown
of the head, commonly known as simple eyes.

Oviparous. — Producing eggs.

Ovipositor. — Instrument whereby the female insect lays her eggs.

Ovum. — Egg.

Palpi. — Feelers, placed on the lower jaws and lower lip.

Poisers (see Halteres). — Appendages in the place of the hinder wings of
the Diptera.

Proboscis. — In butterflies, altered lower jaws forming the spiral trunk;
in two-winged flies, the altered lower lip enclosing the piercers.

Prolegs. — Sucker-feet whereby caterpillars and other larvae hold firmly to
the substance they are placed on.

Pulvilli. — Cushions beneath the feet of flies and some other insects.

Pupa. — Second stage of insect-life, in which it is often inactive, as with
the "chrysalis" of butterflies.

Rostrum. — Sometimes called snout, when applied to the prolonged front
of the head of some kinds of beetles (see p. 234) ; also used as well as
proboscis for the altered labium of Aphides.

Scutellum. — A name sometimes applied to a portion of each segment, but
especially to the triangular "shield-shaped" plate between base of the
wing-cases in beetles and bugs.— See figs., pp. 102, 310.

Segments.— Rings of which an insect is composed — considered to be
thirteen, including the head.

Spij'flcZes.— Breathing-pores i^laeed along sides of insect, by means of which
air is drawn into or expelled from the trachece or breathing-tubes.

Stigma. — A small thickened spot on the front edge of the fore wing of
various kinds of insects.

Sucker-feet. — Prolegs; fleshy appendages whereby larvae hold firmly to
the twigs, ifec, whereon they are placed.

Tarsi. — Feet, the fourth piece of the leg being that on which the insect
rests.

Telum. — Last segment of the abdomen.

Tibia.— Shank; tliird piece of the leg between the thigh ("femur") and

foot ("tarsus").
Thorax. — The three segments next to the head, known respectively as
the pro-, meso-, and raeta-thorax, of which in perfect insects the
first bears a pair of legs, the other two each a pair of legs
and wings.

Trachece. — Organs of respiration communicating with the air by breathing-
pores (spiracles) in the sides of the insect, and conveying it by means
of smaller tubes throughout the body.
Ungues. — Claws or curved hooks at the extremity of the foot.
Viviparous. — Producing living young.

317

INDEX,

Abraxas grossulariata, 274
Acherontia atropos, 140
Agriotes, 90
Air, exhaustion of, 11
Aleyrodes (?brassica>), 39
Chelidouii, 30
„ ijroletella, 30
Alum, solutioD of, 270, 280
American blight, 247
Ammoniacal drainage, 253

liquor. 72, 252, 204
Anthonomus pornorum, 2G9
Authomyia betse, 14

„ brassicse, 31

„ cei^arum, 123

„ lactucffi, 120

„ radicum, 33

Aphides destroyed by Titmice, 05,
250
„ distinctions of wings of,

119, 193, 240
„ increase of on sickly
plants, 21

„ syringings to destroy late
broods, 296
Aphis cerasi, 272
„ fabse, 4
„ granaria, 03
„ liumuli, 07
„ lactucfB, 110
„ malahel. (var.), 97, 293
„ mali, 254
,, pruni, 293
,, rapaj (tioris-rapaj), 143
,, rumicis, 4
„ attack counteracted by

healthy growtli, 145
„ skin often of a nature to

repel water, 144
„ Titmice useful in clearing,
145
Apple Ai)his, 254

Apple Green-fly, 254

„ „ black eggs of, 254

,, bark Beetle, 250
,, blossom Weevil, 209
„ Scale-insect, 266
Ash-bark Beetle, 173

„ Scale, 170
Asparagus Beetle, 1

12-spotted, 2
Aspidiotus conchiformis, 200
,, ostreteformis, 28(S

Athalia spinarum, 163
Athous, 90

B.

Balaniuus nucuni, 281
Bark, dressings, &c., for, 186, 189,
190, 206, 207
„ infested Pine, to be de-
stroyed, 219
,, outer, removal of, 180
Bats, insectivorous, 280
Bean Aphis, 4
,, Beetle, 8
Beet Carrion Beetle, 12

„ Fly, 14
Birch Gall-mite, 179
Birds, insectivorous, 90, 158, 209,

250
"Black Dolphin," 4
"Black Fly," 4
Black Palmers, 103

„ Vine Weevil, 305
" Blacks," 163
Bombus lucorum, 0
„ terrestris, (i
Bombyx ueustria, 201
Bruchus granarius, 8 ■
Bufif-tip Moth, 201
Burning stubble and rubbish, 85,
80

„ infested leaves, 50
Bushes, to fork beneath, 270

318

INDEX.

Cabbage Aphis, 20

„ Butterdies, tlistinctions
of, 80
„ ,, Large White,

,, „ Green-veined

white, 29
„ „ Small White,

28

„ Fly, 31

„ Gall Weevil, 41

Moth, :3i
,, Powdered-wing, 39
Calycophthoi-a avellanfe, 181
Carbolic acid, effect of on grubs,

73
Carrot Fly, 45

„ Moth, Flat-bodied, 53 — 57,
130
Carrots, gas-lime applied to, 51
„ parafHn applied to, 4fl, 50
,, peat lor, 48
„ preparation of soil for,

48—52
„ Soluble rhenyle applied
to, 48
„ time for thinning, 47
Carpocapsa pomonana, 257
Caterpillars, to extract with wire,
190, 285

„ to shake down, 202,

228, 2G5

„ to ^^top traffic of, 203,

228

,, to sweep down, 210,

299

„ of Sawfly, effect of

frost on, 229
Cecidomyia tritici, 79
Celery Leaf miner, 58, 130

„ Stem Fly, 01
Cephus ijygmaeus, 84
Cerostoma xylostella, 158
Cetonia aurata, 310
Ceutorhynchus sulcicollis, 108
Chaff, to destroy insect-vermin in,

82
Chalk dressings, 109
Cliarring surface-soil, 227
Cheimatobia brumata, 297

Chermes laricis, 192

„ (pini) abietis, 240
Chionaspis fraxini, 176
Chlorops tseniopus, 76
Chrysalis, xxi
Clay, fluid mixtures of, 72, 272

,, and sulphur, 268
Clay-coloured Vine Weevil, 305
Click Beetles, 88, 115
Clisiocampa neustria, 261
Cocoons of Pine Sawfly, birds, &c.,

that destroy, 230
Coccinellidse destroy Green-fly,

101
Cockchafer, 207

„ to shake down, 209

Codling Moth, 257
Cold, amountborne withoutinjury

by " grub," 74
„ not injurious to larvae, xxi
"Collier," 4
Colorado Beetle, 137

„ Order in Council

regarding, 138
Common Dart Moth, 154

,, Spangle-gall, 213
Corn Sawfly, 84
,, Thrips, 80
Gossus liguiperda, 187
Cow-dung as a ]ireventive of

insect-attack, 170
Crane-fly, 66

Marsh, 68

„ Spotted, 68

Crioceris asparagi, 1
Currant Sawfly, 277
Cyuips Kollari, 210

D.

Daddy Long-legs, {)6

Dasychira pudibunda, 107

Death's-head Moth, 140

Dej)ressaria eieutella, 53

„ daucella. 55, 130

,, defiressella, 50, 130

Diamcjnd-back Turnip Moth, 158

Drainage, some of the uses of, 78

Drosopbila (?flava), 153

INDEX.

319

E.

Earth Bee, 6

Elater (Agriotes) lineatus, 88, 115

„ „ obscurus, 88

„ „ sputator, 88

„ (Athous) ruficaudis, 88

Elm-bark Beetle, 182

„ flow of sap a

means of prevention of, 185
Eupteryx Solani, 139
„ picta, 100

Fish-oii soft-soap, price of, 145
Flat-body Carrot Moth, 5;J— 55,

1:30
Fumigation, 290

G.

Gas-lime, 37, 51, 60, 93, 169
„ applied fresh, 30
„ before breaking up pas-
tures, 70

„ effects of air and mois-
ture on, XV, 70. 92
„ rings of, 157
Gas-water, to kill Green-tly, 144
,, with sulphur and soft-

soap, 206
Galls, Cabbage, 41
„ Oak, 210, 213
„ Turnip, 168
„ to remove, 212, 243
Gall-mite, Birch, 179

Black Currant, 181
Filbert, l8l
Germination, 10
Ghost Moth, 109
Giant Sirex, 230
Goat Moth, 187
Gooseberry Sawfly, 277
"Gout," 76
Grain Aphis, 63

„ on late Wheats, 05

„ grasses it frequents,

C5
Grapholitha nebritana, 131

„ pisana, 131

Green-fly, Turnip, 143

Green Eose Chafer, 310

"Grub," the, 66

Grubs, to sweep off Turnips, 160,

107
Great Yellow-underwing Moth, 37
Guano, 71, 72

,, and salt, 72

„ and superphosphate, 78, 94

H.

Haldca concinna, 103, 140
„ dentipes, 103
„ hybernation of, 104
,, nemorum, 145
Heart and Dart Moth, 161
Hellebore, 50, 280, 292

„ caution regarding, 280

Hepialus humuli, 109
Hoeing, 71, 95
Hop Aphis, 97

„ east winds favourable

to, 101

,, Ladv-birds destroy it,

101

washes for, 99, 100
Hop Bug, 102
„ Dog, 107
„ Flea, 103

„ „ hybernation of, 104
„ ,, kerosine a remedy for,

100
„ Frog Fly, 100
,, Green-tly, 97
„ Vine, Snout Moth, 111
„ Wireworm, 115
,, „ traps for, 110

Hops, spent, 44
Hot water and soft-soap, 289
Humble Bees, 6
Hylesinus fraxini, 173
Hylobius abietis, 233
Hylurgus piniperda, 217
Hypena rostralis, 111

I.

Insects, classification of, xxiv
Imago, description of, xxiii
Immersion, length of time borne by
grubs of Daddy Long-legs, 74
Injured trees, clearing of, 232

320

INDEX.

Jumpers, 106

Jumping Plant-louse, 286

L.

Lackey Moth, 261
Larch, soil and situation foi% 196,
107
„ Aphis, 192

„ ,, late frosts favour-

able to, 196
„ ,, preventives for, 19J:,

195
„ blight, 192
„ blister, 198, 199
„ Bug, 192
Larva, description of, xix
Larvaj of Pear Sawfly, 289
Lasiopteryx obfascata, 80
Leafage, healthy growth of, im-

l^ortant, 168
Leatlier Jackets, 66
Lettuce Fly, 120
Lettuce-root Apliis, 119
Lime, 79, 169, 2i)2

,, water, 32, 195
Lime-tree Mite, 204

Eed Spider of, 204
Liquid manure, use of, 168
Lophyrus pini, 224
Lygus umbellatarum, 102

M.

Magpie Moth, 274

Mamestra brassicaj, 34

Mangold Fly, 14

Manure, liquid, 94

„ wet, to stifle grubs or
insects in, 41, 43

Marble-gall Fly, 210

„ grubs destroyed

by Titmice, 212

„ Oaks attacked by,

213

,, Oaks not observed

to be attacked by, 213

Melolontha vulgaris, 207

Mercury, percliloride of, preven-
tive for Larch Bug, 194

Mussel Scale, 266
Myzus cerasi, 272

N.

Nematus Eibesii, 277

Neuroterus lenticularis. 213

" Niggers," 163

Night-soil, 72, 253

Nitrate of soda and salt, 78

Noctua (Agrotis) exclamationis,
161
„ „ segetum, 154

„ (Tryphasna) pronuba, 37

Nut Weevil, 281

0.

Oak leaf-roller Moth, 214

„ birds of ser-

vice in clearing, 216
Odyneri, 55
Oil, caution regarding application

of, to bark, 269
Onion Fly, 123

Onions, compost and iireparation
of ground for, 125, 127
„ infested, to remove, 124
„ paraffin remedy for Fly
in, 128
Orthotfenia turionana, 220
Otiorhynchus picipes, 305
,, sulcatus, 305

,, tenebricosus, 305

Otter Moth, 109

P.

Pale Tussock Moth, 107
Pai'aftin, methods of application,

49, 50, 96, 117, 127, 128

„ dilute, a remedy for Larch

Bug, 194

„ injected into borings in

timber, 191

„ and red lead, 239
Paring and burning, 92, 117

„ disadvantages

of, 70
I'aris Green, 138, 240

,, price of, 240

Parsnip Fly, 130

INDEX.

321

Parsnip and Celerv Leaf-miner,
l;30
„ and CaiTot-seed Moth,
130
Pea Moth, 131

„ and Bean Weevils, 133
Pear Oyster Scale, 288

„ sncker, 286
Pemphigus lactucse, 119
Pigs destroy Cockchafers, 209
Pigsties, drainings from, 128
"Pine Apiile" Spruce Gall, 240
Pine Sawrty, 224
,, ,, caterpillars, 22-footed,

225
,. „ naphtha to destroy

caterpillars of, 227
„ Weevil, 233
„ „ trails tor, 236

Piophila Apii, 61
Phorodon humuli, 1)7

,, var. malaheb,

07, 293
Phyllotreta nemorum, 145
Phvtomvza nigricornis, 153
Phytoptus Birch (?sp.), 179

ribis, 181
Ploughing deep, to burv eggs and

grubs, 69, 81
Plough, Michigan, 81
Plum Aphis, 293
„ Green-fly, 293
., washes for, 294
Plusia gamma, 17
Plutella cruciferarum, 158

„ xvlostella, 158
Potato Frog Flv, 139

„ Thrips (fig.), 86
Poultrv useful in clearing grubs,

209, 311
Psila rosffi, 45, 130
Pseudo-cone of Spruce, 240
Purple Carrot-seed Moth, 56, 130
Pupa, description of, xxi
Pygfera bucephala, 201
Pyralis rostralis, 111

Q.

Quassia and soft-soap, 295

H,

Kape-cake, 71, lis

„ to attract Wireworm,

95
Rape-dust, 95

Red-legged Garden Weevil, 305
Red Maggot, 79
„ Spider, 112, 204, 300
„ ,, distinguishable from

true Spiders, 112
„ ,, moisture a preventive

for, 302
„ ,, sulphur a remedy for,

302
Retinia buoliana, 221, 222

„ turionana, 220
Rhopalosiphum dianthi, 143
Ribbon -footed Corn Fly, 76
Rolling to destroy grubs, 71, 95
Rooks of use in clearing grubs,

69, 209, 210
Root-eating Fly, 33
Rubbish-heap, throwing infested

plants on, not desirable, 43,

59, 62
Rust, 45, 130

S.

Salt, action of, 72, 73, 78, 95

Sawfly, Currant, 277
„ Gooseben-y, 277

Scolytus destructor, 182

Schizoneura lanigera, 247

Scolytus (hfemorrhous?), 256

Sea Gulls destroy grubs, 209

Sheep-droving a remedy for Tur-
nip Fly, 151

„ for Turnip Sawfly,

167

Sheep-folding on infested ground
a good remedy, 145

Scheele's Green, 138

Selandria cerasi, 289

Silver Y-Moth, 17

„ amount of injury

from, 17

Silpha opaca, 12

Siphonophora granaria, 63

Sirex gigas, 230
„ juvencus, 233

322

INDEX.

Sitona crinita, 133
„ lineata, 133
Slops, house, 128
Slug-worms, 289
Small Ermine Moth, 263
Suowy Fly, 39
Soap-suds, 128
Soda, nitrate of, effect ou Daddy

Long-legs grubs, 74
Soft-soap, fish-oil, price of, 266
,, and sulphur, 3
,, ,, tobacco, 144

Solitary Wasps, 55
Soluble Phenyle, 48
Soot, 157, 162

„ water and clay, 303
Sphinx atropos, 140
Spruce-gall Aphis, 240
Spirits of tar and sand, 52
Steel-blue Sirex, 233
Stubbles, burning, to destroy in-
sects, 86
Sulphate of copper, efte?t of, 73

,, iron, effect of, 73

Sulphur, as a dusting, 280
fumes of, 286
., to make it combine with
tiuid, 303
Surface Caterpillars, 161
Surface-burning, to stamp out

attack, 237, 238
Surface-soil, to skim off, 278
Syringing, 112, 294

„ with tube and nozzle,

280

T.

Tar, spirits of, with sand, 120
„ Stockholm, and cart-grease

on bark, 298
„ and oil, to soak bands in, 259
,, „ to mix, 260

Tarred boards, 107, 307
Tegs, treading Barley with, as

remedy for Wireworm, 95
Tenthredo grossularise, 277

„ cerasi, 289

Tephritis onopordinis, 58, 130
Tetranychus telarius, 112, 204, 300

„ tiliarum, 204

Thrips cerealium, 86

Thrips physnpus, 86
Tipula maculosa, 68
,, oleracea, 66
„ paludosa, 68
Titmouse, Blue-headed, 212
Black-headed, 212
Tobacco-water, 157, 295
Tortrix viridana, 214
Turnip Aphis, 143

Flea Beetle, 145
"Fly," 145

„ dressings to clear,
152

, ,, hybernation of, 147

, ,, weeds frequented

by, 147

, Leaf-miner, Black, 153
YeUow, 153
, Moth, 154
, Sawfly, 163
, Weevil, Gall, 168

r.

Urine from cattle-folds, 279
„ in house-slops, 128
„ Sheeji's, 145

W.

Warm water, to syringe with,

279
Washes, alum. 276

„ gas- water, sulphur, and

soft-soap, 206
,, Gishurst compound and

tobacco-water, 288
,, lime-water. 195
„ ,, tobacco-water,

soft-soap, and sulphur, 268
„ soap-suds, soda, and salt,

280
„ soft-soap, 106
., „ and sulphur,

268
„ „ and tobacco,

99, 100
„ ,. and water, to

apply during frost, 288
„ tobacco- water, 255
,, „ with lime

and soft-soap, 251, 292

INDEX.

323

Waslies, sulphxiret of lime and

soft-soap, 303
Webs, insect, to cut off, 262
Weevils, Apple-blossom, 269
Cabbage-gall, 41
Pea and Bean, 133
Pine, 233
Vine, 305

maggots not injured by
frost, 30!)

„ to shake down, 306
Wheat Midge, 79
Winter Moth, 297
Wire, to dra«' caterpUlars from

borings, 190, 285
Wirewornis, 88

false, 91
true, 90

Wireworms, traps of Potatoes and
Carrots for, 96

Witches' brooms, 179

Witch knots, 179

Wood Bee, 6

„ Leopard Moth, 284

Woolly Aphis, 247

Woodpecker, Green, destroys cat-
erpillars of Goat Moth, 1»1

Yponomeuta malivorella, 265
,, padella, 363

Z.

Zeuzera ^iEsculi, 284

ERRATA.

Page 50, line 34, for D. M'L., read J. M'L.
„ 52, „ 20, „ A. G., read C. G.
„ 281, „ 2. „ Balceninus, read Balaninus.

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