THE GRADEN.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 246, 14 March 1888, Page 7

THE GRADEN.

Insects to Garden ana Orchard, Those who cultivate the soil arc compelled to CDntencl with various natural enemios in order to obtain any considerable remuneration for their labour. Not only docs the husbandman havo to wage war upon weeds innumerable, which scorn to spring up everywhere on cultivated lands, but insect enemies do their best to obstruct the growth of useful plants. Opinions differ in regard to the cause of the lapid multiplication of noxious insects in certain regions of country ; but whatever the cause, the fact of their prcsenco, a* well as the necessity of destroying as many as possible, will not be disputed by anyone who has had experience with the farm and pardon. We cannot expect to totally annihilate any species of insects, but wo may keep them in such subjection that they can do but little injury to cultivated plant". There are many species of noxious insects that live over winter in their mature^ hiding and l.vinj; dounant either in the ground or under the dead grass or old rubbish, in fence corners and elsewhere ; and from thos-e hiding places they come forth in spring to multiply their kind and devastate fields and gardens-. The common potato beetles, squash bugs, and many other pestiferous hpoei^ pas-* the winter in such convenient hiding places as we have named, and there are also sovoial ••pecicaof butterflies and moths that are able to withstand the severest cold of winter without the least injury. Other kinds perish j with the lii>t frost of autumn or before, but loavo their ei;gs or larva* to peipctuato their kind, and" come forth the following season in a matuie form to continue the work of destruction. There are some that remain in the larva or grub state for pcveial \cai-j». like the oevpntcenyear locust or cicada, the w lute giub that infests our gardens and lield^, and \ariou& species of wood boiers. The common white grub is the lar\a of the May beetle, and remains In the ground for about tlliec yeais, during which time it feeds upon the roots of various kinds of plants ; but it is especially destructive to the cultivated grasses and strawbeny plants. Theio are nearly or quite sixty distinct species ot the May beetle inhabiting the United States, but they are so nearly alike in habits that they are usually referred to under one name. All kinds of poultry and many wild birds will destroy the white grubs, if afforded an opportunity to do so, but the former are seldom allowed to vi-it gardens and remain there long enough to do much work of this kind. During the winter months very little can be done in the way of destroying injects that hibernate in the ground ; but there are many kinds that are within easy reach, and these may be found and killed even during the coldest weather. The cocoons of vaiious moths may be found attached to the items and twigs of currant and goosoberry bushes and other shrubs abouo the garden, and it is very little trouble to gather these and burn them. In the orchard the eg^s of the tent worm will be found in a compact mass surrounding the smaller twigs ot the trees and those of the apple-leuf cr urn pier may be found glued to the side of withered leaves that remain on the trees, because fastened to the twigs by this insect in the fall. AH such eggs as well as cocoons should be destroyed at this season. The dead twigs and branches often contain the grub-* of various species of beetles, and all such should be removed and burned with whatever they contain. It is also well to gather all the dead shoots of the different kinds of berry-bearing bushes, for borers infest the currant, gooseberry, raspberry, and blackberry, as well as various kinds of ornamental shrubs. Within the past few years a small flea-louse has become very abundant on the blackberry plants in nearly all of the Eastern States, and probably in some of the Western. These insects check the growth of the young shoots in summer, and their presence may be readily detected by the curling of the leaves on the infested canes, all of which should be cut out and burned as soon as discovered. These infested shoots can be readily distinguished at this season by the old curled leaves which remain firmly -attached to the stems, and do not fall oti at the time the healthy ones drop. All kinds of galls as well as cocoons should be gathered and destroyed at this season, if they have not already been removed. Borers in fruit and ornamental trees are another class of pests that may be destroyed in winter as welt as at any other season, as they can usually be found by a littli careful searching, if present in the tree. The apple tree is infested by several species of borere, but the two most abundant and destructive are known by the common names of round-headed and flat-headed. The former is the gtubof ahandeome dark-brown beetle, with two broad white stripes on ita wing cases. It is nearly an inch long, and appears about the time the trees bloom in spring ; but the grubs are two or three years in reaching maturity, and are generally to be found beneath the bavk and in the sap wood, near the base of the stems of the trees, often below the surface of the ground. Their presence in the trees can usually be detected by the excrement which they push out of their holes as they feed and burrow in the wood ; but it is well to clean off the barK carefully, and then with the point of a knife cut into any black-looking patches cf bark, and when a dead or decaying spot is found, remove it and follow the burrow until the grub is found. A sharp point-ed knife or small gouge will be found a convenient implement for cutting out grubs in trees. In some instances the grubs will penbtrate the solid wood for an inch or more, and they cannot be reached without cutting away considerable wood and making a deep wound ; to avoid this, a wire may be thrust into the burrow and the borers crushed. But if the trees are examined once a year, the borers will not be likely to penetrate very deeply before they are discovered and killed. The flat-headed borers usually infest the upper parts of the stem and larger branches, and are always to be found between the bark and the wood. Their presence may be determined by an examina tion of the bark, which dies as the borers make their burrows underneath. The ! dead bark should be cut away and the grubs killed, after which the wounds made must be covered with paint or grafting wax to prevent further decay. Whitewashing the bark of the trees, or smearing it with rather thick soap, will, in a measure, prevent the parent beetles from depositing their eggs on the trees ; but even when such precautionary measures are adopted, it is always well to carefully examine ihe trees for borers that may ha.ye found a lpdgmeijt under the bark. 'The borer is even more destructive than the species th"at> infest the apple, but they are not at all difficult to, destroy, as they work under the bark of the trees, near the surface of the ground, usually, a little below. Whenever gum is | found* exuding from trees pear the base, it may be considered a good sign that borers are at work, and they should be cufc out as soon as possible. , . Sometimes thb, borers will } be, found higher up on the stem, but their locality is certain to be shown by the exuding giim. All peach t trees should be carefully Examined for borers early in I

spriner, or as soon as frost, will admit of re moving the soil about the steins. A few hours or days spent searching for and destroying each insects will usually insure the life of the treos, if not a good crop of fruit, and it is vvoll to do such jobs before the rush and hurry of spring work arc »%t hand.— American press.