American Pomology

On turning from men to books, but little more a.s.sistance or encouragement was met with; these too would only give the names, the places, and the descriptions, in the most approved language of the science, but they are not attractive nor intelligible to the unlearned. Any person can soon acquire the language of the science, with a little study, but these scientific books do not give us directions how to rid ourselves of the pests.

Among the books that are accessible and that are adapted to the general reader, and to the student of practical entomology, two were found of eminent utility as far as they went. These are the excellent reports to the Ma.s.sachusetts and the New York Agricultural Societies, by Messrs. Harris and Fitch, which are clothed in popular language, and which treat particularly of the insects injurious to vegetation, and they put us in the way of combating our foes. The former, which has been reprinted and ill.u.s.trated in beautiful style, is worthy of a place in every farmer's library, and will prove a valuable aid in the study: the latter is printed in connection with the Society's reports.

To both of these, the author acknowledges his indebtedness, and from both has he drawn liberally.

Other popular treatises, though attractive, have proved of very little practical value, and the student will find even the reports above referred to imperfect, as they were prepared for a limited region, and do not mention several insects that are common in other parts of the country than the States for which these reports were prepared. It were much to be desired, that every State Society would have similar reports, respecting the insects, peculiar to its state.

Thus the author found himself compelled to investigate this broad field of study for himself--it became necessary to grasp the elements of the cla.s.sification, and to go into the field and the orchard, to use his eyes, and to observe for himself. This was a labor of time, and required considerable effort; but it brought its own reward in the pleasure attendant upon this delightful study. At the same time there was great satisfaction in the thought that all these facts, gathered from the works of men of science, confirmed by personal observation, and rendered useful and applicable in practice by his fellow laborers in the garden and orchard, would be a valuable contribution to them, and would const.i.tute a useful portion of the _American Pomology_ he was then preparing.

Unfortunately for himself, he has discovered that his collections, in this department, covered several hundred pages of ma.n.u.script, and that, if printed, they would render his volume too c.u.mbrous. Upon consulting with his publishers, it was concluded best to lay the matter aside, for the present at least, and to prepare anew a brief account of some of the insects most injurious to the orchard, with short suggestions as to the best methods of combating their ravages.

This conclusion has been the more readily yielded to, because the public now have a medium of communication with the scientific entomologists, which well supplies the great want we had begun to experience. I refer to a monthly publication, issued by the Entomological Society of Philadelphia, in which the questions, that are constantly occurring to farmers, are answered in the most simple, clear, and satisfactory manner.[23] Besides this, we find in our best agricultural journals, a page or a column, devoted to the consideration of insects injurious to vegetation.[24]

For the sake of convenience and system, these notes will be presented in the order of the approved cla.s.sification of insects. Omitting further introduction or discourse upon the wonderful instincts and habits of insects, and explanation of their metamorphoses and the principles of cla.s.sification, and confessing my poor qualification for the task, let us proceed at once to the catalogue.

=COLEOPTERA.=--BEETLES.

In this cla.s.s of insects we find both, friends and foes. The former a.s.sist us by their voracious appet.i.tes, that can only be satisfied with gourmandizing upon other insects, particularly the juicy bodies of their larvae. The latter embrace some of our most troublesome pests, especially as they consume vegetable matters, in the perfect as well as in the larval condition, and in both stages are exceedingly voracious. Moreover, they generally commit their depredations under cover, or at night. Some live in the soil and consume the roots of our plants, and others mine their way into the solid wood of the stems of our finest trees; while some only affect the twigs and smaller branches, and others devour the foliage, flowers, and fruits. A few of the most familiar and troublesome of these will now be introduced; and allusion will also be made to some of those which befriend us by their destruction of other insects.

=Saperda bivittata.= (_Say._)--The Apple Tree Borer.--This is a nocturnal insect, which has been found very destructive to our orchards. The female deposits one egg in a place, generally low down on the stem of the tree; this hatches, and enters the tissues of the bark, where it feeds for a time, a footless grub. As it grows, it burrows deeper, and upward, until it reaches the sap wood, upon which it feeds. When half grown, it burrows still deeper, and upwards into the heart of the tree, and then outward through the sap wood to the bark, but retires again toward the centre, as to a place of safety, to undergo its transformation, after packing the hole with shreds of wood and with its castings to make its retreat secure. In the spring, the perfect insect opens its way outward, and emerges to the light of day.

REMEDY.--Observe the bark of young trees very closely during the summer, to discover the castings that are ejected; notice the discolored or depressed portions of bark, and cut into them to find and destroy the worm--if it has penetrated the solid wood, pursue it with a piece of stout but flexible wire.

PREVENTIVES.--Alkaline washes have been highly recommended, as a means of driving away the mother beetle; soft soap may be used, and a portion of soft or hard soap, placed in the forks of the branches, will dissolve with the rains, and wash down on the bark. These applications, to be efficacious, should be made in May or June. In August, the bark should be examined, and when the worms are cut out, the soap suds may be injected with advantage, especially if the larvae have not been reached. Birds should be encouraged, particularly the Picae tribe, which destroy many grubs of the wood-boring insects.

=Chrysobothris femorata=, or the Thick-legged Buprestris, is another kind of apple-tree borer, very common in some parts of the West. The perfect insect may be seen running up and down the stems of our trees, in June and July. It is a blackish beetle, about half an inch long.

The hole, bored by the grub, is flat, and not cylindrical like that of the _Saperda_. This beetle attacks the stem higher up than the _Saperda_, but burrows under the bark, and then sinks into the wood much in the same way.

REMEDIES and PREVENTIVES are similar to those above mentioned. Seek for the young worms in their shallow burrows in August, before they have gone deeply into the tree.

=Dicerca divaricata=, (_Say._), or the Cherry-tree Borer, is similar in its habit of boring in the sap wood under the bark, and may be combated in the same way. The perfect insect appears in June and July.

=Prenocerus supernotatus=, or the American Currant Borer, feeds upon the pith of the stalk. The larva is a small, white grub, which changes into a slender, long-horned beetle; black, edged with chestnut-brown.

The wing covers are marked with two small grey dots, anteriorly, and a crescent-shaped one behind the middle.

It is very injurious to the currant bushes in many parts of the country, and const.i.tutes a serious obstacle

There is another currant borer, an European, which is confined to young shoots; as it is not the larva of a beetle, but of a b.u.t.terfly, it will be treated in its proper place.

=Bostrichus bicaudatus=, or the Apple-twig Borer, affects the small twigs, and when numerous, will produce an effect like that called twig-blight, by causing the death of the part and the withering of the leaves, at mid-summer. A small hole will be found near the axil of a leaf; this turns with the twig, and often extends several inches along the pith. The insect is a small, chestnut-brown beetle, 0.25 to 0.35 of an inch long, and is characterized by two projections or horns at the hinder end. Has been found rather common from Michigan to Kansas.

REMEDY.--Kill, when found.

=Scolytus pyri=, or the Pear-blight Beetle, affects twigs of pear, apple, and other fruits, which wither and die at mid-summer. Small perforations, like pin holes, will be found, and issuing from them small cylindrical beetles of a deep brown or black color.

REMEDY.--not known.

=Luca.n.u.s dama=, or Horn-beetle, is a large insect, the larvae of which are said to feed upon the trunk and roots of old apple and other trees. The perfect insects are of a dark mahogany color, smooth, and polished. Like other Stag-beetles, they fly at night, are not very harmful, and are believed to be several years in reaching the perfect state.

=Leptostylus aculiferus=, bores under the bark of apple trees. It is a short, thick, brownish-gray beetle, with thorns upon its wing-covers; hence, the scientific name of needle-bearer. Length, 0.35 inch; season, August. The larvae are small worms, occurring in mult.i.tudes under the bark, and making long-winding burrows.

=Tomicus mali=, or the Apple-bark Beetle, is described by Dr. Fitch as new. He says, it is a small, smooth, black or chestnut-red, cylindrical beetle; the larvae feed under the bark, and then enter the wood, killing the young tree.

=Conotrachelus Nenuphar=, (_Herbst_), is the noted and notorious and yet little known Plum Weevil, that is such an abomination to plum planters, and which has proved very injurious to our peaches and is even accused of producing deformities in our pears and apples.

The egg is deposited in the fruit, where it soon hatches and feeds, approaching the stone. This causes the fruit to fall, and when the grub has attained its full size it descends into the ground to perform its transformation. The perfect insect, a small, dark-gray beetle, either crawls up the stem, or flies to the trees. Mr. Walsh reminds us that Dr. Trimble has found these insects hybernating in sheltered places.

REMEDIES.--It is lamentable that we have been able to do so little to prevent the ravages of this insect. The plan of shaking off, and destroying the affected fruits, promises the best results, by diminis.h.i.+ng the next crop. It was suggested by David Thomas, of New York, but is most successfully practised by Dr. E.S. Hull, of Illinois, who has invented an inverted umbrella on wheels, which receives the insects, as well as the defective fruits, when it is b.u.mped against the trees. By the use of this, he is enabled to harvest splendid crops of stone-fruits.

=Pomphopoea Sayi=, (or _Cantharis pyrivora_, of _Fitch_), is called by him the Pear Blister-fly. He describes it as a long blistering beetle, of a green-blue color; found on a pear tree about the first of June, eating the young fruit voraciously.

=Euryomia Inda=, or the Indian Cetonia, is a beetle about six-tenths of an inch long. The head and thorax dark, copper-brown, thickly covered with short, greenish-yellow hairs; wing-cases light yellowish-brown, changeable, with metallic tints. These are called flower-beetles, because they consume the pollen, and bury themselves in our flowers; but in the autumn, they consume our choicest fruits, especially peaches.

=Lachnosterna fusca=, (_Froelich_), is the White Grub, or May Beetle.

A heavy brown insect, an inch or more in length, which makes its appearance with the first warm evenings, when the Black Locust begins to open its fragrant blossoms, to which these beetles are attracted.

They also attack the foliage of other trees, particularly the cherry, which they entirely strip of leaves and fruit. Though very destructive in the perfect form, these insects are most to be dreaded while in the larval condition, which is supposed to continue for some years. They then work under cover, and can only be traced by the ravages they commit. Every strawberry grower is familiar with the large White Grub that so often destroys his hopes of a crop, by killing the plants when in full growth and fruitage, by cutting off all the fibres.

REMEDY.--The full-grown insects are very busy in the evening, but become stupid and lethargic before morning, clinging to the leaves and twigs, when they may be shaken down, caught on sheets, gathered, and destroyed. If let alone, they will fall to the ground toward day break, and secrete themselves in the gra.s.s and soil until night. All that can be killed in this stage of their existence, the better, as this will prevent the deposition of innumerable eggs. The White Grubs must be destroyed one at a time in cultivated grounds; kill them whenever found. Encourage chickens and birds to follow the plow and spade, as they will consume great numbers. Hogs will find and eat them greedily, and may be allowed to root them out even from a meadow, if badly affected; for, though a harsh remedy, it is not so bad as the disease.

=Pelidnota punctata=, or the Spotted Pelidnota, is a large yellowish insect, with a black dot on each side of the thorax, and three others on the outer side of each wing-cover. It is found in the day time, upon the leaves of the grape vine. Like the rest of the tribe, these insects are voracious, and the grubs may also feed upon the roots of the grape; therefore they had better be destroyed, though as their numbers are seldom large they are not found to be very injurious.

=Haltica chalybea=, or the Grape Vine Flea-beetle, appears early in the season, and eats holes in the buds and leaves. It is small, 0.16 inch long, oval; s.h.i.+ning, deep greenish-blue, or deep green, or purple. This insect spends the winter in the earth about the roots of the vine, and feeds upon them.

=Anomala lucicola=, or the light-loving Anomala, is found on the grape vine in July. It resembles the May Beetle, but is smaller, being 0.35 inch long.

These are not all the beetles that feed upon the grape vine.

=Macrodactylus subspinosa=, or the Rose-chafer, is another melolonthian beetle, which is exceedingly destructive to grapes and various other plants in many parts of the country, in May and June.

This insect is smaller than the others of its group, but is equally destructive as a leaf-eater, on account of its numbers. On the grape, it cuts off the young bunch of buds and blossoms, and thus seriously diminishes the crop, as well as by destroying the foliage. It is of a buff-yellow, with black feet, about 0.33 inch long. They continue to ravage vegetation about a month, and then retire into the ground, an inch deep, and deposit their eggs, which hatch in about twenty days, and the young grubs feed upon tender roots, attaining their full size, three-quarters of an inch, before winter, when they descend deeper to hybernate.

The Rose-beetle has many natural enemies, among which are the Dragon-flies; but we must depend upon human efforts for their destruction, an almost hopeless task, for their name is legion, but so much the greater necessity for the effort, and as they are sluggish, they may easily be caught and thrown into hot water, or otherwise destroyed.

=Tree Pruners= are the larvae of beetles that excavate a burrow in small limbs of trees, so as to make a section almost across their substance; most of them then bore upward into the limb, and await the action of the winds to break off the part and waft them to the ground, where they pa.s.s through their change to the perfect insect. They exercise a wonderful instinct in leaving just fibres enough to support the branch until they are ready for their descent, but it often happens that the twig breaks off partially and hangs by a thread, dying, of course; we see the brown leaves on the trees, and this is the first indication of the presence of the insects. If we examine the fallen spray, we shall be surprised to observe the cause of its falling. In the case of the oak tree, the damage is done by the _Elaphidion villosum_, (Fabricius), a long-horned beetle. The larva remains in these twigs until the next season, hence the importance of gathering and burning all that fall to the ground.

An insect of somewhat similar habits often cuts off stout shoots of the Hickory, making a very neat section of a small limb, leaving only the bark, so that it readily breaks off with the wind; and a similar effect has been observed in strong annual shoots of the pear, toward the end of summer. The fallen piece and the stump are cut as neatly as by the shears, but no perforation is discovered along the axis, in which the larva could be concealed; hence we have but to suffer the tr.i.m.m.i.n.g thus performed without our will, and look upon it as a sort of natural shortening-in of our trees.

=Blister-flies, or Beetles.=--There are several species of these insects, each of which appears to have its favorite pasturage. They are exceedingly voracious, but confine themselves chiefly to the destruction of herbaceous vegetation, and are therefore obnoxious to the farmer and gardener, who know them as the potato insects, than to the fruit-grower. Their appet.i.tes are not very discriminating, however, and when they are abundant they may consume the foliage of our trees. These Blister-flies belong to the genus _Lytta_, and are used as a subst.i.tute for the Spanish-fly of Europe, as they are possessed of blistering qualities in no mean degree. They are wholly different from the new potato destroyer of the West, the _Doryphora 10-lineata_, which is hemispherical, and is a leaf-eater, in the larval as well as in the perfect state.

REMEDY.--Catch and kill all that can be found in the garden, or potato field; scald, dry, and sell to the apothecary.

Before closing this section, it is but due to our many insect friends in this order, to introduce a few of them to the reader. There are several large families that are really serviceable to man; some of these are called Scavengers, because they consume large quant.i.ties of decaying matter that might prove noxious to us, were it allowed to decay upon the surface of the ground. Among these are the Dung-beetles, and the Carrion-beetles: others are carnivorous, and some of these are called _Cicindelidae_, or Tiger-beetles, from their voracious consumption of other insects, which they devour in great numbers, both in their larval and in their perfect form. These day beetles are large, brightly colored, and very active in their movements, as they run about in the sunny paths and roads, and cannot fail to attract attention. Few persons are aware, however, of the valuable aid they are rendering to man, nor of the credit that is due to them for the preservation of our crops from the invasion of other insect foes. Too often they are either un.o.bserved and overlooked, or even treated with the aversion and cruelty of men who ignorantly attempt to stamp out all insect life, as though these creatures were intruders upon their preemption. The intelligent observer of nature will soon learn to respect each aid, which has been so wisely furnished to a.s.sist him in his labors as a cultivator of the soil, and all may admire the Wisdom that has provided at the same time such beautiful and such useful creatures for the work.

=Calosoma scrutator=, is well named the handsome, for it is one of our most beautiful insects of this cla.s.s. This, and the red-spotted _C.

calidum_, may be seen upon trees, seeking caterpillars, upon which they feed. One of our most intelligent horticulturists has so high an appreciation of these insects, that he will not allow them to be disturbed, and whenever he sees any caterpillars in his orchard, he takes these beetles to the tree, and gives himself no further concern, knowing that the Calosoma will soon destroy every worm.

=Coccinelidae=, or Lady-birds, are most valuable aids to the cultivator, who is constantly liable to have his crops destroyed by the various species of Aphides. These little hemispherical beetles are familiar to every one, and known to the children as Lady-birds; but all may not know their value, nor be so well acquainted with the larvae of these insects, which are the chief agents in the destruction of our troublesome plant-lice. Most persons would be very apt to crush these curious, diminutive, lizard-looking creatures, even at the time they were attacking the Aphides, instead of leaving them to carry on the warfare more effectually without our aid.

These little friends have had a superst.i.tious regard shown to them in many countries, which indicates that a glimmering idea prevailed respecting their usefulness. The Germans call them the _Marienkaefer_, or Lady-beetles, of the Virgin Mary. The French call them _Vaches de Dieu_, the Lord's cows, and our own children are all familiar with the nursery rhyme about the Lady-birds. These insects find their way to trees or plants that are infested with their proper food, the Aphides.

These beetles hide under the leaves that cl.u.s.ter in sheltered nooks about or between the large roots of forest trees, where they can be found on any mild winter day, and may be carried to the green-house or to the window plants that are infested with plant-lice. They will not only devour these pests, but will soon lay eggs that hatch and produce the larvae which are so voracious as to clear the plants in a short-time. A little attention to the habits of these insects may spare us great losses from the plant-lice.