Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-04-02
DISCRIMINATING Insects from Apple
Orchards.

40 AhoCStS art UeCOluiuS ulUIt auu HOIS
numerous every season, the man who sue
| ceeds in producing bountiful crop OF
fair apples must dispute his right to the
| trult by the constant and relentless use OF
FURNISHED steel. The numerous nostrums
recommended as repellants Of insects by
writers who never planted an apple tree
nor raised an orchard afford no reliable
protection. Catch the foe and kill him
is the only reliable motto for the rule OF
action with the successful pomologist An
American rhymist says;
The price of our apples, of peaches and berries,
The price of fine currants, of pears, plums and
cherries,
Is measured by combats with foes in tilt,
With war to the knife and the knife to the hilt.
THE CODLING-wORM MOTH
is one of the most sly and difficult
to exterminate of all the insect enc
mics of the orchard. This moth is vari-
ously known as the apple-worm moth or
the codling-worm moth. The appleworm
moth makes its first appearance about the
1st of May to the fore part of June, and
little earlier or later, according to the
season or the latitude. Usually, at the
time it appears, the young apples
ming to be about as large as a
single egg in the blossom end of the fruit,
flying from fruit to fruit, until her stock
of eggs amounting to 200 to 300) is
exhausted. Soon after accomplishing
this process she dies of old age and ex-
haustion. In very few cases the egg is
deposited in the cavity at the stem end of
the fruit or simply glued on the smooth
surface Of the fruit. In a short time
oft ord thn ~ g
located, matches out, and the young larva
forthwith proceeds to burrow into the
flesh of the apple, feeding as he goes,
making his headquarters in the core. In
three or four weeks time it is full grown,
and shortly before this the infested apple
generally falls to the ground. The larva
then crawls out of the fruit through a
large hole in the cheek, which it has
bored several days beforehand for that
express purpose, and usually makes for
the trunk of the tree, up which it climbs
and spins around itself a silken cocoon Of
dirty white color in any convenient
crevice it can find, the crotch of tree
being favorite spot. Here it transforms
into the pupa state, and toward the latter
part OF July or the fore part of August it
bursts forth in the moth state. 1t also
appears in the former part Of the growing
season.
At the West an insect of another spe
cies, closely allied to the codling- worm
moth, has appeared, which is more diff
cult to exterminate than the codling-worm
moth. These insect enemies are ready
through the entire season to deposit their
eggs whenever an apple is in a proper
state to facilitate the Matching and pro-
mote the growth of the young iarya.
These insects, like others, pass through
four stages of MISUNDERSTANDING
ly, the moth or winged state, the
egg, the larval or worm state, and the
pupa state. 1t does injury to fruit only
when in the larval or worm state. Iflittle
birds are numerous among apple trees
they will deVOur almost every larva be-
fore they can produce a cocoon or find a
refuge where they will be safe from birds
These larvae are fat and tender worms,
and all kinds of birds devCur them with
avidity. Hence the advantage of encour
aging the propagation of these little song
sters-like the yellow-bird, wren, rob
bin, "little chippie," and many others
that choose the fruit orchard for
their abode. Where little birds have
been exterminated apples are apt to
be wormy. The bluebird is one of
the most valuable birds that can be found
on the farm. If these birds can be en-
cOuraged to propagate in the orchard
they will pick up and devOur nearly every
larva of the codling-worm moth. AS
bluebirds build their nests in holes nu-
merOus little houses should be provided
for them. To encourage these birds /
make great many rustic houses for them
and fasten them in trees and to poles set
in the ground. The houses are made in
this manner: Provide blocks of wood
about six inches long by four inches in
diameter, having both ends sawed off
squarely; then bore two-inch hole into
one end about five inches deep, and bore
another two-inch hole in the side of the
block so as to intersect the first hole.
Now nail piece Of board over the hole
in the end of the block and the house is
completed. Fasten such houses in the
apple trees with the end to which the
board is nailed downward The side
holes should be shaved out smoothly, so
that the birds will meet with no rough
Instructions.
HOW TO CATCH THE LARvE.
Some apple culturists twist rope of
hay or straw, say half as large as mans
wrist, and wind it several time around the
body of an apple tree. Beneath this band
the iarvse will take refuge and spin their
cocoons. The band should be removed
soon after the cocoons are formed, and
the cocoons destroyed. But this practice
will require more hay than most persons
would care to use; and making bands for
a large orchard will be found somewhat
expensive. In some instances, at the
West, these depredatOrs are so numerous
that old cloths are laid in the crotches of
the branches for a few weeks, then they
are passed through clothes wringer to
crush the cOcoOns, after which the cloths
are returned to trap other insects. If
swine and sheep are permitted to range
about the trees they will usually destroy
the fallen fruit with the Larvae. When
swine are not permitted TO have access to
the orchard the fallen fruit should be
picked up and crushed, to destroy the
larve Hence we see that an lncessant
warfare must be maintained if the fruit is
saved. Last autumn we purchased few
barrels of apples which grew in Central
New York. After the apples were re-
ceived and the barrels unheaded a mum.
Der of large larvae of the codling-worm
moth had crawled out of the apples and
were rolling themselves up in the corners
OF barrels preparatory to entering the pupa
state. IN this way insects are scattered
far and wide over the country.
EXPERIMENTING THE BORERs.
The most etfectual way to e1terminate
the bOrerS of annie trees ia to scrape off