River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1880-05-20
ROund.Headed Apple.Tree BOrer.

James w. Robinson, of Fremont. ILL.,,
an ex-president of the Illinois State
Horticultural society, gives the follow
ing mode of dealing with this destruc-
tive insect:
The eggs are deposited in the bark of
the tree, the beetle puncturing or split
ting the bark of the tree upwards and
downwards and a little sidewise, the
puncturing looking very much as if
made with an ordinary pocket knife.
The eggs are usually injected into this
puncture so deep as to be out of sight,
but not always. On young and thin
barked trees the eggs will be pushed in
next to the wood, but in older and thick
er barked trees they will only be
through the hard outer bark and the
inner soft bark.
AS soon as the egg begins tc hatch,
which is in 4 few days after being de-
posted, its enlargement causes the
puncture to open, and thereby it is
much easier detected. The young
borer matches out in the inner side of
the egg and eats circular piece the
size of half.dime, and then starts OFT,
boring upward at first, but sometimes
sidewise or downward. AT his stage of
development it is easy 10 detect the
young depredator by few drops of
discolored juice of the tree exuding
from the puncture and sticking on the
bark. The larva usually bcres down
below the ground surface 10 winter, and
up again in summer, living in the larva
state in the tree nearly two years, then
boring out in the form of the beetle,
ready to repeat its round again.
The remedy have successfully used
is to keep the ground around the trunks
of the trees clean and mellow, so that
there will be no cracks or openings
there for beetles to get in to lay their
eggs in the tree, and go that the pune
ture where the eggs are laid or young
beetles Matching may be easily seen,
and eggs or insects destroyed, which can
be done, while in the egg, by merely
pressing firmly on the puncture with
knife blad 1.-THE crcKing of the egg can
be heard distinctly, and if Matched, by
cutting away the dead bark over the
little cavity first eaten out, and killing
the young worm.
The borers do not 90 into the wood
much the first year, and can be easily
followed with the knife; but if not taken
out soon after Matching they seriously
irjure, if not entirely kill the tree, es
peciallv when they run around just
under the bark, as they sometimes do:
or, when several borers are in small
tree, they SO ipjure it that it breaks
over with the wind.
If the ground is well cleared and
patted down smooth around the trees
about the last of June, the destroying
of the eggs and young borers will be
much more certain.
The tree should be examined twice
or perhaps three times q year, if the
berers are very numerous, in order that
the first Matched may be killed before
they do serious injury to the trees.
August, September and October are the
months in which to destroy them.
They seem to infest certain parts of an
orchard from year to year, while other
parts are comparatively exempt. Low
grounds have been more infested with
them than higher parts of the orchard.
A man can usually examine and kill
all eggs and borers in 500 or more trees
per day, if the ground has been proper
ly prepared, and no work in my orch
ard has been so absolutely necessary.