The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1908-05-01
SCHOOL GARDENING IN THE
GRADES.
BY Estella Crowder.
PART FIVE.

PART FIVE.
| After the codling moth, the aphids
or plant lice give most trouble to the
orchaFdists. These insects do not
attack the fruit as does the codline
moth, but rather attack the tree
They are strictly parasite and sub.
sist on the juices of the tree, which
they obtain by piercing the bark and
sucking up the sap.
The aphids are extremely destruc-
tive and are very wide spread. They
infest various plants, attacking the
corn on the roots, the grape on both
roots and leaves, and the apple on
roots and bark. Other plants as
the peach tree, rose, elm and carna-
tion are attacked on the leaves and
buds. Then too, certain species of
aphids do damage in another way.
They exude a sweetish sticky fluid
called honeydew. This honeydew
covers the foliage and destroys its
| beauty as we'll as injuring the leaf
| by inducing mildew to grow upon It,
With children in the grades much
cannot be done in the way of de-
, scription and the life history of the
insect But great. deal can be
done toward discovering the aphid's
power of multiplication and distribu-
tion. Their natural friends and ene-
mics can be ascertained and many
valuable experiments can be perform
ed to discover remedies which can
be successfully used by the average
farmer and orchardist.
It is well to begin in October with
the cherry tree aphid. BY bring
ing twigs infested with the aphids
into the. room and carefully watch
ing the lice with hand glass they
can be seen to lay their oval, yellow
ish, gren eggs between the tender
buds and twigs. This is an extreme
Nly interesting problem for children
to watch as it seems mystery that
so small an animal knows Just where
to deposit the eggs so that the hatch
ed young will find their natural food
The eggs thus deposited, IL OBJ
served, will be seen to hatch into
small, black aphids These are fe-
males and wingless. The children
will find them growing for about
two weeks when they give birth to
living perfectly formed aphids.
These young aphids are very small
but attain their growth in a short
time when they in turn produce liv-
ing aphids at the rate of two or three
day. Thus in short time the
cherry trees will be- covered with
millions of black insects SO that all
hn 1iuf IN 1na oh
even fruit will be covered with a
mass of insects. About the time that
the fruit ripens and the tree seems
on the verge Of being destroyed a 4
generation of winged insects appear
which migrates to some other plant.
In this way both tree and insects are
saved.
What other plants receive the lice
Is an interesting problem for the chill
dren to work upon. Up to this time
It has not ben determined Wherever
they 60 the winged females will be |
found returning, in the autumn, to
the cherry trees where they deposit |
their eggs by the buds.
In the spring, by putting a single |
aphid on some convenient food plant |
the children can determine exactly
how rapidly the aphids multiply or
how many individuals will be pro-
duced in given time. Then the
number which may appear In a sea-
son can be we'll calculated; and when
the children find that within ten
weeks single insect can produce at
least 5000, 900, 100000 individual
insects they will then recognize that
prompt action should be taken to
prevent injury being done to their
plants.
In southern Idaho where the ap-
pie tree is more prevalent than the
grape or cherry the apple root plant
|ouse or woody aphis is of more in
terest to the child. This louse oc-
ours In two forms. The species that
lives above ground is found in fis-
,ures in the bark and branches of the
apple tree. The larger sizes of this
)luish7 h7black aphid is covered with
whitish flocculent, cottony growth.
rhe form that works underground
8 similar to the above ground spe-
lies and is also characterized by a
,ottony covering.
The lice injure the apple tree in
! twofold manner. Being purely
they subsist entirely on the
ap of the tree and thus weaken the
rec by taking away its vital juices.
they also poison the tree, causing
leep cracks and fissures to appear in
he bark and great protuberances or
wellings to appear on the roots. An
pple tree that is much affected by
fHnpffpuod ~ nc-o ~