OCR Text |
Show INJURY BY SHOT HOLE BORER Pest Is Best Kept Down by Cutting Off Badly Infested Branche and Burning Them. There are two species of shot hole borer working In the Unlied Stales, one In the East and the other on the Pacific coast. They both, however, are very much alike. They make holes In the branches of trees and have the appearance of shot holes. In peaches and prunes they will often cause a gumming where tlie.se holes are made. The holes are the entrances to burrows which the Insect makes In , the branches of tres. Shot hole borers practically never ntluck healthy trees. They attack a tree which Is weak, devitalized or diseased dis-eased In some way and their presence Is always an Indication that something Is wrong with the general health of the tree. Cm ting oil the branches which are badly Infested and bnrning them Is one of the ways to keep the pest down. The cutting back of numerous nu-merous old branches will sometimes bring on a new top whl -h Is vigorous and will not be subject to the attack of the borer. Wherever this type of borer Is abundant the grower should study the vitality of his trees very carefully and see If he cannot inject more vigor Into them. IJetter cultivation, better drainage, more moisture and more fertilizer fer-tilizer Is the remedy to follow. On the Pacific coast they sometimes paint Infested trees those portions which are Infested with the borer with the following solution: Water, three gallons; soft soap or liquid fish oil soap, one gallon ; crude carbolic acid, one-half pint. Put this only where the Insects are working, and rewash at Intervals of a week, three times. |