Spray thoroughly and in good season. _Be in time._

Do not use mixtures which have been leftover and allowed to
stand for some time.

FOOTNOTES:

[L] Orton, W. A., proceedings second annual convention National Nut
Growers' Association, 1903, p. 82. 1904.

CHAPTER XV.

INSECTS ATTACKING THE PECAN.

Some time ago the statement was occasionally made that the pecan had no
known enemies. This, to thinking and observing persons, was too good to
be true, and fortunately the words, "no known," were inserted, for later
investigations, particularly on the part of Profs. Gossard and Herrick,
have revealed the fact that the pecan, in common with all other fruit
trees, is subject to the attacks of insect and other enemies. But the
outlook is hopeful, for we know of the abandonment of no fruit industry
because of the attacks of insect pests, and the pecan industry is in no
wise in danger of being abandoned because of their inroads.

FEEDING HABITS OF INSECTS.

If an insect is to be successfully controlled, the grower must know
something of its life-history, and particularly of its feeding-habits.
Careful observation of the insect, while at its work of destruction,
will frequently give a clue to the method of control. Many insects, like
the caterpillars of the pecan, bud-moth and case-worm, obtain their food
by biting off pieces of the leaves or other parts of the tree and
swallowing the solid particles. On the other hand, a number of insects,
such as the scales and plant-lice, obtain their food by thrusting their
small, bristle-like sucking tubes into the tissues of the leaves and
sucking out the juices contained in the cells.

[Illustration: PLATE VIII. The Pecan Bud Moth (Proteopteryx deludana).

1. Winter stage on bud, enlarged. 2. Tube made in leaf. 3. Work of bud
destruction. 4. Caterpillar, enlarged about twice. 5. Cocoon, enlarged.
6. Chrysalis, reduced. 7. Moth, enlarged. 8. Moth, about natural size.]

It is quite obvious that these two classes of insects cannot be
controlled or destroyed in the same way. Those which eat solid particles
of food may, in most cases, be destroyed by applying some poisonous
substance, such as arsenate of lead or Paris green, to the food which
they eat. But those which obtain their food by sucking cannot be killed
in this way. They can be destroyed, however, by spraying over their
bodies some substance, such as kerosene emulsion, which will penetrate
their bodie