. Sharp eyes; a rambler's calendar of fifty-two weeks among insects, birds and flowers . .* eyes are sharp enough to find it,for each one of these is the winterhome of a tiny insect at presentin its chrysalis stage. I have often been asked to ex-plain another bulbous excrescencewhich is found upon the twigsof apple and wild-cherry. I haveintroduced a picture of it here inmy border-group, just above thebulby golden-rod. Every winter-walker should know it, if only togather it for destruction, for everyone of them so plucked has savedthe tree or bush from an unsightlycaterpillar web the following
. Sharp eyes; a rambler's calendar of fifty-two weeks among insects, birds and flowers . .* eyes are sharp enough to find it,for each one of these is the winterhome of a tiny insect at presentin its chrysalis stage. I have often been asked to ex-plain another bulbous excrescencewhich is found upon the twigsof apple and wild-cherry. I haveintroduced a picture of it here inmy border-group, just above thebulby golden-rod. Every winter-walker should know it, if only togather it for destruction, for everyone of them so plucked has savedthe tree or bush from an unsightlycaterpillar web the following year,and, if in the orchard, from muchserious damage to the growing fruitand to the tree as well. This curi-ous bunch is the work of the smallbrown apple-tree moth, and consists ofhundreds of eggs laid in a broad, close gir-dle completely around the twig, and afterwards coveredwith a brown water-proof and weather-proof AMONG THE WINTER TWIGS 259 One of the most noticeable freaks to be seen among- O the bare branches are those eccentric clusters of twigsin the birch and sugar-berry trees; all the branches run-ning into brooms, as though getting ready for the springhouse-cleaning. But this is no natural expression of thetree. It has been bewitched by a tiny mite, whosebroods live year after year in the crowded twigs, andare the cause of the diseased growth. In early timesthese bunches were known as witches brooms, andall sorts of weird stories were connected with the true witch has since been caught riding thebroom ; and inasmuch as she is not readily discoveredwithout a magnifying glass, we need hardly worry her.
Size: 1005px × 2486px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectnaturalhistory, booky
