130 



The Ottawa Naturalist. 



[Dec. 



t 



\ 



swarms appeared at Hamilton on October 7th. In the year 

 1903, on October 5th and 8th, the late Dr. Fletcher and the writer 

 when "sugaring " for noctuid moths, at the Central Experimental 

 Farm, collected many specimens of this moth which had been 

 attracted to the trees upon which the "bait" had been applied. 

 The fact that these moths migrate to Ontario in autumn 

 from the Southern States is most interesting. The remarkable 

 thing too, is that large numbers of the specimens are in such 

 perfect condition, that one wonders how the moths make such 

 long flights without in some way damaging themselves. Their 

 wings, however, are very closely-scaled, so can withstand con- 

 siderable knocking about. 



The figure herewith 

 shows the Cotton 

 Moth, with the wings 

 spread, and also il- 

 lustrates its habit of 

 resting with its head 

 downward. In colour 

 it is brownish-yellow 

 with a purplish sheen. 

 On the front wings 

 are indistinct wavy 

 transverse lines and 

 near the centre of each a conspicuous dark spot, paler in the 

 middle. 



The caterpillars of this moth have caused enormous losses 

 in the cotton fields of the south. Before the year 1873, annual 

 losses from the ravages of the Cotton Worm amounted to millions 

 of dollars, in fact in certain years of general prevalence of the 

 worm, the loss totalled as high as $30,000,000. Since the above 

 year, however, the insect has been kept largely under control by 

 a change in cultural methods and the use of Paris green and other 

 arsenical poisons. The caterpillars are, therefore, not now, nor 

 have they been for some years, a serious factor in cotton growing. 



The CoTro" Moth, (after Riuey). 



THE NATURE OF PARASITIC FUNGI AND THEIR 

 INFLUENCE UPON THE HOST PLANT. 



By H. T. Gussow, Dominion Botanist, Ottawa. 



By far the largest number of fungi causing plant diseases are 

 of microscopic character, hence I will confine my remarks ex- 

 clusively to this large enough group. The average fruitgrower's 

 and the average farmer's acquaintance with microscopic fungi, 



