MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. - 337 



The spring following, my tree was full again, and I tried again the 

 same method for saving my apples, with the same results, so far as 

 concerned the codling molh; but that year I found that they were 

 nearly all perforated with round holes entering the sides and other 

 parts, with the bug-dust working out, and were injured almost as badly 

 as they would have been by the larvse of the moth. ]^ot being an en- 

 tomologist, I did not learn-the nature or habits of this boring pest, but 

 sometimes I could not help wondering if it was not done by the moths, 

 themselves, which, while I had been heading them one way, had been 

 concocting this boring plan to get ahead of me. • 



The next spring following the blossoms on my tree were killed by 

 frost, and so I could not repeat the experiment ; but at about the time 

 I would have been clipping off the blossom ends, if the frost had not 

 killed them, a little incident occurred that led me on to trying another 

 experiment which was to the utmost satisfactory, and which contem- 

 plated the destruction of the moth, and I believe can be made practi- 

 cal for orchards of any size. 



Passing along Fourth street, Louisville, Ky., about twilight, when 

 there were electric arc lights burning, my attention was drawn to the 

 hundreds of the moths whirling round and round them, attracted by 

 their dazzling brightness. Looking up and contemplating the scene 

 for a few minutes, light then and there I resolved that the problem of 

 destroying the codling moth was solved, and that nothing further was 

 needed than the arrangement of details. Although my tree had no 

 apples on it, I took it for granted that the moths were not aware of it, 

 and would be on hand to deposit their eggs as usual, and so next day 

 I prepared for my second experiment by driving a stake down close 

 by the tree, the upper end reaching a little above the lower limbs, and 

 on it nailed a piece of board on which I set a large coal-oil lamp with 

 cylindrical chimney, making a fairly dazzling light, and around about 

 the light at convenient places I hung pieces of sticky fly-paper; and 

 having everything in good working at twilight, I retired to wait for 

 results. To express the confidence I had in the success of my experi- 

 ment, I might say that 1 felt it in my bones from its conception, and 

 we all went out about ten o'clock to see the result, and we counted 

 sticking fast to the paper, twenty-three codling moths, and two others 

 of a large variety we call millers, and many other little nocturnal in- 

 sects. The second night we got five of the codlings and one miller, and 

 other little insects, and the third night, one codling moth and some of 

 the little insects, when I quit it, fully persuaded that I had cleaned them 

 out in the reach of my apple-tree. 



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