STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 255 



and crush them, but on no account to destroy the dark-brown colored ones, which are full 

 of the parasitic Pleromali. As the spring advances a ring or bag net may be used to 

 catch the butterflies; and when the caterpillars are large enough to be seen, hand picking 

 is neither difficult nor laborious ; when they attack the seed crops shaking the stems 

 might prove useful, provided troops of ducks were to follow and pick up the caterpillars ; 

 or dusting the plants with hellebore powder, fresh and genuine, would be worth a trial, 

 as it is very effective in some instances. 



Boisduval, in his ''Etifomologie Horticole,'' gives but one method, that 

 of catching the butterflies with the insect nets. 



Duponchel, in his Iconograph of Caterpillars, says the most effica- 

 cious way of destroying them will be for the gardeners to employ the 

 children in capturing for slaughter all the white butterflies which are seen 

 flying around their cabbages, as these are mostly females seeking places 

 to lay their eggs; and that by slaying one female before she begins to lay, 

 we destroy an entire generation of caterpillars. He also recommends 

 searching for and destroying the eggs and pupae. 



Dr. Fitch also recommends employing children to capture the butter- 

 flies, and placing pieces of boards between the rows of cabbages, elevated 

 two or three inches above the ground, as places for the worms to pupate, 

 when the pupae can from time to time be collected and destroyed. He 

 also suggests searching the cabbage leaves over, and cutting asunder all the 

 worms found with a pair of scissors. He thinks topical applications of 

 poisonous substances, such as hellebore, etc., of no practical value. 



Prof. Riley repeats the recommendation to capture the butterflies, 

 and also recommends trapping the pupae by placing boards between the 

 cabbage rows. He adds that the "saponaceous compounds of cresylic 

 acid are effectual, and without objection as to poisonous qualities." 



Subsequent experiments have shown that most, if not all, the topical 

 remedies proposed fall far short of affording any substantial relief from 

 the depredations of this pest. Of these I tried, the past season, salt, 

 brine, powdered lime, ashes, lye and elder decoction. Lime and brine 

 had the least effect, the worms eating away apparently without inconveni- 

 ence when coated over with lime ; ashes had very little more effect. A 

 lye made by putting fresh and strong ashes in water and using it at once 

 proved more effectual than anything else I tried. Salt, where it could be 

 made to reach them, was more effective then the brine. Elder decoction, 

 which in the hands of some other experimenters proved of value, was 

 tried too late to give it a fair test. Others have used a decoction of dog- 

 fennel as they thought with favorable results; and others dilute carbolic 

 acid. Hot water has long been recommended. In one instance within 

 my knowledge, powdered black pepper was tried, and for a time did 

 check the worms, and the cabbages, as I afterward observed, generally 

 formed good heads. 



Although the list of materials used is a rather long one, yet we are 

 not prepared to say there is no topical application that will destroy the 

 worms without materially injuring the cabbage. The fact that the species 

 has long been injurious in Europe without such substance being discov- 

 ered, it is true, renders the likelihood of such discovery very doubtful, 



