232 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



The body is unusually large for a moth of the same wing 

 expanse, which accounts for its inability to fly. The end of the 

 body terminates quite abruptly and is covered with light brown 

 or yellowish hairs, which are used in covering the egg clusters. 

 The antemse of the female are slender, while those of the male 

 are quite broadly feathered, brown in color. Those of the 

 female are black. 



Soon after mating, the female moth deposits her egg clusters, 

 as previously described, and then dies. The insect remains in 

 the egg stage about nine months of the year; is active in the 

 caterpillar stage, the only time it is doing damage to vegetation, 

 for about two months. This period is through May and June, 

 the pupa and adult stages lasting the remaining month. These 

 stages may vary to quite an extent, depending upon the season. 

 I have stated about the average time for each. 



SCOUTING. 



The requirements of a good scout are ,a well trained eye with 

 keen vision; a deep interest in the work, so that one may not 

 get discouraged if an egg-cluster does not show up just where 

 or when it is expected to; a level head for climbing, and good 

 judgment enough to succeed where others fail. In fact it is 

 rather a difficult task to find many number one scouts. The 

 man of ordinary attainments can not become an expert. 



The great secret of success lies in his ability to adapt himself 

 to all of the different circumstances that may be presented. He 

 must be methodical and possess the faculty of thoroughness to 

 a marked degree. In other words such a man is at the top 

 round of the ladder as a specialist. 



The process of scouting consists of examining every nook and 

 cranny where a female moth could possibly get in to lay her 

 eggs. The moth much prefers darkness to light, and as a result 

 the eggs are generally deposited in some such place as, — in the 

 crevasses of rough barked trees ; on the under side of limbs ; in 

 knot holes or hollows in the trunk ; in brush heaps ; under rails 

 of fences ; in stone walls or rock piles ; under stones, board 

 walks, or rubbish of any kind ; in sheds or other open buildings ; 

 in short almost anywhere and everywhere. 



