LENAWEE COUNTY. 221 



Dr. T. H. Bailey died about 1867 or '68. His son Ilobert settled upon the 

 place in the spring of 1871. lie says that, to the best of his recollection, 

 from four to eight acres were, at that time, badly infested with canker 

 worms. 



Henry Bailey and wife, who occupied the place for two or three years after 

 'the doctor's death, says the worms were abundant in 1869. I think I knew 

 them as early, if not still earlier, and doubtless they were plenty enough be- 

 fore the doctor's death, though unnoticed by him or others from lack of ac- 

 quaintance with them. 



The four or (ive 'settings, or orchards, c )vered thirty acres or more. The 

 ^first, or old orchard, of some two hundred trees, was planted about sixty years 

 since, by Daniel Smith; and probably old age had quite as much as canker 

 worm to do with the failure of these. The remainder, planted at various 

 times, from about 1848 to 1855, were mostly set twenty-one feet apart; and, 

 of these, there must have been twenty-five hundred or more. 



Nearly two-thirds of the ground is now entirely cleared of trees. Of course 

 all these were not dead ; possibly some of them not very much injured ; but 

 plenty of sickly trees remain, to compensate for such. 



As to the time they (the canker worms) continued, we know they were 

 there in 1868 or '69, which gives twelve years to 1881 ; and very probably six 

 or eight years should be allowed for their gradual increase fr<im a small be- 

 ginning, before their presence would become observable by inexperienced per- 

 sons. This orchard is on the east line of Adrian township, and the much 

 traveled highway seems to have confined the worms for a long time ; but at 

 last, when very abundant, they crossed the road, into four small adjoining 

 orchardi, but too late to do great damage. 



Several other orchards from one to six or eight miles distant have been 

 attacked and more or less injured. No preventions or remedies worthy of 

 ■notice have been applied. 



The only other orchard that has suffered nearly as much as this is about 

 two miles east of it, in the town of Raisin. It was planted about 1848 or '50, 

 and was a very fine one. I am unable to learn when the worms were first dis- 

 covered. Judging from the damage they must have beeen there a long time. 



I have seen and questioned Wdl Lowe, who says that within the four years 

 •during which he has owned the place he has not seen a single canker worm. 

 This agrees very well with the account given by the Baileys, although Robert 

 Bailey thinks they disappeared gradually during several years. I suspect 

 that the very warm winter of 1881 and '82 may have been the cause of their 

 decline. My notes respecting that winter, made at the time, say : "A remark, 

 ably mild winter; robins, February 11th; blue birds and song sparrows, 

 February loth; wrens and other birds the 29th." April is mentioned as 

 backward, cold and stormy, with much northeast wind. It is well known that 

 the moths appear about as early as possible, and it seems probable that they 

 may have availed themselves of some of the fine weather that winter much 

 •earlier than usual, ami been destroyed by a sudden change before depositing 

 their eggs, or that the eggs, when laid, may have hatched too soon, and the 

 larvse starved before the foliage appeared, as is sometimes the case with the 

 tent caterpillar. Whether either of these theories is correct or not it is cer- 

 tain that, in passing the orchard during the spring of 1882, a great change 

 was observed, which continued to astonish me as often as I passed it, till at 

 last, notwithstanding the previous impression that they had come to stay, I 



