320 



STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



season, allowing no grass noi" weeds to grow even close to the trunks of the trees. 

 As a result these orchards were not molested last spring by climbing cutworms, and 

 last fall he wrote me that he had never had a finer crop of apples nor a larger yield. 

 There was one orchard which had grape vinos between the rows of trees. This 

 was plowed and cultivated, but could not easily be liept entirely clean, and it was 

 here that the cutworms were almost as plentiful as the year before. In neighbor- 

 ing orchards similar conditions were noted. Those orchards that were in old sod 

 or under partial cultivation suffered the most severe attack. This same relation 

 between clean culture and freedom from cutworms has been reported to us from 

 Benzie county, and Mr. Slingerland found the same to be true in western New York. 

 Had Mr. Rood plowed his clover under at or before the time that it commenced 

 to die, and kept the soil thoroughly cultivated from that time on, the climbing cut- 

 worms would probably not have been plentiful enough to cause any injury the 

 following spring. 



From what we know of the life history of these climbing cutworms, it seems 

 safe to say that if the ground is kept free from grass and weeds from July to Octo- 

 ber of each year, there is little danger of injury from climbing cutworms, and 

 probably if a crop of clover or grass is left over one year and plowed under in June 

 of the next, the cutworms will not increase to any great extent in this short 

 period. This would give an opportunity for using wheat, rye, or clover as a green 

 manure of desired. 



Trapping the moth is an old method, long since discarded by those of experience in 

 this line, but occasionally people ask regarding it; for this reason it is inserted here. 

 In early times this appeared to be an ideal remedy, as it was thought that the 

 moths could easily be caught before the female deposited her eggs. A few years' 

 practice proved the fallacy, as most of the moths caught were males or old females. 

 Moreover, many beneficial insects were also taken in the same traps, and the harm 

 nearly equaled the benefit. 



The tin collar was tried last spring, and was found to be little better than noth- 

 ing. When the cutworm comes to the collar it will travel around beneath until 

 it comes to the lap, or where the two ends meet, and then will climb up almost as 

 readily as on the bark. The tin collar is more difficult to fit to the tree than the 

 band, and is more expensive. 



The cone-shape paste-board collar I have found in more general use over the 

 state than any other one method. The collars are cut to a scale from stiff glazed 

 paper and, when pinned around the trunk, form an inverted funnel over which the 

 cutworm must travel to go further. These 

 paste-board collars were already on the grape 

 vines on my arrival at Muskegon. Other 

 bands were put on above, to see if the collars 

 were a success. We found no instance, to my 

 present remembrance, were a cutworm was 

 known to pass over the paper funnel, and if it 

 fitted tightly it appeared to be a protection; 

 but the collars could not be made to fit every 

 little irregularity of the trunk with suflficient 

 accuracy to prevent the cutworms from find- 

 ing a crevice to push their way through, and 

 hence many were found above the paper cone. 

 The cones are also very easily tilted or moved 

 in cultivating and working around the trees 

 and vines, and this unintentionally opens more 

 crevices. 



Three kinds of band were tested in the 

 orchard, viz.: Wool, cotton, and one of 

 material from Germany, resembling wagon 

 grease, and known as caterpillar lime or "rau- 

 penleim." 



The caterpillar lime was furnished by Wm.pj ,_^^ mnetration of 

 Menzel & Son, 64 Broad street. New York paete-board coUar, 

 city, and did very nicely. It was applied 



directly to the trunk of the tree, in a band of from one to two inches in width. The 

 cutwoi-ms did not attempt to climb over it except on a very cool night when the 

 material became too stiff. This defect can quite likely be overcome; in fact, a 





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a cone-ehape 



