AN ENEMY IN THE OECHAED. 



The little winter moths are the apple- 

 grower's worst insect enemies, and the 

 most difficu't to be got ri I of, as the 

 caterpillars are hot seen until their ra- 

 vages give evidence of their existence. 

 The female moth deposits her eggs in the 

 tiny buds, and, by the time they are 

 hatched, the tree puts forth its leave-, 

 only to be stripped by the larvae which 

 they nursed. The year 1855 was noted 

 for the unusual multitude of these insects. 

 Their geographical distribution seems to 

 have made them habitats of nearly every 

 district in England. 



In some places they appeared in such 

 vast numbers that the apple and plum 

 crops were totally destroyed; and many 

 of the sufferers, who were unacquainted 

 with their little active enemies, attributed 

 the failure of their apples to the blight. 

 Some of the caterpillars are covered with 

 minute black hairs, which come off with 

 the slightest touch, while others are of a 

 light green, with pale stripes down the 

 sides. They work together in families or 

 groups, and envelope themselves, as well 

 as the surrounding foliage, in their silken 

 webs, and soon make green leaves yellow 

 and branches bare. They then proceed to 

 another branch and pitch their tent, but, 

 being now older, the leaves are entirely 

 demolished before they quit their station. 

 In this way they continue their depreda- 

 tions until they attain their full growth, 

 when they drop to the earth, bury them- 

 selves, and then change to chrysalids, in 

 which stage they remain until the follow- 

 ing spring, when they burst their crusty 

 shrouds and come forth perfect moths, 

 ready to colonize every orchard with mil- 

 lions of their devastating progeny. 



There appears to be no sovereign re- 

 medy for the extirpation of the caterpillars 

 when once they have ensconced themselves 

 amongst the foliage ; but several plans 

 have been suggested to prevent the female 

 gaining access to the branches, as she has 

 but short rudiments of wings, and conse- 

 quently cannot fly. One of these plans is 

 to place troughs of puddled clay in the 

 earth around the trunks of the trees, and 

 to be kept full of water. Another is to 

 paint the trees with coal-tar. Each of 

 these plans is good of itself, and I have no 

 doubt but what the end aimed at would 

 be attained, as the moth could not pass 

 over the water, neither could she get over 

 the sticking difficulty which the tar would 

 offer in her attempting to climb the tree 



to fulfil her mission of propagating her 

 species. 



The first of the above plans would en- 

 tail more time and expense, perhaps, than 

 parties would wish to bestow, and it is 

 very questionable whether the latter one 

 would not be injurious to the trees ; and, 

 therefore, in the absence of either, the 

 moth finds her way up to the branches, 

 lays her eggs, and in due course the larvae 

 appear as numerous as ever, providing a 

 wet tointer (which is very destructive to 

 insects in general) had not cut short tho 

 career of many of the old females. How- 

 ever, there is yet a remedy that may be re- 

 sorted to, by which the "enemy in the 

 orchard" may be attacked and repulsed;. 

 It is simply this — leave it alone! Leave 

 alone the Tomtits ! Do not molest them 

 further, and they will clean the trees for 

 you ! Set your face at once against de- 

 stroying them yourself, or in being acces- 

 sory to the deed. The larva; of which 

 we speak is the chosen food of these busy 

 harlequin-like little creatures, and when 

 that food is in its greatest plenty Tommy 

 is ever on active service. But, in localities 

 where there are "sparrow clubs," the win- 

 ter moths are sure to find an unmolested 

 home, in spite of what "injured" man 

 may do to prevent it. For instance, in 

 Eversham, Kent, where prizes are awarded 

 for heads of tits, sparrows, etc., Cheima- 

 tobia brumata committed sad havoc among 

 fruit-trees last year. The gardens in that 

 neighbourhood are estimated at 1200 

 acres, mostly planted with plum-trees, 

 which, in 1858, gave promise of one of the 

 finest crops on record ; but, long before 

 the fruit came to maturity, the trees were 

 attacked by the larvae of the winter moth, 

 and in such prodigious numbers as not to 

 leave a tree unmolested ; and it is sup- 

 posed that, out of the 1200 acres, not 

 more than 300 were saved. Some of the 

 market -gardeners must have suffered very 

 seriously on this occasion ; but it is to be 

 hoped that it opened their eyes to the folly 

 of being instrumental in bringing that 

 loss upon themselves by encouraging the 

 wholesale destruction of their real friends, 

 the Tomtits. Let them reverse that cruel 

 practice, and give the experiment a trial 

 or two. It is worthy their consideration, 

 and of every enlightened mind, for it ap- 

 peals to their humanity. 



Michael Westcott. 

 High Street, Wells. 



