Eucalyptus Globulus in Jamaica. 285 



hundreds of larvoc are stifled ere birth, and as the caterpillar life lasts two 

 or three years, the quantity of wood a single individual can devour or 

 damai^e is considerable, though it will seldom happen that one caterpillar 

 can effect the ruin of a tree. And under all circumstances it should be 

 remembered that the mischief done is not solely traceable to the jaws of the 

 caterpillarof the Goat Moth, for the air-holes it pierces asit grows large admit 

 rain and frost to the heart of a tree. The disused mines of the Goat 

 caterpillar are besides taken possession of by other insects, notably by the 

 larvEe of a beetle called Scolytus destructor, -which is often reputed to be 

 the destroyer of elms, when it is only the finisher of a mischievous work 

 done by the far larger Lepidopterous larva just named. In certain states 

 of the weather the peculiar smell that suggested the name of Goat may 

 be perceived some short distance from the trees haunted by the cater- 

 pillars. Many wonderful narratives have been published descriptive of the 

 muscular force that the Goat caterpillar is endued with, and after the 

 accounts of its biting a hole through a sheet of lead, and upheaving a 

 tumbler on Avhich rested a book weighing several pounds, we are prepared 

 to credit it with any feat. The horny flattened head at once suggests great 

 strength, and its movements are aided by a horny plate on the next 

 segment, while each succeeding segment has a formidable array of muscles. 

 The Leopard Moth {Zenzera cbscuU), less in size than Z. cossus, is too 

 well known as an enemy of trees, attacking the branches as well as the 

 trunks when a larva, and in our London suburbs it has wrought the ruin 

 of many an elm, horse chestnut and laburnum. I have also seen more 

 than one acacia killed by it ; and the late Edward Newman, long ere his 

 decease, was convinced that the opinion he once expressed in print, that the 

 Leopard Moth did not destroy fruit-trees was an erroneous one. In some 

 districts of Kent and elsewhere thelarvse have wrought sad havoc amongst 

 young ash trees grown for use as hop-poles. But it does seem, as stated 

 by Newman, that in various instances pear and apple trees which are 

 infected exhibit a kind of spasmodic activity, and for a time bear more 

 fruit. An array of black spots on the back enables us to distinguish the 

 caterpillar of Z. (rscuU from the livid-coloured Z. cossus : in other respects 

 excepting size they resemble each other. — C, in Journal of Horticulture. 



Eucalyptus Globulus in Jamaica. 



Keporting on the growth in Jamaica of the now widely known 

 blue gum tree of Tasmania {Eucalyptus glodulus), the superintendent of 

 the Botanic Garden says : — It is only a little over six years since the 

 seeds of the plant were introduced. Several hundreds were thus planted 

 at the Cinchona plantations, and they have since attained a height of 

 about 60 feet, with a trunk measuring a foot in diameter near the ground 

 and six inches at a height of 20 feet. During the past year 3,000 plants 

 of this tree were distributed, in addition to 2,000 in the previous year.. 



