THE CABBAGE MOTH. 159 



conditions often effect great changes and important 

 departures from those in places where seasons of great 

 regularity are known to exist. Curtis, who appears to 

 have given this matter some attention, states that "in this 

 country (England) there seems to be a succession of 

 broods from midsummer until the approach of winter." 

 Taschenberg, however, agrees with Miss Omerod, that 

 there are only two broods or generations ; and heavy 

 rains, it has been observed, both here and in the old 

 country, would seem to be unfavorable to their develop- 

 ment. All the reports, according to Mr. Whitehead, 

 agree in stating that when the heavy rains come the 

 caterpillars cease work. This, however, does not apply 

 to temperate Australia. 



This destructive little moth would appear to be very 

 widely distributed, and, according to Mr. Meyrick, the 

 well-known authority on this important group of moths 

 (as quoted by Mr. Try on), is found throughout the 

 whole world, from Greenland to New Zealand, and, from 

 reliable sources, would appear to be the sole representa- 

 tive of the Lepidoptera in Spitzbergen. 



In Victoria, for years past, the public have hardly been 

 able to get a decent cabbage or even cauliflower, which, 

 owing to the attacks of this pest, have been in a large 

 number of cases unfit for human consumption. Clean 

 and wash them as you will, the dirty little grubs will 

 occasionally turn up just as one imagines that he has, at 

 last, got hold of a clean vegetable. 



It has been stated by writers that the outer leaves are 

 the ones most affected. This is true ; but I have frequently 

 seen fine cabbages, and in the very centre of the heart the 

 grubs, if carefully looked for, could be detected. The 

 cocoons, however, are nearly always confined to the 

 outer leaves, where, with the assistance of that disgusting 

 insect, the cabbage aphis, the whole plant often becomes 

 partially decomposed, and has a most offensive smell. 



From what has been observed of the habits of this pest 

 in Victoria, I think we may safely say that the gardens 

 lying within an easy distance of the sea- coast are the 



