1907 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 101 



Thougli I saw that very few caterpillars had been able to escape from 

 the furrow and holes, yet as an extra precaution I advised that the unin- 

 jured plants immediately in front be sprayed with a strong mixture of Paris 

 green and water, or that poisoned bran be scattered among them. Mr. Mc- 

 Means of the Horticultural department, who was with me, suggested shorts 

 as an alternative for bran. 



After arranging to come back m the afternoon and superintend the pre- 

 paration of the poisoned bran or shorts, I was driven by Mr. Moore to sev- 

 eral other farms which were reported to be attacked by the same pest. Of 

 these one belonged to Mr. Quick. This gentleman, the night before I came 

 to 'Leamington, had lost more than pn acre of good tobacco by the attack of 

 caterpillars. Practically nothing had been left of it. Having heard, how- 

 ever, of the furrow plan, he at once ploughed one and the next night was 

 delighted to observe by the aid of his lantern that it seemed to be an effec- 

 tual barrier. I mentioned a few ways in which I thought Mr. Quick could 

 improve his furrow and also told him of poisoned bran or spraying with 

 Paris green as further remedies. There was evidently a good deal of scep- 

 ticism in his mind and in the minds of some other farmers as to the efficacy 

 of Paris green in any shape or form. Probably this was because they did 

 not see dead caterpillars lying on the plants or on the ground \^here they 

 had tried spraying. They could scarcely be expected to think of their hav- 

 ing buried themselves and died in the ground. However, I told them to 

 come down and see how the experiment with the poisoned bran resulted at 

 Mr. Moore's. 



The next farm visited belonged to Mr. Copeland. Here I saw the most 

 discouraging sight I had witnessed anywhere in the district. From several 

 acres of clover the caterpillars had spread out in a single night and attacked 

 in enormous numbers about two acres of beautiful corn and ruined it. Not 

 only had they attacked the leaves but they had eaten through and through 

 the stalks themselves. In addition to the corn they had attacked two rows 

 of peach trees that were about three years old. If one of these trees were 

 given a quick shake numerous caterpillars would fall from their hiding place 

 among the foliage to the ground. Here again Mr. Copeland, having heard 

 of the furrow and holes had resorted to this device to save the rest of his 

 crop. It was interesting to see the host of caterpillars in the large holes 

 he had made. So strongly did he trust to his furrow and holes that he was 

 leaving to sun to do the work of destroying the caterpillars for him. Practi*- 

 cally none seemed to be escaping, but I advised their immediate destruction 

 m whatever way he wished, whether by boiling water, by kerosene, or by 

 pounding with a stick as his neighbor had done. 



Several more farms were visited and the best remedies I knew of ex- 

 plained to the farmers, many of whom had no idea of what they ought to do. 



On my return to Mr. Moore's in the afternoon I helped him to make up 

 what little bran he had into a poisoned mixture. The method I employed 

 was to sweeten some water with black-strap, then moisten the bran with it 

 and add the Paris green little by little to the moistened bran, mixing it 

 thoroughly. I believe that a better and easier way would have been to make 

 a paste of the Paris green with a little water and then add this gradually to 

 the moistened bran and mix thoroughly. The trouble with the former me- 

 thod was that in spite of every precaution the Paris green tended to form 

 flakes and could with difficulty be got to mix up finely with the bran. It 

 was impossible, however, to get any more bran or shorts in the town, so we 

 used flour and Paris green, mixing them dry. This was put on by means 

 of a Planet Junior hand-drill, a very convenient method. Mr. Moore pro- 



