APPLE-TREE CATERPILLAR ITS EGGS. 



185 



thus have it on record within thirty years after the first settle- 

 ment of Massachusetts, that 1646 and 1649 "were caterpillar 

 years," and that in 1658 " caterpillars did great harm to fruit 

 trees " (Flint's Agricult. of Mass. 2d report, p. 33). Without 

 specifying other years which have been similarly distinguished, 

 I would state that during the past twenty-five years I have never 

 seen these insects a fourth as numerous as they have been the 

 present year, 1856; and they appear from accounts to have been 

 multiplied to an unusual degree all over our country. And it 

 would seem that those seasons which favor the growth of fruit 

 also favor the increase of these insects, our orchards having never 

 been so overloaded with fruit before as they were in the year 

 1855. 



The eggs from which these caterpillars come are placed near 

 the ends of the twigs, in clusters, forming a ring or rather a 

 broad thick belt, surrounding the branch entirely or in part, as 

 represented (diminished in size) in the annexed cut. In these 

 belts I have counted from three hundred to three 

 hundred and thirty eggs. They are about three 

 fourths of an inch in length and the tenth of an 

 inch thick. 



The eggs are of a short cylindrical form with abruptly- 

 rounded ends. They are about 0.04 long and two-thirds as 

 broad. The shell is of a very tough leathery texture and of 

 J. an ash-gray or white color, the inside having a bluish tinge, 

 somewhat resembling that of mother-of-pearl. The e^s are 

 placed perpendicularly upon the twig, to which they are 

 firmly glued, the lower end being indented to give it a more 

 secure attachment to the bark. They are also arranged side 

 by side somewhat symmetrically in rows, their sides being slightly indented 

 or moulded to each other and firmly glued together in one mass. Those ego-s 

 which are at the ends or margin of the mass are placed in an inclined position 

 and the outermost ones are laid horizontally upon the bark, in order to pro- 

 duce a gradual slope from the surface of the mass to that of the bark. 



The eggs are covered over with a thick coating of glutinous 

 matter which entirely hides them from view and protects them 

 from the weather. This matter is slightly transparent, and full 

 of small air bubbles, giving its surface the appearance of net 

 work. Its color varies from black to pale, but it is commonly 

 darker than the bark, and its outer surface is smooth and shining 

 as though coated with varnish. Although moisture cannot dis- 



