Reports fo vayious Correspondents. 79 



The damage is dune to the trees (Fig. 11) by the caterpillars 

 eating tunnels and galleries into the very heart of the trunks. 

 Unlike many forest-tree pests, they do not pick out unhealthy trees 

 only, perfectly sound ones often being invaded. As a rule, when 

 once a tree is " struck," unless remedial measures are employed, it 

 will be killed sooner or later, according to the number of these 

 pests attacking it. Some observations as to the rapidity of their work 

 are here recorded. 



As a rule, the Goat Moth prefers to lay her eggs upon isolated 

 trees ; but this is by no means the only position, for it is not unfre- 

 quent tkat large trees in woods die under their attack. Avenues are 

 also infested by this pest, and trees both in high and low positions, 

 sheltered and exposed. 



The forest and park trees which suffer from the Goat Moth larva3 

 are elm, ash, poplar, beech, lime, wdllow, oak, alder, and birch, and I 

 have twice noticed them in maple. Not unfrequently reports are 

 sent from orchardists as to their damaging apple and pear trees, and I 

 have seen them once attacking the walnut. The damage done in 

 orchards is slight, however. It is also recorded as attacking apple 

 and pear in France, and also in Germany, Taschenberg recording- 

 that two hundred and sixty-six larvffi were taken from one pear tree. 

 The number found in a tree varies from one or more up to the 

 number recorded above by Taschenberg. As a rule, not more than 

 twenty or thirty are found in a tree of the largest size in this 

 country. The wood eventually becomes completely honeycombed, 

 and it is not until the tree is really dead that they stop their work, 

 the caterpillars, if not mature, leaving the dead tree and crawl to a 

 neighbouring one, or even feed on roots in the ground. 



Their presence can be told, even in small numbers, by the holes 

 in the trunk, often as big round as a man's finger ; later, boughs befin 

 to die and break off during gales, even when they are still sufficiently 

 healthy to have foliage upon them. In a few years the damao-e 

 becomes more noticeable, both in regard to decaying and dead bouf^hs, 

 and especially in the trunk, which becomes perforated with innu- 

 merable holes up to about eight feet from the ground, and if still 

 growing becomes much deformed, as shown in the Figs. 11 and 12. 



They cause the death of a tree much more rapidly than is 

 generally supposed. The ash figured on page 80 was first attacked in 

 1891 ; the tree was left alone, and for eight years struggled on, not 

 only not growing, but gradually dying, until during the present year 

 it put out a few stunted leaves as a dying effort, and now (1903), as 

 seen in the photograph taken in August, it is quite dead. A healthy 



