GOOSEBERRY SAWFLY. 153 



Where Pines have been infested, some of these small 

 oval cocoons may be on the boughs, but most of them 

 will be found beneath the tree, and most likely near 

 the trunk, lying a little below the surface, or amongst 

 the dry leaves or moss, or forest rubbish, sometimes 

 in masses as large as a man's fist. By collecting these, 

 or by collecting the surface soil, or by skimming the 

 rough herbage and heather, and charring it in heaps 

 (taking care of course to go down to the depth at 

 which the cocoons may be found), the amount of the 

 following year's attack may be much lessened. 



Exactly the same kind of treatment is the best way 

 ■of keeping Gooseberry Sawfly caterpillars in check. 

 They winter in cocoons under the bushes ; therefore 

 if any trustworthy person will turn over the soil to see 

 the depth at which the little brown cocoons lie, the 

 earth may be scraped away to three or five inches 

 depth, or whatever depth the caterpillar may have 

 gone down to, according to the nature of the soil, and 

 carried away and disposed of, so that when the cater- 

 pillar has turned to the chrysalir, and the chrysalis 

 has turned to the Sawfly, the Sawfly may not be just 

 where it has only to walk or fly (as it may prefer) to 

 the boughs close by to find itself at home in the 

 Gooseberry leaves, and waste all our trouble. This is 

 a point requiring attention. In one of the great fruit- 

 growing districts, where Gooseberries were grown in 

 acres, I have seen the clearing of the soil from beneath 

 the bushes well attended to, but when scraped out it 

 was left between the rows ; and the result was a 

 hearty attack. 



These caterpillars sometimes migrate in bodies, and 

 then are completely in our power. If seen crossing a 

 road, or from one field to another, there should not be 

 an instant's delay in destroying them by the readiest 

 means at hand. Trampling on them would be a com- 

 plete cure when they are on the open ground of a 

 road ; and (when moving from one field to another) 

 if a couple of men were set to cut a long strip of turf 



