WINTER MOTH. 345 



to soda-lye, and salt, would be highly undesirable to smear on 

 unprotected bark. 



I have had notes of Davidson's composition being very 

 serviceable for smearing. 



Guarding the bark. — Where bark is thick and dead on the 

 outside, as on old Apple trees, or where dressing is chosen 

 of some kind which will not sodden into the tree in the heat 

 of the sun, it may (as above mentioned) do no harm if 

 smeared on to the unprotected bark. But where year by year 

 the smear must be kept on for weeks in autumn and winter, 

 and very possibly have to be applied again towards the end of 

 March, to stop the ascent of the spring brood of the Winter 

 Moths, and also the wingless females of the March Moth, 

 some protection is needed. If this is not given, the grease 

 will soak into the cells and stop the passage of the sap, and 

 the tree will die. 



At present the simplest and cheapest, and also most suc- 

 cessful, plan that I have notes of is that which was largely 

 used at Toddington last autumn. The material employed is 

 the kind of tough paper which is made use of by grocers for 

 wrapping up butter, lard, and the like, and is known as 

 "grease-proof" paper. This is applied by a band as many 

 inches wide as is thought fit (the wider the better) being 

 passed round the stem of the tree. The band should be cut 

 long enough for the ends to overlap well, and these are 

 fastened by paste, and the whole is made secure by a piece of 

 bast-mat or anything that will not cut the paper, being tied 

 round the paper near each edge. This work can be rapidly 

 and well done by women. On the paper bands the grease or 

 application may be spread in any way preferred, but the best 

 way is considered to be to lay it on with a thin, flat bit of 

 wood, and plentifully, both as to width of band and thickness 

 of layer. In this way (when I saw the managers in the 

 autumn), 80,000 Plum trees and about 40,000 more of other 

 kinds were being treated at the Toddington Fruit-grounds, 

 near Cheltenham. 



A slightly different method of banding was tried, also with 

 good success, by Mr. E. E, Cheesman, of Bough Bridge, Eden- 

 bridge, Kent, of which he gave me the following note : — 



" Now the course I have followed is this : I have first placed 

 bands of impervious paper (such as is used by grocers for 

 butter and other greasy substances) of about seven inches in 

 width round the trees, a foot from the ground, first removing 

 loose and rough bark so that the bands should lie quite close ; 

 on this I have placed a similar width of glazed lining-calico, 

 and tied tightly with strong string at an inch from both top 

 and bottom of band, so that wind or rain cannot move it in 



