WINTER MOTH. 351 



many kinds of pests which are aUke in their habits so far as 

 destroying the leafage of our orchard trees is concerned, and 

 to destroy these surely, without injuring the foliage. 



Jarring, that is, shaking the boughs so smartly that the 

 caterpillars fall down, is a simple operation, and sometimes 

 answers well. 



Prof. T. Elliott, of the Weald of Kent College of Agriculture, 

 wrote me that in this way five bushels of small green cater- 

 pillars could be collected in a day on a large fruit-farm. 



Capt. Corbett wrote from Toddington, " that by shaking 

 down the caterpillars into a sheet, one man collected two 

 gallons. 



The difficulty in this plan is from the chance of some of 

 the dislodged vermin creeping away and going up the stem of 

 the tree, or returning up their threads to the boughs. These 

 points are met fairly well in the following method advised by 

 the Entomological Commission of the United States of 

 America, 1880 — 82: — " Jarrinfi and hurning. — The worms 

 should not be allowed to reach the leaves, but, where this has 

 been allowed, it is best to strew the ground lightly with straw 

 on a calm day, give the tree a good jarring, which will 

 suspend all the worms in mid-air, cut loose the suspended 

 worms by swinging a pole above them, which breaks their 

 silken threads and causes them to fall to the ground, and then 

 set fire to the straw. A Canker-worm holocaust will be the 

 result, and if this is done on a calm, clear day with a little 

 care, the tree need not be injured."* The caterpillars may 

 be prevented going back up the trunk of the tree by a hay- 

 band or rough rag-rope with some tar on it being placed on 

 the ground round it, or a circle of tar might be dripped on the 

 ground or short Grass. 



These, however, and many other remedial measures tried 

 up to the beginning of the present year, have proved anything 

 but wholly satisfactory. With orchard insects, as well as with 

 other kinds of crop insects, it may be almost surely laid down 

 that where the same crop is constantly grown, the insect- 

 feeders on that crop may be expected to be there also in great 

 numbers, and in the constantly increasing spread of the fruit- 

 growing industry in this country it became a matter for very 

 serious consideration of fruit-growers what course was to be 

 adopted to keep down the regularly recurring orchard 

 infestations. 



What is required is an application cheap, sure, and which 

 can be brought to bear at once, when the caterpillars are 

 observed on the trees, and which will destroy them without 



* ' Keport of Entomological Commission, U.S.A., Department of Agriculture,' 

 1880—82, p. 191. 



