ORGYIA PREVENTIVES AND REMEDIES. 85 



In a communication to the Albany Evening Journal of August 13, 

 1 88 1, the following recommendations were made by me : 



1. That each householder charge himself with the duty of the collec- 

 tion and destruction of these egg-masses upon his own premises. The 

 children of a family will prove ready collectors, especially if encouraged 

 by competition or the offer of a small reward. 



2. That the authorities in charge of our public grounds direct the 

 performance of the above duty. 



3. That the chief of police direct that the police of the city call at- 

 tention to its performance whenever they shall observe its neglect, and 

 that this action be authorized by a resolution to that effect by the 

 common council. 



4. That the collection and destruction of the cocoons of this insect 

 he confined to those hearing the white egg-masses, as all others are those 

 of males, or of ichneumonized [parasitized] females, which may be of 

 great service in developing parasites to aid in the work of extermination. 



5. That further search be made for the eggs late in the season, when 

 the absence of leaves will permit their detection on limbs and branches 

 where they may not now [in August] be seen. 



Most of the cocoons bearing the egg-clusters will be found upon the 

 trees or shrubs upon which the larvae feed, where they were placed 

 through the instinct of the caterpillar, in order that the young brood, 

 upon hatching, would not have to travel beyond their feeble strength in 

 search of food. The male caterpillar, with no provision of the kind to 

 make, may wander elsewhere in search of shelter, on the edges of over- 

 lapping clap-boards of dwellings, beneath the boards and rails offences, 

 caps of fence-posts, copings of any kind, window-sills, or in any con- 

 venient nook. These need not be destroyed, for, upon being opened, 

 they will be found tenantless or, still better, to contain parasitic pup?e. 



Jarring. — When the egg-gathering has been neglected and the cater- 

 pillars are discovered destroying the foliage of trees of moderate size, 

 as are many of our fruit trees, a sudden jar will bring them down, and 

 if sheets are first spread beneath, they can readily be gathered up and 

 destroyed. 



Paris green. — When operating upon larger trees, the caterpillar may 

 be destroyed by showering with Paris green in water. With a force- 

 pump of good construction, the upper branches (usually the first to be 

 attacked, as the larva is noted for its climbing propensity) of many of 

 the horse-chestnuts can be reached from the ground. When the larger 

 elms are infested it will be necessary to ascend the tree by the aid of a 

 ladder and distribute the liquid from the principal branches. The Hy- 

 dronette, made by Messrs. Rumsey & Co., of Seneca Falls, N. Y., and 



