1900] PINE. 107 



lasts for four weeks. The moth is a very pretty little insect, rather 

 less than an inch in the spread of the fore wings, which are of various 

 shades of yellow, or rich red, or reddish orange, marked with lines and 

 stripes aud spots of shining silvery colour; hinder wings blackish grey, 

 but with some amount of yellowish tinge. 



In the past season the following letter from Mr. J. Marriott re- 

 garding what proved to be attack of li. bnolunin to Scotch Fir on the 

 property of Lord Braye, Stanford-on-Avon, Rugby, was forwarded to 

 me as a possibly interesting addition to former contributions on the 

 subject of this attack by Mr. R. Newstead, Curator of the Grosvenor 

 Museum, Chester. Mr. Marriott wrote on July 2nd of the past 

 season : — 



" I am sending a tin containing bits of Scotch Fir twigs that have 

 been attacked by a grub, and these bits contain, each of them, the said 

 grub. The twig attacked does no more good, and the tree has to pat 

 out another twig, maybe a leader, thus spoiling the growth of the tree, 

 and losing several months' growth. We cut these specimens out of one 

 particular ' spinney,' where the grub is at work among scores, perhaps 

 hundreds, of the trees. I thought it would be interesting at least to 

 know something of the history of the creature. We have had some 

 damage of this kind before, but not noticed so much as in this 

 particular 'spinney.' " — (J. M.) 



This insect does not wholly confine its attacks to Scotch Fir or 

 Black Austrian Pine, but appears to prefer these kinds. 



Prevention and Remedies. — It is said that treatment such as is 

 best adapted to ensure a healthy start and vigorous growth of the 

 trees, and also not allowing overcrowding, are good preventive mea- 

 sures, but it is very certain that the remedial measures which are 

 suggested by the conditions of the attacked shoots cannot fail to do 

 good. 



Where the buds are seen, as described at p. 106, to be coated with 

 the resinous exudation and web, which shows the presence of the 

 caterpillars within, these should be broken or cut off and burnt. The 

 caterpillars are to be found, according to good German authority, from 

 September until May of the following year between buds of tbe Fir, 

 and later on in the i/oimg shoots, and they turn to chrysalis state at the 

 spot where they ceased to feed. Therefore, cutting off the buds in the 

 early stage of the attack, or, later on, cutting off the parts of the new 

 growth which show signs of attack, and burning these, is an absolutely 

 certain method of getting rid of a deal of nursery of future mischief. 



If there is any doubt as to whether the catei-pillar or chrysalis is 

 still present, the simple test of opening a dozen or so of shoots in 

 infested plantations would at once show the stage of development. 



