90 LEAFAGE CATERPILLARS. 
November 6th and 7th they were renewed, and again renewed from 
November 18th to 20th After this, various applications were thrown 
round other trees, and sticky bands applied to ascertain whether the 
moths were ascending the trees; but although the earth near these 
tree trunks ‘“ was literally alive at the time of the above applications,” 
scarcely any moths were seen to ascend after the dressing of freshly slaked 
lime was applied. 
The above observation is very useful practically, for if, as appears, 
shovelling some lime round the trunks of the trees to be protected 
answers so well (as is shown by the sticky bands above them having 
few captures), this plan would be cheaper, more simple in application, 
and many a grower would have no objection to having some lime 
shovelled round the stems of his trees, who would not for a minute 
think of going through the tedious details of wrapping the tree trunks 
securely in their paper bands and spreading and renewing the grease. 
The treatment of Messrs. German was ended in March and April 
by renewal of the sticky bands on March 5th and 6th, and the bands 
being taken off on April 14th and 15th, and the trunks washed down 
with paraffin and water. Nothing could have been more complete, 
excepting that in the possibility of wingless moths getting up the trees 
in the period preceding November 6th and 7th before it was possible 
to replace the bands which had been rendered useless by rain and 
wind. The lesson taught appears to be that we cannot depend on 
sticky-banding being more than a palliative; it must do some good, but 
surrounding coincidences,—such as rain, that washes off the sticky 
material, and wind, that carries the wingless females by the aid of 
their winged mates to the trees, &c.,—must be taken into consideration ; 
and in our next autumn and winter observation, I certainly think that 
the use of freshly slaked lime (as above noted) would be a practically 
serviceable application. 
The Lime avenue mentioned above was not the only example of 
severe injury to valuable Limes from looper caterpillars during the 
past season. During the visit of the Bath and West of England 
Society to St. Albans at the end of May, Mr. J. Stanley W. Blackett 
called on me relatively to information as to the name of the caterpillar 
injurious to the Lime avenue in Hatfield Park. Writing further, 
on June 2nd, from St. Michaels, Hatfield, he mentioned that ‘for a 
whole mile every leaf is entirely eaten,” and that ‘he was told they 
were bred in the ground.” 
Mr. Blackett’s careful quotation of the observer’s remark is nearly 
correct, as, on examination of the caterpillars, I found them to be of 
the Mottled Umber Moth, Hybernia defoliaria, of which, like the 
scarcely more prevalent pest, the common Winter Moth, C. brumata, 
the caterpillars go down into the ground below the trees which they 
