BED-BUD CATERPILLAR. 95 



been collected in the previous part of the day. This method of 

 clearing the pest, however, requires some care in carrying out, for, as 

 shown above, the caterpillar by no means necessarily remains in its 

 own bud. Very likely at Toddington some plan would be adopted to 

 keep the caterpillars from straying ; but (if nothing else occurred) 

 probably a rough lining of canvas, fixed inside the collecting-baskets, 

 which would allow of a good sprinkling of paraffin oil being given to 

 it, and so prevent escape over the edges, would probably be a good 

 plan. In any case the infested shoots should be burnt, or destroyed 

 in some way as soon as possible, or otherwise, in case the caterpillars 

 are so nearly full grown as for the time of their change to chrysalis to 

 be at hand, almost as plentiful a development of the moth may be 

 expected from the gathered shoots as if they had remained on the 

 bushes. 



No attempts appear to have been made at present to prevent the 

 attacks of the little red caterpillars when they come out from their 

 small white silky cocoons, or from the sheltering-places where they 

 have passed the winter. But where there is reason to expect bad 

 attack, it might be worth while to try the effect of some preventive 

 dressing thrown round the base of the canes. Such an application as 

 ashes, or dry material sprinkled with paraffin oil, in the proportion 

 of a quart of the oil to a bushel of the dry material has been found to 

 do no harm to the young Hop shoots coming up through it, and would 

 be at least worth trying on a small scale, if not applicable on 

 the broad scale of farm gardening. 



