228 Dr. Wallace on 
on extensive commons or wild heaths, surrounded by meadows or 
arable land, or on railway banks; these situations present a variety 
of external features totally dissimilar from those of garden Ailan- 
thiculture. Hence it was felt that the latter could only be ten- 
tative as showing some of the difficulties likely to occur on a 
large scale; while again it was clear that losses from birds, 
wasps, &c., though fatal to the success of Ailanthiculture on a 
small scale, would be in considerably less proportion when larvee 
might be counted by thousands and millions. 
The experiences in 1865 of four Ailantheries will be recounted 
for the purpose of comparison and of affording some insight into 
the probabilities ef success. 
Lady Dorothy Nevill, of Dangstein, Petersfield, has about 
forty trees, of which three dozen are in full bearing, covered 
over with netting; here from 7,000 larve she obtained about 
4,000 cocoons of the first brood, and the gardener expected 
there would be about 1,000 more cocoons of the second brood, 
many of which were spun-up by the last week in September. 
During the two preceding years I believe her ladyship has 
reared about 4,000 cocoons annually. Here we find that a 
tree -will produce about 100 cocoons when in full bearing and 
planted in good soil; these trees are planted I believe a yard 
apart each way in three rows. Protection in the form of netting 
was rendered necessary in this garden owing to the numbers of 
tomtits which came from the plantations surrounding the house 
and garden, and which would even tear through the netting if a 
Jarva inside was near enough to be visible. 
Lady Heathcote writes from Hursley Park near Winchester, 
as follows: “in 1865, the moths began to come out at the 
end of April, but I had no fertile eggs till May 26th. The 
caterpillars hatched on the 8th and 9th of June, and were put out 
on the 19th, altogether about 1,600; from which I gathered 
rather more than 800 cocoons. ‘This shows I think a greater loss 
than ought to take place, but it arose in a great measure from the 
trees being young and unfit to keep so large a number, so that the 
caterpillars crawled off in search of food and many were lost. The 
second crop of moths began to come out August 15th, and the 
caterpillars were hatched the end of August, 2,000 or 3,000, and 
were put out from September Ist to 16th. The season was mag- 
nificent. The worms throve rapidly until the weather changed, 
just as they ought to have begun to spin up. About the 9th— 
10th October wet weather began; they seemed as if paralyzed and 
would neither eat nor spin, or at best wasted their silk by begin- 
