61 



tuft which the parent bears at the apex of the abdomen. These e^gs 

 hatch early in August, and the small larvae feed gregariously upon the 

 leaf, and sometimes on neighbouring leaves also, skeletonising them. 

 After a few weeks they spin a strong silken nest within one or more leaves 

 folded together. The petioles of such leaves are attached firmly to their 

 twigs by a conspicuous felting of white silk, so that when all the normal 

 leaves are shed by the tree these nests remain attached, with their enclosed 

 larvae entirely protected from rain and snow, and to a large extent from 

 wind. In the spring they emerge from their "Winter Nests" and spread 

 over the tree, feeding till mature when they pupate among the leaves. 



The winter nest offers the most easy means of combatting this pest, 

 for if all of these be removed during the winter a district will be free from 

 caterpillars during the ensuing summer. This method of control has 

 been adopted by the Government of Canada as the most practical, pend- 

 ing the establishment of parasites and predators in sufficient numbers to 

 constitute a natural control. The Dominion and Provincial Govern- 

 ments of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have in co-operation engaged 

 and equipped sufficient men to deal with this phase of the work in both 

 Provinces. 



In 1913-4 and again this year some 20 men were employed in New 

 Brunswick and about 12 men in Nova Scotia, upon this work. Each 

 man is equipped with a long pruning pole, a pair of snow shoes, and a knap- 

 sack in which he carries such personal impedimenta as he requires for 

 a week's sojourn in the country, a road map upon which is marked the 

 territory he is to cover, and a note book for recording the nests taken, with 

 the name of the host plant and locality. 



When the infestation is moderately light, as has been the case so far 

 in New Brunswick, the range of host plants is limited to the following: 

 Apple, Pear, Thorn, Elm, Cherry, Choke Cherry and Amelanchior. Al- 

 though pear is the favourite food plant it is little grown and over 80 per 

 cent of the nests are taken from apple trees. Thus the work is resolved 

 into an inspection of every tree of the above species within the infested 

 area. Every man has impressed upon him the fact that his value does 

 not depend so much upon the number of nests that he takes nor the amount 

 of territory he covers, as upon the number of nests that are not left behind 

 after he has worked his allotted territory. 



Mr. McLaine is, this year, sending crews of four men into different 

 portions of the Province assigning to each two or more counties to work 

 during the season. This method keeps rail fares at a minimum. 



