﻿OP THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 15- 



while on the other leaf out of the twelve there remained three, but in the same enfee- 

 bled condition. All around under the bushes, the ground was strewed with the fallen 

 loe, and I felt perfectly satisfied that entite reliance miffht be placed on this means of 

 defense. 



I did not anticipate such speedy action on the part of the hellebore, or should have 

 returned to the examination sooner, and the bushes were so entirely cleared, that, 

 excepting on one I had reserved for another experiment, I had no means of repeating 

 the dose. 



There was one thing that struck me as somewhat remarkable, the portion of leaf 

 on which the greatest number were feeding, appeared to be of the same size as before 

 the hellebore was applied ; if smaller I could not perceive it. When the leaves dry, 

 which have been sprinkled with liquid, a very thin coating of the powder, more or less 

 regular, is found over them, and I had always supposed that death resulted from eating 

 a portion of the leaf thus coated. Such is undoubtedly the case when the hellebore is 

 applied dry, but in this case a meal however small made by forty-four caterpillars on 

 half a leaf, must have materially diminished it. I am disposed to believe then that the 

 death of most of these must have resulted from their imbibing or absorbing some of 

 the liquid as soon as applied. Many of them showed symptoms of the violent 

 cathartic action of the remedy, having a mass of soft excrement hanging to the extremity 

 of their dead bodies. 



1 had reserved one bush, on which were a good number, for another experiment. 

 It sometimes happens, especially with those who live in the country, that hellebore is 

 not at hand when the worms are first observed at work, and a few days' delay in pro- 

 curing it is perhaps unavoidable. In such cases the bushes may be entirely leafless, 

 before the remedy can be applied. Hot water suggested itself to my mind as likely ta 

 be of some service, and being also an article readdy procurable in every home. It is 

 well known that many plants will bear such an application without injury, provided 

 the heat is not too great. Taking some in a watering pot, a little hotter than one could 

 bear the hand in, I showered it plentifully on the affected bush, and it was amusing to 

 see how the caterpillars wriggled and twisted and quickly letting go their hold, tell to 

 the ground, which \vas soon strewed with them. After the first excitement produced 

 by the sudden heat was over, they remained as if wishing to " cool off" before com- 

 mencing work again. A few did not recover from the application, but most of them 

 were soon as active as ever. 



Now what I would suggest is this, that where the hellebore cannot be at once pro- 

 cured, no time should be lost in applying the hot water, and when once on the ground 

 the creatures may have the life trodden out of them by the foot, or beaten out with 

 the spade or some other implement. In any case many of them would never reach 

 the bush again, for enemies beset them on every side. 



If used in powder, a perforated tin cylinder, such as is commonly 

 used for the purpose in England, will be found useful to puph into the 

 bushes and reach every part thereof, and particularly the under sides 

 ot the leaves. It is generally made about 24^ inches wide and 10 inches 

 long. The cylinder has a fixed bottom, with a socket to receive a 

 handle and a brace to strengthen the socket, and a tight-fitting cover 

 completes it. 



As the well known editor of the A7neriean Agriculturist writes- 

 from his own experience : "A pound of white hellebore, costing about 

 forty cents, will clean any ordinary garden, and keep it clean for a 

 season. If applied in the liquid form with a good syringe, the whole 

 labor need not exceed an hour. There is great satisfaction in seeing 

 clean bushes and clean clusters, and though it may be an evidence of 

 depravity, we confess lo a feeling of consolation at the sight of the 

 enemy, stupefied, coiled up, and laid out in rows upon the brown 

 earth. We always did have a private interpretation of Cowper's senti- 

 ment about ' needlessly setting foot on a worm.' '' 



Numerous other remedies might be detailed, some of which, as cop- 

 peras water, decoction of poke weed root, etc., have doubtless proved 



