CURRANTS AND GOOSEBERRIES. 293 



CURRANTS AND GOOSEBERRIES. 



We have not only imported our best currants from Eu- 

 rope, but also their worst enemies. The most formidable 

 of these is popularly known as the currant worm. Robert 

 Thompson, the English authority, thus describes it : " The 

 magpie moth {^Abraxas grossidariata) deposits its eggs 

 upon the foliage, and from them is hatched a sHghtly hairy 

 cream-colored caterpillar, spotted with black, and marked 

 with orange along the sides, and which forms a loop in 

 walking. It feeds upon the leaves, devouring all but the 

 petiole, and often entirely defoliating both gooseberry and 

 currant bushes. It changes into a pupa in May or June, 

 and in about three weeks afterward, the perfect insect makes 

 its appearance." Very naturally, this currant worm made 

 its debut near Rochester, N. Y., a great fruit centre, receiv- 

 ing annually large importations of plants. Its first appear- 

 ance was in 1857. 



In England, the caterpillar of the Phalcena vanaria, a 

 similar insect, is often destructive. Whether it has appeared 

 among us yet, I am not informed. They fight it abroad as 

 they do the ordinary worm. 



The gooseberry and currant saw-fly {Nematus ribesii), 

 another pestiferous foreigner, has made its appearance in 

 some localities. 



We have, besides, a native saw-fly (^Pristiphera grossula- 

 ricB), which resembles its European congener, and emulates 

 it in mischief. The larva of this fly feeds upon both the 

 currant and the gooseberry, but prefers the latter. 



Nature is liberal, and has given us, in addition, a native 

 gooseberry span-worm, the larva of a small moth. These 

 several worms, unchecked, would soon render the culture of 

 the currant and gooseberry impossible in the regions where 



