INSECTS, OR DESTROYING THEM. 



Ill 



insects, are also destroyed by tempting them with food containing poison. 

 A remarkable but very efficient mode of destroying the vine-moth in 

 France has been discovered by Victor Audouin, which might in many cases, 

 we have no doubt, be adopted in British gardens. This mode is founded 

 on the practice of lighting fires during the night in vineyards, to which 

 the moths are attracted and burn themselves. M. Audouin has modi- 

 fied this practice in a very ingenious manner, which has been attended 

 with the most effective results. He places a flat vessel with a light on the 

 ground, and covers it with a bell-glass besmeared with oil. The pyralis, 

 attracted by the light, flies towards it ; and, in the midst of the circle which 

 it describes in flying, it is caught and retained by the glutinous sides of the 

 bell-glass, where it instantly perishes by suffocation. Two hundred of these 

 lights were established in apart of the vineyard of M. Delahante, of about four 

 acres in extent, and they were placed about twenty-five feet from each other. 

 The fires lasted about two hours ; and scarcely had they been lighted, when 

 a great number of moths came flying around, which were speedily destroyed 

 by the oil. The next day the deaths were counted. Each of the 200 vessels 

 contained, on an average, 150 moths. This sum multiplied by the first 

 number gives a total of 30,000 moths destroyed. Of these 30,000 insects, 

 we may reckon one fifth females, having the abdomen full of eggs, which 

 would speedily have laid, on an average, 150 eggs each. This last number, 

 multiplied by the fifth of J)0,000, that is to say, by 6000, would give for the 

 final result of this first destruction the sum of 900,000. On the 7th of 

 August, 180 lamps were lighted in the same place, each of which on an 

 average destroyed 80 moths, or a total of 14,400. In these 14,400 moths 

 there was reckoned to be, not only one sixth, but three fourths, females : 

 but, admitting that there was only one half females, or 7200 ; and, multi- 

 plying this by 150 (the number of eggs that each would have laid), we have 

 a total of 1,080,000 eggs destroyed. Two other experiments were made on 

 the 8th and 10th of August, which caused the destruction of 9260 moths. 

 (Gard. Mag. vol. xiii. p. 487.) 



357. Luring away the Perfect Insect. Attracting the perfect insect from 

 the plant or fruit by some other kind of food to which they give the pre- 

 ference, and which is of less value to the gardener, may perhaps sometimes 

 be effected. Thus honeyed water in narrow-mouthed glasses, 

 such as fig. 6, is used to entrap wasps and flies from wall- fruit ; 

 and decayed fruit or small portions of meat, placed under 

 hand-glasses in the following manner, may be used for a simi- 

 lar purpose ; Take a common hand-glass, the hexagonal or 



any other form Fig. 6. Fly-glass 

 will do (fig. 7) ; remove in the 

 apex the whole or part of three 

 of the panes, , 6, c. Then take 

 a second hand-glass, which must 

 be of the same form as the first, 

 and place it on the roof of the 

 first, so that the sides of the one 

 may coincide with the sides of 



Fig. 7- Hand-glasses prepared for making a fly-trap. 



the other ; next stop all the interstices between the bottom of the one and 

 the eaves of the other, at c, /, g, with moss, wool, or any suitable substance, 



i2 



