THE APPLE MOTH. 12J 



ing plans of this kind for the destruction of some species of caterpillars that occasion- 

 ally appear in great numbers in Italy and France. Some of the agricultural papers 

 of our own country also state that the Apple Worm can be caught in a similar way- 

 Dr. Harris, in his work on Injurious Insects, mentions it ; but I do not know that 

 any one has ever put a plan of the kind in practice to an extent that would really 

 test its value. 



Two years ago I took from the crotch of a young Bartlett Pear tree in the 

 orchard of my friend Dr. Ward, near this city, an old boot-leg that had been doubled 

 up and forced into that crotch. It had become so hard and dry, and the growing tree 

 had pressed it so closely, that it had to be cut to pieces to get it out. This was in 

 April. That old boot-leg contained in its different folds sixteen of the worms of the 

 Apple Moth, in their larva or caterpillar condition, all snugly tied up in their silken 

 cocoons. When these cocoons were opened the worms would creep off just as they 

 would have done when taken from apples or pears in the fall or summer before. 

 Since then I have tried everything I could think of that would be likely to suit the 

 fancy of these little caterpillars, having this instinctive impulse to seek out places for 

 concealment. The details of these various experiments will be found in the subse- 

 quent diary. 



The result has been, that the hay-rope band, as shown in this Plate, is not only 

 the cheapest and most easy of application, but the best of all the contrivances that I 

 have tried thus far. But some people will say : It will take a great deal of hay to go 

 over a large orchard in this way, and hay is very dear now. I have had a long fight 

 with the insect enemies. There has been a good deal of wear and tear of patience. 

 Job was a patient man he bore all those boils with commendable resignation. 

 Abraham Lincoln has been a patient man. To have borne all he has from. the rebels 

 on one side, and all their friends on the other, without once saying " by the Eternal," 

 is a manifestation of gentleness almost superhuman. I am patient. A man who has 

 fought the Curculio for so many years, must be patient. But when I meet a man 

 who counts the cost of a yard of hay-rope, when he sees the ground covered with 

 worthless fruit under each of those trees he has worked at so long and so faithfully, 

 and with no apples, no pears, and no fruit of any kind why then I lose my patience, 

 and say no, I won't say what I would say. Reader, go with me through the fol- 

 lowing diary about the Apple Moth and then conquer it. 



