324 



THE GYPSY MOTH. 



Plants upon which the Gypsy Moth Caterpillar did not feed Concluded- 



Winter cress (Barbarea vulgaris) . 

 Balsamine (Impatient balsamina) . 

 Myrtle (Myrtus communis) . 

 Bur cucumber (Sicyos angulatus). 

 Everlasting (Antennaria plantagini- 



folia). 

 Common everlasting ( Gnaphalium poly- 



cephalum) . 

 Common mugwori(Artemisia vulgaris) . 



Blue bottle (Centaurea Cyanus). 

 Rattlesnake weed (Hieracium renosum) . 

 Indian pipe (Monotropa uni/tora). 

 Red pepper (Capsicum annuum). 

 Ground hemlock ( Taxus Canadensis) . 

 Pogonia ophioglossoides. 

 Ground pine (Lycopodium complana- 



tum). 

 Marsilia quadrifotta. 



Cotton as a Food Plant. 



The question was raised whether the gypsy moth would 

 prove destructive to the cotton plant in the South, should it 

 by any means escape from its present locality and become dis- 

 tributed in the cotton States. To decide this question, cotton 

 seeds were planted and two small plants were raised. When 

 one of these was about two inches high, gypsy caterpillars 

 were placed on it, and they devoured not only the leaves but 

 nearly all the stem, during a single night. The second plant 

 died before reaching the size desired for the experiment. 



By correspondence with Mr. F. B. Carpenter of the agri- 

 cultural experiment station at Raleigh, N. C., a dozen small 

 cotton plants were obtained, which were from two to two 

 and a half feet high. Although the plants were well packed, 

 they were badly wilted when they arrived. All but two were 

 set out in the ground in different places, in the hope that 

 some of the varied soils would prove congenial, but unfort- 

 unately none of them lived. The leaves of one remaining 

 plant were taken off and put into a jar with ten caterpillars. 

 Notwithstanding the fact that the leaves were badly wilted, 

 the caterpillars on the second day had eaten about one-fourth 

 of them, but at the end of this day the leaves had become so 

 dry that this experiment was discontinued. The remaining 

 plant, having been kept in water, had revived somewhat, and 

 on July 22 twenty caterpillars, of the fifth molt, were placed 

 upon it, the base of the plant being kept in water. The cat- 

 erpillars at once began feeding heartily on the plant, appear- 

 ing to prefer the fresh leaves at the top to the lower wilted 

 ones. They continued to feed till July 25, at which time 

 they had devoured the greater part of the plant, having eaten 

 leaves, tender petioles and half- developed boll. From this 



