ACKICULTURAL itfUSBWiU V^Qu 



TO DESTROY CATERPILLADS. 



Asthe season is arrived for tlieinsccts which produce 

 the canker worm, to quit their wintry abode, and ascend 

 to the apple trees, it may not be amiss to pubhsh a fe\v 

 observations and experiments on the subject. 



A neiglibor of mine observed an article in the papers 

 of the last year, advisinijto inclose the trunk of the trees 

 with a narrow bag made with linen cloth filled with tine 

 salt; but he not having any cloth suitable for the purpose, 

 used a substitute, what the farmers call swingling cow, 

 which he twisted into a large string and long enough to 

 go round the body of the tree, putting in salt as he twisted 

 it up, so as to enclose the tree with salt, about two feet 

 from the ground— this tree was loaded with fruit in the 

 fall of the year, while the other trees in the orchard ap- 

 pearedas if a fire had passed through them; which experi- 

 ment, 1 think, goes far to establish the fact, that the salt 

 used in either way will preserve the trees from the rava- 

 ges of the canker worm. 



The caterpillar or bag worm I am confident may be 

 prevented fi-om injuring the fruit of the aj)pie tree, by 

 placing a turf in a crotcli of the tree. 1 tried it in a num- 

 ber of trees in my orchard the last season, and there was 

 none of the worms to be seen on them through the sum* 

 mer; but one tree which I neglected, 1 found when the 

 worms were about half grown, was like to be injured by 

 that pernicious insect. 1 tiien destroyed as many of 

 them as I conveniently could and applied the turf, and in 

 a few days there was not one to be seen on the tree. 



Another neighbor of mine informed me that he had a 

 couple of plumb trcres in his garden, standing some dis- 

 tance from each other ; in the summer he found that one 

 of tlieni was covered with bag worms, and recollecting 

 the advertisement which recommended the use of the 

 turf, he applied one to the infected tree, and the conse- 

 quence was ih^t they (eft that tree and took to the 



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