w^ W F.IVftT.AND FARMER. 



J::^^^, ty Joun P ^^^:::rr.t- no. Sa Nonhjlarketjtre et, ^oveTulT^^^i Ti;;;;^^ O- i'V.BSK.nE., Editor 



VOL. V. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, JULY J^, 1827 



No. 50. 



HORTICULTURE. 



Grasshopper in dry seasons to grass? the Bru- 

 (hus Pist or Pea-Weevil to peas ? the minute 



ATURAL HISTORY OF THE CANKER 

 WORM. 



BY WILLIAM DANDRIDGE PECK. 



Admiranda levium dicam spertacula reruin. 



In tenui labor. . • • ViRi.. 

 'he natural history of Insects is viewed by the 

 latest part of mankind, with a supercilious eye; 



they are considered as trifles beneath the no- 

 p of so dignified a being as man. To cultivate 

 ,nowled<Te of insects, merely for their splendid 

 mage o°r gorgeous colours, is indeed a con- 

 Hiptible employment ; but to inquire into the 

 poses of their being and the part they are des- 

 Bdto perform in the economy of nature, is to 



ly the wisdom of that omniscient Being, whose 



idates they execute with the greatest exact- 



^he labours of the Silk-Worm and the Bee, are 

 nediately beneficial to man, and these are cul- 

 Uted with profit. Many others, by thwartittg 

 arrangements, arrest his attention; but Iie- 

 . these", the wonders of the insect world are 

 ,le noticed. 



"ho Silpha Vcspillo, or Carrion-Beetle, discOv- 

 small carcases, and three or four of thetn, 



;====^===T^ :''^ZZt„ IChrysomeltE or Turnip-Flies to turnips, and other 



m Memoirs of the Mass. Agncultural iociey. ^^J^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^ husbandman can 



rnswer. 



Trees which from their height are inaccessible 

 to quadrupeds, entertain a g-roat number of in- 

 sects.* This remark applies to fruit trees in gen- 

 eral ; but {iarticularly to the apple tree. This 

 valuable tree which is most cultivated, and which 

 produces a wholesome liquor most generally used 

 in New England, gives food to many of the in.sect 

 tribe, and p"robably all that inhabit it, arc not yet 

 detected. The consideration of two of them, the 

 nost obvious and destructive, is tlic object of this 

 paper. They arc both of the Moth {or, as they 

 aie commonly called. Miller) kind. 



The first seems very nearly allied to the Pha- 

 lEua Mustria of LinnsDus. It is of a cinnamon 

 colour, with two oblique stripes of white on the 

 upper wings, of which the hindermost is J- longer 

 than the other ; the lower wings have a single 

 one, and the under sides of all the wings are 

 marked by a single stripe of the same colour in 

 tiie same direction. The female insects are near- 

 ly twice as large as the males. 



The first appearance of these in the larviB or 

 caterpillar state, is commonly in the beginning of 

 May, when there may be seen on some small 



small carcases, and three or four of thetn, branch, a small white web like thafrof a spider, 

 b united industry, excavate the earth for thar ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^_ jj- j^j^ i,^ opened it is found to 

 leption, and this in obedience to the wise i'>ws| ^^^^^j^^ ^ ^^^^^ number of minute caterpillars.— 



•i._ n i^f icct tliD niiirid effluvia should in«i „ , .... ■ .k„. .,•» /.nn,-r>nl,T(l. fixccn'.' v/hen 



the Creator, lest the putrid effluvia should in, 

 t-the air 



j,..^... ^ great number of minute caterpill 

 nJer this web they are concealed, except v/hen 



Itthe air. 1 they go out to feed at the extremity of the branch 



Che LibellulE or Dragon-Flies, are beneficial ^^^^ ^^j^^^^ ^,^gy j^^^p it^ they draw as they pro- 

 man by destroying the venomous musqiu > and ^^^^^ ^ s\]ken fibre along their path which serves 

 ler noxious insects, to which they are mcre^fa- j ^^ ^^.^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^._ ^^ f^ey advance in age and 



than the Lion to the inhabitants of the wUiler- ^.^^ ^^^^^ enlarge their nest by weaving a new 

 IS, or the Shark to the natives of the ocean. ^^^^ parallel to the former one, and when arriv 

 ieveral species of Hemerobius or Louse-Lion, I ^ _^^ their greatest growth, the web acquires ; 

 ■ ■ ■■ ^ 'y Flies, :eed on j^.^^^j^^^j.^jg,,j^^„i„g incites. 



"' " ""' If cut through at this period, it will be found to 



jons disease of garden vegetables. i consist of numerous silken layers, filled with the 



ttaturet has instituted in every branch of '•he | gj.gj.gtio„s of the caterpillars. Until the feeding 



their web, 



ituret has instituted in every branch of ^-hel ^^^^^.^^^^ ^^ j,^^ caterpillars. Until th 



p „ial and vcsfetable creation, certain checks, by ^^^^^ .^ ^^^^^ ^j^^^ jp^^.^ ^^j return to I 



nans of which she prescribes their limits. A-Pjt^ considerable regularity, resembling in this 



inTQuadrupeds, Birds, Fishes, and Insects, are I ^^^ ^1^^ j^^.^.^ ^j. the Phala:na processionea, 



nd individuals which live by rapine, and P'*'' I j^g^ribed and figured by Reaumur.f Toward the 



. .1. _ .,- — „«f 4nn,.o'.cn f^f \hf* obiects on , „^ _ ., *« +'/,o/l on^t nm cnpn wnn- 



nd individuals whicn live oy rapmt;, i>"" i""' I dgscribed and figured by lieaumur.T i owaru uic 

 It the too great increase of the objects on |^^ ^^.^^^^ ^1^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ fgej and are seen wan- 



ich they are destined to prey : But the oftice ^ . j,^^ (mrlfo nP tlip trees, on fences, &c. 



keeping within due bounds the numerous sub- 

 ts of the vegetable world, and more particular- 

 that part o> it whicli does not yield food to 

 rbivorous quadrupeds, is committed to insects. 

 These animals " although individually minute, 

 t taken collectively, are of prodigious bulk, and 



nr effect is equally great. They are so many ^^ __ 



imal ministers of nature, appointed each to its ^^^^^^^ ^^^^ thus it remains torpid, until its final 

 culiar task, preserving a due proportion ^""'"SLhaiiae comes on. In about a fortnight the shell 

 ints : destroying superfluous dead and putrid J' ^^^^ ^^, ^^e fluid which surrounds the 



enu ui juiiu Li»i-j ^^^^^ — . 



derin-^ on the trunks of the trees, on fences, &c. 

 in the" vicinity. After a good deal of exercise, 

 they insinuate themselves into any Interstices they 

 find and weave around them a cod or cocoon like 

 that of the silkworm. The chrysalis or pupa 

 state, now succeeds to that of the larva, the coat 

 of the caterpillar is thrown off, the skin immedi- 

 ately under it hardens into a shell of a dark brown 



* .... • i :J .int<1 itc- final 



i.iLo . destroying superfluous dead ant' putr 

 itters ; and finally becoming in part, the food of 

 ber animals ; but principally of birds."t How 

 structive is tlie small Weevil to grain ? the 



* Linnsei Oratio de Insectis. 

 t Vis ilium Naturum vocare ? non peccabis. — 

 t enira ex que nata sunt omnia, cujus spiritu vi- 

 llus. Senecffi Quaest. Lib. H. XLV. 

 \ Linnaus. 



burst's at the head, the fluid which surrounds the 

 insect in it, exudes through the fissure, and dis- 

 solvincr the silk, makes an aperture for its escape. 

 The moth now comes forth furnished with four 

 wino-s. and the creeping sluggish worm is trans- 

 formed into an active inhabitant of air, and is in 

 the most perfect state of its being 



* Linnffius. I Memokes des Insects.vol. ii.tab.lL 



Thus transformed, they are ade'iu.ito to the 

 continuation of their species. They celebrate 

 their nuptials, and in August deposit their eggs, 

 which may be found in a mass, surrounding tht 

 small twigs in form of a.ring, about 3 of an inch 

 broad, in colour somewhat resembling the bark. 



Each of these clusters of eggs is deposited by 

 a single moth ; when deposited she eurrounde 

 them with a kind of varnish in which a bubble is 

 formed over each cg^. They are thus perfectly 

 secured from any injury by snow or rain. These 

 eggs are hatclied the same autumn, and the larva; 

 arc perfectly formed, though they do not burst 

 from the Bho'll until the month of May following. 

 The larva is of a dark colour, somewhat hairy 

 and furnished with sixteen feet. The head is 

 black ; the sides of the body variegated with fine, 

 intermingled, blue and yellow lines ; above these 

 a waving, interrupted, yellowish line runs the 

 whole length of the body ; next above this a se- 

 ries of black spots, each including a small blue 

 one, one of which spots is placed in each segment. 

 Oa the back is a white line extending the whole 

 length, and on each .side of this line is a longitu 

 I dinal area of small, interrupted, waving, yellow 

 I lines on a black ground. 



' They grow to the length of an inch and three 

 quarters. The trees most subject to injury from 

 those are tlie Apple, the Cherry and the Peach 

 They are extremely voracious, and assisted by 

 those hereafter to be mentioned, in some seasons 

 and in some situations, have entirely stripped the 

 Apple i-.eep of their verdure, and given them in 

 June the aspect of December. 



Nature has v.ith equal wisdom and beneficence, 

 restricted both these insects to the production of 

 a single annual progeny. 



The other insect which seems to have attracted 

 more attention than the former, is far less in size, 

 very diflerent in its economy, and commonly 

 known by the name of Canker-worm. 



The perfect insect first presents itself to our 

 observation. Let us therefore notice it in this 

 stage of existence, and trace its ofi-spving until it 

 arrives at the same. 



These insects appear in the spring earlier than 

 any other of the moth tribe ; about the middle ol 

 March : Their rise, however, from the earth wil, 

 be delayed or hastened according to the tempera- 

 ture of "the atmosphere and state of the soil. 



They are found under a double form, the males 

 being furnished with, and the females, being des- 

 titute of, wings. This circumstance necessitates 

 the females to ascend the tree by its trunk in or- 

 der to deposit their eggs upon the branches. The 

 males by their wings resort to them, and are found 

 in the evenings hovering round the trees. 



In three or four days after they begin to rise, 

 they are found sub copula. This office is per- 

 formed in eleven or twelve days after their first 

 appearance. The males die and disappear. 



In thirteen days the females deposit their eggs. 

 These thev place in the crannies of the bark, m 

 the forks of small branches ; and where there are 

 spots of moss upon the smaller limbs, they seem 

 most fond of insinuating themselves into the cavi- 

 ties between its leaves. For this purpose the fe- 

 males are furnished with a tube through which 



