APPENDIX. 199 



Several years since, when my vineyards were smaller 

 than at present, I found the rosebug a formidable enemy. 

 They appeared on the vines when they were in blossom, 

 or just as the blossoms were falling off and the young grapes 

 forming, and devoured them with the greatest avidity. 

 This feast continued from eight to twelve days, or until the 

 cherries on the trees in the vicinity began to ripen, when 

 they with one accord flew to them, for a change of diet, I 

 presume, or from some other cause. 1 was quite familiar 

 with the habits of the caterpillar, and had been in the prac- 

 tice of clearing them from my orchards in the spring, before 

 they had destroyed scarcely a leaf. This I did not con- 

 sider a great or difficult matter, for they were enveloped in 

 a web early in the morning, and one man in a few days 

 was able to clear many hundred trees, by twisting them off, 

 web and all, with a basket, and carefully placing them un- 

 der his foot. The rosebug, however, did not, like the cater- 

 pillar, make their appearance in clusters or in webs, but in 

 small numbers at first, and scattered through the vineyards, 

 increasing rapidly every day. Though taken from the 

 vines on the trellis every morning, they continued to multi- 

 ply till the eighth or twelfth day, when they suddenly left 

 for the cherry trees, as before stated. I was at a loss at first 

 to know where they came from, till at length I discovered 

 the ground perforated with numerous holes, through which 

 they made their way to the surface. 



I observed, when they first appeared on the vines, they 

 were so feeble as to be unable to fly even for a few yards. 

 Having surmounted all other difficulties, I was determined 

 not to be defeated in the vineyard cultivation of the grape 

 by this insect, and consequently resorted to the following 

 means for their destruction. I directed my men to take 

 each a cup, with a little water in it, and go through the 

 vineyards every morning, removing every bug from the 

 vines ; and this was done quite rapidly by passing the cup 

 under the leaf, and merely touching it, when the bugs in- 

 stantly dropped, and were received in the cup containing 

 the water. When the cup was full, they were soon des- 

 troyed Ly pressing the foot upon them on a hard surface. 

 After all of them had been taken off, on the following morn- 

 ing there were ten on the vines where we had found but 



