242 Success with Small Fruits. 



every affected plant, and burning it." Mr. Downing recommends the 

 same course. It is one of those evils that should be stamped out at once. 

 If a plantation were generally affected with this yellow symbol of 

 contagion, it would be well to destroy all the plants, and, obtaining new, 

 healthful stock from a distance, start again on different grounds. Should 

 the snowy tree-cricket become very abundant, it might cause much injury, 

 chiefly by cutting off the leaves, as the ordinary cut- worm serves the 

 stem of a young plant. 



CURRANTS AND GOOSEBERRIES. 



We have not only imported our best currants from Europe, but 

 also their worst enemies. The most formidable of these is popularly 

 known as the currant worm. Robert Thompson, the English authority, 

 thus describes it : " The magpie- moth (abraxas grossulariata) deposits 

 its eggs upon the foliage, and from them is hatched a slightly hairy 

 cream- colored caterpillar, spotted with black, and marked with orange 

 along the sides, and which forms a loop in walking. It feeds 

 upon the leaves, devouring all but the petiole, and often entirely defoli- 

 ating both gooseberry and currant bushes. It changes into a pupa in 

 May or June, and in about three weeks afterward, the perfect insect makes 

 its appearance." Very naturally, this currant worm made its debut near 

 Rochester, N. Y., a great fruit center, receiving annually large importa- 

 tions of plants. Its first appearance was in 1857. For illustration, see 

 page 243. 



In England, the caterpillar of the Phalcena-vanaria, a similar insect, 

 is often destructive. Whether it has appeared among us yet, I am not 

 informed. They fight it abroad as they do the ordinary worm. 



The gooseberry and currant saw-fly (Nematus-ribesii), another pestif- 

 erous foreigner, has made its appearance in some localities. 



We have, besides, a native saw-fly (Pristiphera grossuiarice), which 

 resembles its European congener, and emulates it in mischief. The larva 

 of this fly feeds upon both the currant and the gooseberry, but prefers 

 the latter. 



Nature is liberal, and has given us, in addition, a native gooseberry 

 span-worm, the larva of a small moth. These several worms, unchecked, 

 would soon render the culture of the currant and gooseberry impossible 

 in the regions where they abounded; and, at first, horticulturists were 

 almost in despair, for the pests seemed proof against the usual insecticides 



