292 



reasonable to presume that the insect may at no distant day 

 exterminate itself, provided we admit the truth of the above 

 statement. I can think of only one reason why the eggs de- 

 posited in autumn are not as liable to hatch as those depos- 

 ited in spring, vi/ : The males, or millers, arc seldom seen in 

 autumn, while in spring the males are more abundant than the 

 females. Hence it is a reasonable conclusion that the eggs de- 

 posited in autumn are not all impregnated. The grubs are 

 very tenacious of life. No amount of cold or wet seems to 

 affect them in the least degree. Subject them to the coldest 

 weather ; freeze them solid as ice and it will not prevent 

 them from laying their eggs, alter placing them in a warm 

 room. 



A great many people believe that the Canker Worm will 

 descend from the trees on the 17th of June, this idea is not 

 correct, the time of their leaving the trees is governed by 

 the time ol their hatching from the eggs. If the season is 

 backward, and the trees do not put forth their foliage, as a 

 matter of course the young worms will not make their ap- 

 pearance. The same degree of heat that causes tlie buds to. 

 expand will cause the eggs to hatch. After which it will re- 

 quire a certain number of days for them to arrive at matu- 

 rity. They will then leave the trees and not before unless 

 obliged to do so for want of food. In the summer of 1861 

 I commenced to catch the larva? for experimental purpose.s on 

 the 17th of June and found them quite numerous until 

 the 26th, some of these worms were placed in a glass tube filled 

 with earth and others in a barrel in which sods were placed. 

 In both instances the experiments were conducted in the 

 open air, and were quite successful. The worms in the 

 tube burrowed in the earth to a depth of about four inches,, 

 while those in the barrel formed their chrysalides among the 

 roots of the sods not going quite so deep as those in the tube. 

 The worms in the tube did not immediately change into the 

 chrysalis state but remained in the larva state at least six; 

 days. On the fourth day after the worms had disappeared 

 from the sides of the tube I opened some of the chrysalides 

 and found the larva snugly packed away without change, ex- 

 cept that it was reduced in length about one half, and on be- 

 ing disturbed it commenced spanning off in the usual style. 



The question is sometimes asked how do the Canker 

 Worms move from one place to another ? How is it that 



