STATE POMOLOaiCAL SOCIETr. 25 



common tent caterpillar, and the work may be done at any time of 

 day, as they never wander out of their webs save when they leave 

 them to go into the ground to spend the winter. 



Another insect which has been, and is still making sad work 

 with our gooseberry and currant bushes, is the currant worm, 

 {Nemalus ventricosus, Klug). The perfect insect lays her eggs on 

 the underside of the leaves along by the side of the larger veins, 

 sometimes, however, they are deposited in irregular clusters. In 

 about a week the young hatch out, and commence feeding, and 

 continue their work till the bushes are completely stripped of their 

 leaves, or till they are fully grown, when they go down into the 

 ground, form a little black pupa in which they pass that state, 

 after which the perfect insects emerge from the ground and the 

 females lay their eggs for a second brood, which pass the winter 

 in the pupa state in the ground. I know of no better remedy for 

 these insects than the white helebore, (Veralrum album) and 

 think if it has not lost its strength it may be regarded as a safe 

 and valuable remedy. It is probably better to mix flour with the 

 helebore in the proportion of three parts of flour to one of helebore. 



Some seventeen years ago the European cabbage butterfly ob- 

 tained a passage to this country, landing at Quebec, from which 

 place it has spread far and wide over the country, and multiplied 

 to such an alarming extent that in some localities the raising of 

 cabbages has been given up entirely. Very many artificial reme- 

 dies have been suggested, some of which may be of some advan- 

 tage, but the greatest check I now know of is from a little parasitic 

 insect belonging to the Ilyraenoptera, and long ago named by 

 Linneus, Pieromalus puparum. This little pigmy friend deposits 

 her eggs, some forty or fifty, in the pupa of the cabbage butterfly, 

 and the young feed on the substance of the pupa and thus destroy 

 its life. If from each pupa that is infested by these parasites, 

 there are forty hatched to prey upon the next lot of butterflies, 

 you will see what a powerful ally we have in this little insect. In 

 a collection of thirty pupas which I made last spring, there was 

 but one which was not infested by the parasite, yet I am led to 

 believe that this little friend is not yet to be found in every part 

 of the State, and that it may be able to distribute itself wherever 

 the butterflies have gone, and hold them in check, is devoutly to 

 be wished. 



In some parts of the State the onion fly, (Anthomyia ceparum, 

 \j.) has been doing a great amount of damage. I can off'er no 



