412 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



JUNE 26, 1844. 



For the N. E. Fanner. 



A NEW DEPREDATOR ON THE ORCH- 

 ARD. 



Mr Editor — Herewith you will receive a sample 

 of a new species of worm or caterpillar, which is 

 destroying our orchards Rt a great rate. I say 

 netv, because new in this region. If the sample 

 should arrive safe, perhaps you will know them 

 and puint O'lt a remedy ; bnt for fear it should not, 

 I will descr be them as well as I can. 



They are about the length of the common cat- 

 erpillar, and resemble them in general, but are 

 rather smaller, much more active and irritable, and 

 have a row of white spots the whole length of the 

 back. I have never discovered them in my or- 

 chard till today. What I shall say, is mostly gath- 

 ered from a gentleman who lives three miles from 

 me. 



Their eggs are first seen on the small limbs, 

 looking like mustard seed imbedded in shoemaker's 

 wax. When first hatched, they are small and in- 

 ert, but soon begin to ascend to the top, taking the 

 highest branches first, and working downward, till 

 neither leaf nor blossom is left. They have no 

 nest, but in wet weather congregate on the trunks 

 and limbs of the trees and adjacent fences. When 

 disturbed, they immediately drop to the ground, 

 somewhat like canker-worms. This gentleman's 

 orchard consists of 120 apple trees, very thrifty 

 and large, and a few pears and plums. Of these, 

 last year, 100 apple, and all the plum trees, were 

 stripped bare as in winter. The rest of the apples 

 partially damaged — the pears untouched. This 

 was tlieir first appearance here, iind they were 

 called caterpillars. This year he named them 

 canker worms, (which have never been in this re- 

 gion,) and tried to stop them by shaking the trees 

 and tarring the trunks — also, by putting spirits of 

 turpentine on them when gathered together; and, 

 by paying particular attention, will probably suc- 

 ceed in saving his foliage in part, — blossoms he 

 has none. 



They are spreading fast, and several other or- 

 chards in this vicinity, will soon be destitute of 

 foliage. I have written this nt the request of seve- 

 ral gentlemen, in hope to get some information 

 which will be useful. If you have no time to in- 

 vestigate, perhaps Dr. Harris, or some person, 

 could give us some account of them through the 

 columns of the Farmer. If they keep on, they are 

 like to prove " ugly customers." B. 



Kennebec Co., Me., June .5, 1844. 



[As stated in our last, we forwarded the above 

 to Dr. Harris, with the insect accompanying it. 

 Dr. H.'s communication on the subject is subjoined.] 



Mr Breck — Dear Sir — Tlie caterpillars which 

 are making depredations in the orchards of Kfnne- 

 bec comity, Maine, are not canker-worms. A de- 

 scription of them may be found in a work entitled 

 " A Treatise on Some of the Insects of New Eng- 

 land which are Injurious to Vegetation," pages 271 

 and 272 ; but, as the gentleman who sent to you 

 some of the caterpillars, seems not to have con- 

 sulted the work, or has failed to identify the in- 

 sects by the description therein, it will give me 

 pleasure to supply the information waiiKd on the 

 subject, in answer to his inquiries. 



This I-ind of caterpillar is not com non In Ma^i 

 sacliusrtls, where it is more often found on forest 

 tree-; than in orchards. The scientific name of it 

 is Clisiocampa sUvatica — the teiil-caterpillar of the 



forest. It closely resembles the common web- 

 making caterpillar of the wild cherry and of the 

 apple tree ; but is readily distingiii.^hed therefrom, 

 by the row of eleven white spots along the top of 

 its back, and (as your correspondent has correctly 

 remarked,) by its greater irritability and activity. 

 When not engaged in feeding, these caterpillars 

 cluster together on a flat web, not easily discov- 

 ered without close examination, usually woven and 

 spread on the trunk or larger limbs of the tree, 

 and they have been known to crawl under the web 

 in bad weather. Such, at least, are their habits 

 in this part of the country. When fully grown, 

 and about seven weeks old, they measure nearly 

 two inches in length, and then crawl away Oom 

 the trees, and hide themselves in crevices, where 

 they make their coco ms, or silken powdery pods, 

 exactly like those of the apple-tree caterpillars, 

 above mentioned. After remaining in their co- 

 coons from 14 to 17 days, during which time they 

 change to the chrysalis and to the winged or mil- 

 ler forms, they come forth in the shape of brownish 

 yellow millers or moths, pair, lay their eggs, and 

 die. 



The only way to get rid of these " ugly custom- 

 ers," that occurs to me, is, to search for them when 

 they are not feeding, and, while they are collected 

 in a large mass on the trunks of the trees, to crush 

 them at once. Tarring above their place of rest, 

 will probably prevent those of them that fall from 

 mounting again upon the branches. 



Having never seen the eggs of the parent moth, 

 a cluster of them, on the twig, would be very ac- 

 ceptable to me. 



The Wheat Worm. 

 Your correspondents and patrons would confer a 

 great favor, if they will send to the writer, through 

 you, living specimens, and make communications, 

 during the present summer, respecting certain in- 

 sects, called by the various and indefinite names 

 ol wheal-worms, grey-worms, grain-worms, and 

 brown-weevils, whicii hare heretofore done much 

 mischief to the wheat in the ear, before and about 

 harvest time, in western New Vork, northern Penn- 

 sylvania, and in some parts of Maine. A short no 

 tice of this kind of insect, (presumed, from the de^ 

 scription given of it by some writers, to be a cater- 

 pillar, or span-worm,) will be found in the before- 

 named "Trea'.ise," pages 445 to 447, inclusive 

 whii-h your readers will please to examine before 

 making their communications ; but the history is 

 wanting, in many important particulars. It will 

 be necessary to hsvt some of the clover- worms, al- 

 luded to in the same"'Work, to conipare with these 

 wheat insects. Living specimens can easily be 

 sent, if corked up in small phials, with a few 

 grains of wheat and chaS"; and others may be pre 

 served and sent in spirit. Some of them ought to 

 be taken when the wheat is threshed, and put in- 

 to a small light box, with a little chaff, wherein 

 they will go through their transformations. 



The Robin. 



Allow ine to add a few words in behalf of robin- 

 redbreast. Observing members of my family have 

 seen this fflvorite bird pick canker-worms and bud- 

 wurnis from the leaves of npple-trees, and swallow 

 them. V. e had a young robin, which we fed, 

 daily, with common apple-tree caterpillars, anil the 

 bird Dte tlieui greedily and apparently with great 

 relish. 



We never saw the bud-worms and Icaf-rolling 

 caterpillars (See the " Treatise," pages !ii7 to 349,) 



80 thick as they are at this time, on the apple and 

 plum trees ; and we are much indebted to birds for ■. 

 their services in destroying them. We intend to j 

 set out cherry-trees enough to give the robins a 

 share of the fruit with us. 



Yours, T. W. H. 



Cambridge, June 15, 1844. 



dJ^We have copied on another page, from Dr. 

 Harris's " Treatise on Insects injurious to Vegeta- 

 tion," the remarks on the wheat-worm referred to 

 in the foregoing. We should be gratified to.re- 

 ceive and forward to Dr. H., specimens of the in- 

 sects to which he alludes. We could wish Dr. 

 Harris's valuable " Treatise" was in the possession 

 of every farmer. The surest, perhaps the only way 

 of devising a remedy for the depredations of such 

 insect as the wheat-worm, and kindred pests, is to 

 become acquainted with their natural history, trans- 

 formations, &c.; and for this purpose, the ''Trea- 

 tise" of Dr. H. is a most useful assistant. 



Our neighbor Buckingham, of the Courier, will 

 see by Dr. H.'s notice of the robin, that there are 

 ,^ome who have seen "a robin eat a caterpillar" — 

 and canker-worms, too — and, (if it was not a casB 

 of "optical illusion,") we think we have ourself 

 seen the rooin making a meal on caterpillars — but 

 we are not sure it was in cherry time. 



THE "FOREST WORM." 

 [We presume the insect alluded to in the stih- 

 joined extract from a communication in the Boston 

 Cultivator, by S. W. Jeweit, Esq., of Wcybridge, 

 Vt., is the same as that described in the preceding 

 articles :] 



'' Perhaps many of your readers have been un- 

 acquainted with the 'forest xoorm,^ or the worm 

 which nearly resembles the common apple-tree 

 worm (caterpillar) that makes a web or a nest. 

 This forest-worm may be readily distinguished by 

 Its congregating on the limbs or body ol the tree, 

 without terming any web or shelter to protect them 

 when they return from feeding. They first made 

 their appearance in 1823, and became a destruc- 

 tive enemy in 1825, to not only our fruit trees, but 

 they stripped our forests, and more particularly the 

 maple, of its foliage. Most of the orchards bor- 

 dering on Lake Champlain, for 100 miles in extent 

 or more, were so thoroughly divested of their her- 

 bage, that not a green leaf could be found. This 

 formidable enemy has appeared among.-^t iis this 

 season quite plenty, but probably unnoticed by my 

 or but a few. If the season should be propilious 

 through their season of winding themseives up in 

 their cocoon, (in this case they remain about four 

 weeks in a stale of insensibility until the butterfly 

 is ready for birth,) wc may look out for them ' with 

 a vengeance' another year. Nothing tlirough the 

 season seems to destroy them, from the time they 

 leave the ova c/n the small twigs, to the period of 

 its becoming an inhabitant of tne air, except cold 

 rains which fall at the time of its chrysalis state." 



To Make Walir Cool for Summer.— T\\e follow- 

 ing is a simple mode of rendering water almost as 

 cold as ice : Let the jar, pitcher, or vessel used 

 for water, be surrounded with one or more folds of 

 coarse cotton, to be constantly wet. 'I'he evapora- 

 tion of the water will carry off the heat from the 

 inside, and reduce the temperature to nearly the 

 freezing point. In India and oilier tropical re- 

 gions, this practice is common. 



