18 THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST, 



remain on the tree so long as to change color to any great degree; 

 and after it has been gathered, it should be eaten before the skin has 

 put on all its beauty in crimson and gold, else it will be found to be 

 only the glow of internal decay. We trust that Mr. ]\Iorse will have 

 the patience to experiment with this pear yet a little longer, and give 

 the readers of the Horticulturist the results of" his further experi- 

 ence. The character given by Mr. Downing, who is acknowledged 

 on all hands to be the best American authority on fniits, is that this- 

 is an extremely line and valuable pear, ranking in quality as " very 

 good," which means next to " best." The very hardy character of the 

 tree makes it well worthy of trial in all the colder parts of the Prov- 

 ince, where many of our very choice pear trees- succumb to the rigor 

 of the climate. 



SOME NEW FOUND FEIENDS. 



• In the second number of the current volume of the Canadian 

 Entomologist is a very interesting account of the discovery of some 

 small creatures that feed on the eggs of the Tent Caterpillars. It is 

 very gratifying indeed to the orchardist, to learn that he has help 

 from any quarter in the work of destroying such pests as these. 

 During the past summer, the Forest Tent Caterpillar swept over large 

 tracts of country in the Counties of Perth and Middlesex, stripping 

 the leaves from the- trees in the orchards, as well as from those in the 

 forest, and doing a vast amount of injury. The question was asked 

 at the Summer meeting in Stratford, if this pest was likely to con- 

 tinue in such force in years to come; if so, the out-look for fruit in 

 those parts was gloomy enough. It was bad enough to have to look 

 after the common Tent Caterpillar, and keep that in subjection, but 

 such an invasion of its congener, if likely to be continuous, was fear- 

 ful to contemplate. The discovery, to which reference is now made, 

 ,may help to answer the question, and to illustrate the wonderful 

 measures adopted to keep in check all undue multiplication of our 

 insect enemies, and so to preserve the balance of power. 



The tlistinguished editor of the Eittomologid was devoting an 

 evening to the microscopic examination of some cluster of eggs of both 

 the American and the Forest Tent Caterpillar, when he noticed that 



