264 



THE AMERICAN 



shade; :iiid 



Willie 



(1.) H( 



iii;^' in 



tlie Tciit-cateiiiilku- of the Furcsi 

 this way. 



Then onr laivse appear decidedly to prefer tlie 

 leaves of the Apple-tree, and onlv feed on the 

 leaves of other trees when the fori'inT are not (o 

 be had. Tliouuli I am nol iireparrd i,, ^:,\ Ihal 

 thev will not feed on Ouk. Wahiul o,- wU.mv 

 trees, under auv .ireiini-tanccs. 1 |ia\ c re|,(:il(ill\ 

 lonndlli(-.'li'c(-.in lull leal'wlien n..l onlv Aiii.]'.' 

 tree.. I, 111 ,\-li iind r,a^-.w.HMl liv,. iirai' In. 



ivh 



Mil 





dr livr.. I.lll th.' calcr- 



~> 1^ llie\ -el nuleh 



il lo,„l nioiv'Miilahle to 

 .e the <".,-(■ in regard to 



■nt i)laees for their co- 

 llie Tent-eaterpillar of 



■red sjiot for its eoeoon, 



:le fonilcd l.v the lucrl- 

 . Ill llli> ihi. ro,-,,,HI is 



iierous, there arc often two or II in 

 ■tlier. The cocoon is not sn-jir 

 ened to the leaf. Thev spin tin ir ( 

 foivnart of ,T,dv, and tli,' moth- 



III. 



IS il- 



WOllU 



tion. 

 tiele ( 

 the 1': 



'I'll 



Kiilom(ilo;iisl. and can tell whether 

 our ealer]iillar is a dislinel insect, or only shows 

 the vai-ialioiis thai ma\ be expected in the Tcnt- 

 <-alerpillar of tlie Forest. 



Now since Dr. Fitcli has not, to our knowl- 

 edge, complied with Mr. Ferris's courteous wish, 

 we shall have to do so ourseh t s Wl h i\ e taken 

 upwards of 200 specimens honi the '•amc bitch 

 of Oak-feeding worms, and upon ciitu ilh c\ 

 amining them, find that Di I it( h - dc s( i iption 

 is accurate, and that the difleienu >, oi \ iiiitions 

 inentioned by Mr. Ferris aiisc in c\ei\ < ise 

 either from a misapprchcr sioii oi Di 1 ii I 

 meaning, or from variations wIikIi ni n b I I 

 in the same brood. The onh u d dill i u 

 between the two writers lies m the stitcmtnt of 

 Dr. Fitch that the worms live undei i laigc cob 



web-like nest, and that of Mr. Ferris that they 

 do no such thing. Both statements should have 

 been qualified, and were made withoni suttieienl 

 observation ; for though the normal habit of the 

 worms is to collect outside of their nests, wc 

 have seen exceptional instances of their collect- 

 ing within or underneath it, especially when 

 young. 



Now it is just barel\' possible that, in "Western 

 New York there may be a race of these worms 

 that has taken to feeding on Apple and has lost 

 all appetite or become Incapacitated for feeding 

 on forest lices; in other words, that there is a 

 lihyloplia-ie variety, or a phytophagie species in 

 pi-on -. of t'ormation. We could incnlion sexcral 



who beliexe ill tlir imiiiiilalii lily of >iii'cies these 

 oei'urreiiees are iiieomiireheiisihle enough; but 

 to those who accept the more modern Darwinian 

 views, and believe that species arc slowly being 

 formed to-day, just as they have been for long 

 ages and ages in the past, they are most signifi- 

 cant, and exactly wliat we should expect. But 

 that such a race has yet been formed is rendered 

 highly improbable from the following facts : 1st. 

 It is spoken of both by Dr. Fitch and Dr. Harris 

 as occurring on Oak, and by the latter as also 

 occurring on Walnut, Apple and Cherry in the 

 New England States. George E. Braekett. of 

 Belfast, Me.,t in referring to its ravagi^s in the 

 orchard, states that it aNo iMvaiivd the forests in 

 the summer of 18()7, eating the leaves of most 

 kinds of deciduous trees, though I'oplar and Ash 

 seemed to be their favorites. 2nd. We have, in 

 this section, successfully transferred them from 

 Oak to Apple, and from Apple to Oak. and now 

 have a suite of moths bred from lar\a' which 

 were fed half the time on the one and half the 

 time on the other. Given an equal quantity of 

 Oak, Apple, Plum, Peach, Cherry, Walnut, Hick- 

 ory, Rose, thc.\' have invariably seemed to prefer 

 and thrive best on the Apple. 



IS IT EVER VERY DESTKICTIVE? 



Tliis question is raised by Dr. Fitch, who, on 

 insufficient grounds, discredited the previous 

 assertion of Abbot, that it " is sometimes so 



♦1 toliivcuhj 



til litietcitlK 



ital thcP oceeii 



t Amei loiii f lloU Sqt 



