14'4 OBSERVATIONS ON BLIGHT. 



bigger than a sixpence ; the next morning have the size-pot 

 heated again, and have another hunt ; and keep on doing so every 

 morning for a fortnight. Your man will tell you it's no use ; 

 tell him that's your business, not his r, your neighbours will 

 laugh at you for your pains : do it before they are up. I have 

 tried it and know it to be effectual. Spirit of tar has been 

 used with partial effect, so also has resin ; whitewashing has 

 been often tried, and, as it contains some size, is not entirely 

 useless, and some horticulturists think it ornamental: I' 

 do not. 



Now for the moth. This is a beautiful little creature, its 

 wings are studded with silvery shining specks, as though they 

 were inlaid with precious gems. It is the most beautiful of the 

 beautiful tribe to which it belongs, yet from its habits not 

 being known, it is seldom seen in the moth state, and the 

 apple-grower knows no more than the man in the moon to 

 what cause he is indebted for his basketsful of worm-eaten 

 windfalls in the stillest weather. To find the moth in the day- 

 time, the trunks of the apple-trees should be carefully looked 

 over ; or if your orchard be surrounded by a wooden fence, it 

 may frequently be found sitting against it, with its pretty wings 

 neatly folded round it. Towards evening, in fact, just at sun- 

 set, it begins to move, and may then be seen hovering about 

 the little apples, which, by the time the moth leaves the chry- 

 salis, the middle of June, are well knit, and consequently 

 fit for the reception of its eggs, which it lays in the eyes, one 

 only in each, by introducing its long ovipositor between the 

 leaves of the calyx, which form a tent above it that effectually 

 shields it from the inclemency of the weather, or any other 

 casualty. As soon as the egg hatches, the little grub gnaws a 

 hole in the crown of the apple, and soon buries itself in its 

 substance ; and it is worthy of remark that the rind of the 

 apple, as if to afford every facility to the destroyer, is thinner 

 here than in any other part, and consequently more easily 

 pierced. The apple most commonly attacked is the codling, 

 a large early sort, which ripens in July and August. 



The grub, controlled by an unvarying instinct, eats into 

 the apple obliquely downwards, and by thus avoiding the core 

 and pips in no way hinders its growth : at first it makes but 

 slow progress, being little bigger than a thread, but after a 

 fortnight its size and its operations have much increased ; it 



