SILVER -Y MOTH. 35 



a web ? I did not notice any. They disappeared as suddenly as they 

 came, but I know that thousands of Eooks and Starlings frequented 

 the fields, and must have cleared off an immense number. I believe 

 they are two of the best friends farmers have." — (G. H. S.) 



The following second report with which I was favoured on the 8th 

 of Nov., by Mr. J. Honeyball, from Teynham, Sittingbourne, Kent, is 

 of serviceable interest regarding migration of the caterpillars from the 

 Clover ; treatment, especially by rolling, which killed a good many on 

 the Clover ; also an estimate of damage on a part of the Clover crop ; 

 and also observation of the Eooks and Starlings in this case not 

 volunteering as helpers. Mr. Honeyball reported : — 



" Firstly as to the migration to Hops and Potatoes from the 

 Clover : in each case they penetrated but a short distance, about two 

 or three rods, but as far as they went the foliage was completely 

 destroyed, leaving only the skeleton leaves of both Hops and Potatoes ; 

 if this sort of thing occurred on a large scale it would simply be fatal 

 to Hop plants, and effectually prevent growth of Potato tubers ; but I 

 think it was necessity, and not choice, which led these caterpillars to 

 seek what, I hope, was an unnatural food, it was not till almost every 

 green leaf had disappeared from the Clover, that the migration in one 

 case across a dusty road commenced. Possibly the reason they pro- 

 gressed no further into these crops was the arrival of the time for 

 change into the pupa stage ; on this point perhaps you will express an 

 opinion ? " 



So far as I can find by search in all the works that I have at hand 

 for reference, the precise time taken by the caterpillar from date of 

 hatching to date of spinning a cocoon for change to the chrysalis, is 

 not recorded. But it is stated by Dr. Taschenberg, that in the warm 

 season of the year, the changes may be completely carried through all 

 the four states (that is, egg, caterpillar, and chrysalis up to appearance 

 of the moth) in six weeks. And as he also says that the time from 

 the laying of the egg to the hatching of the caterpillar out of it is ten 

 or fourteen days, this gives some amount of information of the rate of 

 development. — Ed. 



" Secondly as to remedial measures : I rolled the two Clover fields 

 one way with a ' ring ' roll, and the other with a heavy plain iron roll, 

 this crushed a good many, but not nearly all ; I then dressed the land 

 with a mixture of soap and fresh slaked lime. We also tried, on a 

 small scale, the application of a decoction of quassia chips, which 

 appeared very effective ; the Strawsonizer would be a capital machine 

 for distributing this liquid dressing. 



" It strikes me that the reason my Clover sufi'ered so much was 

 owing to the time of cutting coinciding with the period of greatest 

 activity (so to speak) in the lives of the caterpillars ; for instance, oue 



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