1 88 THE APPLE 



moth. In its flight it is often aided by strong winds, and is also 

 transported by steamboats and by electric and steam cars, to which 

 it is attracted at night by the lights. 



The caterpillar of the brown-tail moth, when young, has the 

 " spinning down " habit, and is transported by vehicles and pedes- 

 trians. It is therefore essential that the neighborhoods of traveled 

 highways be kept free from this pest. 



Where to look for the brown-tail moth. The egg. The gath- 

 ering of leaves which bear egg masses is feasible only in the case 

 of shrubs and young trees whose foliage may be reached from the 

 ground. Rose bushes, dwarf fruit trees, and ornamental shrubs 

 may often be cleared from the moth in this way. 



The caterpillar. The winter webs or nests containing the hiber- 

 nating caterpillars are conspicuous objects at the tips of twigs from 

 October to April. These webs should be sought out and removed 

 by the use of pole shears or long-handled pruners, and then care- 

 fully collected and burned. It is more satisfactory, when possible, 

 to burn the webs in a furnace or stove, since with an open bonfire 

 extra care must be taken to see that none of the webs escape with 

 a mere scorching. The work of web destruction and gathering 

 can be carried on to best advantage when a light snow is on the 

 •ground, although it is desirable that the work should be done as 

 early as possible after the leaves fall. It should be borne in mind 

 that webs cut off and thrown on a dump heap, as well as those 

 that are beaten off by storms, will yield their quota of caterpillars 

 the following spring. 



Spraying is very effective in the case of brown-tail moth cater- 

 pillars, which are much less resistant to the action of poison than 

 are the gypsy-moth caterpillars. For best results, spraying should 

 be done as soon as the foliage develops in the spring. From 5 to 

 8 pounds of arsenate of lead paste to 100 gallons of water is an 

 effective spray, or, if preferred, 1 pound of good Paris green well 

 stirred into 150 gallons of water may be applied. 



Such trees as are free from the moth may be protected from 

 the caterpillars which crawl from neighboring estates by apply- 

 ing sticky bands. The banding, however, will not prevent the 

 infestation of the trees by the winged female moths, which fly 

 in July. 



