196 The Grass or Antler Moth. By James Hardy. 



present visitation has been seen for at least half a century. The 

 long-continued drought is thought to have some connection with 

 the caterpillar's appearance ; and as a good deal of rain fell in the 

 infested region on Tuesday, it is hoped that it may be followed 

 by some mitigation of the scourge." 



Again in the paper for July 23, the subject is thus continued : — - 

 " A fortnight ago we recorded the appearance in immense numbers 

 of a caterpillar on the high-lying pastures at the head of Ettrick 

 and Yarrow. Little authentic information has reached us since 

 then regarding this 'plague.' The grubs are said to appear on 

 the high benty ground, where the snow lay in winter during 

 frost, and to be in such numbers that, falling into the hill springs 

 and into the burns, they render it impossible to use these for 

 drinking or for domestic purposes. One farmer says he could 

 supply them in cartloads rather than in barrowf uls ; and when 

 they have eaten down the pasture it is said to resemble grass 

 burnt up by the sun." 



Miss Ormerod says that " one farmer, writing at the time from 

 the infested district, stated: — 'That they were very bad on my 

 farm, there being a good number of acres where not a blade of 

 grass is left. They began first on the best land, but are in the bogs 

 now.' The extent of country was shown on a map, forwarded at 

 the time, by a line enclosing an area of about seven miles by five 

 miles, lying in the west of Selkirkshire, with Ettrick water 

 running down the middle." (Report, 1885, p. 12.) 



The last report I had was from Pot-burn, from a visitor, on 

 21st July. " The farm," he wrote, " looks blighted and burned 

 up; Mr Dalgleish, the tenant, estimates that the caterpillars 

 have eaten not less than 1000 acres of his farm." Pot-burn is 

 the highest farm in Ettrick, the steading being about 1250 feet 

 above sea level. An Edinburgh angler, on an excursion to the 

 district, found the burns full of caterpillars, and that the rooks 

 from Annandale had found them out, but the caterpillars were 

 in myriads. Mr Gowenlock's report is : " They first appeared 

 near Pot-burn — rapidly destroyed the young grass — went south 

 by east till they reached the water-shed of the Borthwick, when 

 they diverged a little to the west and entered Dumfriesshire." 



I requested Mr Winning to make a few inquiries, who writes 

 of date 18th May 1866 : " The result of my information is, that 

 on many farms in the higher reaches of Ettrick, the caterpillar 

 is more or less an annual visitor ; and should the weather be dry, 



