Inclement Weather^ Diseases^ Etc. 319 



of these days, and require the expensive and tedious treatment 

 recommended in the text ; but, in the meantime, we have in- 

 sect foes enough of our own, among the Lepidoptera alone, to 

 occupy us in their study and destruction — for, with all insects, 

 it is highly important that we study their habits and become 

 familiar with their ways, in order that we may successfully 

 combat them. Nor should we ever forget that we have hosts 

 of friends among these creatures, in the cannibal tribes that 

 preserve the balance of power in the great scheme of creation 

 of this world. 



This order — the Lepidoptera — embraces the butterflies, 

 sphinges, and moths, with their caterpillars ; some of each 

 of these divisions are injurious. The moths are most destruc- 

 tive and numerous. A few of the most troublesome, only, 

 will be mentioned. 



The Fall Web- Worm (^Hyphantria textor), is nearly om- 

 niverous, and is often found enveloping a branch of the vine 

 with its ugly silken web, while the gregarious worms are feed- 

 ing upon the leaves. The remedy is to break these oiF, and 

 destroy them, and it is satisfactory to know that we may kill 

 from two to three hundred of these caterpillars at one opera- 

 tion. The eggs are deposited on the underside of a leaf, but 

 do not attract attention. Soon afterward, the watchful eye 

 of the vine-dresser may observe two leaves, attached together 

 by silken webs. Within this shelter, the young worms are 

 feeding, and may easily be destroyed by the thumb and finger, 

 if taken in time. They grow to about an inch in length, when 

 they are clothed with whitish hairs ; the head and feet are 

 black, and they have a blackish stripe along the back, and an- 

 other beneath. The perfect moth is white, 1.25 to 1.35 inch 

 in width. (Vide Harris' Report, p. 358.) 



The Tortrices, or Leaf-Rollers, are a family of moths, the 

 pups of some of which are quite troublesome in the vineyard. 

 The moths are generally small, prettily marked, and fly only 

 in the evening. Prominent among these, in our Western 



