562 Bulletin 170. 



those pupils who collect over a certain number, say 1,000 or 

 10,000 of the unhatched egg-clusters at any time between August 

 ist and April ist of the following year ; or pay the children a 

 certain sum, a few cents for every hundred unhatched egg- 

 clusters collected. All egg-clusters collected should be burned. 

 The rivalry between the children will soon spread to rivalries 

 between schools and the result will be that the number of the 

 caterpillars will be reduced to the minimum by a single season's 

 crusade of the children ; and what may be of more value still is 

 the fact that the teachers, children, and many citizens will get 

 lots of fun out of the warfare and all cannot help but learn a very 

 instructive lesson in Mother Nature's ways. 



The above suggestion is not a theory, for just such a crusade 

 has been successfully carried out even in so large a city as 

 Rochester, N. Y. We believe there is no cheaper, and more 

 instructive method of controlling these forest tent caterpillars in 

 village shade trees. Begin the warfare in August or September, 

 1899, or better, after the leaves have fallen so that the eggs can 

 be more easily seen on the twigs, and keep it up until the last 

 egg-cluster is burned before April ist, 1900. Let the beautiful 

 and valuable shade trees begin the new century free from the 

 devastating caterpillars. 



Shade trees can be, and have been, sprayed with a poisonous 

 mixture and these forest tent caterpillars killed thereby. But 

 the spraying must be done early in the spring after the little 

 caterpillars hatch, when the first leaves are unfolding ; and to 

 spray large shade trees requires very expensive ($250.00 at least) 

 apparatus, and experienced men to operate it. It is the nastiest 

 kind of work, and the chemicals would be quite an item. Hence 

 it is doubtful if spraying could be successfully employed to con- 

 trol these caterpillars in many villages. When the caterpillars 

 get half or two-thirds grown as they are now (last week in May) 

 they are so large that it would be a very expensive matter to feed 

 them enough Paris green to kill them. We believe it would be 

 cheaper, easier and more effectual, to either enlist the children, 

 or to carry on a vigorous warfare against the nearly full grown 

 caterpillars during the latter part of May and the first week or 

 two in June along the following lines : 



