By William Spence, Esq. 



33 



where they are chiefly found, making the wound smooth, 

 and covering it with any composition likely to prevent the 

 moth from depositing her eggs there again. One precaution is 

 necessary, to put into boiling water, or bury at a considera- 

 ble depth, the cut out pieces of decayed bark containing the 

 larva? ; which, if left near the tree, would soon crawl from 

 their holes and remount it ; thus defeating the labour of the 

 horticulturist, who, often from neglecting a slight additional 

 trouble, loses the benefit of more painful exertions.* Where 

 the larvae are found to have insinuated themselves generally 

 into the rough bark of old trees, it would probably be advis- 

 able to adopt Mr. Knight's judicious recommendation on 

 another occasion,*!" and scrape off the whole of the lifeless 

 bark, and such portions of the alburnum, as are injured; 

 a process which, there can be no doubt, would be advan- 

 tageous to the tree in other respects pointed out by Mr. 

 Knight. Where projecting saw-dust-like masses shew that 

 the larva has attacked even smooth-barked trees, the inser- 

 tion of a blunt pricker into the hole would probably, in most 

 cases, suffice to destroy it, and do less injury to the tree than 

 suffering it to attain its growth. But the mode which I 

 should recommend in this, as in the case of almost all insects 



* Rossel tells us (Insekten belustigung, I. iv. 171.) that the German garde- 

 ners, after collecting from their cabbages, with unwearied industry, whole 

 baskets full of the destructive Noctua Brassicae, bury them in a shallow hole in 

 the earth ; thus unwittingly counteracting their object in the most effectual way. 

 For as this insect naturally undergoes its metamorphosis under ground, and 

 many of the larvae are full grown, they assume the chrysalis form in the hole 

 into which they have been thrown, and in a few weeks emerge in the moth 

 s'ate, ready to lay thousands of eggs for a new brood. 



f Treatise on the Apple and Pear, 3rd. edit. p. 6*. r >. 



VOL. II. F 



