550 



Grease-banding of Fruit Trees. 



[OCT., 



5. Males undoubtedly attracted by shiny nature during bright nights. 

 The great number of males caught in some bands was remarkable.* It 

 will bethought that this is a disadvantage, as the females could pass 

 over their bodies. This did not appear to be so, however, the prepara- 

 tion soon penetrating through the wings and over their bodies, except 

 in the Pale Brindled Beauties. 



6. Lasts permanently sticky for from 8 to 9 months, and in some 

 cases 12 months. 



7. If moved over the surface becomes "tacky" again for at least 

 another month. 



Conclusion. — It thus seems that the Bird-lime type of grease is 

 superior to A, black greases, in catching power; and to B, white and 

 yellow greases, in lasting and catching power. 



The German greases experimented with were the following : 

 C, Noerdlingers (Floria caterpillar glue); H, Hartjens (H. Moth Glue); 

 I, Schachts (Pixol Raupenleim) ; M, Wingenroths (Raupenleim) ; 

 O, Ermischs (Raupenleim) ; P, Jungclaussens (Raupenleim). 



The Width of Grease-bands. — The width of paper banding 

 generally used is 7 in. to 10 in., and the width of the grease- 

 band 6 in. to 9 in. Various widths were tried, and it was 

 found that bands less than 6 in. formed an imperfect barrier 

 in all preparations used except Tanglefoot. For the latter a 

 3-in. band proved sufficient for preventing the upward 

 progress of all the insects mentioned on page 543. 



For British and German greases of good quality a 7-in. 

 band is undoubtedly wide enough, but the grease must cover 

 most of the band. If the grease is a thin, inferior one, the 

 band must be at least 10 in., and a good 2 in. of paper left 

 below to catch the run of the grease. 



Effect of Greases on Trees. — The effect of certain greases 

 put on trees direct is often very bad, hence the general method 

 has been to band the trees first with grease-proof paper. Some 

 greases on the market contain little or no substances that 

 are actually harmful, but if they harden into a more or less 

 rigid band, they form an unhealthy area, and the trees do 

 not thrive as well as they should do. If the grease should 

 contain tar acids, the effect is often fatal. Even with a grease 

 sent for experiment, which contained no tar acids, but which 

 ran badly down the stem, the result was that the tree was 

 practically killed. 



With regard to the American preparation used, Dr. 

 Howard, Chief of the Entomological Bureau of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, wrote me as follows : — "We 



* These bands were near others 4 to 20 feet away. 



