1882.] 



37 



THE TENT CATERPILLAR. 



It is impossible to express in figures the dam- 

 age that is done yearly by insects in the orchard 

 and garden, and much more so when all the 

 brandies of agriculture are taken into consider- 

 ation. As with the eradication of weeds, so 

 also, in the destruction of noxious insects 

 much, and in some cases, nearly everything de- 

 pends upon the promptness with which the 

 work is done. A single week's delay in weed- 

 ing may make all the difference between a fine 

 crop of Turnips and few weeds, and a small re- 

 turn of Turnips and a fine crop of weeds and 

 weed seeds. Even less than a week may be 

 sufficient to change the rich, vigorous, health- 

 ful green of an orchard into the burned and 

 desolate color which t rees stripped of their early 

 summer foliage possess. 



Therefore to be forewarned is to be forearmed 

 in this important warfare against the insect 

 foes, and with this advantage in mind, the fol- 

 lowing remarks and suggestions are set down. 



The Tent Caterpillar ( Clisiocampa Ameri- 

 cana) is one of the common destructive pests of 

 the orchard, and is sure to come at just the 

 time when it can do the most injury. 



A few words as to the nature of the pest are 

 warranted before the important matter of the 

 remedies is discussed. The perfect insect is a 

 pretty, brown moth with two light bands upon 

 the front wings. It makes its appearance in 

 June and July, and if the window is open will 

 very likely pay a visit to the evening lamp if it 

 chances to pass within sight of the light. The 

 fact that it is thus attracted naturally suggests 

 a method of trapping this pest. After a short 

 time the female moth deposits her 300 or 400 

 eggs in a compact cluster or band around the 

 small twigs and covers them with a sort of 

 glue or varnish which makes them impervious 

 to water. These eggs remain in this condition 

 until the next spring, when they hatch out 

 about the time the leaves of the Cherry and 

 Apple trees are unfolding. The young '"worms" 

 begin at once to weave a conspicuous web of 

 fine cottony substance, in which they dwell at 

 night and when not foraging. These caterpil- 

 lars are about two inches long when full grown, 

 and variously striped with yellow, black, blue 

 and white, and more or less covered with long 

 hairs. If left undisturbed, a single nest will 

 strip a large portion of a tree of its foliage, after 

 which the caterpillars seek some hiding place 

 where they enclose themselves in cocoons, and 

 in about two weeks come out as moths, thus 

 completing the cycle of development. 



REMEDIES. 



If possible, the most effective method of kill- 

 ing weeds is to do it when they are in the seeds. 

 So with noxious insects, to destroy them in the 

 egg, if they can be conveniently found in that 

 state, is certainly advisable. With the case in 

 hand it is not at all difficult to find the eggs, 

 as they are made somewhat conspicuous by be- 

 ing placed in clusters and coated with a glisten- 

 ing substance, which readily catches the eye of 

 one who is on the lookout for them. The first 

 remedy is therefore to remove all egg-clusters 

 that can be found. It is best to cut off the 

 twig with the cluster and burn it, which means 

 the destruction of three or four hundred 

 "worms" that would otherwise develop in 

 early spring. This work of collecting the 

 bands of eggs may be done at any time during 

 the winter, thus economizing the time that 

 ought to be given to it if the task is left until 

 the busy days of spring. 



Some clusters are missed by the best of hunt- 



ers, and their presence will be made evident by 

 the appearance of the tents in the trees. At 

 this time the "nests" are easily seen and 

 quickly destroyed before any damage is done. 

 A quick way is to crush the nest of young cat- 

 erpillars with the hand ; but if it is out of 

 reach, or there is any delicacy in the matter, a 

 pole with a torch may be used or the worms 

 can be killed by an application of strong soap 

 suds, weak ley, or petroleum, by means of a 

 swab. The point that cannot be too strongly 

 insisted upon is the doing of this work so soon 

 as the tents begin to form. The " worms" eat 

 voraciously, and if left to themselves quickly 

 strip the trees. 



Wild Cherry trees are favorite resorts for the 

 tent caterpillar, and a few of these trees near 

 an Apple orchard may serve as a " shield " or 

 "catch all," in which case the "worms" 

 should be destroyed with as much vigilance as 

 when no such means of protection is employed. 

 The larva? or "worms" of the tent caterpillar 

 have their natural enemies in the shape of other 

 insects which prey upon it, but how far these 

 diminish the pest is not known. The catching 

 of the insect in its perfect or moth state by 

 means of lamp traps has already been suggest ed. 

 The shortest, quickest and best method of de- 

 struction is generally conceded that of the eggs, 

 or soon after hatching, before injury has been 

 done. Dr. Byron D. Halstbd. 



GARDEN APPLES. 



' ' Pruning, are you ?" Yes, sir ! 



"Well, this mild weather indicates the ap- 

 proach of spring and I have called to ask your 

 further advice as to the Apples for my garden. 

 Wife and I have canvassed the subject in the 

 light of the hint you gave me when I called 

 before, and we conclude there is some force in 

 your suggestion to plant early sorts." 



You must be the judge, after all, but if the 

 case were mine I should plant the early kinds 

 with perhaps a single exception, and for these 

 reasons. Early Apples are generally tender- 

 fleshed, and ripening as they do in warm or 

 hot weather they decay quickly, and the hand- 

 ling they receive at the hands of the grocer or 

 transporter render it almost impossible to pro- 

 cure good samples from the market. On the 

 other hand, Winter Apples are readily obtained 

 in market, the hardness of the fruit and the 

 weather both conducing to their long and safe 

 carriage, and the distant grower can afford to 

 land them at your door at far less than you can 

 afford to grow them, and they are more apt to 

 keep well. For these reasons you can always 

 get a better quality of Winter Apples in the 

 market than you can of summer varieties. 

 Besides, if you grow them yourself you can 

 have Apples in perfection as they mature, and 

 any surplus, with the inferior and decayed 

 ones, will make a wholesome dessert for your 

 horse, cow or chickens, as the case may be. 



•' Well, what kinds would you recommend?" 



Summer Rose is a fine early dessert fruit, 

 smooth, fair and handsome. Primate is an- 

 other most excellent Apple, and should be in 

 every collection. It ripens gradually, and may 

 be used for about- six weeks. We had these 

 two kinds in perfection last July. Early Har- 

 vest is another good sort, but neither so large 

 nor as good as the Primate, and little known 

 in this section. 



" I have known Early Harvest or Sour Har- 

 vest ever since I was a boy." 



Perhaps so, but from my limited acquaint- 

 ance, I venture to assert that nine out of ten 



who think they know the Early Harvest do not 

 know it at all. and if they were to get a true 

 tree of this kind would be disappointed. 

 " How-so?" 



Because what they know as Sour Harvest is 

 really the Primate. I first grafted it as Sour 

 Harvest nearly forty years ago, and never knew 

 the. difference till I have been in the fruit busi- 

 ness and learned by experience that the Early 

 Harvest, though really a Sour Harvest, is not 

 what it was supposed to be. You may there- 

 fore, set it down as a fact that when you hear 

 a Jersey man speak of Sour Harvest Apples he 

 really means the Primate. 



"Well, I am glad to know this. How about 

 the Red Astrachanf You have not mentioned 

 this." 



No, sir; for the reason that I consider those 

 named better. The Astrachan is very acid, 

 bears in clusters of three or four, very liable to 

 rot before it ripens, and more subject to the 

 attack of the apple worm or codling moth than 

 the others. I know people's tastes differ ; some 

 would place it in the front rank, but for me I 

 should prefer the Duchess of Oldenburg as a 

 cooking Apple, as it grows large, smooth and 

 fair. Then there is the noble Fall Pippin, a 

 universal favorite for cooking or dessert, 

 though not a great bearer. The Ciravenstein 

 is also a most desirable variety for all purposes 

 for a Pall Apple, and cannot fail to please. I 

 might name more, but you can get a succession 

 from these, and if you want a winter variety 

 select Baldwin, Pedes Pleasant, Rhode Island 

 Greening, or for late keeping Roxbury Russet, 

 and for a greater variety than the number of 

 trees will allow, increase by grafting in the 

 tops. When they reach maturity one tree will 

 afford an ample supply of two or three varieties. 

 By this means you can have as great a variety as 

 you desire, and be independent of the markets 

 save for your winter supply. 



"Thank you, I will endeavor to profit from 

 your suggestions. Good day." 



E. Williams. 



THE APRICOT. 



Although the Apricot is one of the most de- 

 licious of stone fruits, and ripens earlier than 

 the Peach, it is a scarce fruit in our markets, 

 and is rarely seen on the dessert table. This 

 may be accounted for as follows: First, the 

 tree is easily excited to growth in spring, and 

 a week or two of mild weather will start the 

 flower buds, which are afterwards destroyed 

 by cold or frosty weather. This is a very com- 

 mon occurrence north, and even south, of the 

 Potomac, and may be measurably modified by 

 planting on the north side of buildings <>r 

 groves of trees, so as to retard the starting of 

 the buds, and shield them from the morning 

 sun after a cold night. Then, when the fruit 

 is set, a second trouble is encountered in the 

 attacks of the curculio, which punctures the 

 fruit of the Apricot with a regularity similar to 

 that with which it addresses the Plum. Un- 

 less measures are taken to check the ravages of 

 this insect the crop will certainly be dest royed, 

 and probably the most decidedly effectual 

 method of checking its progress and propaga- 

 tion is that of planting t he trees in an enclos- 

 ure where poultry and hogs are allowed hi run 

 at large, the animals destroying the grubs as 

 they occur in the fallen fruit. The third and 

 greatest drawback to Apricot culture is the 

 liability to blight, for which no effectua l remedy 

 has yet been discovered. — William Scnmders, 

 before the American Pomological Society. 



