Four Allies of the Winter Moth. 



5? 



manure — bags, smeared with sticky compositions, may 

 be employed, but they must be fastened close round the 

 stems or the moths will crawl under them. Hay bands can 

 also be used, but there is nothing soeffectual as the smeared' 

 grease-proof paper. 



The band-traps or guards must be in working order by the 

 middle of October, and they must be watched constantly, and 

 grease applied where it has become dry or been rubbed off. 

 It seems that this banding should be continued throughout 

 the winter, and far on into the spring, as it has been shown 

 that there is a succession of eggs laid by the various moths 

 enumerated above from October up to the end of March. 

 The moths, which lay eggs in the spring, are not so 

 numerous as the Winter Moth, but a few of them are 

 sufficient to produce swarms of caterpillars, which might 

 cause serious injuries to the fruit crops. To keep bands 

 in order from October to April is an expensive process >• 

 but some fruit growers do it and find that it answers. The 

 guard employed by growers in the United States and Canada, 

 might be usefully adopted in this country, and though the 

 initial cost would be greater than that of banding, the subse- 

 quent expense would be inconsiderable. This guard consists 

 of a girdle of tin fastened so as to hang three or four inches 

 out from the trunk ot the tree, held there by a circle of hne 

 sacking, or linen, and fixed by a cord, to which the sacking 

 is sewn. The tin is smeared all round inside with an offensive 

 substance applied by means of a small brush, which causes 

 the insects to drop to the ground as soon as they come in' . 

 contact with it. 



Spraying the trees when the caterpillars are at work is- 

 most necessary. A few growers begin to spray directly the 

 caterpillars are noticed. A still smaller number spray before 

 caterpillars are seen, w4th Paris Green solution, consisting of 

 I lb. of Paris Green to 220 gallons of water. This poisons 

 the foliage and kills the tiny, delicate caterpillars, which at 

 first are mere threads, hardly distinguishable without a glass. 



Spraying with Paris Green may also be done later on, aiid 

 until the apples are formed or have become of any size, but it 

 would be unsafe to run the risk of the poison adhering to the 



