52 



The Gypsy Moth. 



Germany for banding trees against the " Nun " moth 

 — Liparis monacha — which was found superior to tar prepara- 

 tions, " as it remains soft and viscid for several months, and 

 prevents the ascent of nearly all kinds of larvae and 

 also wingless female imagos." It is stated that this com- 

 position is not injurious to the trees. Machines are employed 

 in Germany for putting " raupenleim " on trees, and some of 

 these were imported by the State Board of Agriculture, and 

 used with advantage. Another material called " dendro- 

 lene," of American origin, a crude petroleum product, was used 

 also with advantage, as it remains soft for a long while, and,, 

 according to Dr. J. B. Smith, Entomologist of the New 

 Jersey Experiment Station, is " a perfect barrier against 

 insects attempting to cross it." 



Many experiments were made by spraying infested trees with 

 Paris Green and London Purple ; but they do not appear 

 to have been satisfactory. In the first place there was a 

 most determined opposition to spraying on the part of 

 the inhabitants, and in the second the older caterp illars were 

 not materially affected by the poisoned food. Upon the 

 younger caterpillars the effect was better, but " under ordin- 

 ary conditions spraying with Paris Green for the Gypsy moth 

 was ineffective and unsatisfactory." It is, however, added that 

 further investigation is necessary on this point. Spraying 

 with arsenate of lead gave better results. The most 

 elaborate machines, hose arrangements, and nozzles were 

 used for the spraying experiments, and are described and 

 figured very fully in the volume referred to. 



As it was noticed that before the caterpillars had attained 

 half their growth they left in the daytime the leaves upon 

 which they had fed during the night, and clustered together 

 in sheltered places, as holes in trees, some even leaving the 

 trees and retiring under rubbish, stones, and other refuges, to 

 pass the day, traps were devised to catch them. These con- 

 sisted of pieces of " burlap," or light bagging or sacking, 

 fastened round the trees at about 5ft. from the ground. Strips 

 of this bagging, about 12m. wide, were tied tightly round the 

 tree with twine. The upper part of the bagging* was turned 

 over the twine so that it hung like a cloth suspended from a 



