Ravages of the Dianumd-lach Moth Caterpillar. Ixxxv 
varioas purchases which had recently 
been made for the Society's librar>', 
includitg a first edition of Jethro 
Toll's " Horse-hoeing- Husbandry " 
(a.D. 1733), Wren Hoskyns' " Talpa," 
"A Short Inquiry into the History of 
Agriculture," and " Occasional Papers," 
and Pontey's " Forest Pruner." 
Chemical. 
5Ir. Warbes presented the rejx)rt 
of this Committee, which dealt with 
various matters of detail in connection 
with the Society's Laboratory and 
Chemical Department, and also the 
usual Quarterly Report of the Com- 
mittee. The Committee recom- 
mended that the Duke of Bedford be 
added to the Wobum Sub-Committee. 
On the motion of Mr. Wabben, 
seconded by Mr. AVhitehead, the 
Quarterly Report was received and 
adopted, and ordered to be published 
in the usual manner (see page 631). 
Seeds and Plant Diseases. 
Mr. Whitehead (Chairman) stated 
that the report of the Sub-Com-- 
mittee on potato experiments had 
been received and adopted. This 
report announced that two dressings 
of sulphate of copper had been 
applied to the experimental plots at 
each of the six stations : the first 
dressing from June 29 to July 13, 
and the second from July 15 to 
July 27. Experiments were being 
conducted on two of the plots, viz., 
Cardington and Sittingboume, with 
various strengths and quantities of 
the sulphate of copper mixture, with 
the view of ascertaining the effect 
upon the plots so treated. In one 
case, at Cardington, an experiment 
with sulphate of iron instead of 
sulphate of copper had been added. 
Sir Jacob Wilson had attended the 
Committee, and submitted specimens 
of swedes infested with the cater- 
pillars of the Diamond-back Moth 
(Cerostoma xyhttella C), and reported 
a great amount of damage to turnip 
crops in his county through the 
ravages of this insect. He stated 
some of the measures which had been 
adopted against it, amongst which a 
mixture of soot and lime, applied dry, 
appeared to be the most efficacious. 
A report on the saj»e subject had 
been also received from Mr. Homsby, 
Miss Ormerod had presented her re- 
port, which the Committee recom- 
mended should be published with 
the proceedings of the Council (see 
page 595). 
The Diamond-back Moth Caterpillar. 
Mr. Whitehead said that Miss 
Ormerod's usual monthly report was 
on this occasion peculiarly interesting 
on account of the details which it 
gave of the new and unprecedented 
attack of the Diamond- back Moth in 
various eastern parts of England and 
Scotland. The report gave details of 
the outbreak, it described the history 
of the insect, and it gave practical 
suggestions as to the means of prevent- 
ing and checking its ravages. Miss 
Ormerod pointed out that this was 
almost a new attack in England. 
Curtis in his " Farm Insects " spoke 
of it as happening forty years ago, in 
1853 and 1854. It was also dangerous 
in some comparatively small degree 
in England and Scotland ; but never 
before had there been such extra- 
ordinary damage caused by this insect 
as it was reported to have done, and 
unhappily was stUl doing, in the 
eastern parts of England and Scotland. 
Broccoli, cabbages, swedes, turnips, 
cauliflowers, being cruciferous plants, 
were all attacked. One gentleman 
had written from St. Andrews, Fife, 
that his wallflowers (which are also 
cruciferous plants) had been attacked 
too. At the present time the attack 
was entirely on the eastern coast. It 
had been suggested that the moths 
had been driven from foreign countries 
by the wind ; others, with more pro- 
bability, suggested that they had 
been enticed by the cruciferous plants, 
which were generally found on the 
sea-shore, and therefore they appeared 
in these myriads. The remedy sug- 
gested by Miss Ormerod was to put 
powdered soot and lime on the plants 
when the dew was upon them. Other 
remedies had been suggested and 
carried out. Mr. Homsby had stated, 
in an admirable report which he had 
presented to the Seeds and Plants 
Committee, that dry materials, chiefly 
soot and lime, in the proportion of 
three parts of soot and one of lime, 
put on by the strawsonizer (whose 
powerful fan seemed to drive the 
