INSECT PESTS. 
103 
earth, if it were not for the moisture in the air the 
land would too quickly throw off its heat, and 
would become so chilled that plants could not 
endure the great change. 
INSECT PESTS. 
1. Even after we have done our best by manuring 
and tilling the soil we often fail to get good crops, 
because of the damage done by the insects that 
feed upon them. 
2 . Examine any plant, and you will most likely 
discover some insects that have chosen it for their 
home. Very often the little animals are carrying 
on their mischievous work out of sight, within the 
stems, roots, or seeds. Indeed there is no part that 
is free from their attacks. 
3. Amongst the most destructive pests are cater- 
pillars, or grubs, which are hatched from the eggs 
of insects, and in due time will change into beetles, 
butterflies, or moths. 
4. In a sugar-cane you may often see the mischief 
that they do. If you look inside one whose leaves 
have dried and withered, instead of finishing their 
growth, you may perhaps discover the cause. 
Within the pith you may find a little tunnel eaten 
out, and at the end of it a yellowish caterpillar, 
or ‘ Borer’, an inch long. 
