State Agricultural Society. 
915 
HOW INTRODUCED INTO THIS COUNTRY. FIRST SEEN IN CANADA? 
water is poured in, that as the heat passes off it may destroy the 
animals encased in their shells.” 
Mr. Curtis evidently had not noticed the then recently published 
statements of the efficacy of white hellebore as a remedy for this 
pest, or he would not have failed to allude to it. 
For many years past we meet with no allusions to this saw-fly in 
the foreign periodicals, whence we infer it has so far ceased its 
ravages that it no longer attracts public notice. 
We now come to the advent of this formidable scourge in our 
own country. As the worm goes into the ground early in autumn 
to lie dormant in its cocoon through the winter, it was undoubt¬ 
edly in this state that it was brought across the Atlantic. Some 
European gardener in transmitting, probably, some choice foreign 
variety of the gooseberry to some one of the Eochester nursery¬ 
men, we suppose, took up roots which chanced to have some of 
these cocoons lying in the balls of earth around them — he being 
little aware of the calamity he was thereby inflicting upon us and 
upon our country through all coming time. 
• According to the published accounts these worms were seen on 
the currant bushes around Rochester, certainly in the year 1857, 
and perhaps one or two years earlier. We have indications, how¬ 
ever, that these worms were on the currant bushes in Canada West 
previous to their appearance in the vicinity of Rochester. In the 
Genesee Farmer of February 1857 (vol. 18, p. 67) is the following 
communication: “I would beg to call your attention to a green 
worm, which proves very destructive to our currant bushes in this 
section. It makes its appearance early in June. In the first place 
it is very small; it eats the leaves, and in about a month the bushes 
are completely stripped of their leaves, at which time the worms 
are about an inch in length. If you or any of your readers, would 
be so kind as to inform us how to prevent the ravages of this 
destructive little worm, you would no doubt confer a great favor 
on many of your readers in this community. — D. C. Houseberger. — 
Rain ham Center, C. W.” From the few points here given us — a 
green worm, appearing early in June, and in a month stripping the 
currant bushes bare of their leaves, and growing to about an inch 
in length — it would seem that the worm referred to could be no 
olher than this which we have under consideration, and that this 
worm therefore was defoliating the currant bushes some sixty 
niiles west of Buffalo in the year 1856, and perhaps earlier. The 
