State Agricultural Society. 
921 
REACHES ALBANY, R JUNE BECK, SARATOGA 
most of tile gardens, that in three years they were nearly or quite 
dead. He says the worms appear to be more numerous on low 
interval lands and along streams of water, than they are in elevated, 
airy situations upon the hills. 
In Albany also, this insect arrived this year, wholly defoliating 
the currant and Gooseberry bushes in many of the gardens. 
In 1864, I visited Albany the hist of May, to see this worm and 
its works. In most of the gardens which it had invaded last year 
it was equally, and, if possible, more destructive this year, and had 
now spread itself into many gardens in which it had not been seen 
before. From specimens taken to my own residence, I obtained 
the Hies, from which I saw that the Rochester editors were in all 
probability correct in regarding this as being the European Goose¬ 
berry caterpillar; but I had not in my hands at that time such full 
descriptions of that insect and its habits as that I felt perfectly 
assured of their identity. 
In 1865 it reached Rhinebcck, making its appearance in the gar¬ 
den of Hon. E. W. Heermance. He informs me it was just as the 
currants were about commencing to turn red that a whole swarm of 
most voracious worms were discovered upon a particular bush, eating 
it naked of its leaves. Some lime and ashes were dusted over the 
bush, and the worms immediately vanished, and he congratulated 
himself that he had so easily got rid of these disagreeable visitors. 
But lhe worms, without doubt, had then got their growth and were 
on the point of leaving the bush and going into the ground, and 
the alkaline powdering did nothing towards driving them away; 
for in three or four weeks after, the same worms appeared again, 
and were now scattered in thousands upon every currrant and 
gooseberry bush in his garden—being so numerous that he was 
disheartened from attempting to subdue them, and in a few days 
th' y had everywhere stripped the bushes bare. He has not heard 
of their being in any other garden in his vicinity. 
In Albany it was not so destructive as in the two preceding 
years, nor had it spread itself into the country around in force, 
except it might be in gome particular gardens, whilst in others not 
one of these worms had yet been seen. 
In 1866 it first appeared in numerous plaees in Washington and 
Saratoga counties. It did not come suddenly in full strength, but 
insidiously in limited numbers, lurking low down between and 
underneath the bushes, where it was seldom seen until it had been 
