65 
ladies’ department. 
&ab\ts SEkpartmatt. 
INSECTS.—No. 1. 
Since some of the pages of your periodical have 
been devoted to the ladies, it has occurred to me, 
that extracts from an unpublished journal of an 
Old Lady, which has lately fallen into my posses¬ 
sion, might frequently afford useful hints to 
farmers’ wives, and occasionally throw light on 
some of those subjects that are beginning to attract 
the attention of practical farmers, as well as scien¬ 
tific men. The writer of this Journal appears to 
have spent a long life in the country, devoting 
herself to homely pursuits and useful studies—and 
taking for her motto—“ Whatever is worth doing , 
is worth doing well” She pretends to little scien¬ 
tific information ; but appears devotedly fond of the 
contemplation of the operations of nature, as pre¬ 
sented to her view—whether it be in the changing 
clouds and skies—the still forest—the useful field 
and garden—or in the homely kitchen and its fire¬ 
side combinations. But, above all, the study of the 
insect world appears to have been her peculiar 
delight, and to this she seems to have devoted 
many of her leisure hours, carefully noting down 
any interesting fact that has fallen under her no¬ 
tice. To this portion of her journal I will now 
call the attention of my country-women, hoping 
that the observations of this good old lady may not 
only amuse and interest, but induce some to follow 
her example, and find in the book of nature their 
chief happiness. 
Feb. 1st.—A fine cold day—must go and see 
what my friends the woodpeckers are about, as 
there are an unusual number employed among the 
fruit trees—amply paid for my trouble, and have 
gained subjects for thought to amuse me for a 
month. Having noticed that the woodpeckers 
were most busily engaged on the oldest fruit trees 
and those that had the roughest bark, I chose a 
large old apple tree for my observations, and with 
my pruning knife, which I always carry with me, 
carefully raised the loose bark. For some time 
I could detect nothing that could interest either 
me or a woodpecker; but at length I discovered a 
little dark substance resembling coarse mud-color¬ 
ed silk, which appeared to glue a piece of loose 
bark to the tree. On removing it carefully, I found 
the coarse, dark cover, beautifully lined with soft 
white silk, forming a bed and cover to a little red¬ 
dish brown worm, which appeared fast asleep, 
and carefully cradled for the winter. Pursuing 
my search further, I found many more; but some 
had undergone a change, and become what the en¬ 
tomologists call a chrysalis. (See 5, Fig. 14.) 
Here, then, was a reason for the visit from the wood¬ 
peckers, who had found out the secret before me. 
But who is the little worm, and to what 
family does he belong ? Of this the woodpeckers 
know nothing, and the worm is fast asleep. I 
must try and find out. On carefully examining my 
little prisoner, I find a strong resemblance to a trou¬ 
blesome family that has annoyed me all summer, 
commonly called apple w T orm, some of whom are 
still lingering in the cores of my winter store 
apples. I must look further into this matter, and 
see what are his future intentions. 
12th.—Having secured my little prisoner, the 
apple worm, which I captured on the 1st, in a 
box, and placed in a warm room beside one con¬ 
taining several apples with worms in them, I find 
they have anticipated spring, and some have grati¬ 
fied my curiosity by appearing in their spring dress. 
They are now beautiful little dark brown moths, 
and, as I suspected, all of the same family, deserving 
to be better known than I believe them to be 
among the farmers, though well known to the en¬ 
tomologists as the Carpocapsa pononana, one of the 
family of the Tortrix. I will therefore refer to my 
previous observations on this family, and describe 
them at length ; and that I may be better acquainted 
with them in future, I will sketch their portraits in 
their various disguises as they now lie before me. 
Apple Moth.—Fig. 14. 
1, Cocoon or silk covering, on the bark; 2, 
chrysalis; 3, perfect moth, at rest; 4, moih on the 
wing; 5, worm. 
Moth .—The upper wings of this little moth (4) 
are of a light grey color, beautifully pencilled and 
mottled with dark brown dots and waving lines; 
the back margin is ornamented with a large reddish 
brown spot, surrounded with a border of reddish 
brown gold, edged with a sparkling brown fringe. 
The under wings are of a light brownish red, 
shaded into a light dusky yellow, with a sparkling 
lustre, and bordered by a fringe. The body is light 
brownish grey, pencilled with dark brown lines, 
like the upper wings. The chrysalis (2) is a bright 
reddish brown; the cocoon (1), a dark brown flat¬ 
tened oval silk ball, closely woven to, and sur¬ 
rounded by, the bark. 
In the months of May and June, great numbers 
of these little moths may be seen at rest on the trees 
or concealed among the grass during the day; but 
as evening approaches, they begin their work of 
destruction, by depositing their eggs on the young 
fruit, always choosing the firmest and best as food 
for the future grubs. The eggs are usually depo¬ 
sited near the blossom or hollow of the apple, near 
the stalk. In a few days the eggs are hatched, and 
the little worms enter the young fruit, where they 
feed for three or four weeks ; they then leave the 
fruit whether it has fallen or not from the tree, and 
find for themselves a home, usually under the bark 
of the tree, where they spin their beautifully and 
curiously contrived covering, to shelter themselves 
during their helpless state. In a few days the little 
grub changes first to a chrysalis, then to a moth, 
and comes out to deposit her eggs on the remaining 
fruit, which will be destroyed in proportion to the 
