22 
THE COTTON MOTH.-TO BOIL SALT MEAT TENDER. 
THE COTTON MOTH. 
The following observations were suggested by 
the very interesting article in the November No. of 
the Agriculturist, on the Destruction of the Cotton 
Crop by Insects. I now beg leave to offer them, 
hoping that they may throw some light on that part 
of the history of the insect of which the author 
professes himself ignorant. 
Of the particular species to which he alludes, I 
know little more than is to be gained, from dried 
specimens in my cabinet, but on referring to my 
journal, I find from observations made during the 
last ten years, that the development of moths and 
butterflies from the pupa, always depends on atmo¬ 
spheric influences ; those, for instance, preserved in 
the pupa state during the winter, will be developed 
earlier or later in the spring, according to the 
warmth or coldness of the situation in which they 
may be placed ; and those that become pupae, dur¬ 
ing the early part of the summer, do not require 
more than five days to pass through the change, if 
the weather be hot and moist (dry heat is extremely 
unfavorable to the expansion of their limbs after 
their escape from the cocoon), while a second brood 
from eggs of these flies will remain in the pupa all 
winter should the weather be cold, but if warm, 
some will be developed even in mid-winter; these, 
of course, do no injury, as there is then no vegeta¬ 
tion on which to deposit their eggs, and a moth 
seldom lives in the winged state more than from 
five to twelve days. In warm climates where vege¬ 
tation is redundant and in a fit state to feed the 
young worms, they may be found in succession all 
the year. Should the summer be long, there will 
be two or three broods of those worms that feed on 
plants retaining their leaves for a long time, such 
as the willow trees, while there will be but one of 
those that feed on short-lived plants, such as the 
potato. 
In June, 1840, I fed some of the larvae of the 
butterfly ( Pcipilio asterias), which I found on the 
wild carrot, changed to pupae on the 12th of July, 
and on the 16th, the perfect flies were developed ; 
from these another brood was raised, which remain¬ 
ed in the pupa state until the following spring. In 
1843 I raised three broods of the bee-moth ( Galleria 
cereana ), the larva of the first were procured from, a 
hive. I placed a piece of the comb on which they 
were feeding under a bell-glass, these soon became 
pupae, and in fourteen days changed to the moth; 
these in a short time deposited their eggs on the re¬ 
maining wax, which in five or six days were 
hatched, and attained their full growth in three 
weeks; went through their changes and deposited 
their eggs on the fragments of wax that lay scatter¬ 
ed around; the larvae from these fed for a short 
time, but perished for want of food, having devour¬ 
ed not only all the wax that remained, but the 
bodies of the mother moths. A variety of the 
hairy caterpillar which Harris calls the yellow 
bear (_ Arctia virginica), perfects two broods in the 
Middle and Southern states, and sometimes attempts 
a third; but the summer being too short, most of 
them perish, though many hibernate during the 
winter. I have found the full-grown caterpillars 
alive and in search of food, during the mild wea-. 
ther of January, 1842, and February, ’43, and yes¬ 
terday (Nov. 12th‘) I gathered several from the field, 
intending, if possible, to keep them until, spring, to 
ascertain their future history. Judging, therefore, 
from analogy, and the minute description given by 
Mr. Affleck, the history of the cotton-moth ( Noctua 
xylina ) maybe briefly this :— 
The moth appears in the spring, when the cotton 
plant is in a fit state to receive the eggs. She places 
these on the leaves of the plant to the number of 
from two to six hundred; these hatch in from two 
to five days, according to the weather. The young 
larvae are very minute, but grow rapidly, attaining 
their full size of one and a half inches in from four¬ 
teen to twenty days, during which time, like their 
congeners, they moult every eight days. The differ¬ 
ence in the color of the worms is owing to their 
moulting, as a slight change takes place after each 
skin is cast off! Their duration in the larva state 
is six weeks, in which time they feed voraciously ; 
they then spin their cocoons, and remain in the pupa 
state a longer or shorter time, according to the sea¬ 
son of the year. The moths that remain in the pupa 
until the following spring, will be those whose 
larvae will destroy the summer’s crop. Should the 
fall and winter be favorable to the premature de¬ 
velopment of the moth, the planters may be grate¬ 
ful, as it will be their greatest safeguard, unless 
they will gather and destroy the pupa. 
Mr. Affleck states that the caterpillars frequently 
spin on the old plants. Would it not be v T ell to 
gather and burn all thus infested ? In Harris’ 
book on Insects, you find that “in some parts of 
France and Belgium, the people are required by¬ 
law to echeniller or un-caterpillar their gardens and 
orchards, and are punished by fine if they neglect 
the duty. Although we have not been so prudent 
and public spirited as to enact similar regulations, 
we might find it to our advantage to offer a bounty 
for their destruction, and though we should pay for 
them by the quart as we do our berries, v T e should 
be gainers in the end.” 
Now, suppose we calculate by the rule of propor¬ 
tion, if the moth from one pupa will produce six 
hundred eggs, how many will those from a quart ? 
Turkeys are voracious eaters, and feed and fatten 
well on the tobacco worm, why not on those of the 
cotton plant ? M. 
To Boil Salt Meat Tender. —Put the meat 
over the fire in cold water, and never suffer it to 
boil faster than a gentle simmer, or it will be hard 
and tough. When done, beef will separate easily 
from the bones—ham and tongue from the skin. A 
large shovelful of wood ashes may be put into the 
water in which ham or smoked tongue is to be 
boiled, and some hay at the bottom of the pot. 
Allow a quarter of an hour for every pound of ham. 
For corned ribs or plate piece of beef, when well 
boiled, take the bones out carefully, and put it into 
good shape by wrapping about it neatly, all the fat 
and loose hanging pieces ; then put it between two 
pieces of thick planks, kept for the purpose, and 
press it until perfectly cold, with a weight, say 
fifty-six. It makes large smooth slices when cut, 
and at breakfast or lunch it is positively delicious 
