opposite: properties o-f plants and animals. 
139 
dusively in common language, by the name of the 
caterpillar, requires no further description. Vari¬ 
ous methods have been recommended to destroy 
this pest, such as burning and crushing the nests, 
early in the morning, or at evening while the ver¬ 
min are at their repose, and the collection and de¬ 
struction, of their eggs in the winter, or early part 
of spring. If a liberal bounty for the collection of 
the eggs were to be offered, as was suggested by 
the late Judge Lowell, and continued for the space 
of ten years, this enemy to our orchards, would be 
nearly exterminated at the end of that time. 
Another insect, which may be called the tent 
caterpillar of the forest ( Clisiocampa sylvatica ), 
very much resembling the preceding in its habits, 
preys upon the leaves of the oak, the hickory, and 
more rarely upon those of the apple tree. Two 
other species of gregarious caterpillars, Notodonta 
concinna and Pygaera ministra, of Harris, also 
swarm on the apple, cherry, and plum trees, to¬ 
wards the end of summer, stripping whole branches 
of their leaves. The caterpillar of the American 
n. lappet moth ( Gastropacha americana ), appears in 
September, and makes the leaves of the apple its 
food, which it only eats in the night. A large 
green caterpillar ( Attacus cecropia ), also makes its 
appearance on the apple tree in the months of July 
and August, as well as upon the currant, the ber¬ 
bery, the cherry, and the plum. 
Attack from Canker Worms. —One of the great¬ 
est pests of our apple orchards, as well as of the 
foliage of the cherry, the plum, the linden, and 
pother trees, is the canker-worm ( Phalcena vernata ), 
first described by Professor Peck, of Harvard Uni¬ 
versity. According to Dr. Harris, the canker worm 
moths begin to make their appearance after the first 
hard frost in the autumn, usually towards the end of 
October, and they continue to come forth, in greater 
or smaller numbers, according to the mildness or 
severity of the weather, after the frosts have begun. 
Their general time of rising, however, is in the 
spring, beginning about the middle of March, but 
sometimes before, and at others after, this- time ; 
and they continue to come forth for the space of 
about three weeks. It has been observed that 
there are more females than males among those 
that appear in the autumn and winter, and that the 
males are the most abundant in the spring. The 
sluggish and wingless females instinctively make 
their way towards the nearest trees, and creep slowly 
up their trunks. In a few (fays afterwards they 
are followed by the winged and active males, which 
flutter about and accompany them in their ascent, 
during which, the two sexes pair. Soon after this, 
the females lay Iheimeggs upon the branches of 
the trees, placing them on their ends, close together, 
in rows, forming clusters of 60 to 100 or more eggs, 
which is the number usually laid by each. The 
eggs are glued to each other, and to the bark, by a 
greyish varnish, which is impervious to water; and 
the clusters are thus securely fastened in the forks 
of the small branches, or close to the young twigs 
and buds. The eggs are usually hatched between 
the first and the middle of May, or about the time 
that the red currant is in blossom, and the young 
leaves of the apple tree begin to expand. The lit¬ 
tle canker worms, upon making their escape from 
the. eggs, gather upon the tender leaves, and on the 
occurrence of cold and wet weather, seek shelter in 
the bosom of a bud, or in the flowers, when the lat¬ 
ter appear. The leaves, when first attacked, will 
be found pierced with small holes, which become 
larger and more irregular as the worms increase in 
size, until nearly all the pulpy parts are con- 
sumed. 
A very great difference of color is observable 
among these worms of different ages, and even 
among those of the same age and size. When 
very young, they have two minute warts on the 
top of the last rings, and they are then generally 
of a blackish or dusky-brown color, with a yellow¬ 
ish stripe on each side of the body; there are two 
whitish bands across the head; and the belly is 
whitish. When fully grown, these individuals be¬ 
come ash-colored on the back, and black on the 
sides, below which, the pale, yellowish line re¬ 
mains. Some are found of a dull greenish-yellow, 
and others of a clay color, with slender, interrupted 
blackish lines on the sides, and small spots of the 
same color on the back. The head and feet par¬ 
take of the general color of the body : the belly is 
paler. When not eating, they remain stretched 
out, at full length, and resting on their fore and 
hind legs, beneath the leaves. When fully grown, 
and -well fed,, they measure nearly, or quite an inch 
in length. They cease feeding when about four 
weeks old, at which time they begin to quit the 
trees. Some creep down by the trunks, but great 
numbers let themselves down by their slender 
threads from the branches, their instinct prompting 
them to get to the ground by the easiest and most 
direct course possible. After reaching the ground, 
they immediately burrow into the earth, to the depth 
of two to- six inches, unless prevented by weak¬ 
ness, or by the hardness of the soil. In the latter 
case, they die, or undergo their transformations on 
the surface.. In the former, they make little cavi¬ 
ties, or cells, in the ground, by turning round re¬ 
peatedly, and fastening the loose grains of earth 
about them with a few silken threads : and, within 
twenty-four hours afterwards, they are changed 
into chrysalides, and in due time, emerge from these 
retreats in their perfect forms. 
In order to protect the trees from the ravages of 
the canker worm, the only thing thht would seem 
necesary would be to prevent the wingless females 
from ascending the trunks to deposit their eggs. 
The expedients usually resorted to, for this purpose, 
are, to fit a close collar of lead, tin, wood, or other 
materials, around the trunks of the trees, or a cir¬ 
cular trough filled with oil. The application of 
belts of tar, liquid India rubber, and other viscid 
substances, to the bodies of the trees, have been 
employed with partial success. 
Opposite Properties of Plants and Animals. 
—Vegetables are stationary ; animals locomotive. 
Vegetables decompose carbonic acid, water, and am- 
moniacal salts; animals absorb them. Vegetables ab¬ 
sorb heat and electricity; animals generate them. 
Vegetables produce the neutral azotized, or fatty 
substances, sugar, starch, and gum ; animals cor. • 
sume them. In short, a vegetable is an apparatus 
of reduction, and an animal one of oxydation.— 
Annales de Glum, et Phys. 
