76 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
THE ORCHARD CATERPILLAR —timely caution. 
Many of our readers will recollect the extensive inju¬ 
ries committed on the apple-trees of this country, seve¬ 
ral years ago, by the common orchard caterpillar. Either 
from the unfavorable seasons or from some other caused 
they subsequently disappeared in a great degree, and for 
a few years past we have been very little troubled with 
them. But they arc now again on the increase; in the 
summer of 1843 there were some occasionally to be seen; 
last year they had multiplied very considerably; and pre¬ 
sent indications promise very severe damage next sum¬ 
mer. 
What are those indications ? And are they sure ? 
They are the numerous nests of eggs, scattered thickly 
over the apple-trees, in all orchards, at least in the west¬ 
ern part ot the State, and doubtless in the other portions; 
and unless these are destroyed either accidentally or pur¬ 
posely, before next spring, the owners of orchards may 
expect trouble. 
f.'iderpillar’s Nest—(Fig. 23.) 
One of ese nests of eggs is accurately repres n ed by 
fig. 23, encircling the branch. The eggs are tint laid 
closely round the branch, and afterwards covered over 
with a water-proof varnish; in the form of numerous 
small vesicles or bubbles, like the scum on boiling mo¬ 
lasses, the numerous air-cells forming a non-conductor 
of heat and effectually protecting the eggs from the «reat- 
est severities of winter. Sometimes they only extend 
partly round the branch. The number of e°-gs, each 
one producing a caterpillar, is from about three to five 
hundred in each nest, most of which usually hatch. 
They are laid in the latter part of summer and early in 
autumn. They remain until the following spring and 
the young caterpillars come out just as the leaves of the 
apple are bursting from the buds. At this time, a whole 
nest of five hundred are not so large i ulk as a single 
caterpillar when fully grown. They increase rapidly in 
size as the leaves expand, and in a few weeks, one nest 
of them will completely defoliate a large branch. The 
consequence is, that neither the branch itself, nor the 
fruit it contains can grow and mature. Where there are 
several nests on a tree, the crop is very seriously lessen¬ 
ed in size and quality. 
The number of remedies are in proportion to the ex¬ 
tent of the evil. The usual course is, first, to leave them 
unharmed until they become large, vigorous and hard to 
kill, and until they have already done considerable mis- 
chiel. They are then beaten off by whips; threshed off 
by poles, wound upon long sticks while in their webs, 
and ciushed; scoured off by circular brushes; whitewash¬ 
ed with lime; anointed with soapsuds or strongley; shot 
or blown off with gunpowder; or swept off clean while 
young by ascending a ladder and grasping them with both 
hands. The atter appears to be the most effectual of 
these modes. Many would prefer first covering their 
hands with mittens, though we know a distinguished cul¬ 
tivator who fearlessly takes a nest at any age, and grinds 
it in his ungloved hands till all are destroyed. 
But an incomparably better mode is to take a basket in 
one hand; a long and light pole, with a pair of clipping 
shears worked by a cord at the end, in the other; and 
pass through the orchard any time during autumn or win¬ 
ter, clipping off all the nests of eggs, throwing them into 
the basket, and afterwards burning them. In the absence 
of shears, a very sharp , hooked knife, set in the end of 
the pole, will answer nearly as well. A day when no 
bright clouds are overhead, should be selected, to prevent 
pain to the eyes. A little practice will enable the opera¬ 
tor to see them at a glance, as they are generally within 
a few inches of the extremities of the branches. Every 
nest thus removed, done in two or three seconds, effectu¬ 
ally prevents a nest of caterpillars next spring, without 
he danger of stragglers escaping, which is nearly always 
he case after they are hatched. The expedition of this 
mode is another chief recommendation. 
The only objection to this mode is, that it gives such a 
fine opportunity for the pranks of that vexatious old thief 
“Procrastination.” For it may be done “any time” 
through autumn and winter, and hence is neglected for 
the same reason that the old man near Niagara falls had 
never seen the cataract, because he could go and see them 
£ ‘ any day.” 
FASTENINGS FOR STALL CATTLE—(Fig. 24.) 
Some of our readers may be familiar with the follow¬ 
ing mode, but its convenience, simplicity and eflective- 
ness, render it worthy of more general adoption. 
Two cows will occupy one 
stall six feet wide. An upright 
pole, A. is placed near the par¬ 
tition on each side, to which the 
animal is fastened. The cross¬ 
bar C. at the end of the chain, 
hooks into one of the rings D. 
D. and holds the animal—into 
the outer ring for a large, and 
into the inner ring, for a small 
animal; the sliding ring B. fas¬ 
tens the whole to the upright 
post, and while it permits the 
cow either to stand up or lie 
down freely, it prevents her from making war on her 
neighbor, standing with her side by side. 
Fig. 24. 
THE APHIS, OR PLANT LOUSE. 
A friend desires us to give some information in regard 
to the extirpation of the aphis from rose plants, &c. So¬ 
lutions of soap tobacco-water, or tobacco-water and soap¬ 
suds mixed together, have been used with success. Flour 
sulphur dusted on the plants with a swan-down puff, and 
fumigations with sulphur and with tobacco, have been 
found effective. Decoctions of elder leaves and of cay¬ 
enne pepper, are likewise useful. When the insects first 
make their appearance on the plants, they are mostly on 
the ends of the twigs or branches, and they may then be 
easily got rid of, by plucking off the leaves to which they 
are attached; or the branches may be bent into vessels 
containing some of the above solutions, and the insects 
thus killed. In using the liquids on the plants, some lit¬ 
tle force is necessary to insure the desired effect. A sy¬ 
ringe, with a nose like that of a watering-pot, is the best 
contrivance for this purpose. Willis’s syringe, which is 
for sale by J. Breck & Co. Boston, is well recommended. 
Some other insects are troublesome on rose-plants. 
The Rose Scale, (Aspidiotus rosce ,) lives on the stems and 
old twigs of rose-trees, which are often entirely covered 
with them, and look mouldy. When numerous, they are 
very destructive. Kollar says the best way of getting 
rid of them, is brushing them off with strong brushes be¬ 
fore the plants sprout. 
The rose-moth is also a troublesome enemy to the rose. 
From its smallness and peculiarity of form it is easily 
overlooked. Kollar thus describes it: ££ If the new leaf 
shoots are closely examined, a little brownish scale is 
found here and there attached to them; and on nearer in¬ 
spection, we shall be convinced that it is a little case, in 
which a worm, the larva of a small moth, is concealed, 
which gnaws the tender shoots. When it has devoured 
one shoot, it removes with its house, and attacks another, 
and thus in a short time, one of these larva can strip a 
whole branch of its shoots. The larva which lives in the 
little case is only a few lines long; yellow, with a black 
head and spotted collar,” &c. To preserve rose-trees 
from this enemy, Kollar directs that the small cases in 
which the moth is enveloped, be looked for in early 
spring, before any foliage is developed, when an experi¬ 
enced eye will discover the insect. They should be ta¬ 
ken off and crushed immediately, for if left, they will re 
ascend the tree. 
