The Portland daily press., 1877-11-20
The Cooling Moth.

This insects is the most formidable enemy
Of the apple, and the loss from its ravages
amounts yearly to millions of dollars. 1t has
for long time eluded the efforts of orchard
lists, or the most of the remedies have been
imperfect and unsuccessful. Every season.
however, throws additional light on the sub
ject, and it is probable that in a few years
intelligent fruit growers generally will know
what to do to save their fruit. The two lead
ing remedies in their hands at the present,
are the use of the paper-band trap. and the
free range of swine and sheep under the trees.
The former are more particularly adapted to
the younger and smooth-barked trees, in the
smaller orchards the latter to large orchards,
after the bark becomes rough and out of the
way of injury from sheep. In some instances,
the two combined have rendered useful
service.
The easiest way to use the paper-bands,
first procure quanty of cheap, coarse wrap.
piDg-paper, and fold it few times into a
band about five inches wide, and then to tie
this with cord around the tree at the mid.
die of the paper. Insects coming from above
will hide under the loose paper above the
cord, and those coming up from below will
resort to the lower part. The usual mode
for destroying the insects under these bands
is to remove the bands, crush the insects,
and then replace them performing the oper-
alton every ten days. An easier and more
expeditions mode is to provide soft-wood
mallet, made nearly or about concave enough
to fit the average size of the trees, and to
pound gently with this on the outside of the
paper. 1t requires some practice to learn TO
do this work effectively.
Sheep and swine have been employed &C.
casionally for the destruction of the insects
but the success has been quite imperfect in
most instances, because the remedy has not
been thorough and continued. There are
two important requisites for success, name
ly, l. To have animals enough to keep the
fallen and infested young fruit promptly and
thoroughly cleared away as fast as it appears.
For orchards of much size, the number OF
swine usually kept is quite insufficient. and
when sheep have been turned in they have
not remained long enough. AS a general
rule there should be one sheep to two apple
trees, or corresponding number of swine
varying with their size. These animals
should be kept constantly in the orchard
from the time the trees are in blossom till
near the end of the summer. An occasional
turning in will be of little use. 2. They
must be kept in continuously year after year.
A single years operation will not be a fair
test, as an orchard once infested cannot be
thoroughly cleaned in one year. If the trees
are young and the bark smooth, the trunk
may require protection from the sheep; there
is little or no danger during the sum-
mer season of their attacking old and rough
bark; we have never known them to do it.
There is another reason why the sheep
remedy should be more especially employed
in older orchards. When the trees are young
they must be kept cultivated and there is
then less grazing for the sheep. Whe older,
their shade and the depth of the roots rend-
er cultivation less essential, as the close graz
ing, the droppings ofsheep, and moderate
topdressing of manure once in two years, il
the orchard is naturally rich, will be sufficei.
ent to keep the trees in vigoroes condition.
Where this thorough treatment has been
we'll kept up year after year. the fruit is fair
numerously infested.