Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-06-08
CATERPILLARs ARE HERE
Tho Pestiferous Worms Fast Coming Out
of Their Oocoons.
VIII Ruin the Trees Unless Stopped
MIR. Smith Believes in
Whitewash. -

The caterpillars have reached the city.
They have not come from other regions,
| but have been with US all winter, hidden
| away in their grayish cocoons in the rough
| bark of trees, under porches, in the twist
| ings of iron fences, on sides of brick walls,
| and, in fact, everywhere in easy reaching
| distance of the trees that they now propose
! to devour. In the last few days they have
| begun to come out of their hiding places,
| sometimes many twenty emerging
| from single cocoon. They are now about
| half inch long, but are fully supplied
| with legs for climbing up the trees, and
with pincer-like claws for eating the green
| leaves. Unless they are stopped very soon
they will reach the limbs of the shade
trees and begin their work of devastation.
Now, therefore, is the time to check these
ravenous little insects. Last fall The Star
| editorially appealed to the citizens to
| smash the cocoons wherever found, but
| the warning was not generally needed, and
there is lively prospect that unless pre-
cautions are taken at once to kill the
| young generation before they begin to eat
| the shade trees will be seriously damaged
and perhaps in some cases the foliage en-
tirely destroyed, as was the experience last
| summer.
| A simple way of discriminating the in
sects, of course, is to kill them wherever
seen, and this is the best time to do it,
| They will in few days be found in thou
! sands and millions crawling from their
| cocoonS toward the trees, following an in
stinct that teaches them the shortest route
| to their pasture fields II the trees are to
! be saved and the insects escape destruc-
| ton, there remains the expedient Of pre-
venting them from climbing to the
! branches. This may be done by tying
around the trunk of a tree just below the
branching point roll of raw cotton, fast
| ened on tightly with wire, so that the
worms cannot crawl between the cotton
| and the trunk. Thus. as they proceed on
| their journey, they soon encounter the cot
| ton and attempt to crawl around It, If the
| band is continuous, they are then obliged to
go across it, but, for some peculiar reason,
| they unable to do this, and become en-
tangled In the hbers, or, becoming discour-
| aged, retrace their steps and try for an
other tree. If all the trees were treated in
| this way, the worms would soon become
exterminated from lack of food.
\ Talk With Mr.. Smith.
Mr.. VIM. r. Smith, superintendent of the
+ botanical gardens, who until a year ago
was member Of the parking commission
of this city, having served for many years
| in that capacity, believes in whitewash as
| a preserving agent for the trees. He said
| to Star reporter this morning.
at is a noticeable thing that the cater
pillars alawys attack trees with a super
| abundance of foliage. They give the go-by
| to the smaller trees and in some peculiar
weak 1 have observed that the caterpillar
usually picks out tree that is putting
forth more leaves than 1t can properly
nCurish. This is because the roots of the
tree are encaSed. On the one hand is a
great heavy curbStone, and the other is
a wall of brick, while above is the side
walk The roots of the tree cannot get
enough moisture to supply its needs. 1t
has probably been improperly trimmed or
not trimmed at all, which is the worst
thing that can happen to a city shade tree.
Now l would like to prOphesy that the
caterpillars viii mot attack the trees on
VI street, which We're last year trimmed in
the best fashion. They are in splendid con-
dition this season, and, being strong and
hardy, l believe the worms will not go to
them. AS to the best means of preventing
| the devastation OF the caterpillarS ! ought
| to say that l am great believer In white
| wash 1t is ore of the most wholesome and
| purifying agents at the service of man. l
know that the dilletanu do not believe In
WhiteWaSh. They say that it is uneSthetic,
etc. They say that its presence OH the
trunks of the trees mars the landscape.
| contend that IL IS not only good for the
tree, but for the individual, because 1T
helps to purify the air we'll to make
better tree. With the lime and water
should be mixed little sulphur and per-
excellent purifying agent, and helps to give
rutriment to the roots of the trees. The
blue clay aids in keeping the whitewash
firm on the trunk of the tree, and pre-
vents 1t from being washed off by the
rain. To tCne down the Earring white of
the wash little lampblack can be used.
Will Benefit the Trees.
IF this prepare ton Is used freely on the
trunk of the tree from the ground up to
the branching point, not only Will the
tree be kept comparatively free from cater
pillars, but it will be aided and nurtured in
its struggle for existence. The tree in the
city has a hard time of it at best, and
should be helped in every possible way. 1t
is planted very often in soil to which it is
foreigner 1t is crampad and crowded
and deprived of sunlight. In many cases
1t is exposed to all sorts of violence, and
1t is really a marvel that some trees live
under these circumstances. 1t is, there
fore, only just 10 the tree family that
little care and precaution should be taken
with such members of 1t as We plant for
our comfort and convenience.
The caterpilars that do the most dam
age here attack nearly every variety of
tree that we have in the city. There are
two or three kinds of elms that are free
from them The kind that is most savagely
attacked is the ash-leaf maple. Nearly
every variety of tree is subject to the
worm, however, but it is we'll to remember
the general rule that the caterpillar only
goes for the old and weak trees that have
more foliage than they can support In
this connection l am always reminded Of
the philosophy in Burns poem apostro-
phizing the louise, or the loose as the
Scotchmen would call it. The caterpillar
was almost always found upon the old and
not the young.
In the Churches.
In the Lutheran churches yesterday
''Children'S day was generally observed