The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1902-03-29
ESTABLISHED 1850.

the trap-doOr spider, which merely
weaves silken covering inside of its
underground home, and lives there
in winter as we'll as in summer. In
the winter time the trap-door spider
will often approach the mouth of its
home and sun itself in the entrance.
The ordinary field spiders begin to
spin their winter protection in early
autumn, and by the time cold wealth
er comes they have made house of
silk for themselves which is impervi-
Gus to rain and cold. Inside of this
silk covering there is perfect comfort,
and the spider proceeds to sleep away
the long, dull, dreary days.
To most people the caterpillars
seem too sensitive and tender to ap-
pear abroad in winter, but if one goes
forth in the woods and fields on warm
winter days he may not only find a
few caterpillars about, but an occa-
sional butterfly. The most common
caterpillar which awakens from its
winter sleep is a red-furred creature
with bands of black around the body.
Every warm winter day these cater
pillars get restless ahd emerge from
their hiding places. There are sew
eral species of common butterflies
which come forth in winter and fit
around. They hibernate under roofs
and in hollow trees, and their slum-
Der is broken every time the tempera-
ture increases. They are the first
spring insects to appear in numbers,
coming forth to sip the nectar from
the March flowers. During the win
ter season they require no food.
The most interesting of the insects
are those which lay their eggs in holes
in the trees and on twigs in the fall,
and then crawl away to die, having
performed their mission in life. These
insects multiply by the millions.
While many accidents happen to the
eggs, they are deposited in such enor-
nous quantities that it seems almost
impossible to destroy them all. These
eggs are laid in all imaginable places,
some even being deposited in other
insects, where they hatch and destroy
their host.
Farmers and fruit growers have in
recent years made systematic efforts
to lessen the number of insect pests
by attacking the eggs rather than the
full-grown creatures. The fall and
winter period has become for them
the period for insect hunting, and
they go forth in the orchards and
parks to destroy next years insect
hosts before they have seen the light
of day. In Central Park millions of
eggs are annually destroyed in the
fall and winter, and in this way the
insects destructive to foliage are pre-
vented from swarming in overwhelm-
ing numbers among the trees. If
present methods were not pursued the
workmen in the park would have lit
tie chance in the annual battle with
insects. They would increase in
numbers in two years so that millions
of them would defy the utmost ef-
forts of man to protect the foliage.
Eggs can be found anywhere and
everywhere at this time of the year.
1t is only necessary to go forth into
the woods, park or orchard and make
close examination of trees, twigs,
weeds, rocks, stones and logs. Some
of the insects are more cautious than
others, however, and they bore deep
holes through the bark Of trees, and
sometimes an inch into the hard CEN
tire of the wood itself. At the bot
tom of these holes they deposit their
eggs, and then close up the opening
with a glue like substance which will
shed the water. Thus no moisture
can reach the eggs, nor can the cold
or creeping enemies find them. The
woodpecker is an exception. With
its long, powerful bill, this bird hops
around and around a tree, and feeds
on the eggs of the insects, destroying
in each twenty-four hours hundreds
of thousands of them. These birds
thus perform a good work for the
forests that can hardly be measured
in dollars and cents.
Other insects simply glue their eggs
to twigs and trees and stones in the
woods, park or orchard. These hatch
out in the early spring. Some eggs
are so tiny that few million of them
will cluster in bunch not larger than
pea. Fire is the farmers surest
and quickest aid in destroying the
eggs, and the days sweepings, cut
tings and scrapings are thrown into
the flames to make sure work of them.
The woods and fields are frequent
ly full of cocoons and chrysalids at
this season of the year, holding the
young of another summers crops OF
butterflies, worms and caterpillars.
The silken covering of the cocoons
keeps out all moisture and cold, and
inside the creature thrives in COM
fort and solitary happiness. = Wash
ington Times.