The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-11-08
CONTEST FOR 4
 SCHOOL CHILDREN
Fifty Dollars in Prizes For the De- struction of Tent Caterpillar .: Egg Masses. .

(Schools under state supervision will receive membership cards from tn cir ssu perYisors. Schools not un- der state supervision should apply to the Connecticut Agricultural College Extension Department, Storrs, Conn.,, for m embershtpa cards.(
 During the past seaosn the Tent Caterpillar appeared in unusual mum l Abers and caused great damage to fruit and ornamental trees, many ap- pie. orchards were almost complete l ly defoliated and the beauty Of many ls4nsfght1y <s' 'tents'' made by the cater pillars At the present. time the eggf masses may be found2 in great a bun E-danceN on various. kinds of trees, but esespeeial1y on the apple and wild Ieherry. Unless something is done to iprevent these eggs from matching, the EpeSt next year may be- expected to iscausez damage far exceeding that of 1.-the present season. While the in fsects may be killed by spraying with Esone stomach poison during the early jssumIner, one of the most effective tWays for keeping them under control l. is the destruction of the egg masses during the winter and early spring fss The eggs are found in cylin drical masses about the twigs, each mass fcontaining about 250 eggs If. is easy to understand how effectively the de- Estructfon. of these egg-rnasses reduces 1.-the number of caterpi1lars for the fol- flowing season. gs5
 + Realizing the necessity for prompt action and believing that t1e= project dhaS great educational. value, we wish I to enlist the children of the schools of l -lConnecttcut in- a campaign for the eOntrol of this serious pest. The suc- ]cess of the undertaking will depend largely upon the willingness with which it is.attached by the teachers. Some teachers will be quick to real ize the importance of work of this
 kind. while others will look upon it as additional work and responsibiIity If theateacher will carefully read the ldifections and suggestions concerniflg g 1.-the contest she will Sec that. it. is tplanned in such away that it need EIfot be a burden to anyone. 1 The EggsAIass Destroying League. l The object of this league is to- de- stroy the eggTmasses of the tent cat l erpi1lar. a.s
 Children become members of the
 league as soon as they collect and
 hand to their teachers 100 egg-mass- 1 es.
 In order to compete children must Collections must be the work of in
 dividual pupils-combining for high
 scores is not a11owab b1e.
 Contestants shall present their egg n1dSSOS to pc T0cOTQ0d lOCS or one
 hundred. At the end of the con test all smaller lots may be brought in.
 The contest closes April 30, 1914. The contest is open to all grammar l-schoo1 children of Connecticut. | In collecting gg-masses,- twigE lishouId be cut off with pruning shears or a sharp knife :n order to avoid inJurfng the tree.
 | The pupil who collects the largest
 number of egg-masses will receive
 Twenty-Five Dollars in gold.
 The teacher whose school collects the largest number will receive 3 scholarship to the amount of $25 al l the Summer School of the Connects
 cut Agricultural College. If tht
 teacher winning this prize is unable
 to attend, she may sell or otherwise
 transfer her scholarship to any othel
 Teacher.
 The Connecticut Agricultural Col
 Iege Extension Department will give z
 certificate of appreciation to the chile
 making the highest score in eact