In the April number of the Horticultu-rist for 1866 is an earnest and able article under this caption. Many such articles, doubtless, appear from time to time. Some " watchman on the walls" gives the alarm, and earnestly and truthfully warns all of the great and present danger. But the masses do not heed. They only see their own individual losses, and never think of what the grand total loss amounts to. The great complaint is, a want of unity of action among those who are, or should be, interested in fighting this insect enemy. I will not dwell on this point, but will endeavor to show some other reasons why this enemy is not conquered.

In the first place, the masses know very little of the nature and habits of this insidious and destructive enemy; and this "little knowledge," always a " dangerous thing," in this case only discourages them. "Where is the use," say they, " in destroying hundreds a day even, when we are told they increase by hundreds of thousands?" And truly it does seem rather a small business to send a busy farmer "bug hunting" among his trees and plants when his farm crops demand all his time. He will tell you that he is "losing deal" crushing one worm at a time, when the chances are that one moth will produce more than he can destroy, in this way, in a whole season.

I will endeavor to give a few ideas showing the nature of this enemy, when to fight him, and how to fight him successfully. However interesting to an entomologist the study of the natural history in full of each of the many forms of insect life, only a few general facts are necessary to those who only wish to rid themselves of what to them are truly "enemies," and such as they are not commanded to " love".

When the warm days of spring are sufficiently advanced, the hosts of this insect enemy come forth from their hidden retreats (from the earth, old farm buildings, hay-stacks, and forks and limbs of trees, where they have hibernated in the chrysalis state) as perfect winged insects. No matter what the size, from the diminutive midge to the great drowsily humming beetle, the rule is, they are all winged. In this stage of their existence they are not directly injurious to vegetation. The male seeks the female, and having passed a short honeymoon among the flowers containing their food, he dies, having accomplished all that he had lived through the long winter to perform, that is, the impregnation of the female. She, in a few busy days, deposits her thousands of minute eggs in places at once the most secure and convenient to the food of her future offspring, and having finished her work, dies. These eggs are soon hatched out by the warmth of the atmosphere, and small worms appear, which at once voraciously attack the parts of plants which constitute their natural food.

As they increase in size, and their local supply of food becomes exhausted, they, by various means, transport themselves to other places, sometimes to distant fields, to seek new supplies, and continue to be very destructive until this stage of growth is finished, when, by another remarkable change, they pass through the chrysalis state, and emerge perfect winged insects again. Thus two or more broods come into existence in one season, and the number of offspring from one pair in one season is immense. Those who go into the chrysalis state during warm weather require but a short time to emerge to continue the work of destruction through their teeming progeny. Cold weather never comes soon enough to cut off an entire race, though more are destroyed in this way in some seasons than others, accounting for their appearance in greater or less numbers.

From the above well-known facts it is evident that it is in the form of slugs, worms, and lice that insects injure vegetation, and hence the general error of attempting to destroy them in this stage, and, because of the failure of such attempts, of despairing of ever accomplish-ishing any satisfactory results. I believe that farmers are more ready to give up trying, under such discouragements, than any other class of men, owing perhaps to the wide latitude of failure or success which nature allows them. Let them take a lesson from the grape-growers, who are still fighting their phantom enemy, mildew, with, unabated zeal, though constantly, up to this time, losing ground. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Let them take the enemy at a disadvantage: while enjoying the honeymoon, and reveling among the flowers with his spouse, spread snares for his feet. In other words, the only practical time to attempt the destruction of injurious insects is in the moth or perfect winged state. The reason "why?" is that by destroying one female moth, you destroy a thousand rapacious worms in embryo.

But the question "how V brings us to the third, last, and most important part of this most important subject.

"In times agone," when the Southern planter employed all his time and means in the production of the one staple, cotton, the insect enemies of the cotton plant committed such havoc as to lead the minds of the planters to search for some means to -stay their devastating march. After the crop has passed the dangers of its infancy, and arrived at the time of flowering, when the vast fields appear a sea of luxuriant green, comes the dreaded " army worm," devouring every green leaf, leaving the fields bare, as though blighted by a hoar frost in midsummer. Scarcely have the plants recovered from this shock, and clothed their naked limbs again with tender leaves, when the "boll worm" comes in the track of his forerunner, and attacks the fruit of the plants, devouring the bolls themselves. Many expedients were resorted to to save a part of the crop at least. Some kindled fires at intervals over the fields on the appearance of the moths; but though many were burned, many more were attracted from neighboring fields where no lights were kindled! Plates containing molasses, placed the height of the plants on stakes at intervals over the fields, were found much better, though very expensive, as the rain washed away the molasses, and the sun dried it up.

The next step was a rude lantern with a tallow candle burning inside, and a tin plate or pan beneath, containing molasses, which was more efficacious, but more expensive, than the plates, adding cost of candle, etc., to loss of molasses; this was patented. An energetic and intelligent planter, Dr. J. M. Heard, of Monroe County, Miss., then set himself carefully and resolutely to work, and never ceased from his labors until he had perfected an invention known under the name of Heard's Moth Trap," which, with the careful study he has bestowed up it, leaves no room for improvement. A bait pan, containing molasses and water, flavored with the oil of annis, or some other essential oil, covered with a broad cover, to protect from sun and rain, the cover supported by an inverted triangular cone, the whole made of tin, and supported by a stake passing through the center of the pan, is placed among any trees or plants infected with insects, and you have planted the most effective battery in the world to destroy this kind of enemy. It is necessary to visit the traps frequently to remove the dead insects and replenish the bait pans. For this work the operator provides himself with a sufficient quantity of the prepared bait, and a tin bucket with a wire gauze strainer fixed inside.

The insects are removed from the traps and thrown into the bucket, upon the strainer, when the molasses drains off into the bucket below, and is used again. The insects are thrown to the poultry, and thus nothing is lost. The brightness of the tin attracts the moths at night as well as the odor of the bait. Flying toward it, they strike against the sides of the inverted cone, and are precipitated into the glutinous fluid below, where they die a luxurious death. There are two modifications of this trap - one for the bee moth, roaches, crickets, etc., the other the best and most simple fly-trap in the world.

F. W. V.

Meridian, Miss.