Strawberry Leaf-roller
a, larva, natural size; b, head and first three joints of body, enlarged; c, moth (cross shows natural size); d, anal shield of larva, enlarged.
“Didn’t the people try to get rid of the creatures?” asked Louis.
“They tried various methods, but with little success until finally one proved effective, and that the simplest and cheapest of all. Let us note by the way, my little friends, what an advantage it is to be acquainted with the habits of an insect that does us harm. If this moth’s peculiarities had not been studied, if it had not been known that its larvæ hide themselves in the fissures of the vines and the trellises, [[365]]there to lie torpid all winter, our vineyards might still be suffering from this terrible enemy. This fact being known, the remedy was not far to seek.
Leaf-tier
a, larva, natural size; b, segment or joint of larva; c, head and part of body; d, moth (cross shows natural size).
“It is this: in winter the vines and trellises are scalded with boiling water, the water being heated over a fire in the middle of the vineyard. “With a coffee-pot about a liter of hot water is poured on each vine so as to reach all the parts where worms may be lurking. Protected by its tough bark, the vine itself does not suffer from this scalding bath, while the caterpillars are completely destroyed. By this method the vineyards of Bourgogne were so entirely rid of the dreaded moth that no further ravages of any account have been reported.”
“Couldn’t the moths come back again some time, as many as ever?” asked Jules.
“That is hardly possible if at their first appearance the coffee-pot of hot water is brought into play.