Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/947

 Popular Science Moiit/il//

���A burlap band covered with a wire screen

��Banding a Tree Trunk to Catch and Destroy Moths

WHEN the codling moth larva has done its best to destroy the ap- pearance of the ripest and rosiest fruits it can find, it seeks a place to spin a cocoon, and for this purpose it generally crawls up or down a tree trunk. Hence the usual method of trapping the moth is to wrap a band of burlap around the tree trunk. An im- provement on this method, devised by E. H. Sigler, of the United States Bureau of Entomology, employs a wire screen over the burlap band to form a trap into which the larva enters and spins its cocoon, but from which it cannot escape as a moth.

To make the trap, strips of burlap six inches wide are folded into three thicknesses. The loose bark from the lower branches and trunk of the tree is removed. A strip of this burlap is folded once around the trunk and held in place by large tacks, driven in such a way that the edge projects about one-fourth of an inch beyond the burlap. Black- painted wire screening with twelve meshes to the inch is then cut into strips six inches wide, and the edge of each strip is folded twice, allowing one-fourth of an inch to each fold.

The strip of screening should be long enough to allow for an overlap of three to four inches when placed around the tree over the burlap. It is tacked to the tree so that both the upper and lower edges fit snugly against the bark. The projecting tacks used to fasten the burlap prevent the wire from pressing against the cloth. To make sure that no moths can escape through the openings along the edges of the trap or along the flap, a thin coating of pitch tar may be used.

The traps may be placed on the tree during the winter or in the spring, not later than one month after the petals have dropped.

��Cleaning the Gilded Portion on Picture Frames

GILT picture frames and chandeliers will, in the course of time, get dirty and turn black. Procure a box of wall paper cleaner and rub some of it over the gilt frame or chandelier. This removes the grease and dirt. Next boil some onions in water so as to get a strong solution. Dip a soft cloth in it and wipe over the frame, polishing with a dry cloth.

Cooling Camp Food by the Evapora- tion Method

/VWAY from an ice supply it is often l\ difficult to keep the food in good con- dition when no spring is near. However, a very efficient refrigerator that will go a long way in keeping the camp food fresh can be made from a small wood box mounted on stilts as shown in the illustra- tion. Shelves and a door are put in to hold the various dishes.

The whole is then covered with flannel which reaches down into the water below.

��Box

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���Supports

��Fl&rvnel ir\ water

��Wood box cloth covered and mounted on stilts in a brook to keep food by evaporation

The evaporation from the cloth will cool the contents of the box in a very efficient manner. Such a device also keeps the food away from the crawling things that infect the woods. — Thos. W. Benson.

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