The Natural Habits and Mode of Destroying

THE CURCULIO,

DELIVERED BY
ww. B. RANSOM,
ST. JOSEPH, - MICHIGAN

Before the Berrien County Horticultural Association,

FEBRUARY 25, 1871.

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VELER POWER PRINT, St. Joseph, Mish.

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Berrien County Pomological Socicty.

The society met atthe Cong7egational
Church in Benton Harbor, on the 25th ult,
A very large number of practical fruit
growers were present. The cyent of the
meeting was the essay of W. b. Ransom,
Esq.,on the eurculio. {t
with great satisfactionand the society
immediately passed a unanimous vote of

was receliyed

thanks, and resolved, to print au edition of
1000 copies in pamphlet form for general

distribution. The following is the cony of

the essay:
ESSAY ON THE CURCULIO.

Mr. President ; Ladies and Genile-
men of the Association—At your request
I will present the knowledge I have ob-
tained during the last two years, concer-
ning a little darkish, suouted beetle,
known by practical fruit growers as the
“cureulio.” ‘This little insect, which des-
troys such a large portion of fruit in the
United States, resembles in shape when
curled up, a grape or raisin seed ; it looks
very much like a dead plum or peach bud,
and is from a fourth to a sixth of an inch
in length, varying much in size.

This is the insect which practical fruit
growers have to contend with. By prac-
tical, I mean those who are aware of the
destructive habits of this insect enemy of
our fruits, and who diligently apply all
known remedies to its destruction. It is
known, or called usually by unpractical
fruit growers, who learnedly talk of its
habits, its mode of operation, and of many
kinds of preventives, as the ‘ kurkuloo.”
Most of these persons never saw one, nor
could tell the insect if shown them. An
individual of this class, (and a prominent
man of Berrien county,) came to me last
summer to tell me a secret he had found
out about the “kurkuloo.” He said a
little fly, the bees, or something laid
an egg in the blossom, and when the fruit
grew, it covered it up, so that it hatched
a worm which destroyed the fruit. Won-
derful discovery! Like many of the
preventives iu voruc. ‘

Another class of persons write fine
scientific descriptions of the cureulio, give
it high sounding names in Latin, describe
its species, genera, order and habits to
some extent. Riley calls it “ Contrach-
zlusnenupher.” Faber cails it “ Rhyncha-
enus nenupher.” They tell many things
useful, and many that practical fruit grow-
ers have no faith or confidence in. In
fact very many things said only serve to
lead us estray. These savans give too
much théory and not enough of their own
experience and practical knowledge. Hor-
ticultural and agricultural papers are full
of the silliest remedies and preventiyes
imaginable. The consequence is, we look
to remedies as preventives instead of talk-
ing the book of nature, open daily in our
orchards to study their natural habits, and
thereby discover the ‘easy and natural
mode of their destruction.

Of all the modes yet discovered to save
our fruit, none is found efficient but Alling
the beetles and larvae. So far as offen-
sive odors are concerned, either on,
around, or under the trees, saving the
fruit, we may just as well whistle “ Yan-
kee Doodle,” or “ Hail Columbia.” ‘The
quicker we discard all preventives but
death, the sooner will we come to the
practical safeguard to our fruit. The en-
tire extinction of the species is not at

‘once to be thought of; but what I call

practical fruit growers, can and will keep
the cureulio in check so as to be rewarded
for their labor and diligence in using
those means which are now known to
capture and destroy them, That there
will be a class of drones, who will leave
this work undone, we may expect; but
this should not lessen our efforts. It
should increase them. °
The different methods for curculio des-
traction embrace, First, that of trapping
under small pieces of bark, blocks, or
anything flat with a surface of from. two
to four inches placed around the collar of
the tree, after making the ground clean
and smooth, so that the curculio can find
no other covert near the tree. Most. of
you practiced this mode of destruction
last year to a considerable extent, with
satisfactory results. Your experience was
such as to disprove the entomologist’s. as-
sertion, that “they could only be taken in
limited numbers, when the nights were
cool, and before the trees were in bloom
and foliage.” Althongh the curculio

were not all taken in this way, it has been
said to me by intelligent fruit growers,
that more were killed last year in this
way (notwithstanding the lateness of its
discovery), than all that had ever been
killed in this fruit region from the first,
by all other means.

Second, the jarring process, wherein a
large sheet is held or spread under a tree,
then, striking the limbs with a rubber
mallet of two or three pounds weight, the
eurculio are jarred down and afterwards
killed. Some have the sheet stretched ou
a frame, to be carried and struck against
the tree; and another mode of jarring is
a kind of umbrella frame covered with
cloth, and run on awheel against. tree.
This is known as Dr. Hull’s machine.—
Gen. Ward, of Benton Harbor, has a cur-
euho catcher, which is said to be far su-
perior to Dr. Hull’s. Although these ma-
ehines will catch great numbers of the
insects, there are many objections to
them. First, the expense of using them;
second, the danger of marring the trees
in order to use them efficiently in jarring
the curculio off; third, with any amount
of force in striking the trunk of the tree,
only a portion of the cureulio will be
jarred off, as I have tested by using a
mallet on the limbs immednately after
striking the tree with a bumping catcher.
I caught almost twice as many.

The only other mode is by thoroughly
destroying the larvae by picking up the
fallen wormy fruit, or letting hogs run in
the orchard and make pork or trichina of
them before they get to be hard shells or
get “their back up.” This method will
be effective in destroying thousands a
year before they can do us any damage.

The curculio are quite-continuous in
feeding. Beginning immediately after
emerging from the ground, about the las}
of July, the curculio commence feeding
and continue even as late as October.—
They will feed on peaches, blackberries,
quinces, and probably any kind of fruit
during the latter part of the season. One,
or all of these modes combined, will be
the price paid in a short time for all the
fruit ripened where the curculio has
gained in numbers as in this region, in
Southern Illinois, and in many other
places. Iam told that-at Cleveland it is
wearly impossible to raise a cherry, free
from this well-known Turkish erescent
mark. Every fruit grower who neglects,

2

in this fruit raising vicinity, to destroy
this insect thoroughly, is doing a wrong
to others, and should be branded with the
crescent mark on his forehead which Cain
had on his, and he should be driven out
to feed like one of old on the grass of the
field like the ox, and his lips should never
touch our luscious fruits.

To my mind some or all of these
methods are necessary to success in savy-
ing our fruits from this little black snouted
cuss, (I do not speak profanely of him,
but reverently), 1 mean accursed, as the
flaming sword was to guard the fruit of
Eden. It is said by persons who have
lived in the St. Joseph fruit region from
the time the first peach trees were plant-
ed, that the apricot, necterine, plum and
all stone fruits grown here then, were fair
and free from the puncture of the curculio
as the fruit of Paradise.

Now, with all our efforts, it is thought
by good judges (and I have asked the
opinion of many competent fruit growers)
that we lose from one half to two-thirds of
our fruit crop when the season favors
anything less than a full general crop. A
gentleman rzmarked to me a few days
ago, that last year he noticed many oreh-
ards which set a fair crop, but the fruit
kept disappearing like the summer dews,
till there was none left.

If we were more thorough in cureulio
destruction, it would save Chicago the
expense of sending her proposed mission-
aries among us, to cenvert us from send-
ing them early, ‘“Hale’s early,” that are
“somewhat peculiar.” Let us attend to
this missionary labor among ourselves,
and Chicago go forth with her exuberant
feeling of love to the poor “ heathen Chi-
nee.”

Mr. Elliot tells us, whea he published
his book on fruit in 1854, that the eurcu-
lio had not been known in the west but a

few years; while now its numbers are
legion. It swarms on our fruit almost

like the lneusts of Egypt. For the past
fifty years horticulturists have been look-
ing for a preventive to their ravages. Po-
mologists have inquired for varieties of
fruit which eureulio would not touch, er
some application to the tree to make it
offensive to them, so as to compel them to
leave the fruit in disgust. Notwithstand-
ing the curevlio have a preference for
fruit of particular varieties and kinds,
they are not remarkably fastidious. Their

snout was made to drill fruit and it must
do it. It must work at some kind of fruit
if not as agreeable to them as others.—
They cannot be idle.

Having read everything my eye ever
lit upon about the cureulio, for the last
thirty years, it is absolutely astonishing
how much has been written on the sub-
ject and to hew little purpose.

Hx cepg the three methods I have spok-
en of as means of destroying them,
nothing better ever has been discovered.
The many recipes, preventives and meth-
ods to save our fruit are innumerable.—
An old preventive was to cut down the
trees, with the remark “I never get any
fruit.” This, instead of killing the de-
stroyer, killed the tree. This was effect-
ual. Ido not believe anything but death
will stop that horny snout from piercing
into our young stone fruits. Itis amus-
ing to see what is written as successes in
saving a crop of fruit, the many recipes
given are supremely ridiculous.

For instance, sprinkling Paris green
under and on the trees; sprinkling dust,
lime, sulphur, salt, in the trees ; throwing
with a syringe whale oil soap on the trees;
liquid manure, etc., ete.; bags of salt put
in the forks of the trees ; tobacco water ;
sweet elder branches hung in the trees;
assafcetida; phosphorus ; tar around the
trees ; tarred shingles hung in the branch-
es, cotton batting tied around the body
of the trees to prevent their crawling up;
as though their wings were made for orna-
ments and not for use. Some have re-
commended plowing them in; spading
tnem in; piling large piles of stone around
the trees ; paving under the trees, ete.—
A hundred of such remedies I might con-
tinue to mention, of equal sense and of
equal value. While all these panaceas
only delude the experimenter and keep
him from efficient means of destruction,
the curculio enjoys them as a perfumery
offered only to his highest sense of en-
jOyment as a co-worker in the perfumery
art, in its elevating and refining influence
upon his race. Nothing short of the flam-
ing sword of death, severing the joints
and the marrow of them is of any utility,
or efficiency.

Ladmit that cultivating and passing
around the trees frequently, putting
chicken coops under the trees or moving
around the trees often disturbs them in a
measure, and may to some extent save a

portion of the fruit. Hens roosting in
the trees is perhaps as good as anything
but death on them, from the fact the eur-
culio operate almost exclusively by
night. Fowls only disturb, but do not
destroy them, by roosting on the trees.

Some one has proposed to raise trees
on little islands so the fruit stung would
fall inthe water. This only would destroy
the larvae, and the same could be done by
picking up the fallen fruit; though it is
claimed they will not attack the fruit thus
exposed to the water because instinct
governs them to preserve their larvae ;
but this practice of planting trees would
be-wholly impracticable to any extent.

It is known that the peach, containing
the larvae, put into barrels of water will re-
main weeks without destroying them, be-
cause when afterwards emptied they be-
come active and enter the ground,
The custom was to pick up the fallen
wormy fruit and empty it in the river.—
But observation discovered the fact that
the peaches lined the shore of the river
and lake, where many of the larvae un-
doubtedly enter the ground, and come
forth transformed to prey the next year on
our fruit. I put some apples in a breed-
ing jar last summer to let the larvae ma-
ture, in order to breed them to the perfect
beetle. The apples decayed some where
cut. and discharged some liquid in the
bottom of the jar with the sweat of the
apples. Two larvae came out and I let
them lie in the liquid a week or two till
apparently dead, bleached white. One
day I took them and put them on some
earth, and after some time they became
somewhat dry aud very soon went freely
into the ground. I put some into a jar
Sept. 21st, and Sept. 29th the larvae had
his wing process developed; Oct. 16th
wings and legs were formed, the beetle
colored and quite hard, but not come out
of the cavity where he transformed. I
will here say that a!l the curcnlio I bred
from apples were the common plum eur-
culio. I do not know of haviny ever seen
any of Dr. Hull’s “anthonomus quadri-
gibbus,” or apple curculio.

We have never carefully and thorough-
ly enough studied the natural habits and
rules of international law of this Turkish
Mahamedan emperor. We know we pay
tribute as a Christian people to his ma-
jesty. A tribute more excessive than is
paid to any monarch on the globe. Yet;

4

we pay—pay—PaAy year after year, with
careless supineness of theorizing reme-
dies. He takes of our wealth asking no
questions for conscience sake, (if con-
science a “Turk” has), with a Mahame-
dan’s rights, over a Christian people ;:and
the most we say or dois, when we are
gathered together in full numbers as to-
day, and out of his presence ;—‘‘the little
AT 9 ad

We now want tc marshal our forces,
learn all his habits and rules of warfare,
and toa man compel his surrender.—
Proclaim our rights to our domain—say,
“millions for defense but not one peach
for tribute.” .

It is known in this community that I
made the New discovery last year of trap-
ping them under small pieces of bark,
blocks, bits of boards, lath, chips, stones,
pieces of bricks, bunches of matted
leaves, corn cobs, or anything with a flat-
tish surface from two to four inches square
placed around the collar of the trees on
the ground after making it level and
smooth to the distance of three or four
feet from the tree; or if smoothand clean
for a larger distance, so much the better.
The object of making the groand clean
and smooth is, that they may find no hid-
ing place but the traps ov coverts pre-
pared for them.

The curculio is principally a noc-
turnal insect in). its’ Habit “Tor
feeding and depositing its eggs.
They move | comparatively but little
during the day except to crawl on the
ground, and when in the orchard, under
its rubbish, will crawl toward the trees
during the day ; especially when disturbed
by working the orchard. They crawl
with great rapidity and when they reach
the tree during the day, until just at
evening—very few will ascend the tree if
they ean find a hiding place near it.

This mode of capturing them the past!was their profession.

season was highly satisfactory to persons
who properly prepared the ground and
traps, except to a tew savans who have
spent years in instructing us on their hab-
its and the mode of destroying them.—
The only crotchetin their mind that I am
able to perceive, is that the most efficient
way to destroy the curculio was discover-
ed by a fruit. grower, and not by a pro-
fessional ; and Iam bold to t, not-
withstanding the warning uotes of these
savans, that this mode will, if followed,

asser

upse

destroy more curculio than any other yet
discovered. There are many here to-day
who have used all other means, that can
bear testimony to its efficiency and sue-
cess.

Entomologists I highly appreciate as
men, and their general benefit as c¢o-as-
asistants to horticulturists ; but to pro-
claim the futility of this mode of destroy-
ing the curctlios in the face ef facts in
this vicinity, weakens the faith of plebian
horticulturists in scientific entomologists.
Thousands, and perhaps millions, of cur-
culios were destroyed by this simple way
last year, and we hope billions will per-
ish in the same way the coming year if
there are as many in Berrien county.

My friend, Dr. Hull, who came here
after the first discovery and saw these in-
sects taken from under the traps in large
numbers, weut home and made a few ex-
periments, and then wrote several col-
umns to show that the traps were of little
value, contrasting the result of his curen-
lo catcher and his traps set. He drew
the conclusion that the sheet or catcher
must be used, and if used at all, the fruit
grower might as well wait and catch them
all at once. ‘This reminds me of the man
who had his wife cook his supper, break-
fast and dinner for the next day, at even-
ing, and let him eat it at supper, so as
not to be bothered the next day. I shall
only further say of the exhaustive article
of the Deetor, which considers the trap-
ping process as labor lost ; that thousands
can be killed before the catcher would be
used and this multitude be destroyed be-
fore they can do any damage at all.

We did not expect success in Dr. Hull
jor my friend Riley, (though I think highly
of them), for this process of catching
curculio with traps was new to them, and
they were not expected to be ‘‘experts.”
This was practical entomology; science
Dr. Hull said when
here examining the discovery, that he or
no one else ever heard of curculio being
destroyed by such means. But with due
deference to my friend Prof. Riley, who
says that they could only be caught in my
traps “early in the spring before the trees
were in bloom, when the nights were cool
and the days warm :’ I would earnestly
say, that we, here in Michigan respect-
fully dissent from such hasty conclusion.

Such advice and theory is disproved here,
as much as his claiming that fruit grow-

ers “were under lasting obligation’ to me
for the discovery, while still attributing it
to Mrs. Wiers,who accidentally found some
eurculio gathered under lumber placed in
the vicinity of some plum trees, (we are
not told how near, nor of any preparation
ef the ground,) and in the course of two
weeks caught the enormous number ot
161, which a small toad could eatch and
swallow in fifteen minutes, and_ still sit
and wink for his lunch. But we catch
with little bits of bark, ete., two to four
inches square, in two or three hours,
thousands.

Now, how can Prof. Riley claim for
Mrs. Wiers the discovery of this process,
while she only related the fact of finding
them under the boards without stating
how near the trees, not even suggesting |
the putting of the boards, (we may sup-
pose 12 feetlong and a foot Se
wide) near the tree or preparing the
ground. she simply put it in the vicinity,
hi: wing occasion to use it.

It is, and always has been known, that
Mrs. Wiers’ suggestion was no practical
discovery, or like our method of trapping
them ; and what she found in regard to
catching never suggested anything but a
lumber pile, and that new boards. This
was before the trees were in bloom. No-
body heard any more of it until our dis-
covery, then Prof. Riley brought it up—
In his exhaustive report to the Missouri
and Illinois Horticultural Socicties, as to
the wltima thule of curculio destruction,
he not only discarded it, but all methods
except jarring, hogs, and picking up the
fallen wormy fruit. Here we join issue.
Michigan may use all of these, but not
solely ; we will use the traps whatever
else we use.

Last year I used nothing but traps, and
proved to my satisfaction their superiority
over the jarring Bese But there is uo
objection to using traps, catchers, sheets,
any and ali means that will destroy a
single curculio. Let all these be used!
Do not discard any meaus that kills a sin-
gle curculio !

Tnis method of trapping was published
from east to west, from north to south
over as Union—in two weeks time, and
tried us an experiment in all parisers
Where the EyBEarAION was proper and
not too late in the season, persons de-
stroyed the beetles in large snumbers. In
this vicinity it was very satisfactory. I

|

have received the highest testimony of its
success, while Mrs. Wiers’ discovery was
still-born, and buried without a christen-
ing ceremony or name. It.was only resur-
rected to take fromvaspiring entomologists
the cloud of surprise that all horticultu-
rists expressed, that they had not before
discovered so simple a remedy. Prot.
Riley’s experiment was no better than Dr.
Hull’s with traps; from his experience
and practice he warns all his Michigan
friends. against any confidence in them.
This is oratuitous advice. It would be
goodiftrue! We have, however, learned
by practice, to put faith in curculio traps.
Sincerity or pride might have prompted
this advice to destroy our confidence in
this successful mode of capture. Last
fyear curculios were killed by thousands
and hundreds of thousands, yet. the major-
ity who used the traps began late in the
season. My curculio crop amounted to
over 40,000 by actual count, and mostly
from 400 trees. It was thousht gener-
ally a better year for curculio than
peaches.

In 1868 the crop of endlias shipped
from. this port was about 525,000 bask-
ets. In 1869 about 7 50,000. In 1870
about 157,000. In 1868 and 1869, T
jarred the trees, using a sheet as others
did. In 1870 I used nothing hut the
“Ransom method,” as my friend Riley
terms it.

Now compare the number of baskets of
1870 with those of 1869, and the erop will
be seen to be from one-sixth to one-sev-
enth; but my crop last year, 1870. fell
only a little short of half as many as in
1869, and was as large as in 1868, (when
T used a sheet,) into 102 baskets ; while
the ratio of 1868 to 1869 was about five-
sevenths as many. [ had about half. as
many in 1870, when there was only about
one-seventh as many as in 1869, and’ my
Late Crawfords bore well. In 1870 the
freeze of April 16th, we all know, killed
most of the early and late Crawfords, so
that I had no Crawfords to raise the re-
lative proportion of the two years.

Now, why was my crop about half as
large in 1870 as the year before, with a
full crop of. Crawfords, while the general
last year’s crop averaged only about one-
seventh? I know of no reason except
the faithful attention I gave. from about
May Ist to July, in trapping the curculio.
From the faith T had in the efficiency of

6

this method, and the want of faith among
some prominent horticulturists, and the
discouraging manner they spoke and wrote
of it, I raised my back a la curculio to
fully test its efficiency.

To show the result of this confidence,
and to put all theorizing at rest, I wiil
here state my most careful investigations
and experience as to the loss of my last
year’s crop by the curculio. From previ-
ous statements it will be seen that my
crop of 1870 bore about fifty per cent.
ratio to the large crop of 1869, while the
general ratio of last year was only about
one-seventh of 1869.

I carefully picked from the ground and
from the trees during the entire season,
all wormy and blasted fruit. I cut this
fruit carefully by hundreds to form as
accurate an estimate as possible of the
per cent of the wormy to blasted peaches.
I counted at different times the number
of these peaches in a basket. I estimated
that for the season an average of 2,400
of these small peaches filled a basket. I
picked the very smallest. I found the
basket averaged about one half wormy
and one-half blasted. Reducing all of
thuse picked up to baskets, gave me the
number of peaches destroyed by the cur-
culio. Allowing 125 good fair ripe peach
es as the average of a basket, gave me
the number of baskets lost by curculio.
The result was, (making estimates large
enough) 257 baskets. In this estimate I
was exceedingly careful, and I think I
fully covered the loss, which I think was
tribute enough to the curculio ; 257 bask-
ets at one dollar per basket is $257. That
was my last year’s tax collected by his
Mahamedan highness.

I will leave others to figure up and take
their receipts for custom dues to his im-
perial majesty. I have asked a large
number of fruit growers what per cent. of
last year’s peach crop they thought was
destroyed by the curculio. None say less
than halt, many, very many, two-thirds.—
With these estimates I agree as to the
general crop. Some, however, lost all
their peaches by the curculio. The
peaches were saved in the ratio of the
diligence used in destroying the eurculio.

Now if half the crop was destroyed by
them in 1870, and peaches brought $1
per basket, they destroyed $157,000
worth of peaches. If two-thirds were
destroyed, this fruit region paid tribute to

‘in Kansas.

them last year of $314,000. I simply
ask can we afford to pay it? I answer
no. If there is any way to redress this
evil, let us do it.

I am not speaking of any curculio but
the one that attacks our cherries, peach-
es, and plums, and, so far as 1 know, the
same one attacks our apples; for I have
bred several from apples the past year,
and they are all conotrachaelus, and not
ef the quadrigibbus species. ‘There are
a hundred kindred species of snout beetles
that are puncturing all fruits and nuts.—
One species last year destroyed all the
black walnuts on the rivers and streams
Every species has its pre-
dilection for fruit.

Last year, the first and second days of
May were warm, and brought the curculio
from their hibernating places. Being on
the watch for them, I began to study their
habits, and gained apointinadvance of
what I learned the previous year. I ex-
amined in the cracks and crevices of the
ground near the trees, and found them
hid away. I then searched under leaves,
sticks, and lumps of dirt. There I found
them. This gaye me the hint to save
them the trouble of looking up a lodging
place for themselves, so I smoothed down
the ground and put down traps of various
kinds and sizes until I found traps » suc-
cess. I will here again say, that to sue-
ceed, the ground must be made smooth
and clean, so as to give them no hiding
place near the tree but the traps. The
majority do not fly after enteriug the or-
chard, but remain on the ground during
the early part of the season, except as
they ascend the trees on warm nights to
feed, and descend for shelter in the morn-
ing.

During this part of the season, I dis-
covered no difference in any kind of traps
if properly put around the tree. After
the weather became warm. but few were
found under stones or pieces of briek. I
have used everything for a trap as an ex-
periment, I like pieces of old dead black
oak bark, from two to four inches square.
Take that which has fallen off and worn
the ross and little fibrous bark off, so as
to have no cracks in it for the eurculio to
hide in. One side is concave, the edges
are generally uneven, so that when put up
to the iree they give holes for the beetle .
to crawl under next to the tree whenidesc-
ending. ‘This hollow in the inner side ‘of

the bark, when placed on the smooth
ground, gives a sufficient vacuum for
them to attach themselves to the bark and
just clear the ground, which they seem to
prefer. The traps want but a small
space beneath, say a quarter of an inch,
and all the edges close to the ground, only
just so that a curculio ean crawl under
in several places. I prefer bark because
it has a concave side, and does not warp
with the sun, while most other traps warp
and leave the edges too high and the cen-
tre toe close to the ground. Lath, blocks,
chips, bits of boards, (unless of the size
we may suppose Mrs. Weirs’ were, viz:
building lumber), are either eonvex or
warp with the sun and raise tke edges,
thus bringing the centre to the ground.—
Observation and experience will teach
any one tosucceed. The traps must all
be set over after a rain, as it closes the
edges with dirt washed up around them.

I followed the traps daily from the first
of May to the first of July. There were
but few days that I did not catch curculio
steadily. On June 23d, 24th and 25th, I
caught about as many as any days after
the first week’s trapping, and more than
on any but three or four days. On the
23d, 298; on the 24th, 361. The ther-
mometer ranged from 96° to 104°. These
curculio [am sure were not that year’s
brood. Some things I think I settled
definitely about their habits.

On their first appearance in the spring
they are active, nightly feeders,
if it is sufficiently warm. They ap-
pear in the orchard as soon as it is
warm enough to start the leaves and fruit
buds. They feed voraciously on warm
nights*on the tender starting leaves.—
When it is eold they do not feed. They
ascend the trees just at evening and
descend in the morning to find hiding
places on the ground. «A tew will be
found on the underside of the lateral
limbs. They will principally hide under
the nearest covert to the tree, Very few
remain on the tree.

When the trees are in full foliage cur-
culios will not all descend every day; but
they travel a good deal except when the
female is laying eggs fast and is sluggish.
When not found under the traps daily, go

through the orchard with a rubber mallet |

and jar the trees thoroughly as with a
sheet, and let the heetles fall on the

lof July.

most of them under the traps. To test
the matter whether they feed nights only,
and went down in the morning, which I
had observed them doing frequently, the
sun half an hour or so high. I went thro’
the orchard to about a hundred trees,
at 6 o’clock P. M., and found from five to
ten to the traps of each tree. Then again
about dusk I took my lantern and went
to rows of trees alongside of those where
I found them before sundown, and exam-
ined about the same number of traps and
found only one curculio. Then the next
morning at sunrise, I went to the same
trees I visited with the lantern and found
from five to ten under the traps of each
tree. To see if lights would attract them
I spent several warm nights until 10 or
11 o'clock burning bright fires with small
brush ; most other insects were attracted,
but not a eurculio, not one!

They probabty, when under the traps,
remain there during the day, so that per-
haps it is well to examine them in the
afternoon, and especially later in the
season when if may be best to jar the
trees in the morning, and then give them
time to crawl under before examining the
traps.

The curculio began here last year to
deposit their eggs in about three weeks
from their first appearance, or from May
20th to the 22d. The first peaches I found
from which the larvae had escaped was
from June 26th to the 26th. I put the
Jarvae into a breeding jar June 26th;
they immediately entered the ground.-—
Between July 20th and 26th the beetles
began to come out. They usually pass
from twenty to thirty days in the ground ;
the majority from twenty to twenty-five
days. It thus stands very nearly: May
20th they begin depositing their eggs;
June 20th the larvae begin entering the
ground ; July 20th the first beetles begin
to come out of the ground.

Last year but few if any peaches were
punetured by the curculio after the first
Not later than July 6th I am
sure, if really as late as that. The only
ripe peaches we find many worms in are
Hale’s Harly, which began to ripen Au-
gust Ist, and there are no peaches found
with worms in of conseqnences after a
week or ten days’ picking, and these con-
tain larvae nearly mature. This, allow-
ing four weeks for them to mature in the

ground. In the afternoon you will have |peach, shows they do not deposit eggs

“

much if any after July Ist. Then, the
more succulent and ripe the peach, the
longer they remain in it, and the larger
the larvae grows.

This settles beyond all doubt to my
mind that we are cursed with only one
good healthy, active working crop of cur-
eulio a year. Ihave no doubt but all
curculio larvae perfect the beetle state
and leave the ground the same year, no
matter what time they enter the ground.
I know it is thought the majority remain
in the ground till the next spring. I be-
lieve every one transforms the same sea-
son. I kept them as late as Sept. 21st,
before letting them enter the ground, and
Oct. 16th an examination showed the
perfect beetle, black but not yet emerged
from the transforming cavity. About
June 25th I put dry hard little peaches
containing larvae in a jar without dirt or
moisture. They will not die for a long
time. ‘They will not transform except in
the earth. Many ofthese I kept ull into
September. During the summer
I took Jarvae at different. times from this
jar and examined them, and put them in
earth, from which as usual they went
through the transformation in’ 20 to 30
days. All the old horticultural works, as
well as many horticulturists, now think
they remain in the ground until the next
spring. This is disproved beyond a doubt
to my mind, The number of eges a
single female will deposit in one season
remains unknown so ‘ar as my knowledge
goes,

As to their hibernating locality, or place
they have the mastery of me. I have
prepared what I supposed were attractive
places in my orchard for them, and day
after day examined them with care, and
also other places, late last fall and this
winter, but am yet ignorant ef where the
beetles pass the winter, except what oth
ers Say; of which Iam very distrustful.
From the testimony of many it seems that
they gather in numbers in old stumps,
logs, and under the bark of trees or tim-
ber.
tigation.
er clue to their future destruction.

Perhaps I should speak of Prof. Ril
parasites of which he has wriitep. I

S

’
ry
is

feast ona good fat curculio ege, fram
which he turned continuously, as much as

But this thing needs further inves- |
If true it may give some furth- |

have |
seen them and tried hours to have cne!

rad

to say: No, [thank you sir. And as to
his selling Illinois fruit growers next year
a parasite that destroys the mature lar-
vae, I fear he has stolen my thunder.—
When he was here in Jast June, I showed
him the parasite larvae, which was new
to him, and he requested me to breed
some.

I can furnish him a pair now to go into
their propagation in advance of waiting
until next summer to supply Hlinois horti-
culturists at $1 or $2 a pair. Michigan
will keep under her curculios with the
Ransom traps if we attend to it as we
should. Ihave here in this vial some of
the perfect fly of this new “Michigan”
parasite, so that when Prof. Riley begins
to sell, you may all know it in advance of
his sending them forth to the world claim-
ing its discovery. Thishttle wasp-like fly
as you will see its ovipositor can reaoh
the enrculio larvae in the peach and de-
posit an egg on it, which grow together
until the parasite larvae kills the curculio
larvae, and then furnishes itself a cocoon

and transforms in the same peach. I
bred large numbers last year. If they

should increase much, they will be of
some use to usin killing the curculio
larvae ; unless we export them to Missouri,
HIlinois or somewhere else so ,as to have
ashort supply here. There are many
things remaining of much importance,
which I have not time to present; as I
have already trespassed long on your pa-
tience. Discoveries remain tobe made as
to their natural habits. Do they live oa
from yearto year? How many eggs does
a single femalelay? What lenethof time
‘is consumed in laying? where do they
hibernate? Let these be fully settled.
is it known certainly that birds eat the
beetles? Do hens or chickens eat the
‘beetles? Lthink toads do, although I
}am not positive. We all need to study fur-
|ther the habit cf this little insect. Let
the name cureulio, which sounds from
Maine to Iiorida, from the Atlantie coast
|to the Rocky mountains: which echoes
from the valley, from the plain, and from
the mountain tops, be the tocsin note in

|
ithe ears ofevery fruit crower, to arise like
ithe angel of death and swear that his
crescent mark, shall be the insignia of his

a
coh

doom ; that the cureuho shall be no more.
That our fair fruits shall blush in the sun
‘beams without his unhallowed touch.

L

*

4

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