There is an estate on which we pay no tax and which is not susceptible of improvement. 

 It is of indefinite extent and is to be reached by taking the road to the nearest woods and 

 fields. While this is quite as valuable as any property we may possess, as a matter of fact 

 few assert their title to it. 



Nature is in herself a perpetual invitation to come into the open. The woods are an 

 unfailing resource; the mountains and the sea, companionable. To count among one's friends, 

 the birds and flowers and trees is surely worth while; for to come upon a new flower is then 

 in the nature of an agreeable event, and a chance meeting with a bird may lend a pleasant 

 flavor to the day. — "In the 0/>r>/," by Stanton Davis Kirkham. 



The Guide to Nature. 



EDUCATION AND RECREATION 



Vol. I 



JANUARY, 1909 



No. 10 



The " Chestnut ■ Worm" and Its Enemies. 



BY FRED. E. BROOKS, MORGANTOWN, W. VA. 



Photographs by the Author 



\NY persons are intimately- 

 acquainted with the plump, 

 white worm that inhabits 

 the meat of the chestnut 

 and yet have never met the 

 very stately and dignified 

 beetle that is the parent of 

 the worm. Since the coy ways of the 

 young creatures often beguile the lov- 

 er of good nuts into the closest con- 

 tact with them it is but seemly and 

 proper that he should know the head 

 of the family and his somewhat timid 

 wife. He ought to have a look at 

 the old lady's methods of housekeep- 

 ing and learn something of the family 

 associates. Let me warn him, how- 

 ever, that in seeking an introduction 

 he should not thrust his presence up- 

 on the old folks too suddenly for they 

 dislike meeting strangers and will 

 tumble over in a dead faint if his call 



is not orderly and well conducted. If 

 such a mishap should occur the enter- 

 tainment which they give only to priv- 

 ileged callers will be withheld. 



There are two species of the worms 

 that are commonly found in chestnuts. 

 One has been called the "greater 

 chestnut-weevil," and the other the 

 "lesser chestnut-weevil." The habits 

 of the two species are very similar 

 and there is scarcely any difference 

 in the appearance of the worms except 

 that, when full grown, one is nearly 

 twice the size of the other. It is of 

 the larger weevil, the one known tech- 

 nically as Balaninus proboscideus, that 

 I write. 



My accpiaintance with this insect 

 was acquired in the hilly region of 

 central West Virginia, where the 

 American sweet chestnut grows in 

 luxuriance, and the notes given may 



Copyright 1908 by The Agassiz Association. Stamford. Conn. 



