256 STATE BOARD OF .AGRICULTURE. 



REMEDIES. 



During the time of flowering and for a period before and after the same it is possible 

 to obtain numbers of these beetles in an infested plum orchard by jarring. The writer 

 has obtained them in numbers in Minnesota by simply holding an inverted umbrella 

 under the small trees and jarring the trunk and large limbs with a padded mallet. It 

 is far better, however, to place sheets on the ground under the tree and so to get almost 

 all of them, or else to use a regular curculio catcher which is the same thing on a frame 

 or on wheels. Gougers captured in this way count more toward obtaining good results 

 than those obtained later, as the females still contain the eggs which are not laid until 

 sometime afterward in the young fruit. This method should be followed up as long as 

 results are forthcoming. The trees should not be shaken, but jarred, and well jarred, as 

 the beetles cling harder than do the curculios. A mallet heavily padded so that it may 

 be used to strike a sharp blow without injuring the bark, will be found useful for the 

 purpose. 



Fig. 20. — Plum pits perforated by Plum Gougers in making their exits. Slightly enlarged. 



Original. 



Destruction of fallen and infested fruit. — The fact that most of the fruit falls just 

 before the beetles emerge and escape gives us the clue to another measure, viz. : the 

 destruction of the fallen fruit. This may be accomplished in several ways; either by 

 daily picking up the fruit, of by turning in hogs about the trees. Where hogs seem 

 objectionable, pick up and bury the plums, covering them well so that none of the 

 beetles shall escape. 



Professor C. P. Gillette,* who had experimented with this species at length, does not 

 recommend the use of arsenites, having obtained little benefit therefrom. He does, how- 

 ever recommend a course which would be very effective if conscientiously carried out. 

 He recommends gathering and destroying all gouged fruit, both on the tree and on the 

 ground, between July 1st and August 10th. Such a course would require a great deal of 

 labor, but if carried on over a good amount of territory it would be very effective, 

 combining the benefits of thinning with those resulting from the destruction of the 

 insects. Possibly the dates should be made a little later up here in the North, but not 

 more than a week at most. Professor Gillette also points out the fact that the gougers 

 greatly prefer the native varieties to the domesticated ones. 



* P.ulletin 9, Iowa Experiment Station, p. 388. 



