PROCEEDIXGS OF THE WINTER MEETING. 39 



" We tliiis have these three remedies before us. We shall labor to ascer- 

 tain which is the most desiralJle, and report to the fruitgrowers of the 

 country. 



WIKE-WORMS. 



" Prof. J. H. Comstock reports a new way to prevent the ravages of the 

 wire-worm. It is to trap the beetles. He finds that bunches of clover laid 

 in the field will attract the beetles, when the latter can be killed ; and thus, 

 he argiies, the eggs will not be laid, and the wire-worm difficulty will be 

 solved. He experimented further by putting Paris green on the clover, and 

 found that the beetles were poisoned. Thus we have the old cut-worm 

 remedy now recommended for wire-worms. In the first place it destroys 

 the larvpe, while in the second it kills the beetles. This is certainly worth 

 a thorough trial. There are only two difl&culties in the way. First, were 

 the beetles actually captured really the parents of the destructive wire- 

 worms? Again, I fear that this remedy will never be very practicable. 

 We are, in most sections, troubled only occasionly with wire-worms, and 

 the grubs live two or three years. Now it is a great question whether any 

 farmer, or at least any considerable number of farmers, will bait or trap 

 for beetles every year to prevent a possible evil not yet at hand. In case 

 the wire-worms are present and destructive every year, as in some of the 

 low-ground onion regions of Michigan, the practicability would be less 

 problematical, and the remedy might be well and expectantly tried. Our 

 people are too hopefid to fight against a foe that may never come." 



A Voice: When should the first application be made? 



Prof. Cook : For both the curculio and the codlin moth, the first time 

 should be immediately after the blossoms fall, and not before because of 

 liability to injury to bees. Curculio will fly to fruit trees — have been 

 known to fly a mile or more — and hence cotton bands, saturated or other- 

 wise, about the tree are of no use. There is one parasitic enemy of the 

 curculio, an ichneumon fly, but as it feeds upon the larvae, and can only 

 get at them when near the surface, they are soon beyond reach. Curculio 

 have no choice of foliage among varieties of plum, at least not to such an 

 extent that any variety may be said to be curculio-proof. The insect pre- 

 fers plums to apples to work upon. 



A. C. Glidden of Paw Paw: Has the curculio educated his appetite? 

 Is there such a thing in insect life? There may be, but it is more likely 

 that the curculio changed his pasturage from the forests to the fruit trees 

 because he had to, supplies running short in the former. But it still is a 

 fact that insects have the peculiar power of acquiring appetite. 



Prof. Cook: I deem it better to use one pound of London purple to 200 

 gallons of water and apply more thoroughly. Many fail at this point. 

 Use considerable force, and dwell upon the tree, which you can safely do 

 with the weaker solution. We shall experiment this spring with Paris 

 green and London purple on foliage under all conditions. My preference 

 is for London purple. We may also use poison for curculio on peaches as 

 soon as we find them at work. Prof. Forbes' experiments showed that cur- 

 culio feed upon leaves and that London purple kills them. Use of corro- 

 sive sublimate is dangerous and should not be encouraged. One pint of 

 crude carbolic acid well mixed into fifty pounds of plaster and dusted over 



