70 STATE H0RTICU1.TURAL SOCIETY. 



These dormant fungus spores however, will become active when the fruit 

 is unloaded, especially in hot, humid weather and such fruit will gain a 

 reputation for poor marketing quality and be discounted accordingly. 

 It is just as important that fruit remain in sound condition after its 

 arrival, long enough at least to be sold and consumed, as it is to get it 

 to market sound. So it is evident that precooling can not be legitimately 

 substituted for careful handling in preparing fruit for shipment. It is 

 in no sense a panacea for all the difficulties of carrying fruit in a sound 

 condition to distant markets. It cannot improve the quality or condition 

 of the fruit packed and can only temporarily retard decay, following in- 

 juries made by rough handling. But it renders unnecessary the packing of 

 such fruits as peaches, plums, and apricots in a hard green condition in 

 order to offset the ripening which takes place in cars under ordinary 

 methods, thus giving a better satisfaction to the consumer and a more 

 extended and profitable market to the grower and shipper. 



THE CHEERY FRUIT FLIES. 



A. H. HOLLINGER^ DETROIT. 



The earliest account of maggots working in American cherries was 

 from Massachusetts in 1883. Six years later, the cherry growers in this 

 region reported much damage from a similar maggot. It is very likely 

 that maggots had been destructive before this in other localities, but 

 the cause of the trouble was credited to the grub of the plum curculio. 

 The fruit-fly is now widely distributed over the northern and central 

 states. 



The native food-plants were probably wild species of plum and cherry, 

 but gradually it has acquii-ed a taste for cultivated fruits, until now, 

 all cherries, both sweet and sour, and occasionally i)lums, are attacked. 

 However, it has a decided preference for certain varieties, such as Eng- 

 lish Morello, Montmorency, Downer, Black Cherries, and others. 



The adult insect is a pretty little fly, resend)ling the common house- 

 fly in general form, though much smaller. Its body is black and the head 

 and legs are brown. Each wing is crossed by four blackish bands and 

 has a black spot at its tip. These peculiar wing-markings serve to easily 

 distinguish this flv from the adult of the apple-maggot or railroad^ worm 

 and other near relatives, and render these flies quite conspicuous objects 

 as they fly from cherry to cherry. All growers should familiarize them- 

 selves with the adult stage of this pest. 



The eggs are deposited just under the skin of the cherry by the sharp 

 ovipositor of the female, and may be laid in any section of the fruit. 

 The egg-scars are mere punctures and must not be confused with the 

 crescent-shaped scars made bv the plum curculio. Egg-laying extends over 

 a considerable period, from June till as long as cherries last. The fly 

 lays about four hundred eggs and begins 'ovipositing about two weeks 

 after she emerges. 



In a few days the eggs hatch into yellowish-white maggots which pene- 

 trate to the pit, feeding on the flesh and forming an irregular rotting- 

 appearing cavity. The fruit is not mined, as in the case with the apple- 



