112 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



curculios puncturing them for food. This they do some days before and up to the 

 time of full maturity of the fruit. 



These little wounds afford points to which the fungais of rotten peaches become 

 attached, when the fruit quickly decays. If the decayed peaches are allowed to 

 remain on the trees, there the rot soon spreads, not only to all the wounded peaches, 

 but is liable under conditions favoring its spread to attack and destroy the sound fruit, 

 also. The preference curcuhos show for mature fruit for food, is a probable, and only 

 cause why early peaches rot most. 



Hogs are but a partial protection. The good they do is in consuming the fallen 

 £ruit with the larvae. It is, however, unfortunate that larvae perfect themselves and 

 crawl out of the fruit while it is yet on the tree. In this way, enough escape being 

 eaten by the hogs to stock the orchard with curculios in the following year. 



As cuiculio larva always leave the fruit and enter the ground by night, chickens 

 are not the least protection. One year I kept one hundred hogs under plum trees in 

 which the chickens and turkeys roosted, and yet every plum on these trees was 

 stung. Other persons in the neighborhood where I reside, have made chicken yards 

 around plum trees and kept them well stocked with fowls, old and young, without 

 ever gathering a sound plum. In short, all the sure remedies which aimually appear 

 in print, not omitting the bad odors, have had a fair trial and are found wanting. So 

 far the only effectual plan is found in^the jarring process, which is akeady too well 

 miderstood to need repeating here. 



So far as we know, no cannibal insect has yet been discovered to prey upon the 

 curcuUo beetles, or to materially diminish the larvae . 



A Iviiowledge of the facts here stated, and a strict practicable adherence to them, by 

 all our orchardists, would again restore to plenty and profit certain fruit districts in 

 the "West, which at the present time, in a pecuniary point of view for fruit only, are 

 worth less than the parchment on which the title to them is written. 



DISCUSSION ON SELECTING GRAFTS FOR NURSERY. 



Dr. Hull — If a branch were put to rest by the frost there would 

 be no fruit on it. Why ? Because the fruit bud is nothing but a 

 modified leaf bud. Hence we must have early maturity to mature 

 the fruit buds. If we can not get any fruit until we get perfect 

 wood, then of course we should devote ourselves to the early per- 

 fection of the growth, and when the growth is perfected, then we 

 consider it hardy. You never knew a tree that went to rest at the 

 proper time — that is, by the end of July — where there was the result 

 of sun scald by immature growth. 



Mr. Galusha — Do we understand you that these growths were all 

 from terminal buds ? 



