STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 139 



western fruit show at Burlington. AVhy is it so ? Because these pests 

 are not there — not even the apple curculio in an}- but small force. 

 I see no reason why they should not grow fruit there, better than in 

 any other portion of the State. From Galena we came down the 

 river and stopped at several of the river towns. At Warsaw we 

 found the apple crop in very good condition. There was nothing 

 wrong except that they were scabbed, and yet some of the kinds that 

 we had at Alton were not so much scabbed as ours. 



We will have to unite against the insects, and wherever there ai*e 

 two or more pei'sons adjoining, they will have to use the curculio- 

 catchers. You can control three orchards of a thousand trees each, 

 and in all probability you will not have to apply them over two or 

 three times, unless you are so situated with regard to other parties 

 that they will fly over. 



Mr. Earle — 'How much jarring does it take on a large apple tree ? 



Dr. Hull — We illustrated that last summer on our Ad Interim 

 Committee. When I have employed men to do it they are apt to 

 drive it too much. We always want to approach the tree by the 

 same path. Now take an eastern peach tree and they are not so large 

 as one of our side branches. 1 could jar them by striking them with 

 my hand. Now I have trees a foot through, and I find that my 

 curculio-catcher must weigh about 75 to 100 pounds. If I have a 

 light instrument then I knock the bark off. 



Mr. Riley — My experience in your orchard and in other orchards 

 isj that the curculio-catcher does great injury to the trees. I advise 

 the use of a spike driven into the larger trees, and it may be made with 

 a shoulder to it. I think the great objection to the use of the curculio- 

 catcher is that in time it would cause great bruising of the bark. 



Dr. Hull — Mr. Riley is right, if the work be done by a green hand. 

 It is not a light blow that will answer — it must be considerable of a 

 blow to produce a jar on the remote branches. 



Mr. Barry — We have the curculio in great abundance, and our own 

 method of fighting them is, in the spring of the year to spread a 

 sheet which we have made for the purpose, and jar the trees. We 



