416 ANNUAL REPORT OF NEW- YORK 



GRAPE. CURRANT. 



anastamosing in every direction. The central dusky brown spot is placed upon 

 the inner side of the double rib-vein, and commonly there is a more faint spot 

 forward of this, which on its inner side is confluent with a slight cloudiness of 

 ihe same color which extends from the central spots forward along the middle 

 of the back to the base. Often also a third spot, much smaller, may be dis- 

 cerned in the second or third cell back of the central spot. The ovipositor is 

 as long as the abdomen and perfectly straight; its sides are dark brown and its 

 end black. The two appendages at its base are much shorter than in the other 

 species, being scarcely half the length of the ovipositor. The feelers are sensi- 

 bly shorter and thicker than in the other species, their penultimate joint hav- 

 ing the form of a reversed cone, its length scarcely double its w^idth and less 

 than half the length of the last joint, which is thicker than those which pre- 

 cede it, and on its inner side is very plainly cut off in a sloping direction from 

 the middle to the tip, with the face of this slope deeply excavated and causing 

 the joint to appear like a hollow tube. The antennce, are blackish on their 

 upper side towards the base, or have a black ring at the tip of each joint. 



10. THE CURRANT.— i?26e5 ruhrum. 



We place this shrub and the gooseberry in this connection, as 

 their woody stalks and the form and texture of their fruit give 

 them such a close relationship to the grape; though they might 

 with perhaps equal propriety be classed with the raspberry, straw - 

 berry and other small fruits of the kitchen garden. 



AFFECTING THE STALKS. 



134. American currant borer, Psenocerus supernotatusj Say. (Coleop 

 tera. Cerambycidse.) [Plate ii, fig. 1.] 



Feeding upon the pith of the currant and killing the stalks, a 

 small cylindrical white worm wholly destitute of feet and with a 

 small chestnut brown head and black jaws; passing its pupa state 

 in the stalks and the latter part of May changing to a small slen- 

 der long-horned beetle of a black color edged with chestnut brown, 

 its wing covers each with two small gray spots forward of their 

 middle and a white, crescent-shaped one towards their tips. 



In all our gardens numbers of the currant stalks perish every 

 season. To such an extent does this mortality prevail that this 

 fruit would soon disappear from our country were it not that the 

 roots of this shrub are so vigorous, sending up a multitude of new 



