STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 225 



direction to the wind on the lake. It is to this cause that sites opposite 

 St. Jo. can be selected, against which north land breezes can work but 

 little harm. 



Doubtless there are many other places along the east shore of the 

 lake equally protected as are the lands at St. Jo. 



With respect to fruit insects, they are abundant, both at SfT Jo. and 

 Benton Harbor, and arc increasing. Among those which we observed 

 to be most troublesome on the fruit of the apple was codling moth; 

 apple and plum curculios, trunk and limb borers were plenty, wliile the 

 leaves, fruit and branches are sometimes infected with lice, and the fruit 

 scabs. Peaches, plums, and cherries arc much stung by the curculio. 

 In some orchards it was claimed tliat in the past year no very marked 

 increase was noticeable, while in others the ratio of increase in one year 

 was estimated as high as one thousand per cent. Here, as in other 

 States, the grape-vine insects abound, and some of them in great lunn- 

 bers. In some of the vineyards the grape-vine louse had spoiled all, or 

 nearly all, the early vine and leaf growth. The iettigonia vitiSy or leaf 

 hopper, did not appear to be near so numerous as in localities much 

 further south. They were sufficiently numerous, however, to show 

 that they could be depended on whenever vine growing at that point 

 shall become well established. The Grape-vine Fidia^ the steel-blue 

 beetle, and several other of the grape insects of Southern vineyards,, 

 were here found; also, that pest of the grape grower, the grape codling. 

 This last insect, though much smaller, closely resembles the codling 

 moth, and is, perhaps, more destructive, and more likely to rapidly increase 

 fn northern climates than either of the other grape insects which we have 

 named. Our neighbors across the water are not strangers to tree diseases 

 other than those induced by insects. There, as in Illinois and elsewhere, 

 where fruits are largely grown, the pear tree is subject to the disease 

 known as pear-tree blight, the leaves to leaf-blight, and the fnjit to the 

 russet patches and bands so prevalent in the southwestern state?. Apple 

 trees die from some aflection of the roots. CheiTy-tree leaves and young 

 branches mildew. The leaves of the plum are attacked by fungi,. 

 Grapes rot, while the peach is not in all cases as vigorous as could be 

 desired, nor is its fruit exempt from rot. Whoever goes to Michigan^ 

 or to any other fruit district, to engage in fruit growing ought first 

 to understand that all the difficulties we have mentioned, and many 

 more, will sooner or later have to be encountered. 



TRAPPING CURCULIOS. 



In company with Dr. Le Baron, State Entomologist of Illinois, we 

 arrived at St. Joseph, Michigan, May 23d. We proceeded at once to the 

 residence of Mr. W. B. Ransom, the discoverer of the new mode of 

 destroying the curculio. We found Mr. Ransom in his peach orchard 

 on his knees, under a tree, lifting his traps and exhibiting to several vis- 

 itors present the curculios which were adhering to the under side of covers 

 which he had laid around the trees. After receiving a cordial greeting 

 from Mr. R. and others present, we. in company with Mr. R., carefully 



