226 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



prospected trees in that part of the orchard which had not been gone 

 ■over that morning. Tiie traps for capturing the " little Turk" were 

 pieces of bark, say tln-ee or four inches long and about half as wide. 

 These were laid close around the trunks of the trees, three or four of 

 them to each tree. Before putting these down the ground was smoothed, 

 and the earth pressed close to the trunks, so as to leave no hiding places 

 for the curculios to enter. Four or five such bits of ba^k as we have 

 mentioned arc made to encircle the trunk of a tree. Air. Ransom thinks 

 it of much importance, on placing these bits of bark around the ti'ee, 

 that thev should be down in contact with the earth, so that only very 

 small openings under them be left. Pieces laid close to the ground, with 

 one edge touching the tree, were generally selected by the insect to those 

 that were loosely laid, and that were at some distance from the tree. 

 The object of the insects in going under these seemed to be to shelter 

 themselves, while at rest, from observation, and possibly from cold. So 

 long as they remained under the covers, it was only necessary to pick up 

 the bark and kill such insects as were under them, replace the traps, and 

 in a like manner go from tree to tree. In this way it was supposed a 

 man and an active boy could daily visit a thousand trees. 



As soon as it was known that Mr. Ransom had clearly determined 

 that curculios could be taken in large numbers by merely providing shel- 

 ter for them, the St. Joseph Herald issued an extra, which was sent to all 

 the fruitgrowers in the vicinity, setting forth the efficiency of this method, 

 and urging immediate action and co-operation, on the grounds that the 

 whole brood could be gathered and destroyed before they were ready to 

 sting a plum or a peach. 



The fruit growers, being thus timely notified and encouraged by the 

 fact that all who laitl traps caught insects, generally engaged in this novel 

 mode of warfare; some averaging, for a time, as high as ten or a dozen 

 per tree for the whole orchard. On the 3 2d, however, the weather had 

 become warmer, and curculios were taken under the traps in diminished 

 numbers; while in fact their numbers were rapidly augmented in the 

 trees. About this time several persons tried jarring their trees. On the 

 morning of May 19, Dr. Winans jarred from one plum tree 180 curcu- 

 lios; 20th, 94; 23d, 310, and on the morning of the 23d, 25 were taken 

 by jarring, and two under the traps. 



Several other persons had likewise resorted to both trapping and jar- 

 ring; in every instance reported to us, many times more insects were 

 captured by jarring than \Nere taken under the traps; and at the time we 

 left it was g-eneralU' conceded that from that time to the end of the 

 season the sheets were the only reliable means by which the peach crop 

 could be secured free from worms. 



On the last day of our visit (May 23), peaches at St. Joseph were 

 about the size of a small hazel-nut, and probably the first cuts made by 

 the curculios were on the 22d, possibly not till the 23d; and yet in both 

 Mr. Ransom's and Mr. Whittlesey's grounds many peaches were stung. 

 Dozens were picked ofl' Mr. W.'s trees containing eggs pf the curculio, 



