258 Nebraska State Horticultural Society. 



3. Jarring of the Trees. AVhen this metliod is practiced a sheet 

 of suitable size, i. e., one just as large as can be conveniently us?dr 

 say twelve feet square, is spread beneath the tree and the latter given 

 several sharp blows with a padded stick, or a quick shaking. One of 

 the characteristic instincts of the adult plum curculio is lo draw up- 

 its legs and drop when disturbed, and this will cause many of theut 

 to fall upon the sheet, from which they may be taken and killed.- 

 This jarring should be started as soon as the fruit is "get" and- 

 repeated as often as possible while the curculios are abundant. 

 They drop easiest when they are numbed by the coolness of early morn- 

 ing. The apple curculio, on the other hand, does not often .!vop v. h^n" 

 disturbed but rather clings the tighter. In orchards of considerable; 

 size, however, this remedy is, as a rule, too slow and laborious for 

 practical application.* Sometimes help is gained by 



4. Spraying. This method also aims at the destruction of the 

 adult beetle by the eating of arsenical poisons. One great difficulty 

 in the way of success by spraying is that only occasionally does the- 

 insect eat enough of the poisoned skin of the fruit to cause its death, 

 in the majority of cases passing its beak through to the pulp be- 

 neath without partaking of any of the arsenite. Especially is this- 

 true of the apple curculio. The result is that spraying for the cur- 

 culio is hardly to be considered a primarily successful method of 

 combating it. It is undoubtedly true, however, that the fruit of the 

 trees which have had frequent application of Paris green, London 

 purple or arsenate of lead are generally less liable to feeding punc- 

 tures and egg deposition than untreated ones, due probably to the 

 repellant effect of the sprayings. While spraying does not seem to- 

 have enough value that the writer would at present care to recom- 

 mend its being employed especially as a curculio remedy, the necessity 

 of such applications in fighting the codling moth will doubtless prove 

 also of considerable help against curculios.** Care should be taken' 

 not to use the arsenites so strong that the foliage is burned, and the 



*A more practicable curculio catcher for larger orchards is de- 

 scribed and figured in Mr. A. L. Quintance's recent paper on "The 

 Principal Insect Enemies of the Peach" to be found in the Yearbook 

 of the U. S. Department of Agriculture for 1905, p. 328, to which the 

 reader is referred. 



**For an extensive account of very successful results by spraying: 

 with arsenate of lead consult Bulletin No. 108 of the Illinois Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station. 



