304 KEPOKT OF THE SECEETARY OF THE 



practical man ; for, instead of having to study the diversified 

 habits of half a million species, he has hut to acquaint him- 

 self with the appearance and characteristics of one hnndi'ed 

 families; and if the rudiments of entomology had been taught 

 you, gentlemen, at school, so that you had become familiar 

 with these hundred family types, you would now be much 

 better able to cope Avith your insect enemies. When I think 

 that it would take a child no longer to learn these one hundred 

 family types than it does to learn the one hundred different 

 types which compose the four alphabets — the Eoman capital 

 and small alphabet and the writing capital and small alphabet 

 — I fully expect, and sincerely hope, that in the joublic schools 

 of this country we shall soon have text-books introduced 

 which will cover the ground as well, and occupy the same 

 place as do those useful Avorks of Leunis, and Troschel & 

 Ruthe, in the public schools of Germany. 



With these few remarks, which are intended to show that 

 the practical man may easily obtain a general knoAvledge of 

 his insect friends and enemies, notwithstanding the wide field 

 of their operations and the immense number of species which 

 exist, we will noAv dwell for a while on one of these families, 

 which deeply interest you as fruit-growers, namely: 



THE CURCULIOJSJID^ OR SNOUT-BEETLES. 



This is one of the very largest and most conspicuous Fami- 

 lies in the order of beetles {Coleoptera), comprising, as it does, 

 over 10,000 distinct and described species. It is at once dis- 

 tinguished from all the other families of beetles by the front 

 of the head being produced into a more or less elongated snout 

 or rostrum, at the extremity of which the mouth is situated. 

 The snout is sometimes very long and as fine as a hair (genus 

 Balaninus), and sometimes as broad as the head (genus Bron- 

 thus) J but it always forms part and parcel of the head, and 

 does not articulate on it as does the snout or proboscis of the 

 true Bugs {Heniiptera), or the tongue of moths and butterflies. 

 The other chief characteristics of the family are an apparently 



