306 KEPOKT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE 



Before leaving this subject of Families, let me impress upon 

 jour minds another important fact, namely, that the Family is 

 not peculiar to any one c nntry, and that while species vary, 

 the Family has the same habits and characteristics all over the 

 world. Thus in Europe we find the snout-beetles as injurious, 

 and as difficult to manage, — if not more so, — than they are in 

 this country. One species {RhyncMtes conicus, Hbst.), 

 ■deposits eggs in the twigs of pear, plum, cherry, and apricot, 

 and girdles the twig to make it fall ; another {RhyncMtes 

 hacchus, Schcen), infests the fruit, and still another {Anthon- 

 omus pyri, Schcen), the flower bud of the pear. One, 

 {RhyncMtes hetuleti), rolls up grape leaves and partly cuts 

 their stems, so that they perish, while another {Anthonomus 

 pomorum, Sen.), infests the blossom bud of the apple, and 

 renders it unfertile. Still another inhabits the blossom bud 

 of the cherry. Balanmus nucum is found in the common 

 hazel-nut, and B. cerasorum in cherry pits ; Apion apricans 

 devours the seed of clover; Otiorhynchus sulcatiis, Sch., 

 infests the crown of strawberries, and two different species, 

 {Baris chlorizans, Schcek, and Ceutorhynchus napi, Schceis"), 

 infests the stems of cabbages and turnips. 



But after all, a single species — the "Little Turk," for instance 

 — sometimes causes more loss of fruit in this country than all 

 the above enumerated species do to the European cultivator; 

 and though much of this comparative incapacity for harm, on 

 the part of their insects, may be in a measure due to the 

 better knowledge of his foes, which the transatlantic cultivator 

 possesses, to the more careful culture which he pursues, and 

 the usually limited extent of his orchard, compared with ours; 

 jet it greatly depends on other causes, which the time allowed 

 will not permit me to dwell upon. So I will at once proceed 

 to say a few words about those of our own Suout-beetleg, 

 which more particularly interest you. 



