The Curculio. 37 



of wild plums. I think the plum curculio has been more destructive 

 than we have any idea of. 



MR. DAVIDSON: Why would not geese in an orchard be a good 

 remedy? 



MR. YAGER: We have a farmer in our community who is veery 

 much interested in plum culture. He is not a scientific man, however, 

 but he has discovered a way of getting rid of the plum curculio. It is 

 by keeping a small flock of guineas. He says it is surprising how many 

 curculio one guinea will eat in a season. He has fine plums to show for 

 it, too. The guinea proposition on a small scale is all right. I think 

 that spraying is ineffective; it does not seem to do the business. 



PROF. EMERSON: Spraying alone is not enough, but spraying 

 two or three times, and then giving the orchard good cultivation and a 

 thorough cleaning in the fall is good. There should be no decaying 

 fruit or dead matter of any kind left in the orchard as a breeding place 

 for diseases. 



MR. SWAN: Down in our country I have not seen a curculio this 

 summer. They probably got disgusted with us down there. This guinea 

 idea might be all right, but we cannot raise guineas in Johnson county. 

 They don't have sense enough to live down there. 



MR. HENDERSON: I was talking with a friend of mine last 

 night, and he said one of his neighbors had a good deal of trouble with 

 rats. He got some guineas, and they scared the rats away. Maybe it 

 was the same way with these bugs, — that they were scared away by the 

 guineas. Cherry trees have never been affected by worms or bugs, but 

 this year little worms about a quarter of an inch long have eaten nearly 

 fifty percent of the leaves. 



THE PRESIDENT: If that worm is a leaf eater, you can get rid 

 of it by spraying. That is the trouble with this curculio, it don't eat 

 the leaves. It eats at the fruit first, and for that reason it is pretty 

 liard to spray for the curculio. 



MR. YAGER: One word about this guinea idea. Swan now 

 is making light of this, but it is really a good thing. The trouble with 

 you is you want to tame your guineas. You should let them run, for 

 they are naturally wild. Just get them and let them go it alone. 



MR. SWAN: You can get all the guineas you want in Nemaha 

 county for $3 a dozen. An old hen had all kinds of guineas, but only 

 raised one. 



MR. BROWN: I am a stranger here, but I would like to say a 

 few words on this subject. I am originally a New Yorker, and with us 

 there in New York State, you could raise apples just as well as shade 



