EXPERIMENTS IN HORTICULTURE. 



407 



ing. I then tried salt, paving, &c; but 

 found nothing that proved successful until 

 the year 1S4S. I then determined to en- 

 force the killing system. As soon as my 

 apricot trees were in full bloom, I examined 

 them daily until the 11th of May, when I 

 discovered on the first of one of the lower 

 branches the crescent mark, which, being 

 followed, led me to one of the insects, in 

 the act of puncturing a young apricot about 

 the size of a pea. I immediately captured 

 the rascal, and corked him up in a small 

 vial as a " specimen," and gave him to my 

 gardener, with directions to slay all of the 

 kind that he could find. He accordingly 

 prepared a small fence-post, by covering 

 the end with india-rubber and a piece of 

 old carpet. He then spread under a tree 

 two large sheets, and jarred the tree with 

 his pounder until he brought down all the 

 insects on it. From five trees, he thus 

 caught twelve on the first trial. This prac- 

 tice was continued daily until sometime in 

 June. As soon as the plums were suffi- 

 ciently advanced, I selected forty trees, and 

 they were treated in like manner until 

 sometime in July. 



The result exceeded my most sanguine 

 expectations. From the five apricot trees, 

 which had never before produced twenty 

 ripe apricots, I had upwards of three thou- 

 sa.7id of the most beautiful and luscious spe- 

 cimens of that variety — the Golden apricot. 

 In August my plum trees were breaking 

 down with the fruit, especially the Impe- 

 rial Gage, which bore an enormous crop. 

 One large Green Gage tree ripened two or 

 three bushels, and for several weeks fur- 

 nished an abundance of that most delicious 

 fruit in its highest perfection. Indeed, this 

 tree more than compensated for the labor 

 bestowed upon all of them. 



The same system was continued in 1S49, 

 and with similar success; although the 



crop was light, in consequence of a partial 

 failure of stone fruits in this region, as well 

 as the bearing of an excessive crop the 

 year before. 



I think I can say, therefore, from actual 

 experience, that this is a certain and a 

 practicable mode of saving smooth skinned 

 fruits from the attacks of the curculio. The 

 labor required for forty-five trees was two 

 hours a day for about six weeks. 



Perhaps I may add, that many of the 

 preventives proposed, although they suc- 

 ceed under certain circumstances, cannot, 

 in my opinion, be of much general utility ; 

 for the reason, that they are based upon 

 unphilosophical principles. Thus, salting, 

 paving, and manuring under the tree, and 

 fencing around it, are based upon the idea, 

 that the insect which attacks the tree al- 

 ways comes immediately from the ground 

 beneath it ; which is an unfounded suppo- 

 sition. The curculio is capable of migrating 

 to a distance ; it can fly over the highest 

 fences, and is entirely proof against all such 

 weak inventions. Otherwise, how would 

 you explain the well known fact, that every 

 plum is often stung on a young tree, stand- 

 ing alone, the first year of its bearing ? 

 This tree could not have propagated the 

 insect by the falling of its own fruit. Nu- 

 merous instances came under my observa- 

 tion last summer, where apples, and pears, 

 and cherries were all stung, on trees which 

 had never borne before, and which were 

 many yards distant from any other fruit 

 trees. In addition to that, any one, who is 

 well acquainted with the habits of the cur- 

 culio, knows that in the latter part of the 

 season it is accustomed to fly with apparent 

 ease. Indeed, it requires considerable ex- 

 pedition, after having jarred them from 

 the tree, to catch them before they re- 

 eoves from their fright and take to their 

 wings. 



