new remedy for the curculio. 



565 



perilled ; and as that of 1S49 was con- 

 ducted carefully with a view to throw light 

 upon two not unimportant questions con- 

 nected with this subject, viz : 1st, When 

 should the treatment commence? — 2d, How 

 long should it be continued? I have thought 

 it most instructive to cop}' what is relevant 

 from my Diary. 



With feelings of the sincerest good will 

 toward yourself and that distinguished body 

 of cultivators and amatuers over whom you 

 have the honor to preside, I remain your 

 obedient servant, L. Young. 



Details of Experiments with Lime in the 



Culture of Smooth- coated Fruits, during 



the years 1848 and 1849 : 



I have cultivated the plum since 1828, and 

 in 20 years had two perfect crops ; one, a 

 first crop after making a stone pavement 

 around some trees ; for success in the other 

 instance I never could account, unless no 

 crop of the kind had ever preceded it in 

 that spot to invite the curculio thither. 

 Certain it is the same tree failed ever after. 

 In the spring of 1848, a very abundant crop 

 of handsome young fruits had passed the 

 season of danger from frosts, and I deter- 

 mined to make several different efforts to 

 realize a prospect so promising. Having 

 the authority of that excellent periodical, 

 the Horticulturist, for fresh stable manure, 

 I treated the best of the trees and nearly 

 my whole collection in that way — the ma- 

 nure being re-applied as often as it ceased 

 to emit the offensive odor. One tree of 

 Cooper's large, was fixed upon for the ex- 

 periment with lime, and fearing a free use of 

 it might hazard the life of the tree as well 

 as the fruit, I made choice of one partially 

 blown dowp by the winds, deeming it the 

 lesser sacrifice if the experiment proved 

 fatal. After the treatment with both lime 

 and manure had been continued a few 

 weeks, the efficacy of lime seemed so de- 

 cidedly superior to that of manure, that I 

 introduced lime into my orchard of Necta- 

 rines, which had now generally been 

 pierced. Result: In a short time the Nec- 

 tarines dropped, except the Elruges, which 

 were never disturbed, and although no fur- 

 ther attention was given, they ripened. 



From one-fourth to one-third the crop of 

 Apricots and Plums, treated with manure, 

 arrived at perfection, except two trees of 



Cooper's large. A like proportion of these, 

 say one-third — remained sound until they 

 began to ripen. At this stage they com- 

 menced rotting, and upon both trees the 

 aggregate that ripened without a blemish, 

 scarcely equalled half a dozen. 



The inclined tree of Cooper's large, re- 

 ceived perhaps half a dozen dressings of 

 powdered lime, at intervals. But during 

 the season I never saw a punctured fruit — 

 never saw gum upon any of its fruits or 

 leaves ; it retained its leaves well, though 

 many were coated with lime, and about the 

 5th of August it furnished specimens of 

 ripe fruit for the tables of the Kentucky 

 Horticultural Society. This same tree re- 

 tained its fruits and for five successsive 

 meetings, furnished weekly contribtions. 

 To give some conception of the quantity 

 and quality of the crop, it may be stated 

 that they sold readily at 40 to 55 cents per 

 dozen, and at such prices a tree whose 

 trunk was not larger than a man's arm, 

 yielded fifteen dollars, over and above what 

 were given to visitors as specimens, and 

 what were eaten by the family. 



1849. May 4. Yesterday I first observed 

 the sting of the curculio upon an Illinois 

 Wild Plum, and now resolved upon treat- 

 ing Wild Plums with ground plaster, Drap 

 d'Or and Prince's Gage Plums with lime, 

 as a preventive against the attack of the 

 curculio ; and desirous thoroughly to test 

 the efficacy of lime, resolved to whitewash 

 the few fruits which survived the frost, so 

 that the curculio cannot possibly inflict his 

 wound upon parts of the fruit which might 

 accidentally be left uncovered by lime, 

 when applied in the ordinary way — which 

 is, to syringe the fruits, if not already wet 

 by dew or a shower, and then with some 

 elastic implement, as a broad spatula or 

 tin shovel, throw small quantities of pow- 

 dered lime upwards from beneath the fruits. 

 This powder rises a dense cloud, and set- 

 tles upon the fruit. 



May 5. To-day re-applied plaster and 

 lime, which had been removed by a shower. 



May 15. During the last few days there 

 have occurred several rains, which have 

 rendered necessary the re-application of 

 pluster to the Illinois Plums, and lime to 

 the others. One Illinois fruit pierced since 

 first treated with plaster. 



