¥mr 



gsc EDITOR'S TABLE. 



Permit mo, before closing this rainhlina paper, to nnme to you nnother production of this section 

 ■tthich I have not seen except in this vicinil}'. It evidently is an Ash, yet unlike any other variety 

 of that tree I have seen or seen described. No specimen that I liavc seen exceeded fifteen feet in 

 lioiTht. Its leaves are trifoliate, and like other species of the genus the plant is dioecious. The 

 seeds are in clusters, something like umbels ; and instead of a wing extending in one direction 

 like a spatula, the wing encircles the seed in nearly a circle. Wiien fully clothed with foliage 

 and seed, the trees are very beautiful. I imagine it would form a beautiful shrub for the lawn. 

 Should you find no description and name for it, you may understand me as suggesting either 

 Fraxinus frutcx, or Fraxinus cyclocarpa. Should life and health be spared, I propose to forward 

 you some of the seeds iu autumn. A. B. Lawrence. — Laurel Hill, La. 



^.nstoEvs to Corrtsponbculs. 



Inclosed I send you specimens of an insect which has anoyed me exceedingly; also an apple 

 shoot, showing the mode in which it operates. As you will observe, it is a species of beetle, very 

 much resembling the Curculio, yet I think it distinct from the Curculio. I find them principally 

 on my Apple and Pear trees, occasionally on the Plum and Cherry 

 They appear to seek the base of a young shoot, cutting out a piece 

 to the center, intercepting the flow of the sap, upon which they 

 must subsist, consequently the shoot soon dies. Thus some trees 

 planted this spring arc nearly destroyed — every shoot was cut oft", 

 and nearly as fast as they put fortli. 



Will you tell me something of the history of this beetle ; in 

 what other form to look for it ; and the best mode of getting rid of 

 it? Since first I discovered the depredators — now some throe 

 weeks — I have endeavored to visit all newly j^lanted trees daily, 

 and others twice a week. By giving them a sudden jar, the insects 

 fall to the ground, and are etisily destroyed. In spite of my en- 

 deavors to exterminate the race, I constantly discover fresh innovations of the industrious pests, 

 which I think must carry on their busy performances under cover of the night, while I am 

 quietly sleeping. 



Allow me to suggest as an interesting and useful department to horticulturists, that a portion 

 of your pages be devoted to the description and history of the diff"erent insects obnoxious to 

 plants, trees, and shrubs, accompanied, when practicable, by suitable illustrative drawings. A. 

 G. Hanford — Waukesha, Wis. 



A very good suggestion, wliicb we shall be happy to comply with as far as possible. 

 We have made some inquiry of Prof. IIai:i:is respecting this weevil, and lie has kindly 

 given us the following information : 



"The weevil sent you from Wisconsin and forwarded to me, is the Curculio novehoraeensis of 

 Foster, now called Ithycerus novehoraeensis. It is not an uncommon insect in Massachusetts, and 

 I have seen specimens from the State of New York and Ohio. Here it may be obtained by 

 shaking small Oak and Maple trees in the morning, during the month of June ; the insects then 

 drop to the ground, without attempting to fly or escape. Nothing further respecting their habits 

 is known to me. We have yet to learn where they lay their eggs, and where their young live 

 and undergo their transformations. If they are common, and destructive as represented, perhaps 

 your correspondent then may be able to pursue their histor}- through tboir various stat 

 : to the adult weevil." 



