PLUM I jW SECTS 251 



the fruit evenly coated with the poison. It has been shown by 

 extensive experiments in Ilhnois that where this plan is followed 

 and other conditions are favorable, the curculio injury may be 

 reduced from 20 to 40 per cent. 



In fighting the curculio, reliance should not be placed on any 

 one method of attack. Clean farming to reduce available 

 winter shelter, proper pruning to admit the sun, thorough 

 cultivation at the proper time to destroy the pupae in the soil, 

 the use of fertilizers to produce strong, healthy trees resistant 

 to spray injury, are all important factors in the fight. In or- 

 chards so treated the number of curculios will be reduced to a 

 minimum, and the orchardist will have the best chance to pro- 

 tect his crop by spraying. 



References 



Riley and Howard, Rept. Com. Agr. for 1888, pp. 57-79. 



111. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 98. 1905. 



Quaintance, U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearbook, for 1905, pp. 325-330. 1906. 



U. S. Bur. Ent. Circ. 73. 1906. 



Mo. State Fruit Exp. Sta. Bull. 21. 1909. ' 



Ga. St. Bd. Ent. Bull. 32. 1910. 



U. S. Bur. Plant Ind. Bull. 174. 1910. 



U. S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 103. 1912. 



The Plum Gouger 

 Coccotorus scutellaris Le Conte 



This native snout-beetle attacks plums, prunes and nec- 

 tarines throughout the North Central states. It may be dis- 

 tinguished from the other fruit-infesting species by the ochre- 

 yellow head, thorax and legs and the dun-colored wing covers, 

 which are entirely without humps. The insect hibernates in 

 the adult state. The beetles appear on the trees in spring some- 

 what earlier than the plum curculio, and feed for a time on the 

 buds and leaves. In confinement they have been observed to 



