LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 
Bureau or ENTOMOLOGY, 
Washington, D. C., October 24, 1911. 
Srr: I have the honor to transmit herewith for publication a full 
account of the plum curculio. This is a native insect, and from the 
earliest times has ravaged the plums, peaches, and other deciduous 
fruits grown around the home and in large commercial orchards. 
The total annual loss occasioned by this pest by reason of its attacks 
upon its several food plants amounts to several million dollars, and 
until recently there has been no very practical method of controlling it. 
The plum curculio has been under careful investigation by this 
bureau during the past several years, and, although it has been the 
subject of many papers by entomologists and others, it has not here- 
tofore received the painstaking investigation which its importance 
demands. The present paper is an important contribution to our 
knowledge of the insect, and points out the remedial measures to be 
employed in its control. 
I recommend the publication of this manuscript as Bulletin No. 103 
of this bureau. 
Respectfully, L. O. Howarp, 
Entomologist and Chief of Bureau. 
Hon. JAmMEs WILSON, 
Secretary of Agriculture. 
