204 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



8-9 EDWARD VII., A. 1909 



'Last year tlio lioso Buy destroyed grapes to tlio extent of $00,000 in Stamford 

 alono, imuiens^o graperies of ten and fifteen acres not producing more than a ton or 

 a ton and a half. More than this they ruined shrubs and flowers in the historic 

 cometory at Lundy's Lano and the flowers in tlio beautiful Fuirview cemotery liaA^e 

 been much injured. They destroy the petals, pistils and stamens of the flowers of the 

 grape. They make (heir appearance at tJie same time as the first grape blossoms. Thoy 

 also riddle the loaves of strawberries, raspberries and many other plants. 'J'lio beetles 

 only last for about a month, bnt they do an immense amount of harm. They appear 

 suddenly simjdy in billions, destroying all flowering plants. In 1907 they appealed a 

 wctk before grapes bloomed. They ate off tho cap of the bloom and tore open tho 

 blossom and ate out the centre. They also at« tho leaves to a certain estrnt, but tlvoi 

 frrcat injury is to tlio flowers. These Rose Bugs also tear up and destroy entirely 

 the flowers of any Rconted roses they can get at. They do not ttuich tins unscented 

 varieties such as tlir Prairie King and tho Crimson Bamblor. They destroy a largo 

 percentage of tho raspberry crop by destroying tho blooms. This is a very scrioiis 

 jiKitter and T trust that you will be able to come and map out some line of action for 

 flj'hting this post.' 



There is no doubt tliat the Rose Chafer is a very serious enemy of the fruil 

 grower wherever it occurs, and sometimes, as last year in the Niagara Falls district, 

 it does an enormous amount of harm by attacking the flowers and young fruits o^ 

 grapes, peaches and apples. TJnfortunatel.y very little can be done to control it. It is 

 known that it breeds in sandy land, and where this can be ploughed up oil her Just 

 before tho insects emerge early in June or late in autumn, a certan amount of good 

 can he done, but all rfTorts with a view to poisoning ihe beetles on the flowei-s havo 

 failed. Prof. F. M. Webster in 18D0 reported to the Association of Economic Ento- 

 mologists (Proc. Itth Annual Mooting, Bvdl. No. 20, U.S. Div. of Ent.), the first 

 successful experiment in killing the beetles in a wholesale manner. lie says, page 20; 

 * At last we have foimd out how to kill the Rose Chafer. In view of the fact that 

 the digestive apparatus of this pest seems to be proof against the poisonous or caustic 

 effects of most drugs, this seems an achievement. One-half pound of fish oil soap 

 dissolved in a gallon of water and sprayed upon them will kill 05 per cent of the adults, 

 the females b-M*ng especially susco]>tiblc, if the suds is sprayed directly u]ion them 

 Drenching their food phuit does not seem to affect them in the least, even if one pound 

 of soap is used to each gallon of water, so the question of protecting vineyards is yet 

 unsolved. Ivludtarh has been found to be a valuable bait plant, the bloom which 

 appears about the time of that of the grape being especially attractive to the beetles, 

 and while clustered on the blossoms they can be collected or sprayed with the fisji oil 

 soap mixture and killed. The stronger mixture mentioned above did not appear to 

 affect tlie poach, while tho weaker injures tho leaves and young fruit of the grape to 

 some extent.' 



The old fashioned remedy of hand picking is of course of service, but is slow and 

 expensive even when as at Niagara Falls South there is an abundant supply of cheap 

 labour. The children and women of the village are utilized in picking the beetles 

 from the blossoms of grajies. but it is very easy for them to do much liarm at that 

 time by rough handling. The beetles may also he jarred on to sheets or frames 

 saturated with kerosene, but these methods are tedious and mvist be practiced daily 

 in the early morning or in the evening. Useful mechanical appliances on tho 

 plan of a funnel or inverted umbrella with a bag or can containing kerosene at the 

 bottom for collecting the beetles when jarred from the plants are referred to by Dr. 

 F. IT. Chittonden in a circular on this insect (No. 11. 2nd series, TJ.S. Div. of Ent.). 



In view of the success obtained by Prof. Webster in spraying with whale oil soap, 

 experiments should be tried as to the strength which may be used without injury to 

 the grape blossoms. The numbers of the beetles which have appeared for the last two 

 or three yei\rs in the vicinity of Niagara Falls South are simply incredible. The 

 occurrences were fortunately very local, some vineyards having every blossom stripped, 



