l84 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



for a while, or both fall and spring, -and stock, such as hogs and 

 chickens, should have full access in order either that the fallen 

 fruit be eaten before the grub emerges, which would be the best 

 and safest plan, or the grub after emergence be scratched up and 

 devoured by hungry fowls. Plum trees should not be planted in the 

 immediate vicinity of an apple orchard, nor should apple or other 

 orchards be planted near a forest or wooded area, since not only 

 does the plum curculio like to winter in wooded tracts but many 

 of our other orchard pests were originally insects of the forest. 

 Above all, it must be remembered that an ounce of prevention is 

 worth a pound of cure, and these remedial measures must be ap- 

 plied in a timely way : for instance, spraying, to be of any use, must 

 be begun before the eggs are laid or, rather, frequent applica- 

 tions should be made during the entire period of egg laying, from 

 the middle or last of May, and before, to possibly as late as the 

 middle of July. The writer would suggest one or two sprayings 

 before the blossom.s open, and every ten days after the blossoms 

 fall until the end of the laying season, and jarring, should be per- 

 severed in during this period. For spraying we would suggest 

 using I lb. of Paris green to every i6o gals, of water, and the 

 addition of a little quick lime to prevent any burning. As all are 

 well aware, spraying in this way would also^ kill any other insect 

 pest feeding upon leaf, twig or fruit. Plum trees infested with 

 plum curculio should receive the same treatment. The writer would 

 suggest using quite a little more lime or lime water when treating 

 plums, as the plum foliage is more tender than that of the apples. 

 A better and safer spray than Paris green, and one rapidly coming 

 into flavor, is Arsenate of lead, sometimes called Disparene. This 

 can be used of almost any strength (three to six lbs. in every loo 

 gals, of water) without injury to trees, and remains on leaf and 

 fruit much longer than Paris green. If a long continued and copi- 

 ous rain immediately follows a spraying, it is safe to conclude that 

 much of the poison has been washed off and spray again. I note 

 that Stedman suggests, in recent publications regarding this same 

 evil in Missouri, the working of the soil in the apple orchard in 

 July and August, a shallow plowing and thorough harrowing about 

 the middle of July, followed by twO' more harrowings between 

 that date and the middle of August'. This would seem to be a 

 valuable adjunct to the other work, inasmuch as it would disturb 

 the ground at a time when the beetles were pupating just below the 

 surface. 



If not one but all the measures of relief above outlined be fol- 

 lowed for a few years, the injury to the apple by this pest is bound 



