" THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 25 



Mr. Wier absurdly claims that all the worms descending a tree will be en- 

 ticed to the side where the trap happens to be fastened, and the label pasted 

 on such of the straps as have so far been sent out, commences as follows : 



THOS. WIEE'S 



APPLE WORM 



AND 



CTLTPtCXJLIO TIi-A.I», 



Which catches Apple Worms, Curculio, and every species of insect infesting 



Fruit.\_!!!'\ 



The love of gain obscures the light of truth; and this wonderful power 

 of a pair of shingles to catch "every species of insect infesting fruit," is alto- 

 gether too much like Mr. Quackenbosh's patent universal, never-failing 

 Elixir which cures all diseases that possess mankind ! It will not deceive' 

 the well informed, but the glittering of its panaceal power may lure the un- 

 sophisticated. 



Other evils will liltewise result from the sale of this trap under such 

 spurious claims, and without some explanation of the insect's habits. One 

 of them may be illustrated by the following dialogue, which is not alto- 

 gether imaginary, but is founded on an actual occurrence : Agent Gain- 

 greedy — his desire to sell rights being stronger than his love of accuracy — 

 meets farmer Glauball, and straightway expatiates upon the merits of the 

 patent trap. He shows how the worms gnaw their way in between the 

 shingles, and how easily they may be destroyed. " Ach," cries the credu- 

 lous German, ^' und is it treu das de wurm rader eat de schindel als de ap- 

 fel." " Oh, yes," says Gaingreedy, " screw one of the traps on to this tree, 

 and in a week I will come back, and you will see." At the expiration of 

 the week, the trap is opened, and upon viewing with wonder the worms that 

 have secreted in it, Glauball rapturously exclaims, " Mein Gott, das ist de 

 best ting I yet see," and purchases the right to use much quicker than he 

 would if he knew that the worms had already been in his apples. 



It may be claimed that so long as men can be induced to use the trap, and 

 kill the worms regularly, it matters little whether or not they understand 

 the philosophy of its use ; but, barring the principle at stake, the spread of 

 error can never be fraught with any continued good ; and as errors on this 

 subject are continually creeping into our best horticultural journals, it be- 

 comes patent that it is not the credulous German alone who needs correct 

 rather than bogus information. 



I have thus indicated the mischief that may be done by over-estimating 

 the value of this trap, in order that the patentees niaj^ strip it of all apjjear- 

 ance of sham, and present it to the fruit-grower for what it is — a very useful 

 and important device — and not extol it as a sure Codling moth exterminator. 



Jarring. — It is well known to all those who have had any exjierience 

 with this insect, that the young apples infested with the early brood of 

 larva} fall much more readily from the tree than the more mature apples in- 

 fested with the later brood. This fact has been denied by those whose 



