78 



THE PRACTICAL ENTOMOLOGIST. 



For those who grow fruit on a small scale, the 

 above will probably be found the most practically 

 useful method of fighting the " Ourculio." But for 

 extensive fruit-growers, Dr. Hull's "Curculio- 

 catcher" will eflect a great saving both in time 

 and money, though like other labor-saving machi- 

 nery it requires some little outlay of capital, and 

 cannot conveniently be operated, except in an or- 

 chard where no other crop but fruit is attempted to 

 be grown. I am indebted to Dr. Hull himself for 

 the following description of this machine, which 

 may be briefly characterized as a gigantic, inverted 

 umbrella, mounted upon a gigantic wheel-barrow, 

 with a quarter-blooded cross of one of the battering- 

 rams used by the ancient Romans. It is the first 

 authentic description which has as yet Ticen pub- 

 lished ; though two or three years ago a figure and 

 description of some such machine appeared in print, 

 without giving a word of credit to the inventor, and 

 so unskillfuUy modified that, as Dr. Hull informs 

 me, it would have required horse-power to move it 

 about the orchard. The liberality of the original 

 inventor, in thus gratuitously making known to the 

 world the practical results of his own long and la- 

 borious experiments, through the columns of the 

 Practical Entomologist, cannot be too much 

 commended. Under such circumstances, some men 

 would try to monopolize the invention for their 

 own pecuniary benefit — .some would take out a 

 patent for it, and peddle the Patent Right over 

 every State in the Union — and perhaps not one 

 out of a hundred would do as Dr. Hull has done. 



To make a "Curculio-catclier," we first obtain a light 

 wheel of about three feet diameter, the a.xlo-tree of which 

 should be about ten inches long. We next construct a 

 pair of handles, similar to those of a common wheel-bar- 

 row, but much more depressed at the point designed to 

 receive the bearings of the axle-tree, and extending for- 

 ward of the wheel just far enough to admit a cross-beam 

 to connect the two handles at this point. Directly in the 

 rear of tlio wheel a second cross-beam is framed into the 

 handles; and two feet further back a third. The two last 

 named beams have framed to their under side a fourth 

 piece, say two or three inches in diameter, which is 

 placed centrally between and parallel with the handles. 



To the handles and to these last-named pieces, our 

 stretchers to support the canvas are to be fastened. The 

 front part of the beam, connecting the handles before the 

 wheel, is designed for a ram, and should be covered with 

 leather and stutFed with furniture muss, a dozen or more 

 thicknesses of woollen cloth, or other soft substance ; care 

 being taken to use no more than is sufficient to protect 

 the tree from bruising. The frame of our Catcher being 

 finished, we next ascertain the elevation the handles 

 sliould have in driving, and support them in that posi- 

 tion. Having ready twelve stretchers or arms, (six for 

 each side,) which are to receive and support the canvas, 

 we place the long front arms in position. These extend 

 fro?n near the centre of the wheel on each side, and be- 

 yond the wheel in front about six feet; and are wide 

 enough apart to receive the largest tree between them, 

 on which it is intended to operate. The remaining 

 stretchers are supported on the handles, and attached to 

 the three cross and parallel pieces in the rear of the 

 wheel. These are so placed as to divide the space at their 

 outer ends equally, between the first-mentioned stretchers 

 anil the ends of the handles. 



We now have ready a strip of board, one-half inch in 

 thickness and two and a half wide. One end of this is 

 firmly secured to the forward end of one of the front 

 stretchers ; it is then secured to the end of the next, and 

 in like manner to all the others on one side of the ma- 

 chine, and fastened to the handle. Both sides are made 

 alike. The office of these two strips is to hold the out- 

 side ends of the stretchers in their proper position, and 



prevent the two front stretchers from closing. These out- 

 side strips also receive the outside edge ol the canvas, 

 which is fastened to them, as well as to the several arm 

 supports. Three of these arms, on each side, may be cut 

 and hinged so as to fold up, thus making the machine 

 more convenient for housing. In this case two additional 

 sets of braces would be required, and each of the outside 

 rims would be made in three parts, instead of one, as 

 first described. 



From the description thus far given, it will be seen 

 that the wheel occupies a central position, and is nearly 

 in the centre of the machine. To avoid an opening at 

 this point, a frame is fastened to the handles on either 

 .side of it, and brought together over the top of the wheel. 

 Tiiis, as well as the stretchers, is to be covered with can- 

 vas. The arms or stretchers are so curved, that the jar- 

 ring motion in moving from one tree to another brings 

 everything falling on the canvas to the most depressed 

 ]>oints, where openings are made into tunnels, to the ends of 

 which the mouths of pockets or sacks are tied. These can 

 be removed from time to time, and their contents destroy- 

 ed by immersion in hot w.ater. The whole machine, 

 when completed, is about 10 feet in breadth by 11 or llj 

 long; or at most llj wide by 13 or 13i feet long. These 

 are for large orchard trees. Smaller trees could be pro- 

 tected with a smaller machine. The frame-work, when 

 covered, .should be so nicely balanced, as to require scarce- 

 ly any lifting to hold it at the proper elevation. 



The mode in which the "Curculio-catcher" is 

 operated, is thus graphically described by its inven- 

 tor : — "The machine is run suddenly against the 

 tree three or four times, with sufiiciont force to im- 

 part a slight jarring motion to all its parts. The 

 operator then backs far enough to bring the ma- 

 chine to the centre of the space between the rows, 

 turns round, and in like manner strikes or butts 

 tbe tree in the opposite row, and so on to the end 

 of the orchard. In this way a man may operate on 

 two or three hundred trees per hour. The captur- 

 ed insects may either be scalded, as recommended 

 above, or drowned by an immersion for several days 

 in cold water." It may be added here, that the 

 "Curculio'' prefers the nectarine, the plum, and 

 other smooth-skinned stone-fruit, to such as have 

 downy skins like the peach. Taking advantage of 

 this propensity, Dr. Hull, according to the report 

 of his speech at a Meeting of Pennsylvania Fruit- 

 growers, published in the Iowa Homestead, (Dec. 

 19, 1866,) sometimes "plants plums and peaches in 

 alternating rows; and as the Curculio does not re- 

 sort to the peach as long as the plum is at hand, 

 he saves both, by killing them on the plum." 



The assertion is often made, that there is no ef- 

 fectual remedy for the Curculio, and that jarring 

 on sheets does not save the crop. Neither does it, 

 unless it be systematically and pertinaciously fol- 

 lowed up. But that this insect may be subdued 

 by patient perseverance in the jarring system, there 

 is the best and fullest evidence from practical men. 

 Dr. Trimble, who fir twelve years owned large Or- 

 chards both of Plum and Apricot-trees, declares 

 that it is so. Ellwanger and Barry, the celebrated 

 nurserymen, of Rochester, New York, keep two 

 men constantly employed during the Curculio sea- 

 son in jarring their trees, and thus grow magnifi- 

 cent crops of plums. Mr. Lucius 0. Francis, of 

 Springfield, Illinois, wrote me word long ago, that 

 he raised good crops of plums from an orchard of 

 about a hundred bearing trees, merely by jarring 

 thcni upon sheets some two or three times a week. 

 And finally Dr. Hull, of Alton, Illinois, grows 



