13 



spread under them. Later, due to shading by the trees, insufficient 

 grass was produced for mulching, and for some years straw or other 

 roughage was hauled in and spread under the trees. During the past 

 few years no mulching has been done and a heavy grass sod has de- 

 veloped. This method has furnished almost ideal hibernating quarters 

 for the beetles, and this is now believed to have caused the outbreak 

 in the Vergon orchard as well as that in the adjoining one owned by 

 the Delaware Apple Company. In these two orchards, containing about 

 seventy acres, the beetle has been increasing in abundance since 1907 and 



Fig. 10. Trimming away of dead or valueless lower branches because of suc- 

 cessive seasons of flea-weevil injury. Orchard of the Delaware Apple 

 Co., Delaware, O. 



has taken a toll of thousands of dollars of profits. Strangely, however, 

 it has not become a pest in any of the other orchards of the Delaware 

 section. The fact that these two orchards are somewhat isolated by a 

 bend in the Olentangy River from the others of the section doubtless 

 has had much to do in restricting the spread of the beetle. Moreover, 

 none of the other orchards have afforded such ideal hibernating quar- 

 ters as have these two. 



The sum total of the injury by the apple flea-weevil is much less 

 in Ohio than in Illinois. The Ohio territory affected seriously is not 

 over a square mile in extent while in central and southern Illinois sev- 

 eral hundred square miles are involved. 



