The Canadian I loyticiiltnrist. 



\2 



THE CURCULIO, OR PLUM WEEVIL. 



liY Si.MuN Kdv, Ui;klin. 



T^ROM present intlic;itions it is 

 \^ apparent that the phim crop 

 will be fj^ood this coniinj,' season, but 

 in order to secure it satisfactorily the 

 curculio must be persistently headed 

 off, or otherwise clestroyed. It must 

 be borne in mind that delay in this 

 case is dangerous ; before you are 

 aware the greater part of the crop 

 may be damaged. Commence opera- 

 tions immediately, or even before the 

 blossoms fall, as it makes its appear- 

 ance simultaneously with them, and 

 is ready for operations as soon as the 

 plum is the size of a pea. Prevention 

 being better than cure, I have found 

 that spraying the trees with a weak 

 solution of bitter aloes produced ex- 

 cellent results, thus cheating the 

 instinct of the insect. The smell is 

 not suitable to its tastes, and it will 

 give the tree a wide berth. Jarring 

 or shaking the trees and catching 

 and destro\ing the insects as they 

 fall upon cloths spread at the base 

 of the trees is an excellent way of 

 getting rid of them, but is only appli- 

 cable to small sized trees. The best 

 catch is usualh- in the evening 

 just about sundown. Merely shaking 

 the trees in the evenings is a good 

 plan, as those which fall to the ground 

 are usuall}- devoured by toads in 

 their nightly search for food, which 

 consists principally of coleoptera. 

 The habits of the curcidio differ from 

 many of the other beetle family : 

 instead of making its escape by flight 



it drops, upon the least disturbance, 

 to the ground as if dead, and it evi- 

 dently does not at all appreciate 

 disturJ)ance, as is evident from 

 the fact that those trees planted 

 in the vicinity of my buildings, 

 where the sparrows are con- 

 tinually flying into and about, 

 rarely drop a plum with a curculio 

 mark on it, no claim being made as 

 to the birds-eating the insects. The 

 sparrow is somewhat like the crow — 

 both are omnivorous — having "crops 

 for a corn"; neither object to eating 

 grain w^hen it can be obtained, but 

 will also eat bugs 'and other animal 

 food in an emergency. 



Sprinkling trees with a solution of 

 Paris-green has been advised, but as 

 yet I have never tried the experi- 

 ment, failing to see the rationale of 

 it. Many falsities pertain to both 

 the Medical and the Horticultural 

 profession : often appearances are 

 assumed as realities, when the effects 

 are attributable to something else ; 

 perhaps disturbing the insects in the 

 process of spra\ ing lias produced the 

 real result. 



P.S. — Perhaps it may be as well 

 to remark that in using aloes avoid 

 inhalation of spray on account of its 

 cathartic effects ; and not to use it 

 near to dwellings on account of its 

 rather offensive and pungent smell. 

 Personally, I have never experienced 

 any bad effects from the use of 

 it. 



NOVELTIES. 



The Golden Ppolifle Gooseberry. 



MR. CHARLTON, of Roches- 

 ter, is the introducer of a 

 new gooseberry with the above attrac- 

 tive title. The accompanying en- 



graving is made from a photograph, 

 and is claimed to be a faithful repre- 

 sentation of its size and productive- 

 ness. 



Mr. Charlton sends us the follow- 



