DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF FRUIT. 847 



attracted by the light. They lay their eggs principally in the apple and cherry trees, 

 depositing them by thousands around the forks and extremities of the young branches. 

 About the middle of May these eggs hatch, and the young caterpillars come forth in myriads, 

 and weave their nests or tents among the forks of the branches, feasting upon the leaves, 

 sometimes entirely divesting trees of their foliage, the effect of which is to stunt the growth 

 of the fruit and wood, enfeebling the tree, and sometimes, if unmolested for a few seasons, 

 entirely destroying its life. They remain in the caterpillar state for six or seven weeks. The 

 best time to destroy them is in the morning before nine o clock, or towards evening, when 

 they will be in their nests. They can be easily taken from small trees and crushed. On 

 large trees, it is a very easy matter to burn them in their nests with a torch of some kind 

 attached to a long pole. Another very effectual method is to fasten a sponge to the end of a 

 long pole, and, wetting it with strong liquid of ammonia (hartshorn) or naphtha, turn it slowly 

 in among the nests, attaching them to the sponge. 



Cherry Slug. This often proves very injurious to cherry and pear trees. It is snail- 

 like in appearance, about half an inch in length, has a smooth, shining, and jelly-like skin, and 

 is of a dark greenish-brown color when filled with food. Dusting the trees with dry wood 

 ashes when they are wet with dew will usually exterminate it, or syringing the trees with 

 strong soap suds. 



Codling Moth (Carpocapsa pomonella). This is a grayish-colored moth marked with 

 brown, and is about half an inch in length. Its eggs produce the common apple worm. For 

 directions for destroying it, see APPLE WOEM. 



Curculio. The plum curculio (Conotraclielus nenuphar) is doubtless the most destruct 

 ive weevil with, which the fruit grower has to contend. It attacks the fruit of the plum, 



nectarine, apricot, cherry, peach, apple, pear, and quince, by 

 making a little crescent-shaped incision, in which it deposits Ls 

 eggs; it also deposits in the black knot of the plum tree. It 

 seems to be more destructive to the plum than to any other fruit; 

 the raising of plums has become almost entirely abandoned in 

 some sections of the country, owing to its ravages. It is 

 described by Prof. Thomas, of Illinois, as follows: &quot;It is of a 

 dark brown color, variegated with spots of white, ochre-yellow, 

 and black; the snout is rather longer than the thorax; the 



~c~&quot; 3&P surface of the latter is uneven; the wing cases have two shining 



CONOTKACHELUS NENUPHAR black humps or tubercles on them, one on each case, about the 



middle, close to the suture; behind these is a broad band of 



Plum and peach curculio a, dull yellow and white; each thigh has two little teeth on the 

 larva; b, pupa; c, beetle; d, a , J , , ,. -IT 



plum, showing the crescent slit under side. It vanes in length from a little over one-eighth 

 made by the female after deposit- to one-fifth of an inch. When disturbed, it has a habit of 



drawing up its legs, and bending its snout under its breast, 



when it is easily mistaken for a knot or wart on a limb or fragment of bark. The beetles 

 usually come forth from their winter quarters in May and June, some appearing in the 

 southern part of Illinois as early as April, and from that time on during the season as late 

 as June, according to the latitude and the season. The female, when about to deposit her 

 eggs, makes a minute cut with the jaws at the tip of her snout, and, thrusting her snout into 

 this opening, enlarges it sufficiently for the reception of an egg. Then turning round she 

 drops an egg into the opening, which she afterwards thrusts to the bottom of the cut with 

 her snout; then cuts the crescent around one side of the orifice. One egg only is deposited 

 in an opening, which is elongate-oval in form, about three-hundredths of an inch long, the 

 diameter being about one-third the length; it is of a pearly white color. Each female is 

 supposed to have a stock of from fifty to one hundred eggs, and to deposit from five to ten a 



