EXTERMINATING NOXIOUS INSECTS. 245 



and catching the curculios as they fall on sheets spread be- 

 neath the trees. The trees are jarred by means of a sharp 

 blow or two in quick succession, which induces every in- 

 sect to relinquish his hold on the fruit or branch, when they 

 all fall to the ground. Shaking a tree has very little effica- 

 cy to make them quit their hold. 



The most convenient apparatus, in the line of sheets, con- 

 sists of two pieces of strong factory, about seven feet wide 

 by fourteen feet long, each one having a half-circle cut out 

 of one side near the middle, to fit around the body of the 

 tree. The sheets may be made of good bed-ticking or of 

 old sail-cloth. As they are spread out beneath a tree, the 

 operator steps on the sheets close to the tree, and with a 

 hammer applies one or two sharp blows against a spike or 

 large nail driven into the body of the tree, up from the 

 ground as high as a man's head. Some have recommended 

 to saw off a limb and strike against the end of the stub ; 

 but a spur of iron is preferable. Bore a half-inch hole one 

 and a half inches into the side of the tree, and drive in an 

 iron pin, say three or four inches long. The iron will not 

 injure the tree, and the pin will last for many years until 

 the projecting part is grown over. If the body of the tree 

 is struck with a beetle, axe-head, or a battering-ram, a seri- 

 ous bruise will be made ; and more than this, a dull blow 

 from a muffled mallet will not jar a tree sufficiently to 

 make the curculios relinquish their hold. A sharp, jarring 

 blow is essential. A blow or two with a hammer or an axe- 

 head on an iron pin will bring down every curculio that 

 may be on the tree, without injury to the bark of the tree. 

 If trees are only five or six years old, a large nail, driven 

 half way in, will subserve an excellent purpose. When two 

 blows are given, they should follow each other in quick suc- 

 cession, as one blow may not always induce every curculio 

 to quit his hold. But another blow, given as quickly as a 



