^43 PRCNUS DOMESTICA. 
to which allusion is made under the head of " Insects," in our article on the 
peach-tree. Dr. Harris describes the perfect insect as a little, rough, dark-brown, 
or blackish beetle, looking like a dried bud, when it is shaken from the tree, 
which resemblance is increased by its habit of drawing up its legs, and bend- 
ing its snout close to the lower side of its body, and remaining for a time 
without motion, and seemingly lifeless. In stinging the fruit, before laying its 
e^gs, it uses its short, curved snout, which is armed at the tip with a pair of 
very small nippers; and by means of this weapon, it makes, in the tender 
skin of the young plum or apple, a crescent-shaped incision, similar to what 
would be formed^by indenting the fruit with the finger nail. Very rarely is 
there more than one incision made in the same fruit; and in the wound, the 
weevil lays only a single egg. The insect hatched from this egg is a little 
whitish grub, destitute of feet, and very much like a maggot in appearance, 
except that it has a distinct, rounded, light-brown head. It appears from some 
observations made by Dr. Harris and others, that the large, black, warty tumours 
found on the small branches of plum and cherry-trees, are infested not only by 
these insects, but also by another kind of grub, provided with legs, and occasion- 
ally by the larvae of the iEgeria exitiosa, or peach-tree borer. When the grubs 
of the plum-weevil are fully grown, which occurs at various periods from May 
to September, they usually fall with the punctured fruit, and go into the earth, 
where they are changed into chrysalides of a white colour, having the legs and 
wings free, and capable of motion ; and finally they leave the ground in the form 
of a little beetle, exactly like those above described, which takes place in Massa- 
chusetts from the early part of March till towards the middle of June, according 
to the nature of the season and the exposure of the situation.* Among the 
various remedies recommended for checking the ravages of these insects, are the 
paving of the ground directly beneath the trees with bricks, or other materials, 
so as to prevent the worms from entering the earth, to transform ; the pouring of 
boiling-hot water around the trees, towards the end of August, in order to scald 
the insects to death ; and the shaking or jarring of the trees every evening and 
morning, during the time that the beetles are occupied in depositing their eggs. 
When thus disturbed, they contract their legs, and fall ; and as they do not 
immediately attempt to crawl or fly away, they may readily be caught on a mat 
or sheet, spread under the tree, and then be crushed or burned to death. In 
addition to the method last described, Dr. Harris recommends that all the fallen 
wormy plums should be immediately gathered, and, after they are boiled or 
steamed, to kill the enclosed grubs, they should be given as food to swine. The 
diseased excrescences, he says, should be cut out, and burned, every year, before 
the last of June. 
Properties and Uses. The wood of the Prunus domestica is hard, close, com- 
pact, beautifully veined, and susceptible of a fine polish. When dry, it weighs from 
forty to fifty pounds to a cubic foot, according to the age and growth of the tree. 
Its texture is silky, and when washed with lime-water, its colour is heightened, 
and may be preserved by the application of varnish or wax. Unfortunately for 
this tree, its wood is sometimes rotten at the heart. In France and Germany, it 
is much sought after by turners, cabinet-makers, and the manufacturers of musi- 
cal instruments. The leaves are sometimes given to cattle for forage. The use 
ol the fruit in domestic economy for dessert, and for making tarts and puddings, 
is well known. In France, plums are principally used dry or preserved, and 
eater extensively into commerce. The kinds usually employed for preserving, 
are the Brignole, the prune d'Ast, the Perdrigon blanc, the prune d'Agen, and 
the Ste. Catherine. In warm countries, plums or prunes are dried on hurdles by 
* See Harris' Report, pp. 66, 67, 68, 351, 352. 
