134 



PEACH CtfLTtfKE. 



ing a quarter of an inch in length, and often not so long. 

 It has two humps on its back, and is provided with a rela- 

 tively long throat and bill, which falls between its fore- 

 legs when in repose. In fig. 19 we give a much magnified 

 drawing of the curculio attacking a plum. When in a 

 tree, a sudden jar will cause it to fall down as it' dead, 

 rolled up ball-like. Some suppose that it hardly ever 

 leaves the tree upon which it first finds itself; and 

 this opinion is, in part, sustained by the method of its 



reproduction, the larvae 

 being carried to, and 

 hatched in the ground 

 through the medium of 

 the spoiled fruit. Others, 

 on the contrary, contend 

 that it is migratory, and 

 travels over a large space 

 an entire orchard, at 

 least, or even many or- 

 chards. This view is 

 strengthened by the fact 

 that it is furnished with 

 wings, which seem natu- 

 rally to indicate both 

 Fig. 19. CURCULIO UPON A PLUM. disposition and ability to 

 fly. Its character and habits are not yet fully known. 

 Enough, however, has already been learned to make it 

 the bane and terror of all fruit growers. Closer observe 

 tion and experience, it is hoped, may yet discover an 

 efficient protection against its ravages. None such has 

 yet been found. 



As soon as the fruit begins to set, and for weeks after- 

 wards, this pestiferous beetle commences its work of ruin 

 by making a minute puncture in the young fruit. In 

 this the egg of the grub is deposited. It grows with the 

 fruit until it becomes so large as to destroy the vitality 



