1 1 4 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 



when they abound on a farm : they nevertheless at- 

 tack the rough skinned peach, the apple, pear, and 

 quince. The instinctive sagacity of these creatures 

 directs them especially to the fruits most adapted to 

 their purpose. The stone fruits more certainly per- 

 ish by the wounds made by these insects, so as to fall 

 in due time to the ground, and afford an opportunity 

 to the young maggot to hide itself in the earth. Al- 

 though multitudes of such fruits fall, yet many recover 

 from their wounds, which heal up, with deeply in- 

 dented scars. This probably disconcerts the curculio, 

 in its intended course to the earth. Be this as it may, 

 certain it is, that pears are less liable to fall, and are 

 less injured by this insect than apples. Nectarines, 

 plums, &c. in most districts of our country, where 

 the curculio has gained an establishment, are utterly 

 destroyed, unless special means are employed for 

 their preservation. Cherries escape better, on ac- 

 count of their rapid progress to maturity, and their a- 

 bundant crops : the curculio can only puncture a small 

 part of them, during the short time they hang upon 

 the tree. These destructive insects continue their 

 depredations from the first of May, until autumn. 

 Our fruits, collectively estimated, must, therefore, be 

 depreciated more than half their value. 



"It is supposed the curculio is not only injurious a- 

 bove ground, but also in its retreat, below the surface 

 of the earth, by preying on the roots of our fruit trees. 

 We know that beetles have, in some instances, abound- 

 ed in such a manner as to endanger whole forests. 

 Our fruit trees often die from manifest injuries done 

 to the roots by insects, and by no insect more proba- 

 bly than the curculio. In districts where this insect 

 abounds, cherry trees and apple trees, which discon- 

 cert it most above, appear to be the special objects of 

 its vengeance below the surface of the earth. 



"These are serious evils ; to combat which, every 



