32 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1906 



and is becoming a very serious pest. It is a very difficult mat- 

 ter to control it for it lays its eggs inside the fruit. It is about 

 the size of a very small house fly, the very smallest, minute 

 house flies. Its manner of working is to force its proboscis in 

 the skin making a circular cut and laying its egg in this cut. 

 It then takes the edges and pastes them down after turning 

 them back so that the fruit cannot cover the egg. The old 

 curculio feed some upon the foliage and if Bordeaux mixture 

 can be used can be kept in check. If Bordeaux mixture be 

 sprayed upon plums and peaches when the fruit is very small 

 the curculio can be kept in check. The plum trees should be 

 sprayed just as soon as the young fruit is discernible. We 

 sprayed very thoroughly with Bordeaux mixture and on the 

 sprayed trees there was not 20 per cent, of loss. The trees not 

 sprayed at this time were of no value. 



The State entomologist. Dr. Lintner, made arrangements to 

 come to my farm whenever I sent for him but he was delayed 

 for three days and when we examined the fruit it was past help. 

 We sprayed, but the fruit was very defective. So when your 

 trees come out in full blossom and you are expecting a fine crop 

 of fruit and find the fruit in a short time all on the ground and 

 wonder what is the matter, it is the work of this curculio, and 

 spraying with Bordeaux mixture very thoroughly is the only 

 protection that can be given that is effective. It does no injury 

 to the foliage and hot or cold water can be used for dissolving. 



Question: "How spray into a tree that takes a 30-foot 

 ladder?" 



For this a pump of very great power is needed. I have men 

 spraying trees that are TO feet high. A man goes up about 25 

 feet and then with hose and double nozzle is able to spray the 

 whole tree thoroughly. We have a pump with a good cylinder 

 so we can get a tremendous pressure. I have a power sprayer 

 on my farm, a Niagara gas sprayer with a tank holding 200 

 gallons of water. The power is gas, such as is used in soda 

 fountains, and is shipped from New York and then forced into 

 the tanks. 



I now take up another type of insects, the plant lice. These 



