13O INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FRUIT. 



out ; but such a thinning out the next year may be fatal. This, too, is one reason of 

 our fruit trees taking on the bad habit of irregular bearing. A thin crop taken off 

 entirely by the Curculio or Apple Moth before old enough to have exhausted the 

 tree, will often cause it to bear profusely the next ; when, if the thin crop had been 

 brought to perfection it would to some extent have been exhausted, and thus guarded 

 against this injurious superabundance of the next year. 



Much has been said about thinning out. I confess I have never seen it done. 

 While the fruit is small it does not look so thick ; and then, too, we cannot tell what 

 may happen it is all left. My experience is, that more trees are propped up, or 

 broken for want of props, than are judiciously thinned out at the proper time. 

 Perhaps the Curculio, Apple Moth, and other enemies were made on purpose for 

 thinning out, and sent as a punishment for such shocking bad management as is 

 shown in the breaking down of fruit trees from being overloaded. Even if you 

 prefer to prop, let me beg of you to thin out your crop to the extent of taking off, 

 before the middle of July, every pear that shows the signs of this little miner. That 

 pear will be only a wind-fall at best ; an insipid bite on one side, and the worm that 

 caused it will have escaped to produce a whole brood of tormentors the next year. 



July 26. Have examined some Bartlett Pears that had fallen within the last 

 three days from the effect of the Apple Moth. Found none of the larva? all had 

 left. This was not the case ten days ago. Then many contained them ; now, the 

 safest plan would be to hand-pick from the tree. 



July 28. A few Bartletts fall every day ; but the worm has now always escaped. 

 Stock to eat this fruit would be useless. 



Aug. 2. To-day I have uncoiled one of the hay-ropes and found snugly con- 

 cealed in their cocoons twenty-four of these little Apple Moth caterpillars. Some 

 few of the caterpillars now so plenty had also chosen the dark recesses under these 

 hay-bands as places of refuge. Spiders were there also. This is to be investigated 

 further. If none of these Apple enemies have taken refuge in the scales of bark either 

 above or below this trap, it augurs well for the success of this simple management 



Aug. 3. I am now on a trip of observation to Western New York, and passing 

 a night at Elmira. In a walk to the encampment of Rebel prisoners this evening, I 

 saw many Apple trees in the gardens and grounds about some of the houses. The 

 Apple Moth had laid the young fruit on the ground by thousands. Some trees near 



