CURCULIO. 



CURCULIO. 



its regular course, and is absorbed entirely by 

 the bark, which is very much increased in 

 thickness ; the cuticle bursts, the swelling be- 

 comes irregular, and is formed into black 

 lumps, with a cracked, uneven, granulated sur- 

 face. The wood, besides being deprived of its 

 nutriment, is very much compressed, and the 

 branch above the tumour pefishes.' The 

 grubs found by Professor Peck in the tumours 

 of the cherry-tree, went into the ground on the 

 sixth of July, and on the thirtieth of the same 

 month, or twenty-four days from their leaving 

 the bark, the perfect insects began to rise, and 

 were soon ready to deposit their eggs in healthy 

 branches. (See Professor Peck's account of 

 Insects which affect Oak and Cherry trees, with 

 a plate ; in the " Massachusetts' Agricultural Re- 

 pository and Journal, vol. v. p. 312.) (Harris.) 



In order to account for the occurrence of 

 these insects both in the fruit and in the 

 branches of the trees, Dr. Harris ventures the 

 following explanation, although it rests only 

 upon conjecture. The final transformation of 

 the grubs, living in the fruit, appears to take 

 place at various times during the latter part 

 of summer and the beginning of autumn, when 

 the weevil, finding no young fruit, is probably 

 obliged to lay its eggs in the small branches. 

 The larvae or grubs from these eggs live in the 

 branches during the winter, and are not per- 

 fected till near the last of the following June. 

 Should the fall of the fruit occur late in the 

 autumn, the developement of the beetles will be 

 retarded till the next spring ; and this I suppose 

 to be the origin of the brood which stings the 

 fruit. These suggestions seem to receive some 

 confirmation from the known habits of the cop- 

 per-coloured plum-weevils of Europe, which, 

 " in default of plums, make use of the soft 

 spring shoots of the plum and apricot trees." 

 (Kollar's Treatise, p. 238.) 



" It has been noticed, that trees situated in 

 lanes and extensive yards, where numerous 

 cattle are confined, generally escape the attacks 

 of the curculio. This is supposed to be in part 

 owing to the ground being trodden so hard as 

 to render it difficult for the worm to enter the 

 earth, and to the annoyance and fright to which 

 this timid insect is subjected, by the cattle rub- 

 bing against the trees. The insects, according 

 to Dr. Tilton, in such cases of fright, roll them- 

 selves into a little ball, and fall to the ground, 

 where they become liable either to be trodden 

 to death, or devoured by the farm-yard poultry 

 as a delicious morsel. Poultry of all species 

 have been recommended as very useful, from 

 the multitudes of insects they devour, they 

 being particularly fond of the beetle tribe. 



"A case is mentioned by Dr. Tilton (see 

 Dom. Encyc.), of Colonel T. Forest, of German- 

 town, who, having a fine plum tree near his 

 pump, tied a rope from the tree to his pump 

 handle, so that the tree was gently agitated 

 every time there was occasion to pump water. 

 The consequence was, that the fruit on this tree 

 was preserved in the greatest perfection. 



" Hogs are stated to be extremely useful in 

 orchards, by devouring at once the fallen fruit 

 and the insect which it contains. And provided 

 the hogs are sufficiently numerous to devour 

 every fallen fruit, they will shortly exterminate 



the insects from the orchard in which they are 

 permitted to roam. 



"Pairing the ground is said to be a most effect- 

 ual mode of preserving fruit from the attacks 

 of the curculio. By preventing its descent into 

 the earth, it finds no winter habitation. The 

 ground should first be well manured, and the 

 whole surface well paved with the common 

 stones which so often encumber the fields. The 

 trees, in this case, may be set very close. The 

 excess of rain being carried off by the pave- 

 ment, and their luxuriance being thus re- 

 strained, such trees must not only produce 

 great crops, but from the effect of the sun on 

 the naked pavement, the fruit must be of the 

 finest quality. 



"Another and ingenious mode of destroying 

 the curculio has lately been devised by Dr. 

 Joel Burnet, of Southboro', Massachusetts, 

 and in the single instance only, in which he 

 has tried the experiment, it has proved com- 

 pletely successful. There stood in his garden 

 a young plum tree of the prince's imperial 

 gage, which was filled with blossoms every 

 year, but bore no fruit. Early in spring, a hen, 

 with an early brood of chickens, was placed in 

 a coop beneath the tree. Thus were all the 

 curculiones destroyed in the interval, soon after 

 they arose from the earth, and before they had 

 recovered strength sufficient to take to their 

 wings or ascend the tree. This plum tree, in 

 that year, bore, in consequence, a very large 

 crop of fruit. He observed that the curculio 

 often ascended by aid of its wings." (Kairii-k's 

 American Orchard ist.) 



The wings of the curculio, plum, or cherry- 

 weevil are so small as to assist it in climbing, 

 but not to enable it to fly to a distance. This 

 explains the reason why trees standing so near 

 each other as almost to interlace their branches 

 will some escape, whilst others lose all their 

 fruit. 



Col. Forest's remedy may be partially applied 

 by shaking the trees suddenly and briskly so 

 as to produce a jar that will extend among the 

 branches.. This may be done morning and 

 evening, and as much oftener as convenient, 

 during the time when the weevils or beetles are 

 engaged in stinging the fruit. Those which 

 fall may be gathered in a sheet and thrown into 

 the fire. All the fallen wormy plums should 

 be immediately gathered and given to hogs, or, 

 when this is not convenient, boiled or steamed, 

 so as to kill the enclosed grubs. Diseased ex- 

 crescences should be cutout and burned every 

 year before the last of June. The moose-plum 

 tree (Prunus Americana}, Dr. Harris says, 

 seems to escape the attacks of insects, since 

 no warts are found upon it, even when growing 

 in the immediate vicinity of diseased foreign 

 trees. It would, therefore, he thinks, afford the 

 best stocks for budding or engrafting upon. It 

 can easily be raised from the stone, and grows 

 rapidly, but does not attain a great size. This 

 might secure the body of the tree, but it is evi- 

 dent that the branches, being of different wood, 

 must be exposed to the attacks of the weevil. 

 See MAT BEETLES, p. 173." (The 18th vol. of 

 the "Neio England Farmer" contains a paper 

 upon this insect, by Dr. Burnett, which may 

 be read with advantage.) 



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