154 



The Grape Culturisf. 



anil l»y tlio oiul uf .July has generally 

 OisappcaRHl. from wiiieh fact we may 

 infer that there is but one brood each 

 year. The manner in which it injures 

 the vine is liy cutting straight elonga- 

 ted holes of about i inch in diameter 

 in the leaves, and when numerous it so 

 riddles the leaves as to reduce them to 

 mere shreds. The preparatory stages 

 of this beetle an- not yet known. 



Kkmkdiks. — Luckily this beetle has 

 the same precautionary habit of drop- 

 ping to the ground, upon the slightest 

 disturbance, as has the Plum curculio, 

 iind this habit enables us readily to 



keep it in check. The most etBcient 

 way of doing this is by the aid of 

 chickens. Mr. Ff^schell, of Hermann, 

 on whose vines this beetle had been 

 exceedingly numerous, raised a large 

 brood of chickens in 1867, and had 

 them so well trained that all be had to 

 do was to start them m the vineyard 

 with a boy in front to shake the vines, 

 and he himself behind the chicks. They 

 picked up every beetle tlmt fell to the 

 ground, and in this manner he kept his 

 vines so clean that he could scarcely 

 find a single beetle in 1868. — Professor 

 Riley's Entomological Report. 



EDITOKS' LETTER BOX. 



Wa8iiin'<;tox, Auk., Marcli 7, 1809. 



Geo. Jfusmann, Esq. : Allow me to 

 congratulate j'ou and your associates 

 upon the successful launching of the 

 GuAPE Clltukist. It is a proud dis- 

 tinction for Missouri to have estab- 

 lished first in America a journal devoted 

 exclusively to this fascinating branch 

 of industr}', which already begins to 

 play an imi)ortant part in the develop- 

 ment of the gigantic resources of our 

 country. The Grape Cueturist will 

 make an excellent focus for concen- 

 trating all the lights of experience upon 

 the sul)ject. In such hands as it is, its 

 success is a foregone conclusion. 



I liave traveled so little of late years, 

 tiiat I do not know whether or not my 

 j>lan for sustaining the tension of wires 

 on the end posts of trellises has been 

 used by others. 1 contribute* it to the 

 connnon fund, for the benefit of those 

 cursed with trouble IVom lo..se and 

 swaying wires. 



Five or six feet beyond each end 

 post, on the outside, in the line of the 

 trellis, I bury, about two feet deep, in 

 a horizontal position, a block of hard 

 wood, some two feet in length. To 

 the block a piece of old chain is securely 

 attached in au}' firm manner. The earth 

 is packed over the block, leaving a few 

 links of the chain extending out akove 

 the surface toward the top of the post. 

 To this it is securely attached by a 

 stout wire, passing through an auger 

 hole near the top. This is drawn as 

 tightly at each end post as they will 

 allow without being drawn materially 

 outwards, and securely fastened. The 

 trellis wires may then be stretched to 

 an}- desirable degree of tension. The 

 resistance is perfectly deacf and solid, 

 even in the lightest, sand}' soil. I find 

 this preferable to wooden braces inside 

 the posts, being cheaper, more effective 

 and neater. The idea is taken from 



