NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



23 



CUHCULIO. 



Rhyncharus Nenuphar. 

 We have published several valuable articles this 

 season on the curculio, describing it, and suggest- 

 ing various modes of destroying it, or preventing 

 its operations. We now present our readers with 

 a representation of it in its different stages: 



1. Curculio in the perfect or beetle state, as 

 large as life. 



2. Its assumed form, when disturbed, or shaken 

 from the tree. 



3. Larva, or worm, as found in the fallen fruit. 



4. Pupa, or chrysalis form, in which it lives in 

 the ground, and the last stage before the perfect 

 state. 



On the figure of a plum are the ciescent-shaped 

 marks as made by this insect. 



The color of the curculio is dark brown, varie- 

 gated with spots of white, yellow and black. These 

 insects appear from the latter part of April until 

 the last of July, according to the season. Soon 

 after the blossoms fall, they begin to puncture the 

 little plum with their snout or rostrum, and lay an 

 egg in the wound. The gum oozes out, the egg 

 hatches, the worm eats towards the centre of the 

 frnit, which falls, often before a quarter grown, 

 and the worm enters the earth, where it remains in 

 the pupa state five or six weeks. It is supposed 

 that some remain until the next season. 



These insects are very destructive to plums, 

 sometimes destroying large crops to a large ex- 

 tent; they also attack other smooth-skinned fruits, 

 such as apples, cherries, nectarines and apricots. 

 Apples and cherries are not generally so much in- 

 jured, though often marked by that insect. This 

 season, we find many curculios at work on our 

 peaches, even on those of very rough skin; they 

 draw away the furze, or woolly stuff", in order to 

 get a smooth place to deposit their eggs. A large 

 number of peaches have fallen, in consequence of 

 their operations. They had done much mischief 

 before it was discovered, as we did not expect to 

 find them on the peach, having never seen them on 

 this fruit before. 



Acknowledgments. — From John Washburn, 

 Plymouth, fine specimens of the Doctor Cherries, 

 one of Professor Kirtland's new seedlings from 

 Ohio. These cherries are very handsome and of 

 excellent quality. As they grew on a tree set last 

 spring, they have not attained quite full size. 



We have from some person whose name is mis- 

 laid or lost, a bunch of fine cherries, medial size, 

 dark red, and of as good quality as the cultivated 

 cherries generally. 



STRAWBERRIES. 



Richardson's late — fay s seedling. 



We have an inquiry whether it is advisable to go 

 into the culture of Richardson's Late Strawberry for 

 the purpose of raising late crops for market. From 

 observing this strawberry growing by the side of 

 other varieties a few years since, we came to the 

 conclusion that it was only two or three days later 

 than Hovey's Seedling. We have fruited it this 

 season in a fair experiment with many other vari- 

 eties, and the result confirms our opinion. 



We have supposed that the statement that this 

 strawberry was 10 days later than Hovey's was 

 well calculated to humbug the public and to sell 

 the plants at extravagant prices; and this has been 

 done, we presume, pretty effectually. Many will 

 be sadly disappointed. A gentleman who was 

 recently examining our strawberries, remarked that 

 he had tried Richardson's Late, and he found it on- 

 ly two or three days later than Hovey's, and infe- 

 rior in some other respects. 



Jenney's Seedling is a valuable strawberry, and 

 ripens 5 or 6 days later than Hovey's Seedling, so 

 that the crop is not much moi-e than half gone, when 

 Hovey's is gone. Willey is a valuable productive 

 strawberry, and 8 or 9 days later than Hovey's, so 

 that the crop is hardly half gone when Hovey's is 

 gone. We should recommend these two varieties 

 for late crops. 



The editor of the Cambridge Chronicle takes 

 exceptions at our late remarks on Fay's Seedling 

 strawberry, as we remarked that we had discarded 

 it as a poor bearer, and the editor of the Boston 

 Journal gives an account of a great crop which he 

 saw from it. We made a fair experiment with this 

 strawberry for several years with other varieties, 

 treating them all alike with good culture, and com- 

 pared with other varieties, we found it was not 

 worth cultivating. But we did not give our opin- 

 ion to the public without further investigation. We 

 found that the best cultivators who had tried it 

 condemned it generally. An extraordinary crop 

 from a little patch in a rich garden, receiving great 

 care and the highest manuring that it will bear, 

 does not show tlie value of a variety, for general 

 culture. With such treatment great stories may 

 be told of almost any variety. Newland, who 

 played off" his game of deception in this vicinity, 

 selling plants of his "Celebrated Mammouth Al- 

 pine" at high prices, had certificates to show tliat 

 it produced wonderful crops, even one from a gov- 

 ernor of one of the States. But our cultivators 

 found on trial that it was the old wood .strawberry, 

 formerly much cultivated, but recently discarded 

 fiir new aiul m"T.> prnfltrilile kinds. 



