160 FRUIT-GROWING 



shortly after the husks fall from the growing 

 fruit. At this time they lay their eggs in char- 

 acteristic crescent shaped slits in the fruit and 

 the eggs very quickly hatch and begin to work 

 out their destiny. Inasmuch as the entire life 

 of the greedy larva is passed inside the peach 

 we have no method of slipping a dose of arsenic 

 into his breakfast food, but we can certainly 

 give his fond parent enough to quiet him — or 

 her. The adult beetle lives over winter in any 

 shelter that it can find and as soon as the first 

 green leaves appear it proceeds to fatten itself. 

 However, it is not a very hearty eater and later 

 in the season probably eats little if anything. 

 An arsenic spray shortly after the bloom falls 

 will kill off the majority of these winter ed-over 

 adults and the injured fruit will be reduced to 

 a minimum. Formerly these beetles were 

 killed by jarring them from the trees on to 

 sheets spread on the ground. When a suffi- 

 cient number had been collected the sheets were 

 swept off and the beetles poured into a can of 

 oil. If you should happen to be one of those 

 fruit-growers whose orchard operations do not 

 extend beyond the back yard you might try this 

 method. Simply spread sheets (if you can in- 

 duce your wife to lend them to you) under the 

 tree. Then jar the trunk and main branches 

 vigorously and watch the "critters" accumu- 

 late. They seem to be ticklish, for as soon as 



