The Plum. 83 



a box beneath the center of the sheet to be later destroyed 

 by kerosene. In case of the plum, all fruits that fall as the 

 result of infection by larvae should also be promptly gath- 

 ered and destroyed by burning or otherwise. 



100. The plum gouger {Coccotorus scutellaris) is some- 

 times as destructive to the native plums as the curculio, 

 for which it is often mistaken. It is much larger than the 

 latter and appears in spring at about the same time. Un- 

 like the curculio, the female does not mark her place of 

 eg,g deposit with a crescent-shaped mark, and the larva 

 feeds on the kernel of the pit. Fortunately the plum 

 gouger is destroyed by the treatment recommended for the 

 plum curculio (99). 



The flat-headed apple-tree borer (58) often injures the 

 trunk of the plum when the bark has been damaged by 

 sun-scald or otherwise. 



101. The fruit rot. Certain varieties of nearly all of 

 the stone fruits are subject to disastrous rotting on the 

 trees at the time of maturit}', especially if the weather 

 at this season is warm and wet. The rotting is the direct 

 result of a fungous disease and may be in part prevented. 

 The fungus {Monilia friictigena) attacks the flowers, 

 leaves, and fruit spurs, as well as the fruits. It makes its 

 appearance on the flowers about the time the petals fall, 

 and ma}' proceed from the flower to its stem, destroying 

 that also. The dead flowers usuall}-^ remain on the tree 3 

 or 4 weeks, when, if the weather is wet, they are distrib- 

 uted to other parts of the tree, to which they spread the 

 disease. If the weather at the time of fruit maturity should 

 be warm and rainy, the fungus in the fruit may progress 

 with astonishing rapidity, causing total destruction of a 

 large crop. The decayed fruits, if undisturbed, may re- 

 main on the tree until the following spring. 



