28 THE CONNECTICUT POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



in this meeting that sulphide of sodium seemed a promising 

 material and was cheap enough so that it could be used 

 extensively. At that time, however, it could be obtained only 

 in large solid masses which could not be dissolved without 

 first breaking or crushing them. I wish to announce here 

 that it is now on the market broken into small lumps which 

 will dissolve more readily. It can be obtained from the 

 Roessler & Hasslacher Chemical Co., No. loo William street, 

 New York, in iron drums containing no pounds each, at 3^^ 

 cents per pound. From 8 to lo pounds of this sodium sul- 

 phide, with the same weight of sulphur and 20 pounds of 

 fresh stone lime and 40 gallons of water, a very good mixture 

 can be made without artificial boiling. 



The mixture of lime, sulphur and caustic soda is effective 

 and can be made without boiling. One of these mixtures 

 should be used on small trees in the garden, or where the 

 orchard is too small to warrant the use of a cooking plant. 

 The boiled mixture is fully as good, however, and is prob- 

 ably cheaper where made in large quantities. 



The plum curculio Conotrachelus ncnupJiar Hbst. was 

 unusually abundant and attacked not only plums, cherries and 

 peaches, but caused much injury to apples. The crescent- 

 shaped marks were seen on many of the small apples in June. 

 Some of these dropped, but most of them remained on the 

 trees, becoming irregular in shape with hard streaks or knots 

 running through the flesh. The apple curculio Anthonomns 

 quadrigibbiis Say. has been supposed to carry this injury, but 

 it is a rather rare insect — at least when compared with the 

 plum curculio. The punctures in the young apples are made 

 by the adult beetles of both sexes for food, and earlier the 

 young leaves and flowers are eaten for the same purpose. In 

 addition to the food supply, the females deposit eggs and cut 

 crescent marks around them, to prevent their being injured 

 by a too rapid growth of the fruit. There is but one brood 

 of beetles each year and the winter is passed in the adult 

 stage. Professor J. M. Stedman of the Missouri Experi- 

 ment Station has recently pubHshed a bulletin on his studies 

 of the plum curculio injuries to apples. He concludes that 

 spraying with the arsenical poisons, as is done for the Codling 



