Plum. 343 



the fruit falls to the ground. It is then nearly hollow, and rattles 

 like inflated bladders. The walls of the plum are fairly thick, 

 but no stone or pit exists. Wild cherries and plums are also 

 attacked by other closely related fungi. The mycelium of these 

 fungi is perennial, so that the disease generally appears year 

 after year on the same tree. It attacks the leaves and stems as 

 well as the fruit, and causes the affected parts to become swollen 

 and distorted. 



Treatment. No careful work appears to have been done in 

 controlling the fungi that cause plum pockets. From the fact 

 that the mycelium has been found growing upon the twigs and 

 extending to the young leaves and fruits, it seems probable that 

 the copper compounds would prove valuable in controlling the 

 disease. The trees should be sprayed when the buds begin to 

 swell, and again just before the blossoms open. The disease 

 may also spread by means of spores, and this would probably 

 necessitate applications at the time when the affected fruit is of 

 a gray color. 



Powdery Mildew. See under APPLE. 



Rot. See under PEACH. 



INSECT ENEMIES. 



Borers. See under APPLE. 



Bud-moth. See under APPLE. 



Canker-worm. See under APPLE. 



Curculio (Conotrachelus nenuphar, Herbst). Description. The 

 plum curculio, or " little Turk," as the beetle is occasionally called, 

 is the worst enemy of plum growers. The adult insect is scarcely 

 a fourth of an inch in length. It is grayish-brown in color, and 

 has a black hump on the center of each wing cover. The long 

 snout is generally curved underneath the body. The eggs are 

 laid in the young plums as soon as the blossoms fall, and beetles 

 may still be present even six weeks later. By means of the 

 snout a hole is bored in the plum and the egg is laid within it ; 

 a crescent-shaped cut is then made about the part containing 

 the egg in such a manner that a small lip of the green flesh is 

 formed. Within this lip the egg- is secure. It hatches in a few 

 days, the grub immediately beginning to eat its way towards the 

 center of the fruit. It feeds for about four weeks, being then 

 over three-eighths of an inch in length. It is of a yellowish- 



