406 THE PLUM. 



June the curculio commences his task of propagation, and his mark 

 will then be found near the apex of the fruit, at this time not much 

 larger than a pea ; as the fruit increases in size, the marks newly made 

 will be found gradually approaching the stem, until in 

 July, near the close of his labors, they will be found 

 very near the stem. These last marks in July are 

 not often found, as they are produced only from a few 

 insects which have escaped late from the larva state, 

 or, as some say, have, owing to shallow imbedding in 

 the earth and great heat, been transformed from eggs 

 deposited the same season. 

 The eggs, one of which is deposited in each crescent mark, soon 

 hatches into a small white larva; which enters the body of the fruit 

 and feeds upon it, causing, usually, its premature fall to the ground. 

 The period at which the young fruit falls, after being punctured, 

 varies with its age at the time of the injury. The earlier portions 

 drop in about two weeks ; but if the stone is hard when the egg is 

 laid, the fruit remains till near the usual period of ripening, some- 

 times presenting a fair and smooth exterior, but spoiled by the worm 

 within. 



The insect, soon after the fall of the fruit, makes its way into the 

 earth, where it is supposed to remain till the following spring, when 

 it is transformed into the perfect insect or beetle, to lay its eggs and 

 perpetuate its race. 



The curculio travels by flying, but only during quite warm wea- 

 ther, or at the heat of the day, at which time a person lying flat 

 upon his back under a tree, and perfectly still, can observe their 

 movements. If the least motion or noise is made, they remain 

 inactive. The insects mostly confine themselves to certain trees, or 

 to the same orchard. But the fact that newly bearing and isolated 

 orchards are soon attacked, clearly shows that in occasional instances 

 they must travel considerable distances. Indeed, they have been 

 known to be wafted on the wind for a half mile or more, the wind- 

 ward side of orchards being most infested, immediately after strong 

 winds from a thickly planted plum neighborhood. In the cool of 

 the morning they are nearly torpid, and can scarcely fly, and crawl 

 but slowly ; hence, at this time of the day they are most easily de- 

 stroyed. 



The plum alone is, however, not the only fruit subject to attack 

 from this insect, but the peach, apricot, nectarine, and cherry, all 

 suffer ; and, when a scarcity of fruit, then the tender branches of the 

 oak, wild plum, and other trees, receive the egg, and dropping the 

 same, after a period, to the ground, its regular transformations are 

 continued, and the succeeding season the natural instinct of the 

 insect leads it to the fruit again. 



The preventives to injury from the natural instinct and course of 



