AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



PUBLISHED BY JOSEPH BRECK & CO., NO. 52 NORTH M.IRKET STREET, (Agbicoltubal Warehodsb.)-ALLEN PUTNAM, EDITOR. 



>L,. X3KII.1 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, AUGUST 16, 1843. 



[NO. 7. 



N 



FARMER 



iS CURCULIO.— WARTY EXCRESENCE 



ON THE PLUM TREE. 

 [The following comraunication, nddressetl lo the 

 uit Committee uf llio Mass. liortictiltiiral Socie- 



by Dr. Joel Burnett, of Soutliboro', Mass., poa- 

 3ses so much of interest to fruit-groivcr?', that we 

 rd make no apiilo>ry for devoting to its insertion 



large a portion of our space. Dr. B. has been 

 •many years a close observer of the diseases and 

 emios to which the plum tree is liable, and his 

 inions are therefore entitled lo much considera- 

 m,] 



the Fruit Commitlee of the Mass. Horticnl. Society : 

 Geni'Lemen — Noticing the vote of the Massa- 

 usetts Horticultural Society, in the JVtw England 

 trnirr of July ]■!, 1841, which awards a premium 



$•200 for destroying the Curculio, and also the 

 te placing the subject under the direction of the 

 •nit Committee, I am induced to address you up- 

 I that subject. 



I consider the motive philanthropic in passing 

 is vote, for members of that Society well know 

 6 pleasure and the profit of cultivating good 

 lit, and the healthy and harmless luxury, and the 

 ilicious fare it always affords ; and wishing to 

 move every obstacle in the way of, and grant 

 ■cry facility in, its cultivation, in order that this 

 easure, so productive of profit and comfort, inay 

 jcome general in the community, have generous- 

 offered this reward to any one who will make 

 lown lo you a successful mode of removing tl.a 

 •eat, or only impediment, which lies in the way 



success in the cultivation of those delicious and 

 ;autilul fruits — the plum and peach. 



It will be my aim to state here what I know of 

 is insect from observation, entering somewhat 

 to his natural history ; describing his metamor- 

 losis; his three stages of existence, viz: the lar- 

 i, pupa and perfecl-imago, or beetle states. And 

 lis will be done for the reason that the more we 

 low of his character, the more practical and more 

 fectunl will be our efforts to check and prevent 

 le injuries he commits upon fruit. 



This inject was called by Herbal, Rhynchaenus 

 ennphar : by Peck, Rhynchaenus Cerasi — but 

 >mmonly goes by the name of Curculio, or plum 

 eevil, by horticulturists. "He is a little rough, 

 ark brown beetle," lias two small bunches or pro- 

 iberances on his back — a rostrum or beak, on 

 hich are two antenna; — (Fig. 1.) 



"^^ 



Fiif. 1 — The Curculio of the natural size. 



He is so shy and retiring and unobtrusive in his 

 haracter, in his beetle stage, that he is not liable 

 J be seen, unless he is searched fur purposely, and 

 riis IS the reason why 8o little is known of iiim 

 enerally. 



When you have discovered that he is operating 

 pon the fruit, which you may know by his ptcu- 



liar mark upon it, by assiduously watching, you 

 may chance to see him cutting the incision with 

 his rostrum — (Fig. 2.) 



Fis. 2.— The Curculio in the act of making an inci- 

 sion. The small dot or discolored spot at lh« inner 



line of his incisinn, is the neat where the egg lies. 



If you extend your thumb and finger towards 

 him, it must be very cautiously and slyly, or before 

 you touch him he will drop, as imperceptibly as a 

 small shot would, to the ground. 



It should be remarked, that we do not know that 

 he uses the fruit for his food, but chooses it as re- 

 ceptacles for his eggs. 



He begins his work upon the plum and apricot, 

 as soon in the season as the small cap or covering, 

 formed by the blossom, falls off" — but not so soon 

 upon the peach. Examining the fruit occasionally 

 or daily, you are to know when he has commenced 

 his work by his peculi.ir viaik or incision, which is 

 readily seen on fruit with smooth skin, as the plum, 

 cherry, apple, &c. ; but on the por'.ch, it is known 

 by a small drop of gum oozing from its surface. 

 It has been stated, that the furzy surface on the 

 peach is a barrier or obstacle in his way, but it 

 dues not prove so here, as the injury whicli it sus- 

 tains is quite general, unless protected. 



1 say, then, he is known to be on the fruit tree 

 by his peculiar mark on the fruit. This mark is 

 the wound he makes with his rostrum, which con- 

 sists in raising up the skin of the plum to a small 

 extent, under which he deposits an egg. The 

 shape or form of this mark is semi-lunar or cres- 

 cent shape, and in the middle of this wound is a 

 small discolored speck, where the egg is placed — 

 (Kigs. 2, 3 and 4.) 



In the early part of the season, or during the 

 month of June, his mark will be found near tlic 

 apex or point of tlie plum — (Fig. 3.) 



(Fig. 3.; 

 But after the plum has reached a considerable 

 size, or from the 1st to the 20th of July, his mark 

 will be found at the base, or near where the stem 

 is inserted — (Fig. 4.) 



Fig. 4. — 3, tho incision near the base ; 4 4 sliow the 

 blue line, inilicaling lliat the grub is ealliig wilhin. 



This last mentioned place (at the base,) the in- 

 sect prefers, it would seem, from instinct, lest the 

 plum, by its strong connection to the tree, should 

 not fall soon enough to secure the welfare of the 

 grub within it ; for this vital connection is sooner 

 disturbed by the worm than it would be if the egg 

 had been deposited in the apex. 



When the egg hatches, the larva, sometimes, it 

 is presumed, falls from the nidus or nest, and the 

 fruit remains unharmed: but most generally, in 

 four or five days from the time the egg is. laid, a 

 small bliieish line, near the skin, may be seen, ex- 

 tending from his mark, (Fig. 4,) which signifies 

 that the grub is within. And also when his mark 

 has assumed a blueish tint, you may be certain 

 that destruction will follow ; for when you see 

 these signs, take the plum from the tree, and cut 

 off a small portion where the mark is, and you will 

 notice that the larva has burrowed down into it. 



The effect upon the plum or other fruit, of the 

 larva within, is to cause it to shrivel and decay, 

 and after a while it falls. By the time the plum 

 falls, the insect has nearly or quite completed his 

 larva or grub state, and then he leaves it and goes 

 down a little way into the earth. 



Here in the earth he undergoes his transforma- 

 tion, (Fig. 5.) which is performed in about twenty 

 days, in the month of June or fore part of July. 



<SZffi2> 



Fig. 5. — Larvee of the Curculio of the natural size. 

 But all the larva;, (so far as I have observed,) that 

 go into the earth about as late as the 20lh of July, 

 do no ascend that season, but remain there in the 

 pupa stajje (Fig. 0,) until the next spring. 



Fig. 6.— Curculio in the pupa state magnified. 



