1860. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



291 



opinion that the cnrculio ever committed any rav- 

 ages vpon the apple." 



Most of my own neighbors ai"e equally oblivious 

 to its ravages — although I find their fruit as bad- 

 ly stung as my own, and many have told me they 

 have never seen the insect, and think me a little 

 radical in my belief that thj curculio, for the last 

 several years, has been the cause of the short crops 

 of apples in New England. 



In the remarks of Dr. Fitch I find two reasons 

 for hope ; first, that an able entomologist has de- 

 clared the curculio to bo "the most injurious in- 

 sect in our country," and, secondly, that he has 

 discovered a parasite that may check its multipli- 

 cation. S. Fletcher. 



Windiester, 1860. 



"I think the curculio, or plum-weevil, the most 

 injurious insect in our country. The wheat midge 

 may now produce a gr( ater loss, but I think its 

 career is well nigh ended. The curculio is a na- 

 tive insect of our country. It was at first noticed 

 as destroying the nectarines about Philadelphia, 

 about one hundred years ago, since which it has 

 multiplied, and attacked our apples, plums, cher- 

 ries and other fruits. From the remedies con- 

 stantly being published in the papers, we might 

 suppose its entire history was known ; but, to 

 this day, we do not surely know where and how 

 it lives during three-fourths of the year. It makes 

 its appearance on the young fruit, when about 

 half grown, and, cutting a crescent-shaped gash, it 

 deposits a single egg, and only a single one, in 

 each plum. This hatches into a small, white 

 worm, which feeds upon the juices of the fruit till 

 it is destroyed, and falls to the ground. It then 

 goes into the ground, undergoes its changes, and 

 in about six weeks comes out again as a beetle. 

 The time when it first makes its appearance varies 

 from the first of April to the middle of IMay, when 

 it may be found on our apple, cherry, plum, 

 butternut, and other trees. Quite late in the fall, 

 we find them in abundance on the golden rod. 

 When the fruit is large enough, they attack it, 

 and, being decided epicures, select the largest and 

 best specimens. No matter how full a plum tree 

 may be, it will be sure to find every one of them. 

 I think the less productiveness of our apple orch- 

 ards, now than formerly, due to this insect. About 

 the first of July, inspect the fallen fruit from an 

 apple and plum tree, and you will find both to 

 have perished from the curculio worm. As before 

 remarked, the larva goes into the ground about 

 the first of July, and in a few weeks comes out as 

 a beetle. The question here arises, "Where and 

 upon what do they now feed, as there is no young 

 fruit ? The fact that they come in the spring, 

 weeks before the fruit on which they feed is fit 

 for them ; and the fact that they are as abundant 

 after the fruit is gone as before, is good evidence 

 that they breed in other places and feed on other 

 food. The fact is now well estabhshed that they 

 breed in those excrescences known as the black 

 knot, on the plum and cherry tree, just as well as 

 in the fruit of these trees. Fifty years ago, Mel- 

 sheimar stated that they breed in the bark of the 

 peach. Four years ago, I found larva? in the bark 

 of the pear, which I have reason to suppose, were 

 of the curculio. These insects are so abundant 

 and large on the bark of the butternut, as to show 

 that this tree is a favorite abode for them. Now, 



as no frviit is found on this tree, like the plum or 

 apple, is it not probable that their eggs are laid 

 in the bark, and that here the larva? feed, and pass 

 the winter ? In my opinion, there are three gen- 

 erations of these pests in a single year^ two of 

 which live in the bark of trees, and when the fruit 

 is of proper age, one generation of larvee feed 

 upon it. 



Until within a few months, no parasite had 

 been discovered of the curculio, but last summer, 

 D. W. Beadle sent me some specimens of insects, 

 which I have found to be a parasite to it, and I 

 have called it CurcuUo Parasite. It lays its eggs 

 in the larva, and one insect will destroy one hun- 

 dred of them. It is greatly to be hoped they will 

 multiply and spread, wherever this pest is found. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 CALCULATIOlSrS ABOUT CABBAGES. 



Mr. Editor: — During the past year I observed 

 that there was considerable said on the subject of 

 cabbages, and no little relative to that peculiarity 

 of the roots which has various names, and Avhich 

 we will now call club-root. IIow many causes there 

 may be, either of which Avill produce this condi- 

 tion of a cabbage crop, I know not. But I will men- 

 tion one, which is, I think, so certain, that every 

 one Avho would raise a good cabbage should be 

 aware of it. This is an excessive supply of am- 

 monia in the soil. The free use of night soil, 

 hog manure, where the liquid mixes Avith the sol- 

 id, Peruvian guano, Sec, alt of which contain a 

 large supply of ammonia, is mischievous. 



I visited a tov.-n in this State, some years since, 

 to deliver an agricultural loctiu-e, when the sub- 

 ject of cabbages came up. A gentleman stated 

 his entire want of success with cabbages in his 

 garden, because of club-roots. After hearing his 

 statements, I ventured the presumption that his 

 garden received a plentiful wash from a hog-pen. 

 lis exclaimed, "IIow could you know anything 

 about that ?" It was the fact, and he admitted it. 

 A gentleman that I became acquainted with about 

 a year shice, told me that he raised a splendid 

 crop of cabbages in 1858, where he dressed the 

 ground with hog manure, and that he should try 

 it again in 1859. I was satisfied, by inquiring, 

 that the manure had been so washed before use, 

 that its ammonia was mostly gone. I watched 

 last year to behold the result. It was just as I 

 expected, about a failure. I was talking with an 

 intelligent farmer, in the summer of 1836, and 

 ho said he expected a great crop of cabbages, for 

 he had dressed the ground with night soil. I pre- 

 dicted failure. It was so. I heard a very suc- 

 ces,sful farmer state in a public meeting that he 

 had freely used Peruvian guano, on every kind 

 of crop, with success. I asked him, "Have you 

 applied guano freely to cabbages, without their 

 being club-rooted?" He answered, I had for- 

 gotten. My cabbages were club-rooted, where I 

 made a free use of it. A little proved beneficial." 



I might mention other facts, of a sim.ilar char- 

 acter ; and some which seem to indicate that an 

 excess of carbonic acid in the soil will have the 

 same eff'ect as an excess of ammonia. I set, one 

 summer, twenty-five plants of Gloljo Savoy, on 

 a square rod, the surface of Avhich, for a foot 

 deep, was made by the thrown up substance 



