220 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



DR. HULL'S CURCULIO CATCHER. 



We recently paid a visit to Dr. Hull's fruit 

 I'arin, which is situated on the bluffs of the Mis- 

 sissippi, about Ave miles above Alton, Ills. Wo 

 went there with the ostensible purpose of feast- 

 ing our eyes on his noted cherry orchard, which 

 contains nineteen varieties ; and to tickle our 

 palate with some of the fruit which hung in 

 such rich clusters from all the branches of the 

 different trees. The Doctor, b)' a judicious 

 thinning out of the fruit spurs, early in the sea- 

 son, produces immense size of berry, and we 

 never before witnessed such a handsome cherry 

 crop, either in this country or in Europe, as lie 

 had the pi-fesent year. But while there, we 

 amused ourselves by sketching his celebrated 

 Curculio-catcher, by the aid of which he lias 

 been enabled to etlectually protect tliat large 

 cherry crop from the ravages of the Curculio. 

 Of course we could not make a comely picture 

 of such an ugly and cumbersome machine, with- 

 out introducing the Doctor's handsome phiz as 

 an offset; and if there beany merit in the story 

 of tlie old Egyptian Magician wlio portrayed so 

 vividly that he exhausted the life of his subject, 

 then we must have obtained a good portrait of 

 the Doctor; for those present will bear witness 

 that he turned wonderfully pale and all but 

 fainted, when he discovered that he was being 

 transferred to paper. But we will leave this mat- 



ter to those few of our readers who were pres- 

 ent, and who alone Avill appreciate the joke, 

 while we give a description of the machine in 

 the Doctor's own words, for the general benefit : 

 " To make a Curculio-catcher we first obtain 

 a light wheel, not to exceed three feet in diame- 

 ter, the axlctree of which should be about ten 

 inches long. We next construct a pair of lian- 

 dles, similar to those of a whcflburrow, l)utmuch 

 more depressed at the point ilosi^ncd to receive 

 the bearings of the axlctree. ami extending for- 

 ward of the wheel just I'iir ciiongli to admit a 

 cross-beam to coniirct (lie handles at this point; 

 one-and-a-half iiu-hcs in the rear of the wheel a 

 second cross-bi am is framed into the handles, 

 and eighteen to twenty-four inches further back, 

 a third. The two last named cross-beams have 

 framed to their under-sides a fourth piece, cen- 

 trally, between tiie handles, and pointing in the 

 direction of the wheel. To the handles and to 

 the three last named pieces, the arras or ribs to 

 support the canvass are to be fastened. To the 

 front part of the beam connecting the handles 

 in front of the wlieel, the ram is attached ; this 

 should be covered with leather stufledwith fur- 

 niture moss, a dozen or more thicknesses of old 

 hat, leather or other substance, being careful to 

 use no more than necessary to protect the tree 

 from bruising. Ascertain the elevation the han- 

 dles should have in driving, and support them 

 in tliat position. AVe now put in place tlie 

 stretchers or arms, six for each side, which are 

 to receive and support the canvas. We put the 

 front arms in position. These extend back to 

 near the centre of the wheel on each side, and 

 in front of the wheel (for large machines) say 

 six feet, are far enough apart to receive the 

 largest tree between them on which it is in- 



