THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



133 



it miglit be manufactured for tliis express pur- 

 pose) into each tree at the proper height, this 

 trouble may be easily overcome. This is more 

 especially necessary with old and large ti'ees, 

 which do not vibrate so easily as do younger 

 ones. Let us hope that the day is not far dis- 

 tant, when this machine, or some improvement 

 on it, will be in such general demand as to in- 

 sure its manufacture by some of our implement 

 dealers. It should be considered by all who 

 wish to grow stone-frnit, as a horticultural im- 

 plement, second only in usefulness to the plow. 

 Before leaving this subject of remedies I will 

 say that much can be done in a, small way by 

 crushing the egg with the finger-nail, or by 

 cleanly cutting out the ucwly hatched larva. It 

 will also suggest itself that, in planting an 

 orchard with timber surrounding, the less valu- 

 able varieties should be planted on the outside, 

 and as the little rascals congregate on them from 

 the neighboring woods in the early part of the 

 season, they should be fought persistently. It 

 will also pay to thin out all fruit that is known 

 to contain grubs, and that is within easy reach; 

 while, wherever it is practicable, all rubbish 

 and under-brush should be burnt during the 

 winter. 



An Appeal. 



The burden of this essay is to impress upon 

 you the utter futility of all other pretended 

 remedies. One of our most eminent Eastern 

 horticulturists has honored you, gentlemen, by 

 calling you the most philosophical set of fruit- 

 growers in the land. I want you to deserve 

 this honor by showing your good sense in this 

 Curculio matter. Tolerate no other methods 

 of fighting this foe tlian the two above named. 

 I am thoroughly satisfied that there is no other 

 remedy, and the sooner we are all convinced of 

 it the better. For over half a century the agri- 

 cultural and horticultural press has been flooded 

 with wondrous remedies, and yet, aside from 

 the two methods already indicated, there are 

 but three out of the whole catalogue which have 

 even the appearance of common sense, and 

 these are altogether impracticable in an orchard 

 of average extent. 



Lazy men may croak ; they may declare that 

 the days of profitable fruit-growing are gone by, 

 that fruit-growers are going to perdition, and 

 that the Curculio cannot be conquered ! But 

 sensible men know better. Witness the commo- 

 tion which oiieof the thousand proposedCurculio 

 remedies recently produced among the members 

 of the lately organized St. Louis Farmer's Club. 

 A gentleman claims to have a remedv, which is. 



however, a secret, as ho wishes to make money 

 with it. Forthwith an exciting discussion takes 

 place, and Col. Colman offers a million dollars 

 for a remedy— a million dollars fqr a remedy for 

 the Curculio! Now, what did these gentlemen 

 mean by a remedy? If they had ever read their 

 State Entomological Keport they would have 

 found one there given. But no: they look for 

 some panacea, some placebo, some Aaron's rod 

 wherewith to smite the hosts of the Curculio 

 throughout the land with a single wave of the 

 hand I They might as well try to produce fruit 

 without first planting and cultivating the tree 

 which is to bear it, as to try to conquer the 

 Curculio by any other but the rational means 

 we have sot forth. We do not now live in the 

 age of miracles ; and if a man undertakes to feed 

 five thousand persons on five loaves and two 

 small fishes, he will fail most ignominiously in 

 the undertaking. Just so long as we look for 

 remedies of a miraculous nature, just so long 

 will the Curculio retain the upper hand; but as 

 soon as we abjure all washes, fumes and paten' 

 applications to tlie tree, of whatever sort, ana 

 confine ourselves to killing this little foe, either 

 in the grub or perfect state, then shall we be 

 able to raise fruit free from its injuries. Our 

 experiments should all tend in the direction of 

 improving the methods of destroying the grub, 

 and of jarring down and killing the beetle. In 

 fact, the jarring of the trees and killing of the 

 little rascals must henceforth be considered as 

 part and parcel of stone-fruit culture. You may 

 argue, and with reason, that, with the utmost 

 diligence, you can never succeed in entirely 

 subduing this enemy, for it will breed in the 

 forest, will in some few cases perfect in the 

 fruit that hangs on the tree, and will come in 

 upon you from your neighbors. Gi-anled, in 

 like manner, you may cultivate your land year 

 after year, so that not a single weed shall ever 

 go to seed upon it, and yet you can nevei- en- 

 tirely subdue the weeds. But would you there- 

 fore cease to cultivate, and let the weeds overrun 

 you? It is useless to seek for good without 

 evil, and the i-aan who wishes to raise stone- 

 fruit without fighting the Curculio ought to read 

 Henry Ward Beecher's advice to him who 

 wanted an easy place. 



The more united the ettbrt to fight Curculio, 

 the less work will there be lor each; but even 

 where one determined man is surrounded by 

 negligent and slovenly neighbors, he will be 

 rewarded for his efforts. If this Society could 

 only devise some means to insure concerted 

 action in this respect among its own members, 

 a great point would be gained. The negligent 



