ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



269 



It may be laid down as a rule, which will 

 generally liold good, that editors arc the most 

 pugnacious of men — with their pens. A woman 

 in her silken robes is vain ; an Indian in his 

 war-paint is vain ; a turkey gobbler in his feath- 

 ers is vain; but of all vain things on this earth 

 of ours an editor is, perhaps, the vainest! There 

 is scarcely one of them — from the scribbler for the 

 penny novel to D'Israeli or Victor Hugo — who 

 does not think his productions unequalled and 

 unsurpassed; and he who would take excep- 

 tion to any of them must needs give mortal 

 oflense. It is not surprising, therefore, that the 

 respective editors of tlie SI. Joseph Ifernld and 

 of the Benlon Harbor Palladium, have had a 

 pitched battle at pen's point on this Curculio 

 remedy. Nor is it surprising that their mode 

 of reasoning is far more vicious tiian that of the 

 champions of the two different methods. It 

 appears that Dr. AVinans, whom we know to 

 be a perfect gentleman and an excellent obser- 

 ver, recommended the Ransom jjrocess in the 

 columns of the J'alladiinn, and that the editor 

 of that paper actually had the audacity to assert 

 that "it was practiced many years ago in the 

 central part of New York ; but like many other 

 discoveries seems to have been neglected and 

 forgotten " ! AVhereupon the Herald cries, 

 " shame "' — " preposterous "' — " this discovery 

 ought not to be belittled by any one in the St. 

 Joseph Fruit Belt." Of course the Palladium 

 mildly replies to these cutting attacks, and the 

 Herald finishes the discussion by reiterating in 

 two different editorials that Mr. W". B. Ransom 

 is the discoverer of tlie new method of Curcu- 

 lio E.XTEKMiNATiON [ ! !] . That papcr likewise 

 (very justly) takes considerable credit to itself, 

 and implicates us in the following manner: 



The Herald claims honor for what it did do. 

 It claims that without its Extra, the Palladium 

 would have attempted to steal the honor for 

 some other one; that the jealous entomologists 

 of Illinois and Missouri would have attributed 

 the discovery to one of themselves, and for the 

 proof thereof appeals to the intemperate article 

 of the Palladium. 



Now, we are perfectly willing that the par- 

 ties should, like the martyrs mentioned in Don 

 Quixote, each heroically frizzle on his own coals ; 

 but we do implore you, gentlemen, to '-'stop 

 this pother," and, like men, admit the facts. 

 The editor of the Herald docs himself no great 

 honor in the blind manner in which he vents 

 bis wrath on his bitter rival ; but in making the 

 astounding assertion that "the jealous Ento- 

 mologists of Illinois and JNIissouri \*ould have 

 attributed the discovery to one of themselves," 

 he makes himself supremely ridiculous, and 



simply jiollutes his pen with the vilest slander. 

 No doubt Dr. Lel5aron is as capable as our- 

 selves of proving that he had no grounds what- 

 ever for any such assertion. 



With regard to the benelits accruing from this 

 discovery, we must repeat what was said in our 

 lust number, namely, that it would be unwise in 

 the extreme to rely on this method alone, and to 

 abandon the jarring process. Since the method 

 was first noised abroad it has been tried contin- 

 uously by ourselves, by the horticultural editor 

 and the Illinois correspondent of the Country 

 Genlleman, by Dr. Trimble of New Jersey, by 

 Dr. Hull, and by many other i)crsous in different 

 parts of the country, as well as at St. Joseph, and 

 in every instance with the meagre and unsatis- 

 factory results we predicted. Per contra, it 

 would be equally unwise to follow the reasoning 

 of Dr. Hull and abandon the Uansom method, 

 for, from our own experience, we venture the 

 assertion that it will prove the belter remedy 

 of the two fur the million; first, on account of 

 its cheapness and simplicity, and, second, be- 

 cause an energetic and united effort for a few 

 days early in the season, will do mui'h — very 

 much — to lighten the subsccjuent summer's jar- 

 ring in any given district. 



As to who is entitled to the credit of the dis- 

 covery, we reiterate our former opinion. As 

 then stated, we have often captured Plum Cur- 

 culios early iu the season under chips, bark, 

 and other sheltered situations, and so have other 

 persons; but these facts do not in the least de- 

 tract from the honor due Mr. Ransom, but, on 

 the contrary, they reflect discredit on us for not 

 being wise enough to make a practical applica- 

 tion of them. With the case of Mrs. Wier, 

 however, it is quite diflerent. She not only 

 captured a large number, but suggested the 

 method to others through the columns of an 

 influential journal ; and although her sugges- 

 tions have never since been worked upon, ^^lle 

 nevertheless made the first discovery and ap- 

 plied it. It nmy be truly said that he who, 

 by persistent ai)peal and untiring elfort, suc- 

 ceeds in ai)plying and introducing to public 

 notice a new and valuable invention, de- 

 serves more credit than the inventor himself; 

 and we repeat that all cicdit is due Mr. Ran- 

 som. All honor to him or to any man who will 

 give to the fruit-grower any practical and hith- 

 erto unemployed method of destroying those 

 insect pests which render fruit-growing so pre- 

 carious. We presume he would not — suppos- 

 ing he could — claim any particular recompense 

 for the valuable facts he has made public; but 

 he can rest assured that an appreciative public 



