72 The American Naturalist. (January, 
Early in July the orchard was again examined. Some of the sprayed — 
trees showed that the foliage had been damaged by the spraying, but — 
the injury was not very serious. Not over three per cent. of sprayed — 
fruit was stung at that time, while about four per cent. of that on the 
jarred trees were injured. But on both the fruit was so thick that arti- ~ 
ficial thinning was necessary to prevent overbearing. 
A large crop of fruit was ripened on both parts of the orchard, and — 
so far as could be judged from one field experiment, it showed that 
spraying is as effective as jarring. 
Professor Cook, referring to this experiment, has asked: ‘‘ Would 
the crop have been a failure had he not sprayed? And, if so, willhe — 
get equal results every season ? °’ 14 To the first question I can only | 
answer that in the jarred half of the orchard large numbers of Curcu- 
lios were obtained,—enough to ruin the crop had they not been — 
caught. It is fair to presume that they were equally abundant in the — 
sprayed half. The second question is easily answered. If the crop — 
= would have -been a failure without spraying, obviously the spraying | 
saved it. And if the succéss was due to spraying alone—a condition 
involved by the query itself—future experience must conform to that . 
of the past. I do not say that this is all demonstrated, but simply | 
answer the question with the premise involved in it. Professor Cook 
continues: ‘‘ Occasionally we secure a crop, with no effort to fight 
the Curculio. Does not this suggest an explanation why some wī 
have given this remedy a limited trial speak so highly of it.” If o : 
‘“‘ limited trial” refers to the Ohio experiments, which have been cat- 
ried on for three successive seasons, and in which an aggregate of 
1,200 fruit trees have been employed, I would venture to inqur 
what constitutes an extended trial? There is certainly nothing 
in the record of the Michigan experiments to indicate that pe: 
number of trees have been employed. ae 
I had intended briefly to summarize the records concerning JE 
feeding habits of the Curculio, and the laboratory experiments © 
poisoning it, but the limits of space forbids so doing. Suflice 
say, that Dr. Riley in his earliest articles showed conclusively thet ot 
adult beetles feed freely upon the fruit and foliage, and that the a 
sequent observations of Forbes, Comstock, Cook, Gillette, os 
Atwood, and others abundantly confirm his account ; while the Ta 
ing of poisoned fruit and foliage to beetles in confinement ' 
13 This experiment is recorded in Bulletin Ohio Agr. Experiment Station, Vol- ing 
225~228 ; September, 1890, 
M Bulletin No. 66, Mich. Agr. College, p. 6. 
