I 



339 



treatments of emulsion and poison was clondy aiul moist to cool for a period of five 

 or six days. 



Mr. Schwarz advised my trying the jarring of the beetles on a cloth saturated with 

 pure kerosene. Following this advice, I made a frame nearly of the shape of a pal- 

 metto fan, made by ])ending barrel hoops and fastening to a forked stick, leaving 

 one prong long for a handle. I covered this with 14-onnce ducking. This gave me 

 a shape that by passing the trunk of the tree into the crotch of the fork nearly sur- 

 rounded the limbs with the canvas, which was 3 feet in diameter, and proved quite 

 elfective, although I would advise the use of a woolen cloth with luip as holding the 

 oil better and preventing the jumping off of the beetles the instant they touch the 

 surface, which fully two-thirds do. With this apparatus kept saturated the l)eetle8 

 can be kept in check during cool weather by passing over the orchard once a day. 

 During warm weather it is nearly useless, as countless thousands are in the air, and two 

 minutes after jarring, by actual count before and after and timing by my watch, I 

 found nearly as many as the first time. Having the beetles between me and the 

 sun, I could plainly observe their flight, and saw they were coming from out the 

 edge of the woods close by, and especially did I notice them circling in large quan- 

 tities around an old brush heap located just at the edge of the woods. Mr. Schwarz 

 thought it possible that the clearing and fallowing of the land had caused the bee- 

 tles to hatch earlier than usual. This theory would seem to be borne out from the 

 fact that the trees surrounding a rocky spot nearly in the center of a large field of 

 1,000 trees have in the last few days been attacked with redoubled violence; but I 

 do not consider this at all conclusive. The woods and locust trees are raj)idly getting 

 green, and while I have noticed some beetles on the latter trees both here and on 

 adjoining farms, yiet I see no tendency as yet in the beetles to abandon the peach for 

 their natural food plant, and in the last few da^^s they have been worse on my cherry 

 trees than Avhen the leaves were younger. I should be glad to learn the results of 

 experiments with alkalies as affecting foliage. Soot is efficacious in treatment of 

 masticating insects on squash vines, etc., when used dry, and I would be glad to know 

 if it could be used in solution safely and with the same effect 



LETTER OF MAY 12. 



A few beetles are still on my trees, but the trees are fast growing out of their reach. 

 Since May 5 the damage done is not noticeable. It is too early to state definitely 

 the percentage of damage done. In a general way I can say that the pear trees 

 show least ill effects. A number of x)lums have succumbed and several hundred 

 peach trees are killed to the ground, but are putting up from below ground. The 

 trees were planted somewhat deeper than they stood in the nursery, and it is owing 

 to this fact that I will save a larger per cent than otherwise, as one or more buds 

 were left covered by earth and escaped. None of the x>each trees escaped with less 

 than two months' set back, and many from twelve months to total destruction. For 

 a period of three or four days the locust growth divided honors in attention from the 

 beetles, but they are fewer now on both peach and locust, the proportion being about 

 the same on both. One of my neighbors has been troubled with them on young 

 apple trees, and I have noticed them on locust bushes in every iiortion of the neigh- 

 borhood that I have visited lately. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



Ill spite of its small size — not exceeding one-tenth of an inch — the 

 beetle is readily recognized, even withont the aid of a magnifying glass, 

 from its coloration and the scnlpture of the upper side, in connection with 



