372 



DISEASES AND INSECTS. 



To accomplisli both tliese ends, some people have 

 planted their plums and apricots in a small enclosure by 

 themselves, adjoining the hog-pen, and as soon as the 

 fruits begin to drop, these animals are admitted, and 

 gather all up, and, at the same time, tread the ground so 

 firmly that it is almost as good as if it were paved. 



This is probably the easiest and best way to ensure a 

 crop of the fruits attacked by this insect. 



Another way is, to jar the tree daily three or four times 

 a day, from the moment they begin to appear, which is 

 when the frait is the size of a pea, until they have disap- 

 peared, or the fruit begins to ripen, when it is no longer 

 attacked. 



Serious injuries have been inflicted on plum trees, by 

 thoughtlessly striking the bark of the trunk or a large 

 branch ^ith a mallet to jar the trees. The safer way is 

 to strike on the end of a cut branch, or to fix a cushion 

 of some soft 'material on the end of a short stick, and 

 place the- cushion on the tree, and strike the other end 

 with the mallet. The insects are much easier jarred off 

 in the cool of the morning while they are comparatively 

 torpid. 



Before commencing to jar them down, a white sheet or 

 cloth, wide enough to cover all the ground under the 

 branches, should be spread to receive the insects as they 

 fall, so that they may be destroyed. This was recom- 

 mended through the " Genesee Fanner," by David 

 Thomas, twenty years ago. 



From repeated observations, I am inclined to believe 

 that it is quite sensitive to cold, for it is well known that 

 in the cool of the morning it is always in a comparative 

 state of torpor ; and in the cold seasons of 1849-50, when 

 our peach trees and fruit were so greatly injured, the 

 cm'culio was driven off, and we had a most abundant 

 crop of plums. A cold day or two may not affect it ; but 



