892 



THE PLUM. 



vation of the plum in the United States, but they are in some districts 

 so great as almost to destroy the value of this tree. These are the cur- 

 culio and the knots. 



The curculio, or plum-weevil (Rhynchcenus Nenuphar), is the un- 

 compromising foe of all smooth-stone fruits. The cultivator of the 

 Plum, the Nectarine, and the Apricot, in many parts of the country, 

 after a flattering profusion of snowy blossoms and an abundant promise 

 in the thickly set young crops of fruit, has the frequent mortification of 

 seeing nearly all, or indeed, often, the whole crop, fall from the trees 

 when half or two-thirds grown. 



If he examines these falling fruits he will perceive on the surface 

 of each, not far from the stalk, a small semi-circular scar. This scar is 

 the crescent-shaped insignia of that little Turk the curculio — an insect 

 so small as, perhaps, to have escaped his observation for years, unless 

 particularly drawn to it, but which nevertheless appropriates to himself 

 the whole product of a tree, or an orchard of a thousand trees. 



The habits of this curculio, or plum- weevil, are not yet fully and en- 

 tirely ascertained. But careful observation has resulted in establishing 

 the following points in its history : — 



The plum-weevil is a small, dark brown beetle, with 

 spots of white, yellow, and black. Its length is scarce- 

 ly one-fifth of an inch. On its back are two black 

 humps, and it is furnished with a pretty long, curved 

 throat and snout, which, when it is at rest, is bent 

 between the forelegs. It is also provided with two 

 wings, with which it flies through the air. How far 

 this insect flies is yet a disputed point, some cultiva- 

 tors affirming that it scarcely goes farther than a 

 single tree, and others believing that it flies over a 

 whole neighborhood. Our own observation inclines 

 us to the belief that this insect emigrates just in 



me curculio, ana , • u j * 1 i i .i 



its mark. proportion as it finds m more or less abundance the 



tender fruit for depositing its eggs. Very rarely do 

 we see more than one puncture in a plum, and, if the 

 insects are abundant, the trees of a single spot will not afford a sufficient 

 number for the purpose ; then there is little doubt (as we have seen 

 them flying through the air) that the insect flies farther in search of a 

 larger supply. But usually, we think, it remains nearly in the same 

 neighborhood, or migrates but slowly. 



About a week or two after the blossoms have fallen from the trees, 

 if we examine the fruit of the plum in a district where this insect 

 abounds, we shall find the small, newly formed fruit beginning to be 

 punctured by the proboscis of the plum-weevil. The insect is so small 

 and shy, that unless we watch closely it is very likely to escape our no- 

 tice. But if we strike or shake the tree suddenly, it will fall in consider- 

 able numbers on the ground, drawn up as if dead, and resembling a small 

 raisin, or, perhaps more nearly, a ripe hemj3-seed. From the first of 

 April until August this insect may be found, though we think its de- 

 predations on fruit, and indeed its appearance in any quantity, is con- 

 fined to the months of May and June in this climate. In places where 

 it is very abundant, it also attacks to some extent the cherry, the peach, 

 and even the apple and pear. 



Early in July the punctured plums begin to fall rapidly from the 



