REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



undoubtedly sound pears had been resorted to about a week prior to 

 my visit, so that pears, sound or infested, were few and far between. 

 The infested pears do not drop to the ground with the insect. On the 

 contrary, they remain for quite a while afterward upon the tree, but 

 slowly turn black and rot off. The second point in your instructions is 

 thus definitely answered. As well as could be done in the small lot of 

 pears remaining on the Coe farm, and rather better in a neighboring 

 orchard where nothing had been done to get rid of. the pest, the mode 

 of r aching the ground was investigated, and the observed facts and 

 information obtainable all point to the theory that the grub simply al- 

 lows itself to drop. I believe this, first, because though I saw a few 

 specimens on the outside of the pears near the opening showing the 

 point of exit, none were found on the twigs near by, and nothing was 

 found in the crevices of or under the bark ; second, at one point where 

 a basket of the infested fruit picked from the orchard had been allowed 

 to remain over night the larvae were found next morning in numbers, 

 making the best of their way under ground, and Mr. Coe says that in 

 some places, where the earth was a little loosened, lie found large 

 numbers. I dug somewhat at this point and found rather more than 

 an inch under ground a number of specimens quite unchanged ; they 

 had been in the ground then about a week. Third, Mr. Coe says he 

 has several times carried infested pears into the house and kept them in 

 jars or boxes, and that the larvre after leaving the pears had wandered 

 round for some time, but had never pupated anywhere in or among the 

 rubbish or crevices of the boxes. He had never placed earth in any of 

 the boxes. As the larvae found had been under ground certainly eight 

 days, and were totally unchanged, the probability is that they remain in 

 this form for some time before entering the pupa state. In the orchard 

 it was impossible to do anything, because hogs, sheep, and chickens 

 had everywhere rooted and scratched, so that even had not the infested 

 fruit been removed it would have been difficult to find anything among 

 the confused masses of sod and roots and grass. 



On the Coe farm the insect has been known some five years, becom- 

 ing each year more common, until last year it destroyed nearly the en- 

 tire crop. It seems unknown except on the Coe farm and another 

 orchard close by. In this latter place a few trees were found pretty 

 badly infested, but no one had noticed it, and no one could give me 

 any information as to how long it had been known. No other orchard 

 in the vicinity of Meriden seems to suffer from it, and it is probably as 

 yet confined to these two orchards. There is no other large orchard 

 close by, and this may account for the fact that the species has not be- 

 come more widely spread as yet. According to Mr. Coe, last year was 

 a good year for pears, but his crop was largely destroyed : this year is 

 an "off year' and there was not much bloom, so when it was noticed 

 that the pears were generally infested, it was determined to strip the 

 trees of all fruit that appeared at all infested, and so well did the men 

 employed do their work that it was with difficulty a few specimens could 

 be secured here. Six men were employed at the work for three or four 

 clays, and during that time stripped the 600 trees. Xot all varieties of 

 pear are equally attacked. The il Lawrence" is the favorite, and is a 

 pear which though blooming later than others, yet sets first. Next is 

 the "Anjou," almost equally infested. The " Bartlett" is not so much 

 troubled, though by no means exempt, and on the " Seckel" but few of 

 the insects are found. 



As to the possibility of importation: Mr. Coe says that some seven 

 years since he imported a large lot of pear stocks^ from France, upon 



