RETORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST I905 



59 



immense number of root worms which must have been at work in 

 the vineyard before operations commenced. An examination in 

 1903 showed that the grape roots were very badly scored, and 

 there was a question whether the vitality of the vines was sufficient 

 to outgrow the injury. The vineyard has, as is well known, re- 

 ceived excellent cultivation and care, and the following spring col- 

 lections with the bettle catcher resulted in taking about 6% of the 

 number captured the preceding July ; in other words, the numbers 

 of the pest had been reduced by cultivation for the destruction of 

 pupae and the collection of beetles by about 94%, if we make no 

 allowance for the normal increase of those surviving the opera- 

 tions of the previous season. This vigorous action in connection 

 with excellent cultivation and fertilization gave the vines an oppor- 

 tunity to recuperate, and while they grew well throughout the sea- 

 son in 1903 there was still a chance that the root worm injury had 

 made such a draft upon the reserve vitality of the vines as to make 

 it impossible for them to eventually recover. It is very gratifying 

 to state that the observations of 1904 and 1905 show that these 

 fears were groundless. The vines, in spite of the severe damage 

 inflicted in the fall of 1902, and probably to some extent in the 

 early spring of 1903, have been able to overcome the serious injury 

 and the vineyard is now in most excellent condition in every re- 

 spect. These experiments and their subsequent results should 

 prove of great value to every grower, since they show that a vine- 

 yard may suffer considerable injury from such a pest as the root 

 worm and yet be brought back to its normal condition, provided 

 remedial measures are adopted promptly and the vines given an 

 opportunity to recover through excellent cultivation supplemented 

 by judicious fertilization. 



The above bit of history is a marked contrast to that of certain 

 vineyards in the same section, some of which have been practically 

 ruined by the root worm, with very little effort on the part of the 

 owner to avert disaster. We know of one at least which was seri- 

 ously infested by root worms two or three years earlier than that 

 belonging to Mr Falvay and which is still in a very poor condition, 

 owing largely, we believe, to continued and unchecked root worm 

 depredations. Other causes such as extremely light soil, un- 

 draincd land, etc. may produce weak, unthrifty vines in restricted 

 localities or even over extended areas. These latter by no means 

 explain some of the losses in Chautauqua vineyards. The grape 

 root worm is undoubtedly causing a great deal of damage and here 



