61 



as a great success, and thai is to clear the ground for two or three feet around the butt 

 of the tree and lay traps for the curculio, in the shape of sticks, chips, corncobs, stones, 

 shingles, and anything else that will afford a shelter, and then go round at any time in 

 the day, turn the traps over and kill the enemy. Mr. W. B. Ransom, of St. Joseph, 

 Michigan, who is the great advocate of this remedy, states that he killed from seventy- 

 five trees, one thousand six hundred and forty-eight curculios in one hour, while a friend 

 of his, from under two hundred trees, killed two thousand five hundred and fourteen cur- 

 culios in about two hours. These numbers altogether put in the shade the collection of 

 our fourteen Canadians referred to in the early part of this report. It is evident that 

 our " Cousins " are greater sufferers than ourselves from the ravages of the " Little 

 Turk." The method, though not quite so sure a remedy, we fancy, as Mr. Ransom and 

 his friends appear inclined to believe, is still one that, from its very simplicity, is well 

 worth a fair trial, and we therefore recommend it to our fruit-growers, and shall be glad 

 to hear of any results from its adoption during the next season. In conclusion, we would 

 advise plum-growers to carefully thin out all fruit that is known to contain the grubs of 

 the curculio, and co destroy and burn during the late fall and winter (where practicable) 

 all underbush and rubbish in the orchard, and by these means they will destroy a large 

 number of the insects that would otherwise make their appearance in the spring. It will 

 also be advisable, in forming new orchards, to plant the best kinds of fruit in the centre, 

 leaving the less valuable varieties to be first attacked on the outside, and thus, perhaps, 

 afford better opportunities of waging a persistent war against the wretched little hump- 

 back. 



2nd. THE GRAY DAGGER MOTH (Acronycta Fsi, Linn). 



Lepidoptera, Noctuidj:. 



Tig. 60. During the last few seasons the larvse of this 



moth have been the cause of much injury to 

 plum trees in the London district, so much so 

 that we deem it worthy of notice, as the moth is 

 tolerably common in most parts of Ontario. It 

 attacks the foliage, feeding upon the leaves and 

 young buds, and thus materially affecting the 

 growth of the tree. We give a description of 

 this moth in all its stages as the larva and 

 Colors-Lighb grey with black markings. pupa are n<)fc we believe described elsewhere, 



and it is well that fruit growers should be able to identify their enemies. We are in- 

 debted for the following description of the larva to William Saunders, Esq,, who has suc- 

 cessfully reared the moth. 



The body is cylindrical, from one and a quarter to one and a half inches in length, 

 and sparingly covered with whitish hairs, distributed chiefly on the sides, close to the 

 undersurface ; the head is rather large and bilobed, black with yellowish dots at the sides 

 and rather fiat in front with a few scattered whitish hairs ; the body is bluish grey with 

 a slate colored dorsal band, having a central pale orange line from the second to the fifth 

 segments ♦ from the fifth to the eleventh segments inclusive, each segment is ornamented 

 with a beautiful group of spots of which one in front and one behind are bright orange, 

 while one at each side is of a greenish metallic hue, the whole being set in a nearly cir- 

 cular patch of rich black. Adjoining the dorsal band are two lateral cream colored bands, 

 growing indistinct towards the anterior and posterior segments, down which extends on 

 each side from each of the black dorsal spots a short black curved line, having a yellowish 

 dot immediately behind its junction with the dorsal band. The sides are marked more 

 or less with dull ochreous spots, some of which form a broken band close to the under- 

 surface. On the dorsal portion of the twelfth segment is a dull black spot considerably 

 raised. The terminal segment is flattened and blackish. The spiracles are small and 

 black. The undersurface is of a dull greenish color. The feet are black. This is de- 

 scribed from several specimens. The larva feeds on thorn, pear, plum and a variety of 

 other trees ; it is generally full grown about August when it seeks shelter in the crevices 



