45 



report to the Fruit Growers' Association of Ontario, and also from papers relating to the 

 same subject in the Canadian Entomologist, 



On the 20th of August, 1868, we observed that many of the berries in the bunches 

 of a Clinton vine, under our care, were shrivelling up, On opening the grapes we observed 

 that most of the smaller berries — that is those which had shrivelled earliest — contained 

 only one seed, and that of an unusually large size ; but some of the larger withered grapes 

 contained two seeds, also swollen, each having a dark spot somewhere on its surface. On 

 cutting the seeds carefully open the kernel was found almost entirely consumed, and the 

 cavity occupied by a small, milk white, footless grub, with a pair of brown hooked man- 

 dibles, a smooth and glossy skin, with a few very fine short white hairs. When at rest it 

 was nearly oval in form, but when in motion its body became elongated, varying in length 

 tfFom one-fifteenth to one-twelfth of an inch. 



Figure 49 is a correct representation of this grub as it appears 

 when magnified. The small figure underneath shows its natural 

 size. 



The parent insect probably deposits the egg on the skin of the 

 grape, and the young larva) as soon as hatched puncture the skin and 

 work their way at once to the middle of the fruit, and there enter 

 the seed while young and soft. Many of the grapes affected had a small scar, indicating 

 probably where the insects had entered. 



The Clinton vine, on which this pest was first discovered, suffered considerably; 

 fully ten per cent, of the crop was lost from the shrivelling of the infected berries. At 

 first we supposed that the work of the insect was confined to fruit with this appearance, 

 and that by destroying this the destruction of the crop of insects for the season 

 would be nearly complete ; but further examination showed that many of the ripe berries 

 contained affected seeds. The proportion thus infected on the vine referred to, was 

 about ten or eleven per cent. Within a few feet of this an Isabella vine was fruiting, on 

 which there were no shrivelled berries, but about three per cent, of those which had 

 ripened contained grubs. About the same distance in another direction was a Hartford 

 Prolific, and ten feet further off a Concord, both of which fruited well ; on neither of 

 these were there any withered berries, nor could we find any affected seeds among those 

 which had ripened. The fruit of a Delaware, about fifty feet distant from the Clinton, 

 was also examined without discerning any traces of the insect. 



About the middle of September we visited the grounds of Mr. Chas. Arnold, of Paris, 

 Ont., and there we found that this insect had prevailed to a greater extent than it had 

 with ourselves, affecting the Clinton, Delaware, one of Eogers' Hybrids, and also Mr. 

 Arnold's new seedlings. In Hamilton, in the garden of Mr. W. H. Mills, we found an 

 affected seed in a berry of Rogers' No. 4. On the 24th September we visited the vine- 

 yard of the "Vine Growers' Association," at Cooksville, Ont., but couli not find any 

 traces of the insect there. Thus far its depredations have been chiefly apparent about 

 London, Paris and Hamilton, but further observations may show that it is widely dis- 

 tributed. 



Where any shrivelled berries are found, their seeds should be examined, as it is im- 

 portant to know how widespread this evil is. The affected seeds are usually swollen, 

 somewhat soft, and have a dark spot somewhere on their surface ; any with these charac- 

 teristics noticed among the ripe berries should also be examined. 



In the case of the shrivelled berries, where one seed only was affected, the others 

 were dwarfed and imperfect, and where two large seeds were found they were both occu- 

 pied. When one seed only was affected and the other remained healthy, the one normal 

 seed carried the berry through, in an apparently healthy state, to ripeness. As far as our 

 experience teaches, the Clinton and its allies with thin skins are more liable to attack than 

 berries with thicker skins, such as Hartford Prolific and Concord. 



In October of the same year, we found the larvee still unchanged within the seed, so 

 we detached one and placed it in a small glass cell between two plates of glass, so that it 

 might not dry up from exposure to the air, and give us at the same time an opportunity 

 of watching its progress. It remained in this state until early in January, 1869, when it 



