BOTANICAL SOCIETY OP CANADA. 
113 
under a glass ; the second day the Curculio was allowed to pass out, first having 
marked the Plum in its usual way, the Plum was preserved under the glass: and in 
a few weeks a perfect Curculio made its appearance ; the short period required 
from the time the egg is deposited in the fruit to the insect making its appearance 
in a proper state, affords ample time to produce two broods during the summer. 
By cutting open some of the early fallen Plums in June or July, the larva of 
the Curculio will be found therein, in others it will have already passed from the 
fruit into the ground, where it completes its transformation in about three weeks. 
It is advisable, indeed, I may say necessary, in order to check the increase, and as- 
sist as far as possible the entire destruction of the insect, to cause all the fallen 
fruit to be picked up and destroyed by burning or some other sure mode of de- 
struction, for such precautions, tend to lessen their appearance the following 
season, and might in time so far diminish their numbers as to prevent them from 
doing any material injury. If the fruit is allowed to remain on the ground the 
insect passes therefrom and continues to increase. 
Various and numerous are the measures which have been tried to check the 
ravages of this fruit destroyer, some of which I may mention, as, by placing coops 
of chickens under or near the trees, so that they may eat the worms or grubs as 
they pass from the fruit, syringing the trees with tobacco water, soap suds, cop- 
peras water, lye, lime water, dusting the trees at the time they are in bloom, and 
when the fruit is forming, with ashes, lime, plaster, salt, sulphur, &c., &c. ; paving 
under the trees with brick or stone, turning pigs into the enclosure to eat the fruit 
which drops from the trees, tying cotton coated with tar round the trunk of the 
trees so as to prevent the Curculio from passing up. 
Many persons are of opinion it does not fly but crawls up the tree, this, how- 
ever, is a mistaken idea. There is no doubt it flies, but not so readily as many other 
winged insects ; about four years ago I tried the last mentioned means by having 
strips of cloth tied round all my Plum trees about one foot from the ground, a thick 
coat of tar put thereon, so as to prevent the Curculio or any other insect from pass- 
ing over it ; in addition to this, the trees were dusted with air slacked lime during 
the time they were in bloom, and repeated after every shower of rain until the fruit 
was set ; this, however, did not prevent the Curculio from making its usual destruc- 
tion ; as it could not possibly pass the tarred cloth, I became convinced it was quite 
capable of using its wings; from this and other observations, I believe the Curculio 
is both migratory and gregarious. 
I have tried all the foregoing means, except that of turning pigs into my pre- 
mises, which are not adapted for such a trial. There is no doubt where pigs and 
poultry can be allowed to run the fruit garden, it would have a tendency to check 
the increase of the Curculio, in consequence of their eating all the fallen fruit con- 
taining the larva of the insect. 
*b 
