144 "^HE ORCHARD. [Feb. 
tunitj to the young maggot to hide itself in the earth. Although 
multitudes of these fruits fall, yet many recover from the wounds, 
which heal up with deeply indented scars. This probably discon- 
certs the curculio in its intended course to the earth. Be this as 
it may, certain it is, that pears are less liable to fall, and are less 
injured by this insect than apples. Nectarines, plumbs, &c. in 
most districts of our country where the curculio has gained an 
establishment, are utterly destroyed, unless special means are em- 
ployed for their preservation. Cherries escape better on account 
of their rapid progress to maturity and their abundant crops: the 
curculio can only puncture a small part of them during the short 
time they hang upon the tree. These destructive insects continue 
their depredations from the first of May until autumn. Our fruits 
collectively estimated must thereby be depreciated more than half 
their value. 
"It is supposed the curculio is not only injurious above ground, 
but also in its retreat below the surface of the earth, by preying on 
the roots of our fruit trees. We know that beetles have, in some 
instances, abounded in such a manner as to endanger whole forests. 
Our fruit trees often die from manifest injuries done to the roots 
by insects, and by no insects more probably than the curculio. In 
districts where this insect abounds, cherry trees and apple trees, 
which disconcert it most above, appear to be the special objects of 
its vengeance below the surface of the earth. 
"These are serious evils to combat, which every scientific in- 
quirer is loudly called upon to exert his talents; every industrious 
farmer to double his diligence, and all benevolent characters to 
contribute their mite. 
"Naturalists have been accustomed to destroy vicious insects by 
employing their natural enemies to devour them. * 
"We are unacquainted with any tribe of insects able to destroy 
the curculio. All the domestic animals, however, if well directed, 
contribute to this purpose. Hogs, in a special manner, are qualified 
for the work of extermination. This voracious animal, if suffered 
to go at large in orchards, and among fruit trees, devours all the 
fruit that falls, and among others, the curculiones, in the maggot 
state, which may be contained in them. Being thus generally 
destroyed in the embryo state, there will be few or no bugs to 
ascend from the earth in the spring, to injure the fruit. Many 
experienced farmers have noted the advantage of hogs running in 
their orchards. Mr. Bordley, in his excellent 'Essays on Hus- 
bandry,^ takes particular notice of the great advantage of hogs to 
orchards; and although he attributes the benefits derived from the 
animals to the excellence of their manure, and their occasional 
rooting about the trees, his mistake in this trivial circumstance does 
by no means invalidate the general reniarks of this acute observer. 
The fact is, hogs render fruits of all kinds fair and unblemished, 
by destroying the curculio. 
"The ordinary fowls of a farm-yard are great devourers of beetles. 
Poultry in general are regarded as carnivorous in summer, and 
therefore cooped sometimes before they are eaten. Every body 
