SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
28 S 
Shade Trees around Dwellings. — The trees near 
houses are beautiful, but they never should be so closely 
planted as to exclude the bright sunshine, and thus cause 
dampness in the dwellings. When trees spread out their 
broad arms, and prevent“01d Sol” from sending his cheer- 
ing rays into every room in the house, their branches 
should be thoroughly pruned, or every intermediate tree 
cut down. 
Dr. Hall, in his Journal of Health, says respecting 
light : “ No room without the glorious sunshine is fit for 
any living creature — man or beast. The glorious sun- 
shine, the free and boundless gift of a beneficent Creator, 
is the source of all buoyant, healthful life.” 
iatticEitEwl ItpadintEt. 
PEARS ON THE QUINCE. 
Editors Southern Cultivator — As the demand for 
these trees at the present time is very great and annually 
on the increase, and as some prejudice has been promul- 
gated at the North against them, 1 have concluded it might 
not be amiss to contribute my mite of experience. I do 
not know the number of varieties I now have under cul- 
tivation — probably about two hundred, more or less — many 
of which have been in bearing for several years past, giv- 
ing me perfect satisfaction in every respect. I prefer the 
low pyramid form to any other, and have trees 6 to 8 
years from the bud which are now twenty feet high, and 
6 to 8 feet across the limbs near the base; all are thrifty 
and healthy, and it is not unusual for them to make shoots 
of from 4 to 6 feet in a single season. 
I would take great pleasure in exhibiting my trees to 
those who have any doubts or scruples as to their suc- 
ceeding well at the South, and have the vanity to think I 
can show as fine and thrifty a lot as can be found any- 
where and on any species of stock. I have but three un- 
healthy trees on ray premises, one of which is a White 
Doyenne, one Vicar of Winkfield and the other an English 
Jargonelle, these were all weakly when I procured them 
from the North some years since, being attacked with the 
blight the second year after transplanting, but which I 
have thus far prevented from dying and ultimately hope 
to cure. 
The Pear at the South, worked on the Quince, grows 
more rapidly and lager than at the North, and will flourish 
equally as well on high as well as low land provided it 
is generously manured and cultivated. From present ap- 
pearances we have no hesitation in saying, that many 
varieties will, in the course of a very few years, attain the 
height of twenty five to thirty feet and stocky in propor- 
tion. 
Some varieties are much more rapid in their growth 
than others, even from the time of budding or grafting, 
whilst some others again start slow and feebly, and after a 
year or two grow off vigorously. For standard orchard 
trees, we prefer them worked on the pear stock, for the rea- 
son alone that they will, in time, make larger trees and be 
longer lived, as it is well known that the longevity of the 
Pear is exceeded by few if any trees. To those who in- 
tend cultivating but few trees, and wish to have them in 
bearing early, we would recommend those worked on 
Quince stocks. In years gone by, we feared they would 
prove more liable to the disease known as blight than 
those worked on the Pear stock. Experience has taught 
us our fears were groundless, for we have not lost a tree 
with that disease in five years past. 
J. Van Buren. 
ClarksviUe^ Ga., 1857. 
THE CURCUEIO — ITS HABITS, &c. 
Editors Southern Cultivator — With all due deffi- 
dence, I must differ from the opinion set forth in your an- 
swer to my queries on the subject of the Curculio. By re- 
ferring to your remarks in the June number, 1 think you 
will acknowledge that they remain unanswered. 
You will perceive that I take it for granted that the 
worm of the Curculio, like that of other insects, has a cer- 
tain definite time for passing through the various stages of 
its transformations. Is this a fact or notl For, on this 
depends the pertinency of the query That the worm 
does arrive at maturity during the maturity of the fruit, 
every one who has ever eaten a Plum, Nectarine or Peach, 
infested by this pest, can testify. There he lies revelling 
in his brown, mushy bed near the nut, and there are the 
freshly perforated holes in the flesh of the fruit, through 
which others have cut their way out. 
We know that the Curculio fly punctures the young 
fruit and deposits its egg's soon after the dropping of the 
flower. If (as I have supposed above) the periods of 
growth and transformation are common to all, then all the 
eggs which were deposited at the same time, should also 
arrive at maturity together. But we know that the late 
Peaches have worms also at their time of ripening. 
Hence, these two horns of the dilemma present them- 
selves. 
If the Curculio worm has certain stages to pass through 
and a certain time to effect these changes, then when the 
eggs which were deposited on the Early Tillotson reach 
their maturity by the middle of June, the eggs which were 
at the same time deposited on the October Peach, should be 
also full grown and cutting their way out ; but this is not 
the case; for the October Peach by the middle of June is 
as hard as a hickory nut, and it is not until four months 
later that this Peach ripens. And if, to meet this difficulty, 
we suppose that the worm after cutting out of the June- 
Peach passes through its chrysalis state, becomes a fly and 
deposits its eggs again, is not the October Peach then too 
old and hard I 
But again, on the other hand, if the time of growth of 
the Curculio worm coincides always with the time of the 
fruit in which it is deposited (which time varies as much 
as 4 or 5 month), then it presents an anomaly and follows 
a law different from other insects, which have a stated 
and definite time for their transformation ; and this is the 
other horn of the dilemm.a. 
In my 2nd query the misprint of a word destroys its 
significance. I asked what becomes of the Curculio when 
“all the fruit is destroyed” — not “stem fruit.” 
Nor can I agree with you that “the Curculio very sel- 
dom attacks Peaches.” My experience has taught me 
differently. They seem to prefer the smooth skin fruits, 
but in the absence of these, will take very readily to the 
Peach. 
1 am very free to confess, Messrs. Editors, my ignor- 
ance of the habits of the Curculio, nor am I aware of any 
source of information from which we may obtain a mi- 
nute and accurate account. Those who treat of this in- 
sect do not give us its full history (as far as I have seen). 
What is the lime occupied in its various stages of growth 
— as worm, pupa and perfect fly I Does it attain its full 
growth as w’orm during the green state of the fruit 1 How 
long and where does it pass its pupa state I Dots it pro- 
duce more than one brood in a season I In what state, 
and where does it pass the winter months'? If it pro- 
duces more than one brood, can it puncture and deposit its 
eggs on the half grown fruit'? In those seasons when 
from late frosts all the fruit is destroyed, (as it was several 
years ago when we had that memorable snow storm on 
the 15th April) how do they propagate and coniinue their 
existence'? 
These things are necessary to be known from reliable 
