FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
51 
bank is comparatively free from the attack of curculio. 
Mr. Taber —In relation to the curculio : We have it and 
we have it badly. I have lost an entire crop from this pest 
and it is a hard question to answer what is the best remedy 
for it. There are solutions of arsenic that will kill it if you 
apply them often enough, but it is a great deal of work, and 
as the most of us know, we have at times to neglect these 
sprayings when we know they might be profitable. Perhaps 
the best method is to spread a sheet under the tree and jerk 
off* the curculio by hitting the tree a quick, sharp blow with a 
padded wooden mallet; this should be done very early in the 
morning (before sunrise, if possible), as at this time in the 
day the curculios are sluggish and relinquish their hold read¬ 
ily. The sheet can be drawn over a frame mounted on 
wheels, with a slot in the frame so that the tree can be jarred 
by pushing the frame against it. This jarring should be done 
every few days, commencing as soon as the blossoms fall and 
continuing until the fruit is half grown. The insects and 
stung fruit should be burned. Mr. Anderson, our treasurer, 
has charge of a very large plum orchard in New York state, 
and he tells me that they follow this method of jarring suc¬ 
cessfully. Duiing the early part of the season the operation 
is repeated, if my memory serves me, as often as twice a 
week. Of course this is a matter to be studied up by a man 
who has a large plum orchard and he must take into consider¬ 
ation the question as to whether it will pay him to do it. It 
is a very serious trouble. The Kelsey is one of the Japanese 
plums that is very seriously affected by this pest. The Bur¬ 
bank is not so much subject to the curculio as the Kelsey. 
C. A. Bacon— It is said that the “early bird catches the 
worm.” My experience with the Kelsey plum is that hens 
are the best remedy for the curculio. Let the hens do the 
work for you. Go out and shake the trees and let the hens 
pick up the worms. I have had great success in killing the 
borer. I put a few drops of kerosene in each hole and that 
seems to destroy them. 
T. K. Godbey —I think this subject of peaches and plums 
is a serious question. I might say a lew words that would 
interest a great many. As you all understand, I have been 
growing peaches and plums for twelve years in Florida and I 
have made it a success. I have tried all the Persian varieties 
and they have been failures. I have tried the Kelsey plum, 
but it was so subject to the curculio that I have cut all my 
Kelsey trees down. I find that the Burbank does very well. 
In cultivating peaches I find that they require an abundance 
of fertilizer. I must say that my best trees are on plum 
roots. Occasionally one dies, but I do not think I lose any 
