The Republican., 1891-01-16
CHESTNUT WORMS.
They Bore Out of Instead of Into the Nut
as is Commonly Supposed.

They Bore Out of Instead of Into the Nut
as is Commonly Supposed.
Show does the worm get into the
chestnut?" Entomologist Howard, of
the Department of Agriculture was
asked the question and he replied:
at is put into the chestnut by kind
of long-snouted beetle. This insect
has proboscis of most extraordinary |
proportions, as much as twice the length |
of its body. In the business 1t conducts |
such an exceptional nose is absolutely |
necessary. Inasmuch as when the fe-
male desires to lay her eggs she crawls
over the chestnut burr as it hangs on
the tree and not yet ripe and seeks the
little opening at the top, through which
she inserts her snout. The snout thus
introduced is thus protected down
through the thick prickly husk to the
chestnut inside. 1t may be that the
beetle thrusts her proboscis actually
through the she'll of the nuts them
selves, but my impression is that she
simply lays her eggs and pushes them
with her snout in among the nuts, leav-
ing thom there to be hatched, after
which the little worms bore their way
in search OF food into the kernels
through holes so suCA as to be imper-
ceptible. At all events they are quickly
closed up with the growth of the nuts.
"You never find worms in chestnuts
you obtain by smashing the green burrs
open. 1t is only the nuts that are found
upon the ground loose or taken from
ripened burrs that have fallen which
appear to contain these unpleasant in
truders Presumably, the reason for
this is that the worm, imperceptibly
small in the freshly developed nut, be-
gins to iced and to grow very rapidly as
soon as the @ruit has become ripe. At
all events, you never find worm in a
chestnut that has a hole in it, but only
the destroyed meat that it has eaten and
discarded. When the creature has fin
ished devouring the kernel it bores its
: way out through the she'll and leaves
the hole behind it.
''By the time the worm has consumed
its chestnut and crawled out to look
upon tho world the weather has begun
, to be pretty cold and it seeks shelter
| by burrowing into the ground, where il
t lies in torpid condition for many
; months. Eventually from the earth il
, emerges, though not in the shape of g
Z worm. but as beetle with long snout
= Whsn autumn comes it waits upon the
8 chestnut tree or in its neighborhoo1, i
l it is q female, and chooses the propel
t time for showing its eggs int
0 the burrs when they are ripening
Q These worms are the new crop read,
Q to begin anew their destroying work
g and so the thing goes on from
! wear to year. In some seasons tn
: beetles are comparatively scarce, an
s chestnut worms prOportionately. Ship
n pers of chestnuts avoid sending thei
r product for long distances so far as
t, possible, because the contents of tn
a barrels become heated as the
?, call it, and the worms are rapidly dc
o veloped, so that a consignment ma
N reach the market altogether unit fc
d USE The best way to prepare chestnut
A. for shipment is to innmerse them /
,f boiling water for about ten minutes {
10 soon as gathered. Wormy nuts wi
o. float on tho surface and may be r.
TO moved. All eggs will be destroyed an
"a the condition of the meat of the nut wi
is be so changed that it will not becom
p; flinty by further curing for winter US
"a At the same time it will be in nowise
Of boiled chestnut The nuts may be drie
m in the sun or in lighthouses after beir
le placed in sacks in such quantities as
ut admit of their being spread to the thic
ed ness of about two inches, the sack beir
X. frequently turned and shaken. Drit
d. by this method they remain quite te
n der and retain for a long time their d
nd licious freshness and flavor.
es THE worm have spoken of is not tt
D, only ono that attacks the chestnu
he There is a species of moth that lays
at eggs upon the nuts as they lie upon t
cd ground, and the little caterpilla
of hatched from the eggs attack the fru
ch The chestnut worm also devours t
he hickory nut, the chinquapin, and t
on acnrn -WashinptOn Star,