The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1891-01-17
CHESTNUT WORMS.
rhsy liore Out of Instead OF Into tho Nut
as IL CommonIy Supposed.


as IL Commonly Supposed.
"How does the worm get into tho
chestnut?" Entomologist Howard, OF
the Department. OF Agriculture was
asked the question and he replied:
ut 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 IL conducts
such an exceptional nose is absolutely
necessary. Inasmuch as when the fe-
male desires to lay her eggs she crswls
over the chestnut burr as it hangs on
the tree and not yet ripe and seeks the
little opening at the top, through which
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 them there to be hatched, after
which the little worms bore their way
in search of food into tho kernels
through holes so small as to be imper-
ceptible. At all levents 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 feed and to grow very rapidly as
soon as the fruit has become ripe. At
all events, you never find worm in q
chestnut that has a hole in 1t, 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
it's chestnut and crawled out to look
to be pretty cold, and it seeks shelter
by burrowing into the ground, where II
lies in a torpid condition for many
months Eventually from the earth 1t
emerges, though not in the shape OF q
worm, but as beetle with long snout.
When autumn comes it waits upon the
chestnut tree or in it's neighborhood, il
it is female, and chooses the proper
time for showing its eggs into
These worms are the new crop ready
to begin anew their destroying work,
and so the thing goes on from
year to year. In some seasons the
beetles are comparatively scarce, and
chestnut worms proportionately Ship
pcrs of chestnuts avoid sending theiI
product for long distances so far as is
possible, because the contents of the
barrels become heated, as they
call it, and the worms are rapidly de-
veloped, so that consignment may
reach the market altogether unfit fol
use. The best way to prepare chestnut'
for shipment is to immerse them il
boiling water for about ten minutes a!
soon as gathered, WormJ nuts viii
| float on the surface and may be re
moved. All eggs will be destroyed ant
the condition of the meat of the nut will
be so changed that it will not become
flinty by further curing for winter use
At the same time it will be in nowise
boiled chestnut The nuts may be dried
in the sun or in lighthouses after being
placed in sacks in such quantities as tt
admit of their being spread to the thick
ness of about two inches, the sack being
frequently turned and shaken. DrieC
by this method they remain quite ten
der and retain for a long time their de
licious freshness and flavor.
The worm have spoken of is not thu
only one that attacks the chestnut
There is a species of moth that lays it
eggs upon the nuts as they lie upon thu
ground, and the little caterpillar
hatched from the eggs attack the fruit
The chestnut worm also devours tn,
hickory nut, the chinquapin, and tn
acorn. ."-Washington Star