The record-union., 1898-03-23
ENEMIES OF The VINEYARD.
DEALING WITH THE VINE HOP
PER AND BEETLE.
Paper Read at the FIorin Farmers
Institute by E. z.
French.


culture Of grapevines and his names
of dealing with some of the pests that
cause vineyarGists SO much trouble He
said:
ITO very many present it is well
known that for quite number of years
/ have devoted most of my time and
attention exclusively to the cultivation
of Tokay grapes, planting my first vine
IL the spring Of 1877, and necessarily
my remarks Will be confined to insects
which have proved seriously injurious
to the Tokay vine and grape. In my
experience SO far there are only two
the vine-hopper and what 1 have al
ways known as the flea beetle.
The first of these has been so ex-
haustively treated by Professor Wood
worth that it would be presumption on
my part to attempt to add anything as
to it's life, history or methods of work,
still | do not think it out of place to
state briefly my experience with the
pest before it was deemed Of sufficient
Importance to merit the notice so re-
Gently bestowed upon it.
Some ten years ago hoppers were
quite numerous in my vineyard, and
noticing large numbers of undeveloped
Wingless insects on the under side of
the center foliage, l hired men to pick
off and burn the leaves and although
it reduced their numbers very mate
rally, this method was too tedious and
the experiment proved unsatisfactory.
Three years later the same pest was
fully as destructive to the foliage OF
my vines as it was in any vineyards
| know of in this section last season,
and it seemed to me imperative that
some method be devised for the eXter
mination of this most active enemy to
the. grape grower.
After a few trials on a small scale
ordered two circular pans, which I have
used successfully since. In a small vol
ume that l found in the Free Library,
Sacramento, entitled The Culture and
Treatment of Grapevines," by J. Fisk
Allen. 1853. l found the following: The
thrip, small white insects that infes,
the under side OF the leaf, are not so
injurious as would seem by the spotted
appearance of the leaf. Smoking or
Swinging with tobacco water will de-
stroy them; also, that the suds of
whale oil is a remedy for insects on the
ground
season, 1 think, we trapped, as we'll as
the vine-hoppers, great numbers of the
second, and to me most important sub
ject Of this paper, the beetle.
For several years past l have had
a settled conviction that the loss of so
many grapes-varying from a single
grape to a whole bunch-from sun
burn was due primarily to some other
cause, but not until the past two sea-
sons have I had what 1 consider indis-
putable evidence of my belief
Working myself with the pans for
hoppers until May Sd of last year. and
watching closely for the beetle, not one
was caught, and none were in sight
anywhere up to that time but week
later they were in full force, and their
work on the leaf Sits One-sixteenth OF
an inch wide, and varying in length
from one-fourth to one-half of an inch
was plainly visible. About the end OF
June they disappeared as suddenly as
they came In three hours late in the
month of June. 1896, l caught more
than enough to fill the bottle I have
here in the hall, fully a pint, off about
500 vines.
I'm the spring of the same year I
examined five or six comparatively
small vines and counted and killed an
average of forty to the vine. It's work
on the cane in extreme cases is to al
most entirely strip the bark for an
inch or two close to the old wood, and
in all cases it bites the joint from one
foot to two feet from the vine.
But the really disastrous part is its
of q I
is impossible for me to describe the
condition and appearance of the partly
injured punches as they were from the
time of the drying up in four days of
three-fourths of the crop to the close of
the season / found one effect of spray
ing with Paris green was to cause the
cane where punctured by the beetle to
Immediately become discolored, almost
black; on punches of grapes in blossom,
when the stem had been damaged in the
same way, the grapes would shrivel,
and in a short time turn brown as
though burned. The bitten leaves would
be apparently scorched, but no healthy,
sound leaf. cane or grape was harmful
~ affected by the. spray.
Bearing in mind that this insect
works indiseriminately on the leaf,
grape stem and cane for about two
months. and at a time when all of
these are equally tender and suscepti
BILE to injury, my contention that it and
not the sun or wind is responsible for
the widespread loss of grapes in this
and other sections will not, I think, APP
pear so unrea sonable as it evidently has
to many with whom l have talked on
the subject.
II have made it point to carefully
examine many of the vineyards around
Florin and have done the same in
Orangevale. Elk Grove and along the
American River. and in every case find
precisely the same effects as those that
I know have been caused in my vine
yard by the beetle.
I'm closing, I wish to make two posi-
tive statements With regard to my own
loss last season: The first is. that the
apparent loss occurred during the first
hot spell of the season. from June Goth
to Both, inclusive
1.-The second. that fully two thirds Of
my grapes at that time were amply pro-
tected from direct sun rays by an I'M
usually heavy foliage"
FLORIN w, C.. IT.