. There are
several species of these hawk-moths, all of which have essentially the
same life history. It is not a difficult pest to control since the
larvae are easily killed with arsenical sprays; or if there are but
occasional specimens they may be picked by hand. There are several
species of the hawk-moth which attack the grape but this is the common
one.

In eastern grape-growing regions, there are two other destructive
grape insects widely distributed, but each noteworthy as pests only in
the Appalachian region of West Virginia and neighboring states. One is
the grape-curculio (_Craponius inaequalis_), not essentially different
from the familiar curculio of the plum and cherry. This snout-beetle
feeds freely on the upper surface of the leaves and the bark of fruit
stems, and the female in laying eggs devours the tissues of the grapes
in excavating her egg chamber. The grape-curculio is effectively
destroyed by spraying with an arsenical spray in the spring as the
beetles appear on the vines and before egg-laying begins.

Another insect pest of this region is the grape-vine root-borer
(_Memythrus polistiformis_) closely allied to the peach-borer, known
by all fruit-growers and the squash-vine borer known to the growers of
vegetables. This borer is the larva of a moth and is a whitish grub
with a brown head which, when fully grown, is about one and
three-quarters inches in length. The body is slender, distinctly
segmented and has a sparse covering of short, stiff hairs. These
larvae burrow into the grape-root, at first confining themselves to the
softer portions of the bark, often encircling the root several times,
but later bore with the grain of the wood and by the end of the season
so destroy the roots as to leave only the thin membrane of the outer
bark intact. This pest is difficult to deal with. The borers cannot be
removed by "worming" as in the peach, and neither can the roots be
protected by sprays or washes. No one variety of the grape seems more
immune than another. Thorough cultivation in the months of June and
July to destroy the insects while in their cocoons at the surface of
the ground seems to be the only method of stopping their ravages, and
this is not always effective.

FUNGOUS DISEASES OF THE GRAPE

The grape is ravaged by four or five fungous diseases in America,
unless the utmost vigilance is exercised to keep the parasites in
check. Happily for commercial viticulture, there are regions,