We often have plums shown to us in perfect condition, and yet with curculio marks on them to prove that a variety is "curculio-proof." But this proves nothing. It is not the cutting of the skin of the fruit, but the egg which the insect deposits, that causes it to rot; or rather the insect which comes from the egg. Often enough, the insect makes an attempt at oviposition, and then from some fright does not complete the job; and it is only in such cases that we have "curculio-proof." There is no plum proof against premature decay when once it has "a worm in it".