the young grubs which are feeding in the calyx, but is of course useless at a later stage, when they have reached the core of the fruit.

3. THE APPLE SAWFLY.

(Hoplocampa testudinea, Cameron.)

The work of the apple sawfly is but seldom the subject of inquiry in this department, but this is probably due to its rather

close resemblance to that of the Codlin moth, with which it is no doubt frequently confounded. Nevertheless it is readily distinguished on careful examination.

Only the young fruit is attacked, and the borings are irregular, and rather in the form of large excavations. The injury is accompanied by a very disagreeable smell. The grubs, of which several may be found in the same apple, are of the regular sawfly type and may be distinguished from the Codlin caterpillar by their more numerous legs. No moth caterpillar possesses more than five pairs of "sucker-feet" in the middle region of the body; the grub of the apple sawfly has six. Life-history.-The apple sawfly is a four-winged yellow-bodied insect of inconspicuous appearance, which appears in the middle of May. All insects of this group possess a peculiar apparatus in the form of a double saw--whence their popular name-by means of which they cut holes in leaves, stems, or fruit, for the reception of their eggs. By this the newly set apples are pierced, and eggs inserted, the wound being distinguishable as a small orange-coloured spot.

The grubs which hatch out feed within the young fruit, but wander to adjacent apples if there is a likelihood of their original victim falling before they have attained their full growth.

When mature (early in July) they measure half an inch in length, and they then drop to the ground, and burrow to a depth of three or four inches, spinning cocoons, from which the sawflies emerge in the following May. The actual pupa or chrysalis state seems to be short, and the insect spends the winter as a caterpillar within the Cocoon. Grass orchards do not suffer so much as those in which the ground under the trees is cultivated.

Treatment. Where practicable, the most satisfactory treatment of sawfly attacks, where the pest spends most of the year a very few inches below the ground, is the removal and destruction (by burning or deep burying) of the surface earth in the autumn. The gooseberry and currant sawfly, for instance, can be completely eradicated by this means. If this is impracticable, measures should at least be taken to prevent as far as possible the emergence of the flies. Frequent disturbance of the ground during the autumn and

winter would have this effect, and if this is undesirable, something might be done in the way of a top-dressing such as has been found SO serviceable in the case of the pear midge.

Spraying the young fruit with Paris green is calculated to kill such of the grubs as are changing their quarters, and thus to diminish the injury.

This insect must not be confounded with the "Pear and Cherry sawfly," which has a different habit. Its grubs, popularly known as "slug-worms," attack the leaves of these trees, but do not injure

the fruit.

4. THE APPLE TINEID.

(Argyresthia sp.)

Another very distinct apple-boring attack has been present to a slight extent in Devonshire during the last few years, and the trouble experienced in America from the work of an allied insect makes it desirable that its progress should be kept under observation. The very small winding burrows which perforate the whole fruit cannot for a moment be confounded with the injury done by the Codlin moth or the apple sawfly. The cause of injury is the caterpillar of a small Tineid moth, probably of the genus Argyresthia, but the species has not yet been identified.

Segment of infested apple.

5. THE APPLE CASE-BEARER.

(Coleophora nigricella.)

Last June complaints were received of some slight amount of injury to apples and pears by a grub which proved to be the larva of Coleophora nigricella. The caterpillars of the moths of this genus have the curious habit of carrying about with them a case, after the manner of caddis-worms, and one of them, known as the "Cigar case-bearer," has attracted considerable attention in America from its orchard depredations. There is no reason to anticipate any particular danger from the present insect, whose presence has long been known in this country, though I am not aware that it has been previously recorded as injurious.

LARCH-TREE PESTS.

(Chermes laricis, Hartig; Hylobius abietis, Linn.)

Several complaints have been received of injury to young larch plantations by two distinct pests, the "Larch-bug" (Chermes laricis) and the "Pine-weevil" (Hylobius abietis), and it seems desirable to

give a short account of the life-history of these insects and the means which have been found most efficacious in keeping them in check.

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THE LARCH-BUG.-This is a plant-louse, of the family Aphidae, which is often to be seen overrunning larch plantations from May to August. It does not confine its attacks to the young trees, though these suffer most. On the older larches only a paratively small proportion of the tree is sufficiently tender to be subject to injury from the bug. The male chermes is not known with certainty, but it probably appears for a short time only in the autumn, and by its union with the female gives rise to eggs from which hatch out the "mother" chermes which survive the winter, and found colonies in the spring by laying clusters of eggs at the bases of the leaf-tufts.

These "mother" bugs can be found on the twigs in April, and if examined again in May, each will be found to be surrounded, and partly concealed, by a mass of eggs, the whole embedded in resinous matter, covered with a white powder or down.

As the young hatch out, they pierce the tender leaves and buds, and suck the sap. In their turn they soon lay eggs, and the attack increases, the appearance of winged individuals enabling it to spread from tree to tree. These are all females, capable of laying eggs without the co-operation of the male, but, unlike many of their allies, they do not produce living young, but propagate by eggs only.

Treatment. This pest is amenable to treatment by any of the "hop-washes" used to clear hop gardens of aphis. Several good washes are in the market, but one can readily be made by mixing 12 lb. of soft soap and a half-gallon of paraffin in 100 gallons of water, taking care to keep the emulsion well stirred during application. Instead of the paraffin, the extract of 8 lb. of quassia may

be used.

THE PINE-WEEVIL.-The injury done by this insect is of a very different nature from that of the Larch-bug. The weevil gnaws at the bark of the stems and shoots of the young trees, inflicting wounds from which resin exudes, causing loss of vitality and generally poor condition. It frequently also destroys both leaves and buds by gnawing at their base. It is a large weevil, fully half an inch in length, and its long proboscis is furnished with powerful jaws, capable of working much havoc. It is at work chiefly in June and July.

Treatment. Something may be done by shaking down the weevils from the trees and destroying them. The pest is best combated, however, by taking advantage of certain weak points in its life-history, which is as follows. In June and July the female beetles seek out weak and dying larch or pine trees, and lay their eggs in cracks in the bark. The young grubs which result burrow "galleries" in the soft tissue beneath the bark, finally changing into pupa, from which the beetles come forth in the following May. It is therefore clearly feasible to supply the insects with suitable

material in which to lay their eggs, and then to remove and destroy this material and its contained grubs before the time arrives for the emergence of the weevils. The first measure is, therefore, the removal of hopelessly infested trees, fallen trunks, old stocks, &c., which are a standing menace to the plantation, and then traps of pine bark or pine logs are laid early in June, to induce the females to lay their eggs in them. These must, of course, be destroyed some time in the autumn or winter.

MISCELLANEOUS PESTS.

Two cases of attack on apple-trees by the somewhat rare pest, the "Wood leopard-moth" (Zeuzera asculi), were reported from Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. The work of this caterpillar is precisely similar to that of the better known "Goat moth "(Cossus ligniperda), and the treatment in the two cases is identical.

Tomatoes in Scilly were attacked during April in a manner hitherto, I believe, unreported in the British Isles. The fruit was gnawed and excavated by caterpillars which were obviously those of Noctua moths, but the one specimen reared was so imperfect as to render identification of the species impossible.

Caterpillars of this group of moths generally work underground, but this was evidently a case of what the Americans call "climbing cut-worms." The large fleshy grubs climbed the plants at night and bit their way into the fruit, within which they fed. This appeared to be a good case for treating in the American way, by baiting for the grubs with cabbage leaves, or even bran, poisoned with Paris green-a plan which presents difficulties in this country in the open, on account of the effects of the poison on game which eat the poisoned grubs. Experience in America has shown that bran mixed with Paris green, three pounds to one sack of bran, is, strangely enough, more attractive to the grubs than their food plant.

Several cases of injury to gooseberries by the sawfly, Nematus ribesii, were reported from various localities. This pest can be cleared out with certainty if the plan of removing and deeply burying the surface earth to the depth of three or four inches is One member of the Society thoroughly carried out in the autumn. who has adopted this plan with completely satisfactory results, sifted the surface earth, and was astonished at the number of sawfly pupae it contained. As the caterpillar, at the close of the attack, goes down to the ground to pupate, it is there at the mercy of the fruit-grower until the following spring, when the fly emerges to lay eggs on the new leaves. During attack, immediate benefit must be sought by hand-picking and soft-soap washings.

It is desirable to call attention to the similarity in appearance between roots infested by the turnip gall weevil (Ceutorrhynchus sulcicollis) and those suffering from the disease of Anbury, or "Finger-and-toe." The two attacks are constantly confounded, though the presence of the insect can be immediately detected by opening the "galls" or swellings on the root and observing the legless

white grubs which are feeding within. Care should be taken not to introduce the pest on a farm by planting diseased young roots. Where it has obtained a footing, a dressing of lime is the most effective remedy.

The Hessian Fly was present to a considerable extent in Norfolk during the past season, but its appearance excited very little attention. It seems clear that in ordinary years no great damage is to be feared from this pest in England, though in exceptional seasons it may do considerable harm.

Zoological Laboratory, Cambridge.

CECIL WARBURTON.

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1899 OF THE
CONSULTING BOTANIST.

THE seeds examined during the past year were all remarkably free from impurities. Dodder was found in only one sample of red clover. The germinations were high, though the differences, in several cases, between the highest and the lowest results exhibited a considerable difference in the real value of the seeds. The following table shows the average and the lowest and highest results of the tests in regard to the seeds of the most valuable pasture plants.

Germination of Grasses and Clovers.

It will be seen that as many plants again were produced by the best sample of foxtail as were obtained from the worst sample, though probably the price paid was the same for both; and in the smooth-stalked meadow grass the better quality produced a third more plants than the inferior quality.

The inquiries dealing with INJURIES TO STOCK believed to be caused by poisonous plants in the pasture have been numerous. Various species of buttercup have been reported upon. All the buttercups have a more or less acrid and irritating juice, and are consequently undesirable weeds in pastures. They are generally avoided by stock, but if eaten in any quantity they would certainly be injurious.