216 THE PINE DESTROYER. 



on the ground, or in the crannies of bark, decayed trees, and 

 similar places, where they await the period of oviposition. 



Nature fortunately knows how to maintain a just balance, and 

 I have found the young plantations where Hylurgus abounds 

 visited by numerous small birds, which flit from branch to branch, 

 and tree to tree, picking off every stray beetle that allows its face 

 to be seen outside its tunnel ! 



From all that we have gathered during this study, it seems 

 clear that the following deductions can be made : — i. — The insect 

 is equally at home among standing and fallen timber. 2. — That 

 dead trees should never be allowed to remain in plantations where 

 it is desirable to get rid of the pest. 3. — That all shoots which 

 have been blown off, or have fallen by their own weight, or give 

 evidence of being damaged by the beetle, should be collected and 

 burnt. 4. — That no beetle-eating bird should be destroyed in 

 the neighbourhood of pine forests ; and lastly, that all toppings, 

 dressings, and other loose material, should be cleared from the 

 ground in summer or autumn, that they may not serve as nidus 

 for the fertilised female. 



In conclusion, if asked by the critic or utilitarian what can 

 justify the expenditure of so much time in the study of insects so 

 minute, I reply, that it is not only the privilege, but the duty of the 

 trained investigator to aid his fellows, who have to battle against 

 the ravages of enemies about whose secret ways they know nothing. 

 The empirical knowledge of the gardener and forester needs 

 supplementing and correcting, and the man of science is often 

 the only person who is able to do this. And, when we remember 

 that abroad as well as at home, immense damage has been done to 

 pine forests by these creatures ; it is surely worth our while to 

 spend a few hours in the study of what may prove an appalling 

 calamity. Priests have again and again implored the Divine 

 clemency to put an end to the devastations made by these 

 destructive agents, and the answer they have received is, in effect, 

 Nature is subject to laws — learn them, obey them, and live. I 

 would not mock the Great Ruler of the Universe by praying to 

 Him to remove a calamity which could be averted by the exercise 

 of common sense, and the use of my powers of observation, 

 neither am I justified in blaming God for sending troubles which 



