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Mr. J. H. Allan, a large seedsman and pea buyer of Picton, Ont., also writes to 

 me : " The weevils are much worse this year than they have been for years." 



Some years ago the pea weevil was a most serious enemy to the pea crop ; but 

 for the last eight or ten years it has been almost unknown in many districts where a 

 few years before it destroyed from 50 to 75 per cent, of the crop. This exemption I 

 attribute almost entirely to the care taken by farmers and seedsmen to treat 

 the seed pease as soon as harvested. Owing to the small amount of injury for 

 some 5'ears past, this extra labour and expense has been considered unnecessary, 

 until now the insect has again increased in such numbers as to be a serious menace 

 to this important industry. The high quality of Canadian-grown seed pease is acknow- 

 ledged by all seedsmen in Europe and America, and it is important that every effort 

 should be put forth to maintain the high standard of excellence to which they have 

 attained. The cause which affects this most is the insect under discussion, and there 

 really should be no difficulty, under the circumstances, of keeping this enemy in 

 cheek, if all the pea-growers would act in unison. 



There are very few native plants in Canada upon which it could live, and the 

 seed for the next year's crop can be so easily treated to destroy the weevils, that it is 

 merely a matter of close attention and the application of cheap and simple remedies. 



The life-history of the Pea Weevil is well known. "The eggs which are spindle 

 shaped, three times as long as wide, pointed in front, blunt behind, but larger 

 anteriorly than posteriorly, are laid on the outside of the young pod, to which they 

 are fastened by a viscid fluid, which dries white and glistens like silk." — (^Riley.^ 



As soon as the larva hatches it eats its way through the pod and penetrates 

 the nearest pea ; the hole in the pod soon fills up, but that in the pea can always be 

 seen as a minute black spot on the skin. The larva, which is a legless, yellow, mag- 

 got, soon attains full growth, and turns to the perfect beetle in autumn inside the pea. 

 Frequently, the germ of the seed is left uninjured, and many of the injured pease 

 will germinate and produce a weakened plant. Many of the perfect beetles leave the 

 seed pease in the autumn and seek a suitable place for passing the winter; a large 

 number however hibernate inside the pease until the following spring. The proportion 

 of those which follow this course seems to depend upon the nature of the season, 

 various observers estimating it from 25 to 75 per cent, according to the season. 

 The following extracts from correspondence are of interest : — 



"In reference to the percentage of weevils leaving the seed before spring, this 

 depends on the weather. During a warm winter or early in the spring they eat their 

 way out, and from 50 to 75 per cent, of the pease would be empty in this way. "Where 

 they are bad they cause the pease to heat ; and a few years ago, in loading vessels, 

 they would crawl out, and in some instances become 2 feet deep on the top of the 

 pease." — {T. G. Raynor.) 



"A considerable proportion of the beetles emerge from the pease in the autumn 

 if the crop is left out until the bug is fully developed. In threshing them in this 

 state the caps are removed and the bugs get out and conceal themselves in some dry 

 place until the spring, when the heat revives them, and they will fly from field to 

 field until they find the young crop of pease. They feed on the young leaves and 

 flowers until the pods take form. The eggs are laid when the pease are quite small, 

 about the size of a mustard seed. As soon as the beetles have laid their eggs they 

 die. I advise early cutting and threshing so that the seed can be treated while the 

 insect is in the larval stage." — {J. H. Allan.') 



Remedies. — 1. Bisulphide of carbon. — The distribution of the Pea Weevil is 

 undoubtedly aided by means of infested seed pease. As stated above, many of the 

 beetles do not leave the pease until the spring, and in this way many are can*ied to 

 the field and sown with the seed, from which they soon emerge. Care should there- 

 fore be taken in the selection of sound pease. It is found that the beetles, even inside 

 the pease, can be easily destroyed by the vapour of bi^<ulphide of carbon, and this 

 method, which is the best, is now adopted by most seed-dealei-s. In answer to the 

 question : — " Is the treatment of seed pease with bisulphide of carbon much practised 

 by seedmen ? " Mr. J. H. Allan writes to me as follows : — " Yes ; nearly every large 



