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This being the case, I felt justified in writing again to the Eenfrew Mercury stating 

 that this was the case. 



That there were living weevils even only in small numbers, however, made care 

 on the part of the farmers, as advised above, very necessary. 



There are some fallacies current about weevilly pease which it may be well to 

 refute : 



1. Weevilly Pease Floating, — It is frequently stated that weevilled pease can be 

 detected by throwing the seed into water, when they will float ou the top. This is 

 not the case, as everyone can prove for themselves. 



2. Warm Storage Remedy. — It is also often advised that seed-pease should be 

 stored in a warm room all the winter, so that the weevils may emerge during the 

 winter and die. During the past season I have proved that this remedy is useless. 

 I placed samples o£ about a quart each in glass jars in my office in January, 1891. 

 They were kept in the heated office and examined frequently. Weevils continued 

 emerging until well into June, long after the seed would have been sown in the field. 

 This, then, makes the remedy of holding over seed until the next year the only 

 reliable, simple remedy. I have found that seed pease may bo safely held over for 

 this length of time without losing their vitality. Two-year-old Black-eyed Marrow- 

 fats gave in two samples, respectively, 100 and 97 per cent of strong plants. Golden- 

 vines of same age gave 97 per cent. Multipliers gave 99 per cent. 



3. Weevilly Pease as Seed. — The statement is often made that pease which have 

 been infested by Pea Weevil are almost as good for seed as sound grain. To test this 

 (i.) One hundred injured pease were picked out indiscriminately and sown in the 

 open ground in June. Of these 17 grew and appeared above ground, 2 made strong- 

 looking plants and produced seed; all the others were stunted and weak, (ii.) One 

 hundred were selected which had the radicle injured by the weevil in boring its 

 way out of the grain. None of these grew, (iii.) One hundred were selected which 

 had the hole away from the radicle. Sixty-two of these grew, but the plants were 

 plainly weaker than others grt)wn from sound seed alongside of them. 



Two measured pints of a sample of pease gi-own in 1891 were carefully tested 

 with the following result: — No. 1 ^ave 717 uninjured seed, 413 injured (none of 

 which grew), and 64 injured seed which germinated. No. 2, 613 uninjured, 479 

 injured (none of which grew), and 49 injured, which germinated. * 



Two samples of two-year-old Golden-vine pease which had been injured by wee- 

 wils, on being tested in the conservatory gave 9 per cent of sprouted grain in the 

 seed tester and 8 per cent in the soil. 



These tests then show plainly that weevilly pease do not answer for seed. 



I have as yet never succeeded in breeding any parasite from the pea-weevil. 



