270 



{Tipiihi oleyacea), just then rather prevalent among my 

 alpines ; but a careful hunt round about failed to discover 

 this pest in its usual haunts, and as in a day or so the 

 whole of the fronds were loose, and could be pulled out 

 of the soil with perfect ease, I turned out the pan, and 

 found snugly ensconced where the very heart of the fern 

 clump had been, some five or six fine fat white grubs 

 of my old foe the Weevil, which amongst them had 

 demolished every atom of roots, and the growing centres 

 as well, so that the plants were utterly destroyed. 

 Wishing to know whether continued immersion ot the 

 pots or pans in water would drown these larwe, and 

 obviate disturbing affected plants, I dropped the hatch 

 of youngsters into a tumbler of water, but on the third 

 day, although totally immersed the whole time, they were 

 all alive, and even a week later one showed enough \itality 

 to promise recovery if permitted. Hence, as in simply 

 wet earth they would probably li\ e much longer, immersion 

 is no safe remedy, though sometimes they will come to the 

 surface in a few hours and thus court destruction. 



It will be seen, therefore, that the Weevil, in both its 

 larval and perfect state, is a terrible pest, but more 

 thoroughly destructive in the former. In the latter, 

 however, nothing can possibly be more annoying to the 

 fern cultivator than to find his chosen plants so terribly 

 disfigured as they become after a few \isits of this 

 marauder. One point, however, I have fairly established 

 by experience, and that is that although the Weevil is a 

 wandering, prowling insect, creeping often for long dis- 

 tances, and even from one frame or greenhouse to other 

 and distant ones, yet in nine cases out of ten repeated 

 search on a suffering plant will be repaid by a find, since 

 the same insect undoubtedly haunts a plant for some tiine, 

 taking up its (juarters in the soil or some chink in the \ icinity 

 during the day, and returning to its tit-bit at night. 



