82 THE REPORT OF THE No. 19 



The full grown Pea Weevil, is a small, roundish, very active beetle about one-sixth of an 

 inch in length, greyish brown in colour and bearing two conspicuous black spots at the end of 

 the abdomen above. (See figure). These beetles lay their eggs on 

 the green pods ; from these, small white grubs hatch, which bore 

 in and attack the nearest seed inside the pod. They penetrate 

 by a minute hole which is afterwards almost obliterated by the/ 

 growth of the increasing seed. There is only a single insect 

 inside each seed, and it remains there until fully developed. 



This takes place perhaps, as an average date, by the middle of August, and, as a rule, 

 most of the weevils remain in the seeds till the following spring. However, and this is one of 

 the greatest difficulties in getting a perfect remedy for the Pea Weevil, some of the beetles, 

 in certain seasons a large proportion of them, leave the peas in autumn and pass the winter 

 about barns, buildings, etc. This makes it necessary to reap and thresh as soon as possible, so 

 that the seed may be treated before the weevils leave it. Some of the best seed dealers have 

 for years been urging upon growers the importance of this and have sent out printed circulars 

 to their customers, ofiering a higher price for seeds delivered by a certain date, so that the in- 

 jury may be as little as possible ; the grain, being harvested before it is dead ripe, is also of 

 better quality and germinates better. Efforts will be made during the coming winter to have 

 this matter fully discussed at all the farmer's meetings in the Province. I am convinced that 

 this problem of stamping out the Pea Weevil entirely, is a matter of possibility if farmers and 

 seed rrerchants will only work together for a short time and carry out the instructions given. 

 The Pea Crop of Canada is far too important for farmers to give up growing it, nor do I think 

 that this would be a wise course to adopt, until a much greater effort has been made to get 

 farmers to use the common sense plan which has proved so successful with those who have 

 tried it. An old and well-tried remedy is to hold over seed peas till the second year before 

 sowing. The beetles will emerge the first spring and will die inside the bags. Another good 

 plan is to treat the seed with coal oil 1 gallon to 20 bushels of seed, turning the seed thoroughly 

 with a shovel evei'y day for 4 or 5 days. 



Root Crops. 



There has been a noticeable absence of some of the destructive enemies of root crops. The 

 Turnip Aphis has hardly appeared. The Cabbage Butterfly, which last year was so injurious to 

 cabbages, turnips and rape, has been very much reduced in numbers by bacterial and insest 

 parasites. The Colorado Potato Beetle was troublesome where neglected, but is easily kept in 

 check with the ordinary poison applications. The advisability of applying Paris green or some 

 other poison in Bordeaux mixture has been demonstrated this year, when the Potato Rot has 

 very much reduced crops which were not protected by this useful remedy. The Bordeaux 

 mixture, consisting (for potatoes) of 6 lbs. of copper sulphate, 4 lbs. of fresh lime and 40 gallons 

 of water, as a remedy for this terribly widespread and destructive disease, is one of the greatest 

 triumphs of modern applied science. It always pays to apply it to growing potatoes to protect 

 them against various fungous enemies, and it has been found that the ordinary poisons which 

 destroy insects may be applied mixed with the Bordeaux mixture, without lessening the effect 

 of either. The Gray Blister-beetle, Macrohasis unicolor, Kirby, was reported from a few 

 places, but no serious injury was done, and it must be remembered that the occurrence of these 

 beetles in large numbers indicates that many locusts have been, or will be, destroyed, because 

 the larvpe of the blister-beetles feed entirely upon the eggs of grasshoppers. Asparagus Beetles 

 occurred in numbers in the Niagara Peninsula, and have spread somewhat during tlie past 

 year. The remedies most relied on are dusting larvtc freely with freshly slaked lime, collecting 

 the beetles in beating nets and applying jioisoned sprays to the food plant. 



