PRACTICAL HINTS. 141 



the shelter of their branches ; they frequently pay in abundance, when 

 the bare trunks of larger growth are little patronised. Maci/eiifa, lota, 

 etc, seem especially fond of the small trees; 1 may mention I hive 

 taken 8 qiienana from an oak sapling in one season, and only met with 

 one during the same time on the bare trunk. It is also advisable to 

 shake the brush over low growing shrubs, etc., as they are easily 

 examined. With me, retusa is more frequently taken from a drop of 

 liquid on a leaf close to the ground, than from either stems or branches. 

 Changing the locality (unless for special species) is not, in my opinion, 

 much benefit, the first night or two are not as a rule very productive. 

 If the trees are kept constantly sugared, it does not take much liquid 

 to freshen them up, whereas newly painted ones sop up the l)ait dread- 

 fully. If the same ground is adhered to, every other night will be found 

 quite sufficient, or even a longer interval. Some insects have a par- 

 tiality for the old sugar {D. pinastri is one), sometimes three or four on 

 a stale tree, when they are scarce on the freshly-painted ones, but the 

 strength of the rum having evaporated, insects like pinastri and batis 

 are very wary, and you have to be quick to capture either. Of course 

 a good many visit the bait during the night or early morning, and there 

 is every chance of their returning to the same spot ; for instance, I 

 once noticed a damaged pyrai/iidea, and left it alone in its glory. It 

 continued a constant visitor to the same place for nearly a fortnight, 

 some times had taken up its position before I had renewed the sugar. 



Another plan of mine, which has proved very successful, and which 

 is handy for anyone possessing a garden, or who can gain access to a 

 private plantation or wood, so that the traps may not be interfered with, 

 is to make several stout cloth bags about a foot long, and two inches 

 or so in diameter, weighted at the bottom to prevent their swaying 

 with the wind, with a wire fixed in top to keep them open, together 

 with a hook to hang on branch when filled with liquid. I find they do 

 not require any attention more than once a fortnight, even in hot 

 weather ; it saves no end of time, as they are always in action. Ot 

 course they want rum administered each evening, but that difficulty is 

 easily got over by squirting some on from a scent spray, while making 

 the first round. Sometimes, however, the wasps play havoc with the 

 cloth bags during the summer months, so I usually stop up the mouth 

 with a tuft of grass, and finding they are unable to gain access that 

 way, they deliberately commence to eat a hole through the side. This 

 season I have made a few out of old coffee canisters, perforated to 

 allow the sugar to ooze through, and tightly covered with flannel. If 

 the wasps get inside I'll forgive them. — H. Alderson, Farnboro'. 

 June. 1890. 



gURACTICAL HINTS. 



m 



By J. .MASOX. 



{a) JVonagria typlue. Now in the pupal state ; should be sought 

 for in stems of Typha latifolia (Reed mace) ; the infested plants may 

 be known by the centre leaves being yellow and withered : cut the 

 plant low down, strip off some of the green outside leaves, the outlet 



