CLAY-COLOURED WEEVIL. 215 



In siieb cases (looking at the habits of the weevil of hiding 

 during the day in any crannies, or under clods of earth, 

 stones, or rubbish), it would be very desirable to keep fruit- 

 walls well pointed ; also that all clods of earth, &c., should be 

 cleared away that might serve as lurking-places. As they 

 especially go down close to the wall, it might answer to 

 run a line of ashes sprinkled with dilute paraffin, or with 

 carbolic acid diluted in the proportion of one part of acid 

 to a hundred of water, just along the junction of wall and 

 ground. 



A band of any kind of rough, cheap, cart or axle grease, run 

 along the lowest part of the wall, would isolate it from attack, 

 if the trees were also properly sticky-banded. 



In the case of attack on Strawberry plants, and on the 

 larger scale of plantation fruit-growing, it would be easy to 

 find what kind of shelter the weevils preferred ; and by 

 placing some of this, whether slates, tiles, odd bits of thin 

 turf, or morsels of old icaste sacking, on the ground by the 

 stems of the 3'oung trees, these would probably form excellent 

 traps, which might be cleared daily with little trouble. 



The best method of remedy is based on the habit of the 

 weevils of dropping down off the bushes on any disturbance 

 when feeding at night, or if a light is flashed on them. 



In the observations taken at the Royal Agricultural College, 

 Cirencester (see p. 214), with regard to the bad attack on 

 Strawberry plants, a temporary shelter, such as pieces of 

 boards, or tiles, was laid along by the plants, and on raising 

 these, the weevils were found collected in such numbers 

 beneath that nothing further was needed to clear them out 

 excepting sending a boy round regularly to gather them up 

 and destroy them. 



Where the infested plants are of a nature of growth, or are 

 trained in such a way as to admit of the weevils being shaken 

 off (when they have gone up to feed at night) on to tarred 

 boards or anything else placed below to catch them, this plan 

 is the very best remedy of all. It is based on the habit of the 

 weevils of falling down at once on being disturbed, or if a liglit 

 is flashed on them. Details of this plan as carried out on 

 a large scale with great success on Easpberry grounds in 

 Cornwall will be found at p. 212 ; but it must be remembered 

 that the jarring of the bush should be precisely at the time 

 when the light is flashed on it, or in a,ll probability the 

 weevils will be found to have dropped down when the light 

 was thrown on them and secured themselves, and the subse- 

 quent jarring of the bushes over the tarred tray may produce 

 no results. 



On a small extent of ground the use of a common entomo- 



