Reports to various Correspondents. 105 



defending the corks against the attacks of the insects. No larva^, 

 of any kind were observed in the corks. The author then questions 

 the correctness of Mr. Curtis's suggestions as to the introduction of 

 the Myceicca into the cellar with hay and sawdust, in consequence 

 of a circumstance mentioned in the original letters of Dr. Henderson 

 to Mr. Curtis coinciding in a singular manner with the observations 

 of Mr. Saunders, namely, that the attacks noticed by Dr. Henderson 

 were confined exclusively to Ehenish wines and the rare Shiraz, and 

 consequently that it may be inferred that the Mycetcca has a peculiar 

 taste for these kinds of wines. Kirby and Spence (Introduction, 

 vol. i. p. 246) mention the attack of White Ants upon a pipe of fine 

 old Madeira for the sake of the staves, which were probably strongly 

 imbued with the wine, and perhaps thus rendered more agreeable to 

 the taste of the Termites, and hence it is j^robable that the saturation 

 of the corks by these two peculiar wines rendered them more 

 palatable to the insects, whilst, for some reason, ihe corks of the 

 other wines remained untouched. Indeed, the corks of a large stock 

 of claret were injured, but only as far as that point where they 

 remained free from all tincturing of the wine. These bottles were 

 placed in the lowest range of bins in the cellars, and from the 

 manner in which they were eaten, it appeared evident that the injury 

 was caused by BlatUe, which, however, evidently did not relish the 

 tincture of the claret, although they will attack almost everything. 

 An instance is mentioned where they devoured the whole inside of a 

 lemon after a thin slice of the peel had been taken off, leaving only 

 the pips and fibrous particles untouched. 



It was stated, in conclusion, that it was the intention of Mr. 

 Saunders's friend to try the effect of successive fumigation of the 

 cellar, \yy sulphur, for the purpose of destroying the insects which 

 might still remain in the corks. 



In reference to Mr. Saunders's paper, Colonel Sykes mentioned 

 that the corks in his wine-cellar in London were, at the present time, 

 attacked by the common Cockroach, and that it appeared that the 

 insects preferred the corks of those wines which contained most 

 saccharine matter. In India the Blattce had especially attacked tlie 

 corks of his Malmsey and Constantia wine-bottles. 



Mr. Quickett, who was present as a visitor, mentioned that in 

 Somersetshire Blafs mortmiga attacked the corks of sweet currant 

 wine-bottles. 



Mr. Sells noticed that the BhdUc will also eat the corks in 

 porter-bottles ; and Mr. Babington stated that he had found the larva 

 (evidently that of a small Lepidopterous insect) in the cork of a port 



