WILLOW BEETLE. 273 



under any old bark or similar rul)bish at the Willow grounds, 

 which is a most important point in consideration of how to 

 get rid of them, Mr. Cameron remarked : — " Some of our 

 members inform me that during last winter they found a large 

 number of the perfect beetle under the rough bark of the 

 Willow trees, and one grower, who has a wooden hut erected 

 on his Willow field, found, on accidentally removing some of 

 the boarding of this, that the beetles were wintering there in 

 numberless quantities. 



"Another informs me that he has found them largely 

 under the bark of old fencing-posts, old boards left lying on the 

 ground under the flood-line, &c. 



" This being known, I think some means of trapping 

 during the late autumn or early winter might be devised and 

 prove useful." Later on Mr. Cameron remarked further with 

 regard to trapping, and also tvith regard to artificial temporary 

 Hooding in order to drown out the beetles : — " A few growers 

 have put down traps, in the shape of old posts and Birch-wood 

 bark, up trees, &c., in the neighbourhood of the infested 

 Willow beds, and under these traps the beetles have lodged in 

 myriads, and are, of course, being destroyed ; but they are 

 mostly found lodged in retreats considerably above the flood- 

 line, and in places where artificial flooding cannot be applied. 

 The pests we find hybernating comfortably under the bark of 

 large Willow trees which grow in considerable numbers along 

 the line up the Eiver Mersey, where the Willow beds are 

 mostly located. 



" The Lymm Local Board (of which I happen to be chair- 

 man) planted their new sewage farm with five acres of Willow 

 last year, and we are arranging to plant six acres additional 

 this spring. All this land is capable of being flooded with 

 sewage, and the experiment will be tried systematically. I 

 am very hopeful of a good result." 



With regard to effect of direct applications Mr. Camferon 

 reported on the 29th of May :-^- 



" The remedies hitherto tried (but so far with little success) 

 are dusting the young shoots with hellebore powder, soot, 

 sulphur, lime, and spent gas-lime. The plan noio adopted is 

 to hand-pick, or rather sJutke off, the insects into small vessels 

 containing a small quantity of paraffin oil. This plan has 

 been steadily carried on by many of the Willow growers 

 during the last fortnight luith marked success ; but unfor- 

 tunately a few people take little or no notice, and I fear these 

 neglected lots will pollute the surroundings." 



Mr. G. H. Leigh, a Willow grower at Lymm, who tried 

 several experiments for the extermination or prevention of 

 the spread of the Willow Beetle, amongst others tried the 



T 



