IT 



ones before grinding them to flour. Nuts that fall in August should 

 be collected and burnt or buried deeply, or they may be thrown into 

 stagnant water. The first chestnuts to fall should on no accoimt be 

 left lying on the ground. 



JoLYET (A.). The Use of Bats in the Control of Insects especially 

 Tortricidae, injurious to Pine Woods. — Revue des Eaux et Forets, 

 Paris, Ivi, no. 6, 1st June 1918, pp. 121-216. (Abstract in Mthly. 

 Bull. Agric. Intell. & PI. Dis., Rome, ix, no. 9, September 1918, 

 pp. 1123-1124.) 



In view of the possibility of invasion of the damaged French forests 

 by such pests as Rhyacionia {Evetria) resinella, R. (E.) buoliana, Sch.m. 

 (pine-shoot tortrix), and R. (E.) turioniana, Hb. (pine-bud tortrix), 

 the author advises the breeding of bats or their encouragement and 

 protection in or near pine woods. It is suggested that cots should 

 be erected to serve as a refuge during the day and a shelter during 

 the winter. The cot is made of a wooden box with double walls 

 (leaving an air space of about 1 in.) in the form of a cube with side 

 3 feet 3 inches long. This is protected from rain by a double roof of 

 planks covered with tarred paper and projecting beyond the sides. 

 The space between box and roof should be filled with hay. On the 

 side of the box facing east an opening 12 inches high and 8 inches wide 

 should be cut, fitted with a sliding door that could be operated by a 

 string. The box should be placed about 10 feet high on a wooden 

 scaffold, and should be fitted with rods for perches. The choice of 

 bats belonging to the genus Vesperugo is advocated, as these hibernate 

 in barns, hollow trees, etc., rather than those that hibernate in caves 

 and are more sensitive to cold. V. noctula, V. serotinus and 

 V. 2)ipistrellus are mentioned as particularly suitable species. 



Henry (Gl. M.). Sweet Potato Weevil. (Gylas formicarius). — Trap- 

 Agriculturist, Peradeniya, li, no. 3, September 1918, p. 176, 



1 plate. 



Gylas formicarius (sweet potato weevil) is a destructive pest in Ceylon, 

 where it attacks the thicker stems and the tubers of the sweet potato 

 and lays its eggs in them. The complete life-cycle has not been 

 worked out in Ceylon, but is known to be as short as 30 days in 

 Florida and Queensland. Infestation is difiicult to detect until it 

 has become fully estabhshed and the tubers are full of larvae ; great 

 care should be taken in planting to use only sound setts. The thicker 

 stems of vines should be discarded as being more likely to contain 

 eggs or larvae. An infested field should be harvested as early as 

 possible and utihsed for home consumption. Any tubers unfit for 

 use should at once be burnt. The neighbouring land, as well as 

 the infested field, should be kept free from sweet potatoes for at 

 least two years, but may be planted with any other crop. 



Berger (E. W.). Directions for Building Fumigating Boxes and for 

 Fumigating with Hydrocyanic-acid Gas. — Qtrly. Bull. Florida State 

 Plant Board, Gainesville, i, no. 2, January 1917, pp. 15-24, 



2 plates, 1 fig. [Received 13th November 1918.] 



In this paper full directions are given for constructing boxes for 

 fumigating ^nth hydrocyanic-acid gas. 

 (C529) 3 



