465 



are described. The methods of contamination and constant re- 

 infestation of the soil are also discussed. 



The treatment of the soil with carbon bisulphide proved of value 

 against Loxostege (Phlyctaenodes) sticticalis, injurious to tobacco, 

 beetroot, etc., while as many as 94 per cent, of Acarids present have 

 been destroyed by the same means. Injections at a depth of about 

 10 in. destroys the larvae of the beetle, Leucopliolis rorida, which in 

 Java destroys the roots of cassava [see this Review, Ser. A, iv, p. 82]. 

 Carbon bisulphide and sulphur vapour are also recommended against 

 the eggs of Tachycines and Diestrammena mannorata, crickets that 

 infest greenhouses. The weevil, Tychius quinquepujicfatus, which 

 was very injurious in 1915 in Italy, should also be controlled by this 

 method. 



Sulphocarbonate of potassium has the same effect but is more 

 expensive and more troublesome to use. Toxic substances in less 

 common use for injections are toluine and benzine, which have been 

 used with success against turnip pests, and benzol and calcium 

 bisulphide against certain thrips. It has been proposed as a remedy 

 against Lejndiota alholiirta infesting sugar-cane in Australia that 

 toxic substances should be mixed with the soil with the object of 

 poisoning the larvae which are accustomed to ingurgitate a quantity 

 of soil as they eat. The Ministry of Agriculture in Italy has tried 

 various antiseptic substances against locusts, of which a solution 

 of soap and coal-tar has given the best results. 



Measures complementary to the antiseptic treatment of the soil 

 are disinfection of seeds, protection from other sources of contamina- 

 tion and the use of resistant varieties. It is hoped that soil disinfection 

 will become one of the regular agricultural practices in France, as 

 is already the case to some extent in the United States and in England. 



Peytaud (J.). Etude sur I'Otiorhynque sillonn6 (Otiorrhynchus 

 sulcatus, F.). — Ann. Service des Epiphyties, Paris, v (1916-1917), 

 1918, pp. 145-192, 17 figs. [Received 1st September 1919.] 



The various stages of Otiorrhynchiis sulcatus are described, with the 

 life-cycle and seasonal history [see this Review, Ser. A, v, p. 340]. 

 Studies on the parthenogenesis of this species are also recorded in 

 detail [op. cit., vi, p. 72]. 



The weevils attack the tender vine shoots and feed during the night, 

 cutting away and destroying the leaf-buds. Later they attack the 

 branches, eating away the bark and leaving large scars. The leaves 

 are eagerly devoured in captivity, but at Saint- Pierre d'Oleron, 

 where the author's investigations were made, this rarely occurs in 

 nature, at least before the middle of August. The larvae Uve in the 

 soil during the winter, cutting through the smaller vine roots and 

 attacking the larger ones more or less severely, and wounding the trunk, 

 weakening it until it eventually dies. Severe outbreaks of this pest 

 have been recorded in Belgium, Germany, Italy and France. A list 

 is given of other weevils of the same genus, to the number of about 

 30, attacking vines in Europe [op. cit., vi, p. 172], with many records 

 of their attacks on other food-plants, including strawberries, raspberries, 

 apples and peaches. The natural enemies of 0. sulcatus are dealt 

 with at some length ; these include moles, shrews, hedgehogs, birds, 

 reptiles, toads, Carabid beetles and Gerceris arenma, L. [op. cit.. 



