PREFACE. 
THE year 1896, like its predecessor, showed presence of many 
kinds of agricultural insect infestations, including in these crop, 
orchard, and forest pests, also infestations to live stock, and to 
deer, though not in any instance to the extent of any one special 
attack being seriously prevalent over the whole of our island. 
And this similar state of things appears to be worth record in 
connection with the markedly different weather conditions of 
the two years. 
In 1895 the extraordinarily low temperatures kept the soil, 
to a great degree, frost-bound until the end of February, and, 
with the soil, the insects in it were frost-bound also. 
In 1896, on the contrary, the mildness of the season allowed 
insect traffic both in land and water; but though, for the time 
being, freedom for depredation was thus in the power of the 
grubs, there was no sign afterwards that amount of infestation 
had been affected by the more genial winter temperatures. 
With effects of weather conditions later on, the case was 
different. The drought and fine weather of May, and to some 
degree of the months both preceding and following (see Meteoro- 
logical Reports quoted pp. 94-96), was admirably adapted for 
the prevalence of ‘“‘ Leafage Caterpillars,” which was one of the 
especially destructive insect attacks. ‘‘ Surface Caterpillars ”’ 
were also unusually early and widespread in the destructiveness 
of their attacks, presumably from the weather having been un- 
usually favourable for their propagation; and in the remarkably 
bad attacks of Pine Beetle in Forfarshire, and also near Redditch, 
