PINE BEETLE. 67 
with some of the Pine Beetles, Hylurgus piniperda, and a few more 
observations :— 
‘‘The forester tells me he finds them most in the young, and 
generally in the top, shoot. There are maggot-workings and maggots 
in the fallen trees, and he has found them under the bark of standing 
trees, but very rarely. The forester thinks the beetle mostly works its 
way straight up, not into side and little branches.” 
The above-mentioned attack formed a most complete example of 
the permanent character of the infestation when once established, and 
likewise of the great injury to the value of the young trees by the 
destruction of the leading shoot. 
The reports of the past season and of the previous year, when 
taken together, give a truly broadscale example of the great loss which 
is frequently going on when not made the subject of careful investi- 
gation (as it was in the above instances). 
PREVENTION AND Remepies.—Clearing away infested shoots from 
the trees where they can be reached, and from beneath them, where 
the shoots have fallen, gets rid of some amount of the beetles, but not 
of so many as might be expected, for the beetles (as may be seen by 
splitting an infested shoot open) are lively and active, and very well 
able to remove themselves on being disturbed; they are apt at a touch 
to the branch to “back out of their tunnels and fall to the ground.” 
Therefore in the case of cutting shoots off infested trees, if they are 
simply cut into a basket, most likely most of the beetles will escape ; 
but they should be put in some kind of bag, out of which the beetles 
are not likely to make their way, and the contents should be emptied 
out and burnt as soon as the bag is full. How far it would be worth 
while on a large scale of work to remove the fallen shoots would 
be best judged of by opening a few dozens in different places, and 
seeing whether the beetles are still within; but though opinions 
differ as to the beetles hybernating in ‘‘fog” or ‘forest rubbish,”’ 
still a general clearance and burning of all this, together with 
the fallen shoots, would certainly remove a very likely shelter of 
infestation. 
But the great point of prevention is to remove, as soon as possible, 
all fallen trees or boughs in which the beetles can establish their 
nursery-grounds (as previously mentioned) between the wood and bark. 
And not only this, but all slabs of Pine, or pieces of wood with the 
bark on, which are trimmed off where young Fir plantations are 
thinned, should by no means be left in the plantations, but should be 
gathered together and burnt. If there is no bark on the wood the 
rubbish is harmless as a breeding-ground. ‘‘ When Fir thinnings are 
carted from the plantations, it is a very common practice to dress the 
F 2 
