﻿137 
  

  

  contained 
  iu 
  the 
  excrement 
  of 
  ibe 
  insect; 
  and 
  a 
  course 
  of 
  experiments 
  had 
  not 
  only 
  as- 
  

   sured 
  him 
  on 
  this 
  point, 
  but 
  had 
  also 
  enabled 
  him 
  to 
  state 
  to 
  the 
  Office 
  of 
  Woods 
  and 
  

   Forests 
  that 
  the 
  damaged 
  trees 
  mijjht 
  be 
  saved 
  and 
  the 
  pest 
  prevented 
  from 
  spreading, 
  

   if 
  they 
  would 
  adopt 
  his 
  plan 
  of 
  partially 
  barking 
  the 
  trees 
  in 
  the 
  places 
  attacked, 
  and 
  re- 
  

   moving 
  and 
  destroying 
  the 
  portions 
  cut 
  off. 
  Once 
  when 
  in 
  a 
  ship-timber 
  yard, 
  where 
  

   he 
  had 
  a 
  yacht 
  building, 
  he 
  saw 
  an 
  ash-trce 
  so 
  covered 
  with 
  these 
  insects, 
  that 
  he 
  cal- 
  

   culated 
  there 
  were 
  not 
  less 
  than 
  280,000 
  of 
  Hylesinus 
  Fraxini 
  in 
  it 
  ; 
  the 
  Scolytus 
  was 
  

   certainly 
  quite 
  as 
  prolific, 
  and 
  unless 
  some 
  such 
  steps 
  as 
  he 
  had 
  pointed 
  out 
  were 
  spee- 
  

   dily 
  adopted 
  to 
  check 
  the 
  evil, 
  he 
  would 
  venture 
  to 
  say 
  that 
  in 
  sixty 
  or 
  seventy 
  years 
  

   there 
  would 
  not 
  be 
  an 
  elm-tree 
  in 
  or 
  about 
  London. 
  The 
  damage 
  caused 
  by 
  Cossus 
  

   ligniperda 
  was 
  very 
  great, 
  and 
  he 
  also 
  attributed 
  a 
  poisonous 
  quality 
  to 
  the 
  excre- 
  

   ment 
  of 
  the 
  larva; 
  but 
  he 
  found 
  that 
  if 
  the 
  larvas 
  were 
  followed 
  up 
  and 
  cut 
  out, 
  the 
  

   trees 
  soon 
  recovered. 
  He 
  said 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  Royal 
  Botanic 
  Society's 
  Gardens, 
  Regent's 
  

   Park, 
  out 
  of 
  two 
  hundred 
  and 
  forty 
  trees, 
  only 
  ninety 
  had 
  escaped 
  being 
  attacked, 
  and 
  

   out 
  of 
  eighteen 
  operated 
  upon, 
  all 
  had 
  done 
  well 
  except 
  one. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Westwood 
  said 
  his 
  late 
  lamented 
  friend, 
  Audouin, 
  who 
  had 
  paid 
  great 
  atten- 
  

   tion 
  to 
  this 
  subject, 
  had 
  once 
  when 
  he 
  was 
  visiting 
  Paris, 
  pointed 
  out 
  to 
  him 
  that 
  a 
  

   female 
  Scolytus 
  first 
  attacked 
  a 
  tree 
  for 
  food, 
  and 
  then 
  other 
  females 
  followed 
  to 
  lay 
  

   their 
  eggs 
  on 
  the 
  perforated 
  and 
  exposed 
  })lace. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Edward 
  Sheppard 
  said 
  that 
  he 
  had 
  found 
  the 
  insects 
  alive 
  in 
  old 
  elm 
  rails. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Curtis 
  had 
  never 
  known 
  young 
  trees 
  attacked; 
  but 
  at 
  St. 
  John's 
  Wood 
  his 
  

   attention 
  had 
  been 
  called 
  to 
  some 
  old 
  elms, 
  which 
  had 
  completely 
  lost 
  their 
  bark 
  from 
  

   the 
  attacks 
  of 
  Scolytus 
  ; 
  and 
  he 
  thought 
  that 
  only 
  trees 
  in 
  an 
  unhealthy 
  state, 
  which 
  

   frequently 
  happened 
  from 
  many 
  causes, 
  or 
  old 
  trees 
  decaying, 
  became 
  the 
  prey 
  of 
  this 
  

   beetle. 
  

  

  Captain 
  Cox 
  replied 
  to 
  these 
  objections:— 
  1. 
  That 
  he 
  was 
  sure, 
  from 
  observation, 
  

   that 
  the 
  females 
  laid 
  their 
  eggs 
  on 
  sound 
  trees, 
  to 
  which 
  ihey 
  went 
  for 
  that 
  purpose. 
  

   2. 
  That 
  he 
  had 
  known 
  the 
  insects 
  eat 
  down 
  into 
  the 
  solid 
  wood, 
  but 
  only 
  when 
  they 
  

   had 
  deprived 
  the 
  bark 
  and 
  alburnum 
  of 
  their 
  nutriment. 
  And, 
  3. 
  That 
  the 
  majority 
  of 
  

   the 
  trees 
  in 
  the 
  Regent's 
  Park 
  were 
  growing 
  vigorously, 
  even 
  to 
  the 
  terminal 
  shoots, 
  

   when 
  attacked. 
  He 
  added 
  that 
  the 
  efficacy 
  of 
  the 
  plan 
  he 
  recommended 
  as 
  a 
  cure, 
  

   ■was 
  proved 
  by 
  the 
  fact, 
  that 
  trees 
  rapidly 
  in 
  process 
  of 
  destruction 
  by 
  Scolytus 
  and 
  

   Cossus 
  had, 
  after 
  the 
  operation, 
  become 
  quite 
  healthy. 
  

  

  The 
  President, 
  in 
  concluding 
  the 
  discussion, 
  said 
  that 
  the 
  Society 
  was 
  greatly 
  in- 
  

   debted 
  to 
  Captain 
  Cox 
  for 
  his 
  lucid 
  explanations 
  on 
  a 
  subject 
  of 
  such 
  great 
  importance 
  

   and 
  general 
  interest. 
  Without 
  wishing 
  in 
  the 
  slightest 
  degree 
  to 
  undervalue 
  those 
  

   exhibitions 
  of 
  rarities, 
  or 
  those 
  descriptions 
  of 
  genera 
  and 
  species 
  which 
  formed 
  the 
  

   staple 
  of 
  the 
  Society's 
  proceedings, 
  he 
  considered 
  that 
  carefully 
  prepared 
  observations 
  

   on 
  the 
  habits 
  of 
  insects 
  possessed 
  a 
  still 
  higher 
  value 
  and 
  interest, 
  more 
  especially 
  when 
  

   such 
  habits 
  exercised 
  an 
  important 
  economical 
  influence, 
  whether 
  beneficial 
  or 
  inju- 
  

   rious. 
  He 
  also 
  wished 
  to 
  observe, 
  that 
  in 
  discussions 
  like 
  that 
  which 
  had 
  just 
  taken 
  

   place, 
  and 
  to 
  which 
  he 
  had 
  listened 
  throughout 
  with 
  the 
  utmost 
  attention 
  and 
  plea- 
  

   sure, 
  it 
  would 
  be 
  a 
  great 
  advantage 
  if 
  a 
  mouth's 
  notice 
  could 
  be 
  given, 
  in 
  order 
  

   that 
  members 
  might 
  have 
  the 
  opportunity 
  of 
  refreshing 
  their 
  memories 
  by 
  referring 
  to 
  

   what 
  had 
  been 
  previously 
  written 
  on 
  the 
  subject, 
  in 
  fact, 
  of 
  " 
  reading 
  up," 
  so 
  to 
  

   speak, 
  for 
  the 
  occasion, 
  for 
  we 
  really 
  came 
  as 
  it 
  were 
  unprepared, 
  and 
  treated 
  almost 
  as 
  

   new, 
  a 
  subject 
  to 
  which 
  our 
  best 
  entomologists 
  had 
  already 
  given 
  their 
  earnest 
  atten- 
  

   tion. 
  With 
  regard 
  to 
  the 
  opinions 
  advanced 
  and 
  ably 
  advocated 
  by 
  Captain 
  Cox, 
  he 
  

  

  U 
  

  

  