1 86 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



which a former Scots fir and larch wood was cut twenty-five 

 years ago. The extent of this plantation is 20 acres. Since 

 the old wood was cut, birch has come up, with a thick covering 

 of heather. The heather was burnt early in the autumn before 

 planting, and the clumps of birch were cut, leaving good stems 

 about 40 feet apart as shelter for the young plants. The species 

 used for replanting were Scots fir, 2-year i-year, and larch 

 i-year i-year, planted in rows, two rows of Scots fir to one row 

 of larch. I found the weevil near the place where a clump of 

 birch had been cut and burnt. I have not yet found any larch 

 attacked here, and the attack on Scots fir is not yet severe. 



Strophosomus Coryli is a small beetle measuring from less 

 than a quarter of an inch up to one quarter of an inch in length. 

 It has a rounded body, and is brownish-grey in colour; the 

 legs are reddish. The wing covers are punctured and, as Dr 

 MacDougall has pointed out to me, a very characteristic mark 

 is a small longitudinal central black line or patch at the base 

 of the wing covers. 



27. The Large Larch Saw-Fly. 



In the Journal of the Board of Agriculture for March, there 

 appears a report upon an investigation undertaken by the 

 Board into the distribution of the large larch saw-fly {Nemaius 

 erichsoni, Hart.) in Great Britain. As a result of this investi- 

 gation, it is found that the insect is more widely spread in the 

 British area than was formerly believed. As yet it does not 

 seem to have done any very great damage, but its wide 

 distribution is full of risks for the future. The matter is the 

 more serious in that in America, where the insect is excessively 

 destructive, no satisfactory method of getting rid of it has been 

 discovered. In this country the plantations of the Manchester 

 Corporation at Thirlemere have been considerably damaged, 

 and there also the various methods of destruction tried have 

 not been very successful. The chief recommendations by the 

 Board of Agriculture are that the natural enemies of the insect, 

 especially voles, various insect-eating birds, and especially an 

 ichneumon fly {Mesokius au/icus), should be encouraged by 

 every possible means. It is even suggested that an attempt 

 should be made to breed this ichneumon, in order to distribute 

 its cocoons in infected districts. 



