THE WEEVIL. 137 



strange and silly rumours were spread abroad; 

 some believing that the larvae were the harbingers 

 of coming disease and death. Poor people were 

 hired to cut off the webs of these larvae at the rate 

 of one shilling a bushel, and they were then burned 

 under the inspection of the churchwardens and 

 overseers. In the parish of Clapham, we are told 

 by an author who wrote upon the history of this 

 insect, eighty bushels were collected in one day ! 

 Prayers were offered up in some churches to 

 deliver the country from the apprehended ap- 

 proaching calamity. 



We need not, however, dwell longer upon the 

 vegetable-consuming larvae out of doors. Unfor- 

 tunately we are acquainted with instances equally 

 formidable within our barns, store-houses, and 

 larders. In vain does man lay up the increase of 

 his fields with care in granaries of the best con- 

 struction, and using all possible precautions against 

 the introduction of insect enemies. The weevil, 

 called scientifically the Calandra granaria, finds 

 entrance, and in a short time makes its presence 

 felt in the vast destruction it produces. So soon 

 as they are discovered, they are collected with all 

 expedition by the owners of the stores and con- 



