294 AN EAST COAST NATURALIST 



" They're the brutes ! " said the indignant gardener. 

 And certainly the "brutes'" had been busy, whole 

 clusters of strawberries, ripe and unripe, having 

 been denuded of their seeds, and nibbled where 

 the seeds came out. The soil, too, was riddled by 

 them, and so numerous were they that a mole or 

 two had been drilling high tunnels, undoubtedly in 

 quest of them ; for the soil was far too dry for 

 worms. The previous year had been quite a 

 " grub season," so the occupier said, although they 

 dioj no mischief. At Scratby, Caister, Hemsby, 

 Filby, and Ormesby, where the soil was dry and 

 light, the beetles had been exceedingly mischievous, 

 whilst at Belton, and in other marshy districts, 

 good crops were the usual thing. 



Various letters followed an article of mine 

 published in the Eastern Daily Press ; reasons for 

 the beetles 1 abundance were suggested, as well as 

 remedies advocated. Two previous mild winters, 

 with exceedingly little frost, would account for the 

 preservation of many of the grubs ; and my opinion 

 is that the zeal which characterises the gardeners 

 in that neighbourhood in the slaughter of grub- 

 eating birds was a far greater evil. Then, too, 

 the continuous cultivation of the strawberry upon 



