60 OUT OF DOORS. 



inhabitant of the wood itself, and is seldom to be found 

 under the bark, I pass but lightly over it in the present 

 instance. Under the bark is a favourite resort of many 

 of the weevil tribe, and those which do worst harm to 

 fruit-trees are mostly in the habit of hiding themselves 

 during the winter in the crevices of the bark. So all 

 growers of fruit-trees will do well during the winter to 

 search carefully under the bark of the older trees, and 

 to fill up the crevices with some greasy composition, 

 which will smother the beetles as they lie in their 

 hiding-places. Stripping off the bark is much recom- 

 mended, but I doubt its efficacy, inasmuch as these 

 beetles always let themselves fall to the ground when 

 they are alarmed, so that the greater number would 

 escape when they were disturbed. The greasy composi- 

 tion, which can be laid on with a brush, does no harm 

 to the tree, and very effectually smothers the insects 

 that are lying hidden ' under the bark.' 



