282 ENGLISH ESTATE FORESTRY 



individual trees, the spreading of bare soil round the stem 

 of each tree, or the sprinkling of lime, etc., round about the 

 trees, may do very well on an acre or two of ground, but 

 could hardly be practised on forty or fifty acres without an 

 undue expenditure of time and trouble. The simplest and 

 easiest method is that of leaving the ground unplanted for 

 two or three years ; but this is not only a loss of time, but may 

 not have the desired effect after all. The stumps of felled 

 trees on that particular area may be no longer suitable for 

 breeding purposes, but, where timber is being felled annually, 

 the surrounding ground may provide all that is necessary 

 to furnish a numerous host of weevils. The Continental 

 method of preventing the weevils reaching the young trees 

 is that of digging a trench round the planted ground, into 

 which the weevils fall in attempting to cross it. This 

 method is effectual enough, as a rule, but the trenches must 

 be watched and the beetles collected from time to time, or 

 they will find their way out again by some means. This 

 plan is inexpensive on ground which is free from large 

 stones, and with which the sides of the trench can be kept 

 perpendicular ; but where the ground is full of large stones, 

 or so light and dry that the sides are continually falling in, 

 it is difficult to make it effective, and other means must be 

 tried as well. Amongst these may be mentioned the laying 

 about of pieces of bark, bundles of twigs, etc., under or into 

 which the weevils crawl, and from which they can be 

 collected daily. This is also expensive on a large scale, but, 

 where weevils are troublesome, some expense must be 

 incurred in dealing with them. 



Perhaps the cheapest and most effectual method of all, 

 however, is that of arranging the clearing and replanting of 

 ground in such a way that a considerable interval elapses 

 between the clearing and replanting of two adjoining pieces 

 of ground. By so doing, that constant supply of breeding 

 material which is chiefly responsible for successive genera- 

 tions of beetles is interrupted, and the weevils are thus 

 forced to leave the locality before the next planting is carried 

 out. No doubt, a few weevils will always be found in the 

 vicinity, but, the farther the breeding grounds lie from the 

 young wood, the smaller will be the numbers that will reach 



