168 



over, so that all will be oileil. and the shovelling must be repeated every day 

 for four or five days. This, if projiorly done, will kill all the weevils in the 

 liease without injuring the seed. 



Scalilinfi seed. — Of the same nature, when pease are found at the time 

 of sowing to contain weevils, is scalding the seed. This may be done by 

 pouring them into scahling water and then either pouring the water straight 

 off them again, or cooling off immediately with cold water. 



Recofiimendat ions. 



The control of the poa weevil, I believe, is possible, but this must be 

 done, I think, not by legislation or by giving up the cultivation of such an 

 Important crop as pease, which we cannot well do without, but by persuading 

 everyone who sows pease to abstain from sowing any seed which contains 

 living weevils; when purchasing .seed, to refuse determinedly to buy any 

 without an assurance that they have been treated, and further, even with 

 this, to examine for themselves to see that any contained weevils are reall.v 

 dead. I would also point out that, from the experiment already cited of 

 growing pease from weevilled seed, such seed is only worth about one-quarter 

 as much as sound seed. To secure a supply of seed pease free from weevil 

 injury, it will be necessary for growers and farmers to handle their crop a 

 little differently than has been the usual practice. The injury is of an 

 exceptional nature, and exceptional measures must be taken to avoid loss. 



There are, however, special features about this attack which renders 

 its control a simpler matter than is usually the case with injuries of an 

 equal magnitude. The pea weevil is not a native insect and has no native 

 food plant_ in which it could propagate, were there no cultivated pease. 

 Indeed, it is so restricted in its food habits that no other food plant is known 

 than the different cultivated varieties of true pease, belonging to the botanical 

 genus Pisiim. These pea.se will not live over the winter in our climate, if left 

 in the open iield, at any rate, in any part of the country where the pea 

 weevil is known to breed, consequently, every seed pea sown for crop must, 

 at some time before it was sown, have been under the control of someone by 

 whom it could have been treated before sowing, to destroy the contained 

 weevil, if it had one. The remedy is effective, easy and cheap, is well known 

 and can be applied by anyone. If all growers would combine and do this 

 the larger number of the weevils would be destroyed in a single year. This, 

 however, would not be sufficient, because a certain number of the insects 

 sometimes leave the pease during the autumn when the seed ripens, and this 

 sometimes before the pease are carried from the field. This fact is the one 

 great difficulty in arriving at a perfect remedy, but I do not believe that it 

 is insurmountable. 



1. I suggest that all pease for seed should be treated before tliey are 

 sown, to kill the weevil, and that seeding should bo done as early as jmssible, 

 so as to get the crop ripe enough for harvest earlier than is the usual custom. 



2. The poa-growers should harvest their pease as much on the green side 

 as is safe, rather than, as is usuall.v done now, when they are dead ripe, and 

 thresh and treat them them.selve.s, or sell at once to grain buyers. This has 

 many advantages. Not only is the straw of very much higher quality for 



