dark twigs. They live exclusively beneath the soil and, 

 although they devour a considerable amount of dead 

 vegetable matter, their staple diet seems to consist mainly 

 of the roots of various plants. They are specially common 

 in damp parts of meadows, wherever there is rank herbage, 

 especially grass. Leather Jackets feed mostly at night 

 when they often come to the surface of the soil. When 

 fully fed they turn to elongate pupae, which force their 

 way to the surface of the soil, where they may be often 

 seen projecting for about half their length vertically out 

 of the ground. The Crane Flies issue late in the spring 

 and lay their black spindle-shaped eggs on or near the 

 surface of the ground. These eggs give rise to the Leather 

 Jackets which eventually transform into a second brood 

 of Flies appearing in great numbers during August and 

 September. The late brood of Crane Flies is always more 

 abundant than the spring one, and their eggs develop into 

 larvae which remain beneath the soil all through the winter. 

 They are often abundant in garden lawns in low-lying 

 districts, and it is advisable in such cases to roll heavily 

 and keep the grass closely cut. Rolling at the proper 

 seasons crushes the pupae and if done regularly after dark 

 a large number of the larvae would probably also be 

 destroyed. When present in large numbers thorough turn- 

 ing of the soil in the autumn and winter renders the larvae 

 accessible to rooks, starlings, and other birds which prey 

 upon them in large numbers. A good soil dressing is 

 i to 2 cwts. of nitrate of soda to the acre, and although 

 Leather Jackets are susceptible to its effects, they are by 

 no means always eradicated. Gas lime is only doubtfully 

 effective. Theobald advises the use of traps of partially 

 buried turf as a device for enticing the Flies to lay their 

 eggs, and also to attract the larvae from the adjacent soil. 

 To arrest local attacks in parts of lawns and beds -i- oz. of 

 carbon bisulphide to each square yard injected by means 

 of a Vermorel injector, or other suitable instrument, to a 

 depth of about 6 inches is usually quite effective. 



The Pear Midge (Di-plosis -pyrivor^ (4) is one of the 

 worst enemies of pear growers. All varieties appear to be 

 attacked by this Insect, but it is not known to affect any 

 other kind of fruit. The adult Midge is only about Jin. 

 long and is blackish-grey or black in colour ; the female 

 can be distinguished from the male by the abdomen ter- 

 minating in a long pointed egg-laying instrument or 



