46 CLOVER. 



One means of stopping spread of mischief would be destroying 

 these enormous numbers of beetles spreading from the stacks as men- 

 tioned above. The beetles develop from the chrysalids which have been 

 carried in the Clover seed-heads to the stacks (or from the maggots 

 which are nearly full-grown, and on the point of changing to chrysalis), 

 and so the Clover seed stacks become centres of infestation. The 

 "Purple Clover Weevil," A. apricans, is known to have "two ample 

 membranous " wings folded beneath the hard wing-cases. The 

 " Dutch Clover Weevil," the A. fiavipes, I have myself found has also 

 wings, and by means of these wings the Weevils (that possess them) 

 can easily transport themselves at pleasure back to the Clover fields 

 where their early life was passed in the seed-heads. But after exami- 

 nation of a good many specimens sent me (all of which had presumably 

 developed within the Clover stack before mentioned), I could not 

 satisfy myself that the wings were in all cases sufficiently formed to 

 be serviceable for flying purposes. This condition may have been 

 incidental, or may have been some crumpling of the membranes, from 

 the difficulty of spreading specimens, which were so much dried as to 

 require relaxing for examination. Still, the point may be worth 

 mention. 



Where the pests are appearing in the great quantities described, it 

 would probably answer in all ways to have some quick-lime, or if pro- 

 curable, some gas-lime in caustic state, shovelled on them from time 

 to time, and so prevent their spreading abroad. 



But with regard to general measures of " prevention " ; these turn 

 on freventing formation of the seed-heads in which the maggots feed, 

 and are shortly, as laid down by M. Herpin many years ago: — 

 " Avoid allowing the Clover which is much infested by the Weevil to 

 ripen and run to seed. 



" Cut early, and feed off while green, the Clover crops which are 

 known, or supposed to be, much infested by the Apion. 



" Carefully avoid allowing the Clover crops to remain more than 

 two years in succession on the same ground. 



" Alternate and vary the culture." 



The A. jiavipes may be found on the purple as well as on the 

 Dutch Clover. 



