110 PKAS. 



"some beetles which have caused sad havoc with the early Pea crop 

 in this market garden district." Somewhat later, on the 13th of May, 

 Mr. CoUinson Hall further mentioned: — "In this district a large 

 quantity of the earliest Peas have been nearly destroyed. I have had 

 to plough up eight acres, and I find another piece whicli is heavily 

 manured is looking better, and now getting the better of this pest, 

 for they seem to have left this piece, and are now on the early Broad 

 Beans, and it looks as if they like this crop best, for all the leaves, as 

 well as the stock, are perforated and turning black. I have tried soot 

 and also lime, but they are as numerous as ever." 



From Doggetts, Kochford, also in Essex, the following communi- 

 cation as to unusual amount of prevalence of this attack was sent me 

 at the beginning of May, by Mr. W. Meesom. The weevils, of which 

 specimens were sent, were mentioned as " causing great injury to our 

 blue Pea plants ' just coming up.' Some of the earlier sown fields are 

 apparently quite destroyed by them, eaten quite off. Have been a 

 large grower of Peas for many years, but have never lost the plant 

 from this cause before. No doubt you will be able to inform me if this 

 insect is a fresh importation that we have to contend with." This 

 note was sent on the 2nd of May. 



Various communications were sent during the month of May by 

 Mr. W. Dannatt, of Margaret's Woods, Great Waltham, Chelmsford, 

 relatively to this attack, and to some serviceable notice of its unusual 

 prevalence, in the local press. 



Mr. Dannatt's first observations, sent on May 4th, were as follows : 

 — " I send some specimens of a weevil which are causing great 

 destruction to the Peas in this neighbourhood. I have twenty-five 

 acres of early sown Telegraphs, some plants of which I also send, 

 which you will observe are well rooted and perfectly healthy, but com- 

 pletely mastered by this pest. And if I am not troubling you too 

 much I shall be very much obliged if you will give me some infor- 

 mation respecting them, viz., whether the Peas are likely to overcome 

 them should warm growing weather set in ? Are they likely to 

 continue to attack them up to the time of picking ? If left are they 

 likely to increase and become a pest in future years?" — (W. D.) 

 (These questions, which are all important practically, I attended to 

 to the best of my power at the time, and they will be found noticed a 

 few pages further on, under the head of "prevention and remedies."— 

 Ed.) 



On the 10th of May, amongst other points, Mr. Dannatt noted, 

 with regard to possibilities of difficulties of cultivation in the previous 

 autumn having left much of the winter shelter of the weevils 

 untouched, that this " would not apply in this case, as the land was 

 steam cultivated in September 8 inches deep, followed by steam 



