OBSEKVATIONS IN ENGLAND. 131 



upon these plants, and fed upon the Aphides. So thickly have they 

 swarmed upon these fruit stocks, that our men in budding them have 

 been frequently stung. We do not know of any operations having to 

 be suspended in consequence of Wasps, and the only other serious 

 interruption that we have heard of has been by the occasional plough- 

 ing up of a nest. Our own men did this once or twice, and in one 

 case, the nest being a strong one, caused the horses to bolt, in conse- 

 quence of the stings. 



" The only remedy that we have tried, has been the destroying of 

 the nests by either tar or cyanide of potassium. 



" While upon the subject of Wasps, I may mention that we found 

 in our nursery a fine specimen of the Tree Wasp [Vespa norve/jica), 

 which had built their nest upon a branch of Norway Spruce. I 

 enclose a photograph of the nest." — (J. C.) 



Estate Office, Maresfield Ptirk, near Uckfield, Sussex. Mr. Mark 

 Sandford, with whom I was also in communication regarding attack 

 of Kose Chafer grubs (see p. 26), contributed notes of great numbers 

 of nests being observed, and very serious damage to fruit, as follows : 

 — "In reply to your enquiry as to Wasps, I should think three hundred 

 nests have probably been taken near us, say on three hundred acres of 

 land. I have heard of no hanging nests. Heavy losses have been 

 sustained, as some best fruits have been utterly eaten up ; all our 

 Peaches were eaten before they were ripe, we could not ripen a single 

 one. All our out-door Grapes were eaten, and many of our best eating 

 Apples cleared out, leaving only the peeling. 



" Our men have taken many nests with torches made of gunpowder 

 and tar, put in the holes, and set alight." — (M. S.) 



At Hollycombe, Sussex (post town, Liphook), the severity of the 

 attack was still greater. I am indebted for the following contribution 

 of information regarding this, which I think was about the worst of 

 all the cases reported in presence of nests, besides damage to men and 

 horses, to Mr. T. P. Newman, of Hazelhurst, Haslemere, who procured 

 it for me, and wrote : — " Mr. J. Clark Hawkshaw, of Hollycombe, 

 Sussex, reports that his bailiff has paid sixpence each for three hundred 

 and seventy-six Wasps* nests taken within half a mile of his kitchen 

 garden : an additional payment was made afterwards for ninety-four 

 more, some within the half-mile, and the remainder a little further 

 away : four hundred and seventy in all. The damage to fruit, and 

 especially to Grapes in the houses, was very great. 



" Ploughing was stopped on one occasion, twenty nests being 

 ploughed up in one field, and both horses and men were badly stung." 

 — (T. P. N.) 



Oxfordshire. — Kidmore Grange, Caversham. The following few 

 lines, with which I was favoured by Mr. Martin J. Sutton, from the 



k2 



