1888.] E. C. Cotes— Exhibits Bice and Wheat Weevils. 153 



" But everywhere, even in Delili, what a falling off is there in the 

 matter of old coins ? It is true there are such things in the bazaars, but 

 nothing really fine is now obtainable ; everything has long since been 

 nipped up. And now-a-days with the bazaars inundated with globe- 

 trotters who buy anything and everything at fabulous prices, it is a 

 wonder I obtained anything. I still think, however, that if a great effort 

 were made, a really good collection of coins might even yet be made for 

 the Imperial Museum in Calcutta. My success last year and this seems 

 to show that in places off the rail, there are still coins obtainable. 



" In Amritsar and Lahore nothing seems to have turned up during 

 the past year. I hope, however, to have more of a find of silver coins 

 of Mahmud of Ghazni, made at Pindi or its neighbourhood during the past 

 year. The coins may have come from Kabul. I hear there are many 

 new types. 



" Besides coins I obtained impressions of inscriptions of about twenty 

 Sultans of Dehli. Several are of Balban, one of 'Alau-d-din Masa'ud 

 Shah, many of Babar and Humayiin and of the time of Sikandar and 

 Ibrahim Lodi. I made also a collection of sculptures and of carved bricks 

 for the Lahore Museum. I came across many Jain images of great 

 beauty and execution and the ruins of many Jain or Hindu temples. My 

 five draftsmen have made some beautiful drawings of images and pillars, 

 &c." 



Mr. E. C. Cotes exhibited specimens of theWheat and Rice Weevils 

 and made the following remarks upon them : — 



I have brought some specimens of weevilled wheat and rice here 

 to-night which I thought might be of interest to the Society. 



According to Messrs. Ralli Brothers of Calcutta this weevil destroys 

 an average of 2^ per cent, of Indian wheat, which represents an annual loss 

 of £150,000 in exported wheat alone, and that this is not an excessive 

 estimate is shown by the fact that the Delhi wheat merchants, from 

 whom careful inquiries have been made, estimate the damage in some 

 cases at as much as eight or ten seers per maund. And in two of the 

 samples I have brought here to-night, which were taken at random from 

 the wheat godowns in Calcutta last January, you will see the refrac- 

 tion due to weevil is estimated by the trade at 2 and 5 per cent, re- 

 spectively. 



I need hardly say that this is a very serious matter, especially now 

 that India has entered into competition with America and Russia for 

 supplying the world with wheat. 



In America and Europe this weevil is known and is called the 

 " Rice weevil" (to distinguish it from the allied European wheat weevf 

 Calandra granaria) ; it is, however, very sensitive to cold, and consequently 



