LEGUMINOUS CROPS. 13 



otter crops. It lays its eggs, in tlie spring, in the soft 

 young pods. After the hatching of the eggs, the larvse 

 (maggots) feed upon the fleshy cotyledons of the seed, but 

 often leave the germ and husk intact. Each seed contains 

 only one maggot, which ultimately turns to the pupal 

 state within the bean or pea (Fig. 2 E) ; where it (the 

 pupa) hibernates until the spring, when it becomes a 

 perfect insect. The beetle then escapes from its enclosure 

 by gnawing its way out. The body of the bean beetle is 

 about one-sixth of an inch long, of a black hue with various 

 white spots. The front legs are of a reddish colour. 



Cattle and other farm animals fed upon beans infested 

 with these insects are often seriously injured thereby. , 



Prevention. — (1) Infested seeds should not be sown. 

 They are distinguished from sound ones by having round- 

 ish marks (about the size of the larva, Eig. 2 0) more 

 or less transparent. Maggot-eaten seed always produces 

 sickly plants, easily liable to be attacked by parasitic 

 fungi as well as animal foes. (2) As bean beetles are 

 frequently found largely in foreign seeds, such seed 

 should be carefully examined during the winter months. 



Cure. — (1) " It is difficult to apply any remedy in the 

 field suitable to such a small insect ; but the use of spent 

 hops as a manure, which is found serviceable in other 

 cases of insect-attack, might be of use here." (2) Mr. W. 

 L. Wilson states that he found every insect dead after 

 treatment with a mixture of paraffin oil and water ; ten 

 parts of water to one of paraffin oil. An easy method of 

 application would be the setting of two empty " paraffin 

 barrels " on a stand, both fitted with a good large wooden 

 tap, which can be had for about 4d., whilst the empty 

 " paraffin barrels " are easily procured. The first barrel 

 should have one gallon of paraffin oil and ten of water 



