Ferns and Fern Culture. 127 
being no other way of dealing with them. Another 
pest which, during the last few years, has made itself 
very obnoxious to cultivators of plants, is a weevil, dark- 
coloured and very hard, with roundish body, head pro- 
longed, antennz bent, and slow in its movements. These 
creatures are very destructive to hardy Ferns particularly 
Scolopendriums. They hide during the day, and at 
night they feed upon the fronds, eating holes in them 
and pieces out. The greatest mischief, however, is done 
by the larve—white, legless grubs, which work their 
way among the roots, eating every one they come to, 
Plants are seen to be drooping, and on examination it 
is found they are quite loose, the roots underneath being 
almost completely sheared off. This is only discovered 
when the mischief is done, and so far there does not 
appear to be any way of destroying these pests apart 
from catching them. To accomplish this, the matured 
insect must be sought for by candlelight ; but this must 
be done very quietly and expeditiously, as the moment 
the weevils see the light they drop to the ground, remain 
perfectly motionless, and it is almost impossible to find 
them. When a plant has been eaten during some night, 
the culprit may occasionally be found the next day 
carefully hidden away in the crown, or in a hole near, so 
that it is always well to be on the look-out. When 
plants are being repotted there should be a sharp look- 
out kept for the larve ; they are easily seen, being white. 
The eggs, also, may be found in clusters in the soil, and, 
of course, should be treated in the same manner the 
more developed larve are when they are caught. 
Although the insects which are troublesome to the 
cultivator of Ferns are so numerous, they may be kept 
down very easily by taking them in hand as soon as they 
make their appearance. It is when they are allowed to 
increase, without efforts to restrict them being put forth, 
that they become so difficult to deal with. 
