430 Original Articles. [Julys 



who recognize it as abnormal not a few, as it seems, put it down to the 

 pecking of birds, or the bites of slugs. The following woodcut will 

 explain the nature of the injuries we are describing. 



Our Fig. 2 represents a much eaten leaf, 

 but in some the parts are so evenly eroded as 

 to cause them at first sight to appear to be the 

 natural toothing of the leaf. A little reflection 

 will, however, show us that we have no ex- 

 amples of leaves so escalloped (not to be con- 

 founded with cremations, which consist of a 

 series of outward and not inward marginal 

 curves). In some instances the whole leaf is 

 destroyed, until indeed the plant ceases to 

 live, as it has been the case with my garden 

 crops ; and this year my field crop has suffered 

 a loss of about one half. I counted as many 



Fig. 2. — Pea Leaves eaten by ne • j. j. p ± i? ±i. i ran j. 



the Pea-weevil. as 25 insects to a loot oi the row, or lboU to 



every chain in length, and Curtis asserts that 

 " in the year 1844, they were universally distributed and ate off the 

 second and third solving ;" and he further adds, that " some very 

 naturally accused the sparrows ; traps were set for rats and mice ; lime 

 strewed for slugs and snails ; and toads were encouraged to extirpate 

 wood-lice; but still the crops kept disappearing, as none of these 

 precautions affected the wary enemy in his coat of mail." 



It is now time to describe the nature of so mischievous a creature, 

 which belongs to the order Coleoptera, family Curculionidae, genus Sito- 

 nia (Curculio). Of this there are two species which attack our peas, 

 beans, clovers, and other Papilionaceae, namely : — 



Sitonia lineata (Linn.), the Striped Pea Weevil. 



Sitonia crinita (Olivier), the Spotted Pea Weevil. 



These vary in size from two to three lines, the latter being some- 

 what less than the former ; they are both brownish externally, much 

 of the colour of the soil. The S. crinita appears darker and some- 

 times almost black when the greyish scales are worn off the Elytra, — 

 otherwise they are much alike, and behave so similarly, that a descrip- 

 tion of S. lineata may serve for both. 



It is of an earthy colour ; is more or less elongated into an ellip- 

 tical or oval shape. They may be seen sometimes in threes and fours 

 on the edges of the leaves making the notches, as shown in the wood- 

 cut, and when these are present in the crop, the creatures will soon be 

 detected in the act of feeding, if cautiously approached ; if not, they 

 fall off and disappear beneath the clods of earth, where they feign 

 death, until all sign of danger has passed away. 



Where the creatures are bred is at present a mystery, but I sus- 

 pect that this operation takes place on wild Papilionaceae, from which 

 they migrate to their more pleasant food of peas, and it would appear 

 that the more delicate of these are the favoured food of this mischiev- 

 ous creature. 



In my own crop, not having enough of the early Warwick — a fine 

 white pea —the headland was drilled with a grey pea, the nine pod ; 



