, period of egg-laying 

 at the beginning of the season. It has been stated of the Indian weevil 

 (33), ''insects of the above class multiply rapidly in times of protracted 

 " drought, and it is during such periods of abnormal weather that they 

 " commit the greatest amount of mischief." 



An infested tree shows at first little or no signs of injury, uidess the 

 points at which eggs are laid are discoverable by a skilful observer. 

 The Commissioners' report says that "by careful observation small 

 " holes may be discovered with a ' > them, but by 



" that time the larvae have attained considerable -i/e and have eaten 

 " their way far into the heart of the tree " (26). Mr. Ridley says of the 

 Indian weevil :—" It works entirely inside the tree, and makes little or 

 '« no external marks. By listening at the side of the tree the grub can 

 " be heard gnawing the wood. But usually the withering and fall of 

 " the central shoot is the first sign that r.nylhiug is wrong. In some 

 " cases a tree exudes a shiny liquid, having an unpleasant -our smell, 

 " which is a sign of serious damage "(30). To listen for the grub feeding 

 may be more practical than it sounds ; the ear should be placed against 

 the tree, or against the end of a piece of seasoned deal, used like a 

 stethoscope, with its other end on the trunk. Another account of the same 

 insect, evidently from the pen of a careful observer, states that " if 

 " the beads of the trees are frequently inspected by skilful beetle 

 " searchers many trees may be saved by cutting out fhe grubs, their 

 " presence being known by the searcher eitht r linding a cocoon in 



allv, by noticing slight wo 

 so) oftl 



« skin (if 1 might call it so) of the leaf spike, which a 



" made by the grub iu eatiug the soft pithy mass through which it 



" pushes its way" (27). 



The origin of the small holes exuding gum, to which the Commis- 

 sioners refer, is not clear, unless they are due to the grub having 

 accidentally broken through the rind at that point. That the larva* 

 do occasionally penetrate the rind slightly is shown from the last 

 account quoted, and from the good effects which sometimes a t least 

 have been found to follow the application of salt or lime to the head of 

 the trees, which pre-uaiabK act- by i- ;n 1 1 i n _r tin grubs through wounds 

 in the silicious surface. There is just a possibility of the small holes 

 being made by other insects attracted to a sickly tree ; and this point 

 and the character of the external signs of injury, are worthy the 

 attention of a naturalist who has had previous experience of the" work 

 of internal-feeding insects. Mr. Mickey mentions that after a rainy 

 spell of a few days he has noticed a golden-coloured glue or sap 

 running out of some of the trees, but he tailed to mid any borers in them 



enormous quantity 



