EXTRACTS OF PROCEEDINGS. lxV 



for the last ten years. Paris green or London purple (arsenical 

 preparations) were suggested as the best remedies, fumigating 

 being difficult in so large a place. 



Ceratitis citripcrda (McLeay, 1829). — Mr. Henslow gave 

 some account of the Orange fly, which has become very trouble- 

 some in Malta. He also exhibited specimens of the grubs, 

 pupae, and insects. It first appeared about fifteen years ago, but 

 has increased to a very injurious extent during the last three 

 years. A committee was appointed in 1889 by H.E. the late 

 Governor of Malta, who have just issued a report (which 

 will be published shortly in the Kew Bulletin). The fly per- 

 forates the half-ripe Orange, arid lays several eggs within it. 

 This causes the fruit to fall prematurely. The larva finally 

 escapes, and enters the ground to pass into the pupa stage. It 

 is suggested that preventive measures should be taken at this 

 period, first by collecting all fruits attacked, and mashing them 

 up with water in a tank. Secondly, the surface of the ground 

 should be sprinkled with a mixture of one part of sulphate of 

 iron, finely powdered, to twenty-four parts of dry earth or sand, 

 and subsequently slightly watered. An account of this insect 

 (under the name Ceratitis capitata) will be found in the 

 Gardeners' Chronicle of 1848, page 604, at which period it caused 

 great damage to Oranges received from St. Michael's. In Malta 

 it particularly attacks the Mandarine (Citrus nobilis). Cold and 

 inclement weather is very unfavourable to the fly, which becomes- 

 much more abundant in a hot dry season. 



Cerambyx miles, L. — Mr. Henslow showed specimens of 

 Pear roots bored by this longicorn beetle ; also the grubs and 

 insects from Malta, where it is causing great damage to many 

 fruit trees. The only remedy suggested was the well-known 

 one of spearing. In Malta, however, the beetles attack the roots 

 rather than the stems, so that the difficulty of reaching them is 

 greatly increased, as the only sign of their presence may be a 

 feebleness in the upper part of the tree, and the branches decay- 

 ing, when the tree may be already past recovery. The greatest 

 difficulty, however, is to overcome the apathy of the cultivators 

 themselves. It is not British, but common in the Mediterranean 

 region. 



Delphinium diseased. — Some leaves were sent by Mr. 

 Haywood, of Eeigate, apparently attacked by a fungus. They 



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