in chilly mornings, the beetles are comparatively sluggish and inactive, and some chance 

 is then afforded of hand-picking and destroying them. A good quantity of fowls, allowed, 

 at this time, the run of the vineyard, has also been tried with success. We have not 

 heard of their being affected by any parasite. 



They are much more abundant some seasons than others, which may probably be due 

 to some atmospheric influences favorable or otherwise to the continuance of their lives,. 

 Mr. James Dougall, of Windsor, says that a few years ago they were very destructive to' 

 his vines, but within the last two or three years he has only noticed a stray one now and 

 then. Mr. J. Pettit, of Grimsby, Ontario, states that in the spring of 1869 he saw the 

 flea beetle in the vineyard of Mr. W. W. Kitchen, eating the buds of his vines ; they were 

 numerous, but Mr. Kitchen afterwards said they did but little harm. Mr. D. W. Beadle, 

 of St. Catharines, says : — " I have seen it on my grounds in the perfect and larval state, 

 but only to search it out and kill it, and now it is two years since I have seen it here." 

 In our own locality it has never proved very troublesome* but with Mr. Ohas. Arnold, of 

 Paris, it has been very destructive, not so much, however, of late, as it was some two or 

 three years since. Mr. Arnold had a quantity of the Virginia creeper growing on his 

 grounds, which he thought afforded it a convenient and undisturbed harbor. This he 

 destroyed, and since then has not found the beetle so troublesome. We have not been 

 able to learn of its occurrence in Quebec. 



No. 10. — The Grape Seed Insect (Tsosoma vitis, Saunders). The accompanying 

 Fig. 48. figure 48, although not belonging to Isosoma 



vitis, belongs to a species of Isosoma so closely 

 resembling it that it would require careful 

 scrutiny to distinguish between them, and will 

 give a very good idea of its general appearance, 

 as seen under a magnifying power, (a) Repre- 

 sents the female, (b) the male, (c) the antennae- 

 of the female, (d) the antennae of the male (e)- 

 the abdomen of the female enlarged, showing 

 the segments or rings of the body, (/*) that of 

 the male. The short hair lines under the 

 figures of the perfect insects show their natural 

 size. 



When we first observed this insect in 1868, it 

 promised, judging from what we then saw, to be- 

 a very destructive and troublesome foe to grape 

 culture, and had it increased in the proportion 

 that many other insects do, its efforts would by 

 this time have occasioned great alarm. But it has wisely been ordered otherwise. Either 

 climatic influences, or some other unseen and unknown power has been unfavorable to 

 its continuance and propagation, so that it has almost disappeared at present from our 

 midst; possibly the cold and wet season of 1869 has had something to do with bringing 

 about this result. Although diligent search was made last year, we failed to find any 

 traces of its presence ; and this year our efforts in this direction have happily been equally 

 fruitless, but we learn from our esteemed friend, Rev. R,, Burnett, of Hamilton, that it has 

 occurred in that neighborhood this summer. He says "in some bunches there would be 

 two or three, and as high as eight or ten berries affected. I noticed the damage first by 

 the apparent early ripening of the berries, while the others were green, with no visible 

 appearance of maturity. The exposure these vines had was altogether in favor of the 

 propagation of the insect, due south, under shelter from the north of an eight feet board 

 fence. The place was warm as an oven. Nor was this the only place where the seed 

 insect was found. I examined the vines of several of my neighbors, and found them less 

 or more affected." 



Having been unable to accumulate any new facts or details regarding its history or 

 habits, and seeing we want to present here a complete account as far as we can of the 

 insects found injuring the grape with us, we cannot do better than quote from our former 



