The Apple- Blossom Weevil. 207 



trees, also in the lichenous and mossy growths upon their 

 branches, as well as under stones and rubbish beneath and 

 around the trees, and possibly in many other refuges. They 

 also pass the winter under the bark of other trees, as they 

 have been found upon oaks during the summer. 



Circumstances of the Attack. 



According to the natural and unfailing instinct of insects, 

 the weevils do not appear until the weather is mild and the 

 flower-buds have begun to swell. If the season is, and 

 continues, warm, the effects of the attack are usually of a 

 comparatively slight character. But should the weather be 

 cold and changeable, as is so often the case in Great Britain, 

 and in the northern and western parts of France, the flower- 

 buds are slowly developed, so that the weevils have time to 

 lay their full complement of eggs, and the period of hatching 

 is accomplished before the buds have become full flowers. 



The varieties of apple trees which blossom very early and 

 very late are more likely to escape the attacks of the weevil 

 than those of the main crop which come into blossom late 

 in May in ordinary seasons. 



Remedies and Methods of Prevention. 



A method of prevention adopted in France and strongly 

 recommended by M. Petit, is to spray the limbs and branches 

 of apple trees between October and February with a solution 

 of sulphate of iron, in order to destroy the lichens and mosses 

 which serve as harbours for the weevils and other insects.* 

 M. Petit's receipt for this solution is one pound of sulphate 

 of iron to one gallon of water. This can be sent up among 

 the branches by means of a strong garden engine with a 

 powerful pump. 



A most excellent way of killing lichens and mosses on fruit 

 trees, adopted in Kent, is to throw freshly slaked powdered 

 lime over the branches in foggy weather in winter. This is 

 done by men having scoops like flour scoops fastened to 

 poles. 



* This treatment with sulphate of iron would materially benefit the trees by clearing 

 them of lichenous and mossy growths. 



