T know to the contraiy, the school-boy's old remedy of I'esuscitating drowned flies 
by covering them up with salt and exposing them to the rays of the sun might 
prove eflfective, only I have my doubts as to the effect of damp salt on lai-val 
surfaces. 
Starvation. This may depend on defective supply of food, or the use of an 
impi-oijer diet, or the presence of excess or deficiency of light, as the case may be, 
may cause the subject of it to sulk and pine away. The treatment is, generally 
speaking, obvious enough, but sometimes we find larvae feeding well enough for a 
time on some particular kind of food, and then unaccountably falling oiF their 
appetite ; under such circumstances change of diet should be tried, ventilation, &c., 
should be attended to, light (and even in some cases, rays of the sun) should be 
admitted ; rinsing the food in fresh water, or exposing it to a shower of rain : and 
as many larvEe have a predilection for sweets, the food may be washed with syrup 
and allowed to dry, or sugar or treacle may be added to the contents of the water 
vessel with a view to imparting a flavour to the food ; in the latter case, however, 
we must be careful that the mixture become not mouldy or acetous. 
Surfeit. Many larvEe, especially such as are large and smooth, when per- 
mitted to gorge themselves with too juicy food, have a tendency, particularly when 
about three-quarters grown, to become dropsical and die. The remedy would 
appear to be to feed them on dry mature leaves gathered from bleak exposed 
situations, and moisture should be excluded from the cage. 
Cramp. A night passed on a cold surface is often sufficient to paralyse the 
pro-legs of larvae, especially of such as are young and tender ; under these circum- 
stances they are unable to retain their hold when placed upon their food : perhaps 
the best plan is to put them on some such surface as a piece of blotting paper, in 
a temperate situation, fresh leaves of the food-plant being strewn about within 
reach of the sufferer. 
Low Fever. Undoubtedly larvse sufier from a contagious disease very 
analogous to this. Some species are more liable to it than others, and it appears 
to be very fatal among the members of any affected batch, though apparently not 
communicable from one to another, and distinct, species. It is doubtless engen- 
dered by bad feeding, ill ventilation, proximity of decaying vegetable or animal 
matter, &c. ; the indications therefore are that these should be removed as early as 
possible, and the healthy larvas should be kept separate from those which show the 
slightest signs of the disease. The use of a small quantity of Condy's disinfecting 
fluid in the water vessel, too, could do no possible harm, and might prove beneficial. 
Somebody has suggested that immersion in cold water has a beneficial eflect in this 
disorder. 
Irritability. Some larvje are naturally of a waspish, irritable disposition, 
biting and striking violently at anything or any other larvae which may cross their 
path or come in contact with them ; others become ill-tempered dui-ing, and for a 
short time after, their moults, when the skin appears to be very sensitive ; or this 
irritable state may be due to the recent sting of ichneumons, the presence of 
acari, &c., requiring our attention. Larvse thus aficcted should be kept as little 
crowded as possible, and, indeed, if necessary, confined in separate cages. 
