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times when they leave their holes, much damage may be 
prevented by the destruction of the perfect insects before 
they have time to lay eggs. A year or two ago, a friend 
called my attention to a small grub, which was eating the 
corks of his wine bottles, and doing considerable damage by 
boring holes through the corks and letting out the wine. 
The grub was the larva of a small beetle, Mycetsea hirta, 
and I reared some of the beetles from the larvse in one or 
two corks. The perfect insects emerge early in June, and 
I think if the wine cellar in such a case were well white- 
washed at that time, when the insects are on the ceiling 
and walls, they would be destroyed ; and if the corks were 
covered well with sealing wax, one or two seasons would be 
sufficient to banish this beetle altogether from the place. 
I may just remark that I think it would be quite worth 
the trouble of every one to know some little of the appear- 
ance and habits of the beetles usually found in houses, if for 
no other reason than to preserve their property. A wasp 
destroyed in the spring is the destruction of what would be 
a wasps’ nest in the autumn ; in like manner, the capture 
of a small beetle on a window may prevent the destruction 
of a valuable cabinet, or the injury of an entire library. 
April 20th, 1868. 
J. Baxendell, F.RA.S., in the Chair. 
Mr. Charles Bailey read a paper “On Some of the 
Characteristic Plants of the Channel Islands,” and exhibited 
a large collection of specimens. 
[This paper was afterwards read at the annual meeting 
of the Society, held on the 28th of April, 1868. See p. 194] 
