Reports to various Correspondents. 105 
defending the corks against the attacks of the insects. No larval 
of any kind were observed in the corks. The author then questions 
the correctness of Mr. Curtis’s suggestions as to the introduction of 
the Mycetcea into the cellar with hay and sawdust, in consequence 
of a circumstance mentioned in the original letters of Dr. Henderson 
to Mr. Curtis coinciding in a singular manner with the observations 
of Mr. Saunders, namely, that the attacks noticed by Dr. Henderson 
were confined exclusively to Rhenish wines and the rare Shiraz, and 
consequently that it may be inferred that the Mycetcea has a peculiar 
taste for these kinds of wines. Kirby and Spence (Introduction, 
vol. i. p. 246) mention the attack of White Ants upon a pipe of fine 
old Madeira for the sake of the staves, which were probably strongly 
imbued with the wine, and perhaps thus rendered more agreeable to 
the taste of the Termites, and hence it is probable that the saturation 
of the corks by these two peculiar wines rendered them more 
palatable to the insects, whilst, for some reason, the corks of the 
other wines remained untouched. Indeed, the corks of a lame stock 
of claret were injured, but only as far as that point where they 
remained free from all tincturing of the wine. These bottles were 
placed in the lowest range of bins in the cellars, and from the 
manner in which they were eaten, it appeared evident that the injury 
was caused by Blattce , which, however, evidently did not relish the 
tincture of the claret, although they will attack almost everything. 
An instance is mentioned where they devoured the whole inside of a 
lemon after a thin slice of the peel had been taken off, leaving only 
the pips and fibrous particles untouched. 
It w as stated, in conclusion, that it was the intention of Mr. 
Saunders s friend to try the effect of successive fumigation of the 
cellai, by sulphur, tor the purpose of destroying the insects which 
might still remain in the corks. 
In reference to Mr. Saunders’s paper, Colonel Sykes mentioned 
that the corks in his wine-cellar in London were, at the present time, 
attacked by the common Cockroach, and that it appeared that the 
insects preferred the corks of those wines which contained most 
sacchaiine matter. In India the Blattce had especially attacked the 
corks of his Malmsey and Constantia wine-bottles. 
Mi. Quickett, who was present as a visitor, mentioned that in 
Somersetshire Bleeps mortisaga attacked the corks of sweet currant 
wine-bottles. 
Mi. Sells noticed that the Blattce will also eat the corks in 
porter-bottles ; and Mr. Babington stated that he had found the larva 
(evidently that of a small Lepidopterous insect) in the cork of a port 
