F. W. SILVESTEE-EEPOET ON INSECTS. 
135 
Mr. Willis of Harpenden thus writes, in 1888, with regard to it: 
“ Attention was frequently called in the spring of this year to 
samples of beans and peas badly infested by the beetle BrucJms 
rufimanus. A sample of Aquadolce broad beans, which was 
examined by myself, contained 45 per cent, of beetle-infested 
seeds, and a sample of Seville long pods contained 20 5 per cent, 
of injured seeds. As an experiment these were put into common 
paraffin oil and allowed to remain for a few hours; when taken 
out every beetle was dead, and could be shaken from the beans. 
The seeds were afterwards planted, and in nearly every instance 
grew and produced a satisfactory crop. Thus while the paraffin 
kills the beetles it does not injure the germinating powers of the 
seed.” Mr. George Street tried the following remedial measures. 
He dressed his beans before sowing with one pound of vitriol, one 
pint of MacDougall’s sewage carbolic, and six quarts of water to 
six bushels of beans, and found the result successful. In Canada, 
where greater attention is paid to the destruction of crop pests 
than with us, Miss Ormerod reports: “It is a common custom, 
where they have infested beans, to get very large vats and put the 
seed in them, then to place in them tubes containing bi-sulphide 
of carbon, the scent of which passes out through perforations in 
the tubes and kills the insects.” 
Mr. B. T. Andrews, writing from Hertford last June, sends to 
me the following note:—“I send to you by this post a small tin 
box containing about three pairs of beetles and some eggs upon 
asparagus. They are devastating our asparagus beds about here 
this year. I shall have to cut all my asparagus off, and either 
burn it or scald it, and even then I fear I shall find the beetles 
again next year.” The specimens were the asparagus-beetle 
(Crioceris asparagi). Sprinkling the plants with a mixture of soft 
soap, flowers of sulphur, and soot is a good remedy. So also is the 
application of dry soot, or strewing the plants with unslacked lime 
in the early morning. 
Mr. Beckett sends this interesting note from the gardens, Alden- 
ham House:—“ Selandria JEthiops, commonly called ‘pear saw-fly’ 
or ‘slimy grub,’ during the past two seasons has been very numerous 
and troublesome on the pear trees in the gardens here. It first 
makes its appearance early in July, and, if allowed to go unchecked, 
the grub continues to feed on the upper surface of the leaves till 
the end of September, and quickly destroys all the foliage. In 
this stage it is very much like a small black slug, and during the 
daytime appears to be lifeless. I tried many advised remedies such 
as powered quick-lime, soot, and hellebore powder, but found none 
so effectual as a strong solution of tobacco-water and soft soap, 
applied in a warm state with a syringe and washed off half an hour 
afterwards with clean soft water. If thoroughly done, none of the 
grubs will survive.” 
A feature of the season was the unusual abundance of white 
aborted ears in wheat, but the cause of this malady cannot yet be 
regarded as satisfactorily settled. 
