OBSERVED m HERTFORDSHIRE IH 1888. 
137 
hood of "Watford, and I can add that nearly all the oaks near my 
house were greatly damaged, and a total failure of the acorn crop 
was the result. Where practicable shaking the branches has a good 
effect in ridding oak trees of these destructive insects. In the case 
of young trees, drenching by means of a large garden-engine with 
washes of soft soap, sulphur, and gas-water might be tried with 
advantage. 
It may be interesting to mention in passing the enormous loss 
caused to owners of vineyards by another species of leaf-rollers, the 
Pyralis rostralis , which is also very destructive to the hops. In 
the department of Saone et Loire, in Prance, in ten years alone, 
the ravages of the pyralis caused a total loss of 34,000,000 francs, or 
£1,360,000. The only safe course is to pluck off the leaves laden 
with eggs, and burn them, or bury them in deep holes. 
Mr. J. J. Willis reports the following first appearances, and the 
subsequent interesting notes :— 
“Harpenden, 1888.— Timarcha Icevigata (bloody-nosed beetle), 
April 17th; Lampyris nodiluca (glow-worm), July 8th; Apis 
mellifica (honey-bee), at work, March 15th; Vespa vulgaris 
(common wasp), May 8th; Pieris Brassicce (large white butterfly), 
April 13th; Pieris Rapes (small white butterfly), April 30th; 
Anthocharis Cardamines (orange-tip butterfly), June 1st; Bibio 
Marci (St. Mark’s fly), April 16th. 
“ Chlorops tceniopus .—An observer from Cirencester told me (Mr. 
Willis says) that many fields of barley in that neighbourhood had 
been seriously attacked by the gout-grub; and in August it was 
thought that some of these would scarcely be worth the cutting. 
Together, we examined some fields of barley at Rothamsted, and 
lound that the gout-grub was present there also, but not to any 
serious extent. When one is made acquainted with the disease, the 
affected plants are easily distinguished by the sickly and imper¬ 
fectly-formed seed-spike and the swollen stem where the small 
grub is located.” 
‘ ‘ Mangold-wurzel crops.—In an experimental field at Rothamsted, 
where mangolds have been grown year after year for thirteen years 
in succession, both without manure and with various descriptions 
of manure, a somewhat curious fact was this year brought into 
prominence. During recent years it has always been most difficult 
to secure a good plant of mangolds wherever ammonia salts formed 
part of the manurial supply. This was thought to be due to the 
exhaustion of the organic matter of the soil caused by the constant 
removal of the root-crops. In the present season, however, while 
the remaining part of the field failed to produce a plant, even under 
the most favourable conditions as to manure, the plots receiving 
ammonia salts or nitrate of soda gave an almost full crop. The 
previous failure of plants on this portion of the field is now thought 
to be due to insect injury.” 
Mr. Willis also sends notice of what he considers a new potato 
disease, affecting potatoes left out on the ground. I am inclined, 
however, to think that the worm-like creatures noticed as present 
