2 
CABBAGE, ETC. 
near the surface and the land is dryest. . . . The soil has been well 
treated,—autumn cultivated after wheat, and about 4 cwt. per acre of 
salt sown on the fallow, beside superphosphate and guano when the 
seed was drilled. . . . The Earwigs can only be seen by moving the 
soil around the plants from ^ in. to 3 in. deep.” 
On the 13th Mr. Long mentioned :—“ I have heard from various 
quarters that on chalk formations— very generally —the Earwigs have 
greatly injured the Turnip, Mangold, and Kohl Eabi crops.” Also 
that on tlmt day when he went to search for specimens he could not 
find a single Earwig, even under the plants which were almost 
destroyed by them, nor under any of the others, although at the 
previous date of writing there were from six to ten under every plant 
searched. Mr. Long suggests the possibility “ that they have pene¬ 
trated further into the dry chalk, out of the way of the rain and damp 
mould, than my searching reached to, although I searched much 
deeper than I previously found them. I can in no way account either 
for their appearance or their sudden and complete disappearance from 
all the fields.” 
On Aug. 10th I was favoured by the following observations from the 
Hon. Mrs. Cecil Howard as to the prevalence of the same kind of 
Earwig [F, borealis) in the neighbourhood of Grreat Missenden, 
Bucks :— 
“We are troubled by what I can call by no other name than a 
plague of Earwigs, and I wish to know whether this has been reported 
to you, as the whole country round appears to be in the same case. 
Last week w^e transplanted some Thousand-headed Kale (planted about 
six acres), and they did well during the showery weather, and appeared 
strong. During the last three days these have been completely eaten 
off, and no fly can be seen, only Earwigs. I do not know if they can 
have eaten them. The part where the Kale was seeded, and from 
where it was transplanted, does not appear at present to be attacked.” 
On application for any details as to method of manuring or other 
treatment, which might show some reason for the appearance of the 
Earwigs, the following information was forwarded :— 
“ This piece of ground, as it lies nearly on the top of one of our 
hills, has only been manured by sheep (ewes) being penned on it 
during the winter and early spring, when the weather permitted ; they 
were only fed on roots and mixed corn chiefly grown on the farm, so 
that would be unlikely to bring insects. This farm is 300 acres, and 
the men, who have been for the last month Turnip-hoeing and doing 
those sort of jobs, report Earwigs everywhere, where they disturb the 
ground. We first noticed them on the silo-rick we made of Clover 
seeds and Sanfoin : nojie of that ground had been manured, and when 
the wires that go over the rick were tightened they came out of the 
