6 
BEANS. 
Bean Beetle ; Seed Beetle. Bruchus granarius, Linn. 
Bruchus granarius. 
1 and 2, Bruchus granarius , nat. size and magnified ; 3, infested Bean ; 4 and 5, 
maggots ; 6 and 7, pupse, nat. size and magnified; 8, Bean injured by beetle, 
vegetating; 9 and 10, Bruchus pisi, nat. size and magnified ; 11, injured Pea. 
The Bruchi are small, thick-made beetles, rarely above the sixth of 
an inch long, which feed in the maggot-state inside the seeds of Beans, 
Peas, and other leguminous plants, and thus do damage both by 
wasting the material of the seed and also by weakening the young 
plant, which is thus robbed of the food which would have given it a 
good start at the time of germination or first sprouting. The injury 
is, of course, of more or less importance, according to the amount of 
the cotyledons, or future “ seed-leaves,” which are eaten away. 
The following inquiry regards some points of interest in the history 
of the Bean Bruchus :— 
“ Having just received some Beans (of which the enclosed are a 
sample), I am anxious to know if the insect which infests them— 
which, I am told, is the ‘Bean Weevil’—is injurious to the germ, 
deficiency in calcareous constituents which different soils exhibit. Speaking 
generally, however, two tons may be used with safety, and in many instances a 
heavier dressing will not be amiss. 
“The proper time for application is autumn, or during the winter months, when 
vegetation is at a standstill. 
“On arable land gas-lime should be applied to the stubble spread out evenly, and 
left exposed to the air before ploughing up for three or four weeks. On grass-land 
it should be spread during the months of December or January, or at any rate 
before vegetation is making a fresh start.”—‘ On the composition and use of Gas- 
lime in Agriculture,’ by Dr. Aug. Yoelcker, p. 4. 
