40 
NOTES OF OBSERVATIONS 
not only on ground recently replanted, but also in several isolated 
cases where a crop of timber had not formerly been grown. The 
Weevil also attached several plants of Picea Lasiocarpa in a pinetum 
that had recently been formed on the estate. Mr. Wilkie observes 
Hylobius Abietis. 
that, as far as his personal experience goes, the best method of 
preventing the propagation of this insect is carefully to cut down all 
dying trees and remove them (and all other old wasting timber), and 
burn or otherwise destroy them. Hand-picking is not very successful, 
as the Beetles drop from the trees on disturbance. Mr. Wilkie 
observes that all the plants to which “ Messrs. Davidson’s com¬ 
position” had been applied (to keep off rabbits) had been quite free from 
Weevil attack. Mr. M‘Laren, Hopetoun, East Lothian, also notices 
the difficulty of doing any good by hand-picking in consequence of the 
Beetles feigning death on disturbance and falling to the ground, where 
from their greyish colour they are difficult of observation, and mentions 
the best cure in this case was to set boys to pick them into wide- 
moutlied bottles and destroy them. Mr. McLaren mentions that in 
the first attack of this Beetle, which came under his notice some years 
ago at Lennoxlowe, in East Lothian, their attacks were chiefly directed 
against the Larch (in the first June after they were planted), com¬ 
mencing at the ground and stripping the plants of their bark, thereby 
causing the death of a considerable number before the real cause was 
discovered. To prevent the attack recurring the Beetles were traced 
to their breeding places (old Firs lying on the ground), and these were 
burned. Mr. W. Robertson, writing from Blinkbonny, Earlston, 
mentions that the H. abietis has again been present on the plantations 
this season, and considers that where planting has to be done on a 
large scale, and the Beetle is present to any extent, the best plan is to 
take out as many of the old roots as possible, burn all the rubbish that 
is lying about, and graze the ground with cattle for three or four years 
