134 
( 
TAKES. 
Tare Weevil. Ajrion pomojice, Fab. 
1, Distorted flower head of V. sativa infested by the “ Weevil ”; 2, seed pod 
showing injuries inflicted by it; 3 and 4, “Weevil,” A. pomonce, nat. size and 
magnified. 
On the 15th of July in the past season the following communi¬ 
cation was sent to me, with specimens of the infestation accompanying, 
by Mr. A. Hamlin, of Chellowes Park, Lingfield, Surrey:—“I here¬ 
with forward you a few heads of Tares, infested with maggot, taken 
from an eight-acre piece, the whole of which is equally bad. As this 
is a very common pest in this neighbourhood, recurring rather 
frequently, I thought perhaps you might know its natural history, 
and probably be in a position to recommend a remedy, so that we 
might endeavour to lessen or exterminate it.” 
The heads of the Tares were variously affected by the attack. In 
some instances a portion of the blossoms had expanded, or were 
expanding, apparently quite rightly, but just beyond them the buds were 
stunted so as to form nothing but a terminal deformed bunch composed 
of stunted calyces, with sometimes minute embryos of flower and 
ovary within, sometimes some minute stunted leaves mixed with them. 
These deformed flowers varied very much in size, and whereas the 
calyces of the healthy blossoms were over half an inch in length, 
those forming the diseased bunches were often from about a quarter 
down to only about an eighth of an inch in length. 
