THE GARDENING WORLD 
491 
.Time 17, 1905. 
INSECT PESTS 
in the GARDEN. 
I.—The Spotted Pea Weevil. 
About, the end of last month one of our 
readers sent us specimens of a weevil that 
was destroying - the foliage of Sweet Peas. 
There are really two species that injure plants 
in this way, but they moist often occur on the 
garden Pea. They are also guilty of injuring 
various other crops belonging to the Pea 
family, such as Beans and Clover, but these 
are most often grown as farm crops. 
The weevil which was sent us was Sitonia 
crinita, or the (Spotted Pea Weevil. This is 
about two lines long, and the wing cases are 
black, with a few larger black spots scattered 
along the middle of the wing cases. When in 
perfect condition these spots, as well as the 
black colour of the wing cases, are entirely 
obscured by a covering of grey scales, which 
may be serviceable to the weevil, when trying 
to escape from birds or other natural 
enemies, by appearing like the soil. 
We describe this insect as a weevil on ac¬ 
count of its elongated head with the antennae 
placed on either side of the mouth. As will 
The Spotted Pea Weevil. 
(Sitona crinita). 
be seen by the illustration, these antennae are 
elbowed in the middle and terminate in a 
large club. All the beetles which have an 
elongate! he id are spoken of as weevils. 
Those who are unacquainted with ento¬ 
mology may sometimes meet with other wee¬ 
vils having a greatly elongated, slender, and 
curved snout, with the antennae curiously 
situated at the end of it. It may be taken for 
granted that these long snouted weevils have 
a certain object for the length of the snout. 
Some of them are classed amongst garden 
pests. 
If present in the garden, the Pea weevils 
first make their appearance about the end of 
March if the weather is sufficiently fine to 
make them active. They are more numerous 
during the month of May, and become quite 
mischievous when the Peas should be making 
good growth. The full-grown weevil settles 
on the leaves, eating holes in them, and also 
gnawing them away at the edges, so that in 
the case of a bad attack the Peas not only 
look unsightly, but are more or less injured 
by the loss of foliage just at a time when they 
should be gaining strength. The weevils 
feed by day and shelter under lumps of soil, 
stones, or in any convenient hiding place at 
night. They are very sensitive on the ap¬ 
proach of a heavy foot, so that special pre¬ 
parations should be made for them early in 
the morning, unless the weather happens to 
be dull at the time, making them less active. 
Various expedients may be tried for the ex¬ 
termination of this garden pest, but the most 
effective of all is to catch the perfect weevil 
itself. When the gardener sees his Peas 
being gnawed away or eaten and finds a speci¬ 
men, he may be sure that others are about. 
Under such circumstances he should get some 
trays or boards and cover them with wet tar. 
These should be laid close against the plants 
on. either side of the rows early in the morn¬ 
ing, while the weevils are still in their hiding 
places. About the middle of the dajg when 
the sun is bright, a man or boy should go 
along the rows of Peas and shake them over 
the tarred hoards or trays, so that when the 
weevils drop they will be held fast in the tar. 
If strips of cloth of any coarse kind can be ob¬ 
tained they will answer the purpose as well 
as beards, if tarred and placed in situation 
early in the morning. 
A n etliod of prevention is to* spray the Peas 
with water and then dust them with soot or 
lime. The water is merely intended to hold 
the soot or lime, so that when the weevils are 
feeding they would have to consume these sub¬ 
stances* as well as Pea leaves. Some* growers 
have found these things distasteful to the 
weevils, so that one or two dustings at inter¬ 
vals of ten days or so gives tire Peas a chance 
of getting strong while the weevils are held at 
hay. 
During busy periods the gardener may also 
adopt other rough and ready means of com¬ 
bating the weevils. It is well known that 
anything that will encourage the growth of 
Peas* or other plants, ini the young state will 
enable them to escape destruction bv getting 
strong while the weevils are driven away. 
Good supplies of water in dry weather assist 
Peas greatly, and if they are* infested with the 
weevil a good plan would be to use the garden 
engine and apply the* water with some* force, 
thereby causing the weevils to* drop. All of 
these methods of prevention and remedies 
taken together will enable the cultivator to 
keep these Pea weevils at bay, provided only 
he eives them continued attention while the 
Peas are yet in their young and tender condi¬ 
tion. 
A GIANT BUTTERCUP, 
(Ranunculus cortusaefolius.) 
This is a plant of striking aspect, and is 
well adapted for planting in prominent 
positions on the banks of streams or in the 
bog-garden, where it will grow luxuriantly 
and produce quite a sub-tropical effect. It 
grows to a height of 2 ft. or more in moist, 
sheltered places, and carries erect branching 
stems and bright golden yellow flowers 
throughout the month of May. Even more 
beautiful than the flowers are the large fresh- 
looking leaves, which are, in fact, the most 
striking part of the plant. These are almost 
cordate in shape*, but slightly cut at the 
margins, netted with coarse veins, and 
sparsely covered with short, glistening hairs. 
They are of large* size and of a particularly 
bright and fresh-looking shade of green. 
Heather Bell. 
Some Orchids belonging to Sir Trevor 
Lawrence were sold on June 1st for the benefit 
of a charitv by (Messrs. Protheroe and Morris. 
An Odontoglossum erispum purpurascens 
realised 150 gs., and an Odontoglossum 
erispum Raymond Crawshay 105 gs. 
GROWING_ 
TODEA SUPERBA. 
1 have grown Filmy Ferns, including Todea 
superba, very successfully in a span-roofed 
frame or pit facing north and south, and 
partly shaded by a large Beech tree. 
The kind of pits I have for their cultivation 
are dug-out pits. I give a rough sketch of 
same. 
I find the most useful size of pit to be those 
Pit for Todea superba. 
about 6ft. 6in. long (outside measurement), 
and 4ft. wide. 
They are 2ft. below ground and 1ft. above 
ground at the side, and 2ft. 6in. high at the 
ridge of span. It is as well to have the sides 
below ground built up with bricks. 
The bottom of the pits I always line with 
broken-up sandstone, pieces about as big as 
goose* eggs, or so ; in among this I scatter 
gravel and pieces of charcoal. I stand the 
pots and pans of Filmy Ferns upon inverted 
pans. 
They are damped overhead every day (twice 
a day on hot days) during summer, but in 
winter I damp them overhead only occa¬ 
sionally when required. I water them at the 
roots whenever they are the least bit on the 
dry side. I always shade them from very hot 
sun. All the protection they get in winter is 
End view of Pit in Section. 
a double thickness of archangel mats when 
frosty. 
They must never be allowed to get dry, or 
they will soon look shabby. Our plants are 
simply lovely the whole of the year round. 
jArOXICA. 
Henry Eckford Testimonial.—T he contri¬ 
butions to this fund up to the evening of 
Saturday, June 3rd. are as follows:—Pre¬ 
viously acknowledged. £38 3s. 3d. ; Air. Alark 
Burden, 2s. ; Air. Frank Jeeves, 5s. ; Air. 
Herbert Jones, 5s. 
