September  J  9,  1895. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
271 
thus  growing  take  off  the  surplas  energy  of  a  plant  eager  to  advance. 
Such  a  plant  not  only  starts  with  very  much  greater  energy  in  spring, 
but  gets  no  check  afterwards,  and  instead  of  dead  shoots  and  paltry 
growths  becomes  a  huge  shrub  or  small  tree. 
I  will  not  now  go  into  particulars  about  pruning,  training,  and 
routine  treatment ;  but  have  pointed  out  the  points  where  would-be 
Fuchsia  growers  err.  The  soil,  potting,  and  feeding  are  the  salient 
points,  and  when  these  are  rightly  attended  to  training  and  pruning 
are  secondary  points  that  the  judgment  alone  can  guide  in. — Flora, 
THE  PLUM  OR  RED-LEGGED  WEEVILS. 
On  May  13th  1  had  brought  me  a  number  of  large  “  weevils  ”  of  the 
genus  Otiorhynchus  by  Mr.  Deadman  of  the  South  Eastern  Agricultural 
College,  which  were  doing  immense  damage  to  Plum,  Peach,  and  Cherry 
trees  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Wye,  Kent.  These  beetles  were  identified 
as  Otiorhynchus  tenebricosus  and  0.  fuscipes,  two  closely  allied  species, 
and  often  confounded  with  one  another.  The  “  females  are  almost  indis¬ 
tinguishable,”  I  am  informed  by  Dr.  Sharpe,  who  kindly  helped  me  in 
the  matter  of  their  identification. 
Several  species  of  Otiorhynchus  are  well  known  as  serious  fruit 
pests,  notably  the  brown-legged  weevil  (0.  picipes)  and  the  black  Vine 
weevil  (0,  sulcatus)  in  our  own  country  as  well  as  abroad.  Few 
references  only  seem  to  have  been  made  to  the  two  species  known  as 
tenebricosus  and  fuscipes.  Curtis  in  the  “  Gardeners’  Chronicle  ”  for 
1842  mentions  the  former  species  ;  and  Miss  Ormerod,  in  her  yearly  report 
for  1883,  gives  an  instance  of  their  damage  to  Strawberry  leaves  in  the 
garden  of  the  College  Farm  at  Cirencester. 
of 
Destruction  Caused  by  the  Weevils, 
The  beetles  were  first  noticed  about  the  first  wees  in  May,  on  account 
the  damage  they  were  doing.  Plum  trees  were  the  first  affected,  the 
upper  shoots  being  quite  stripped  of  their  foliage, 
and  the  lower  leaves  eaten  away  in  large  patches. 
Buds,  and  even  the  bark,  were  also  devoured. 
The  trees  in  question  were  against  an  old  wall, 
which  for  years  had  evidently  received  no  care ; 
in  fact,  quite  unfit  for  fruit  growing,  but  such 
instances  are  of  value,  as  teaching  us  a  lesson  as 
to  how  and  where  insects  are  propagated.  No 
sooner  had  they  ravaged  the  upper  parts  of  the 
Plum  trees  on  one  side  of  the  wall  than  they 
passed  over  the  top,  and  attacked  in  a  similar 
way  the  Peach,  Apricot,  and  Cherries  on  the  other 
side,  completely  defoliating  them.  The  destruc¬ 
tive  habits  are  not  only  found  in  the  adults 
(fig.  43),  but  also  in  the  larvEe,  which  live  on 
the  roots  of  various  fruit  trees.  We  noticed  that 
large  numbers  of  the  beetles  were  eating  also 
the  leafage  of  the  Strawberries,  whither  they 
had  crawled  to  deposit  their  eggs.  These  maggots 
I  find  do  much  harm  to  Strawberry  plants  as  well  as  other  fruit, 
devouring  the  rootlets,  and  even  the  older  portions. 
PIG.  43.— otiorhynchus 
TENEBRICOSUS. 
Habits  and  Life  History. 
Nearly  all  Otiorhynchi  are  night  feeders,  and  certainly  in  these  two 
species  this  is  the  case.  The  damage  was  not  attributed  to  them  at  first, 
as  none  could  be  found.  It  was,  however,  soon  discovered  by  the 
gardener  that  there  were  thousands  of  these  insects  under  the  ground 
along  the  wall  during  the  day,  and  that  they  crept  out  at  night  and 
commenced  to  feed.  Although  jars  full  were  collected  along  the  wall 
yet  the  damage  still  continued.  The  beetles  had  taken  possession  of  the 
hollows  and  spaces  in  the  walls  where  the  pointings  had  long  since  gone. 
A  beetle  could  be  found  in  nearly  every  “  nail  scar.”  Directly  a  pair  of 
forceps  were  put  into  the  hole  the  weevil  drew  back  just  like  a  crab  in  a 
hole.  By  far  the  greater  number  ware  females ;  these  commenced 
depositing  ova  in  my  breeding  cages  at  the  end  of  May,  and  continued 
to  do  so  until  June  25th,  when  most  of  the  adults  had  died. 
The  ova  were  at  first  white,  becoming  jet  black  in  about  two  days, 
round  and  smooth  in  appearance.  The  females  lay  their  eggs  just  under 
the  ground  near  the  Strawberry  roots  ;  and  accord¬ 
ing  to  Miss  Ormerod  they  also  lay  them  at  the  roots 
of  Kaspberries,  Gooseberries,  and  garden  vegetables. 
About  August  the  ova  hatch  into  small  footless 
grubs,  which  remain  as  such  throughout  the  winter, 
feeding  on  the  roots  and  rootlets.  The  larva  (fig.  44)  44.— larva  op 
is  creamy  white,  quite  legless,  and  covered  with  tenebricosus. 
a  number  of  hairs,  with  the  spiracles  clearly  defined 
at  the  sides.  Like  most  Otiorhynchus  larvm  they  are  usually  curled 
up  slightly  as  shown  in  the  figure.  The  grubs  remain  feeaing  upon 
the  roots  until  March  or  April,  when  they  change  into  the  pupal  form 
under  the  ground  where  they  have  been  feeding. 
The  pupal  stage  lasts  from  fourteen  to  twenty-one 
days ;  the  pupa  (fig.  45)  may,  or  may  not,  be 
enclosed  in  an  earthen  cocoon,  and  are  pale 
PIG.  45.— PUPA  OP  brownish- white  in  colour,  with  darker  hairs  upon 
0.  TENEBRICOSUS.  the  abdominal  segments.  They  are,  as  a  rule, 
found  about  2^  inches  under  the  ground.  Some 
I  kept  a  few  years  ago  remained  in  the  larval  state  until  June,  but 
this  is  unusual. 
Description  of  the  Weevils. 
0.  tenebricosus,— -Length,  12-13  mm.  A  large  and  conspicuous  black 
Otiorhynchus,  shiny,  with  finely  coriaceous  head  and  narrow  thorax ; 
rostrum  with  central  carina  ;  antennae,  long,  sharply  elbowed,  slender, 
and  dark  black  ;  elytra,  oblong,  pointed  at  apex,  with  small  patches  of 
ashy  hair  in  fresh  specimens,  and  with  lines  of  punctures  ;  legs,  red, 
elongate  ;  femora,  clavate,  not  toothed  on  under  side.  In  the  male  the’ 
body  is  narrower,  and  the  anal  segment  striated,  and  the  elytra  very 
distinctly  punctured.  The  female  is  broad,  with  anal  segment  punctured, 
not  striated. 
0.  fuscijfes.— Length,  10-12  mm.  Closely  allied  to  former,  and  often 
found  with  it.  It  differs,  however,  in  having  the  antennae  in  both  sexes, 
with  the  joints  of  the  funiculus  shorter  and  stouter.  It  is  always  a 
smaller  species  and  less  pubescent ;  the  elytra  of  female  are  also  more 
acuminate  at  apex,  and  more  plainly  punctured. 
Two  Broods. 
The  insect  is  undoubtedly  two-brooded,  for  I  find  amongst  my 
collection  some  specimens  taken  at  Christmas,  1890,  amongst  a  heap  of 
old  stones  at  Kingston-on-Thames,  which  I  had  not  then  identified. 
The  females  thus  hibernating  would  lay  their  eggs  about  April,  and  by 
September  these  would  have  gone  through  their  stages,  and  reached 
maturity.  I  have  observed  several  Otiorhynchus  larv£e  during  July ;  no 
doubt  these  would  be  the  maggots  of  the  second  brood,  or  more  correctly 
speaking,  the  first  brood.  Those,  however,  that  appear  during  May  and 
June  are  the  ones  that  do  most  harm. 
Natural  Enemies. 
Many  of  these  Otiorhynchi  are  preyed  on  by  sand  wasps,  who  take 
them  off  to  provision  their  nests  for  the  use  of  their  young  larvm. 
Two  species  at  least  prey  upon  them— namely,  Odynerus  parietinus  and 
Cerceris  arenaria.  Blackbirds  and  thrushes  also  devour  large  numbers. 
Prevention  and  Eemedies. 
The  larvae  at  the  roots  are  extremely  difficult  to  get  rid  of.  Light 
dressings  of  gas  lime  put  round  the  plants  during  the  winter,  the  ground 
having  been  first  turned  over  about  3  inches  deep,  will  do  some  good. 
Care  must  be  taken  not  to  put  the  gas  lime  on  too  strong,  and  to  leave 
it  some  three  weeks  on  the  top  before  prong-hoeing  it  in. 
For  destroying  the  beetles  hand-picking  is  quite  sufficient.  They  can 
be  collected  in  large  numbers  easily,  and  so  cleared  out,  except  in 
exceptional  cases,  as  we  have  seen  at  Wye,  where  they  can  shelter  during 
the  day  in  crevices  of  the  walls  well  out  of  sight.  The  gardener  where 
these  pests  were  working,  and  to  whom  my  best  thanks  are  due  for 
pointing  out  several  interesting  features  in  this  attack,  found  much 
benefit  derived  by  spraying  the  trees  with  softsoap  and  quassia,  the  latter 
making  the  leaves  distasteful  to  the  weevil. 
In  regard  to  Strawberries  one  point  of  economical  importance  is  to 
note  that  the  beetles  seek  shelter  near  the  plants  to  deposit  their  eggs. 
Shelter  is  readily  found  under  the  straw  put  between  the  rows,  or  more 
BO  still  the  grass  cuttings,  which  certainly  encourage  them.  It  would 
be  advisable  to  put  the  former  on  as  late  as  possible,  and  clear  it  away 
directly  the  fruit  is  gathered.  Eegarding  the  latter  it  should  strenuously 
be  avoided,  as  it  is  a  sure  means  of  encouraging  this  and  other  insects. 
Strips  of  rag  or  rough  boards  put  between  the  rows  will  attract  the 
adults,  which  can  then  be  collected  and  destroyed  ;  but  as  they  may 
have  deposited  their  eggs  this  plan  cannot  be  recommended  unless  the 
ground  beneath  is  well  cleared. 
As  these  beetles  readily  fall  if  the  tree  is  shaken,  many  can  be  caught 
by  holding  tarred  boards  under  the  tfees  at  night  and  sharply  shaking 
the  trees,  when  the  weevils  fall  and  are  fixed  in  the  tar.  Where  wall 
fruit  is  attacked  (as  was  the  case  at  Wye),  the  walls  should  be  kept 
clean  with  whitewash,  and  all  crevices  filled  with  mortar.  The  weevils 
being  found  in  large  numbers  along  the  base  of  the  wall  in  the  ground 
could  also  be  kept  away  by  putting  a  line  about  a  foot  wide  of  ash  or 
sand  saturated  with  paraffin  along  its  base,  a  plan  suggested  by  Canon 
Fowler,  and  one  of  much  service  in  keeping  off  not  only  these  but  many 
other  wall-fruit  pests.  This  would  have  to  be  renewed  every  week 
or  so,  as  the  odour  of  the  paraffin  would  vanish.  —  Fred.  V. 
Theobald,  M.A.,  F.E.S. 
CULTURE  OF  ROGIERAS. 
These  we  rarely  see  nowadays,  though  they  are  plants  of  fairly  easy 
culture,  and  very  beautiful  stove  shrubs.  They  will  also  thrive  well  in 
an  intermediate  temperature.  The  great  enemy  of  these  plants  is  red 
spider,  but  by  a  constant  and  free  use  of  the  syringe  they  may  be  grown 
to  perfection.  A  few  plants,  too,  soon  fill  a  house  with  their  delicious 
fragrance,  which  is  not  overpowering,  but  mild,  and  pervades  the 
atmosphere  in  an  agreeable  form. 
In  one  particular  the  Eogiera  is  like  the  Ixora — namely,  in  repaying 
the  free  use  of  the  knife  ;  in  fact,  hard  pruning  is,  in  my  experience, 
essential  to  its  free- flowering  and  general  well-being,  and  cannot  be 
indulged  in  too  freely.  This  should  be  done  when  the  plants  have 
completed  their  flowering,  withholding  water  for  a  time  till  they  have 
started  well  into  growth,  and  keeping  them  syringed  two  or  three 
times  daily.  If  required,  they  should  be  potted  at  this  stage,  using 
loam  and  peat  in  equal  quantities,  and  a  fair  proportion  of  sand  and 
well-decayed  stable  manure  to  about  one-fifth  of  the  soil.  The  growth 
