26 OCTOBER 1929, Page 17

WEEDING BY INSECTS.

To give another instance. The control of weeds by help of insects has become a regular practice. A beetle that feeds on the blackberry, a weevil that feeds on the gorse, a cater- pillar that feeds on ragwort, are three insects now transmitted at regular intervals as a matter of practical business from England to New Zealand, where their three favourite food plants are a nuisance. It is claimed in the annual report of Rothamsted that the work has been carried beyond the research stage. The capacity of the insects is tested at Harpenden, and again on arrival in New Zealand before they are let loose to play their destructive but beneficial

W. BEACH THOMAS.