As time went on, galls were discovered on the under sides of the leaves at the affected end of the vinery, and this soon revealed the foe that had been carrying on its work of destruction in ambush at the roots, and on which it was found in myriads. The invader spread towards the other end of the house as steadily and regularly as a fire would progress; and each Vine it attacked on its onward march drooped, and shed its leaves suddenly and prematurely. Before it got to the extreme end of the house, the Vines had brought to maturity a fine crop of large bunches, and were showing no signs of distress; but - and this will give some idea of the rapidity with which the work of destruction is effected - in a month afterwards some of the Vines were literally dead, not having a live root; and to save the Grapes they had to be cut wholesale.

In the same range, and adjoining this house, is a Muscat-house, the Vines in which ripened a fine crop of Grapes to a beautiful golden colour; and on two grafts of Gros Guillaume there were ten bunches, weighing from 6 to 8 lb. each. It was not till October that the presence of the Phylloxera was suspected here, and by the end of November the roots of the whole of these Vines were literally covered with it - so much so, that looked at with the naked eye, the insect imparted its own colour to the roots; and viewed through a microscope, they were seen to be clustered on the top of each other like miniature swarms of bees, so rapidly had they spread and multiplied. So much for the destructive ability of Phylloxera. We will now briefly refer to the most important of our observations regarding its habits, etc. In each gall, formed numerously on the under sides of the leaves, there was generally one full-grown insect - and clustered round it, just as described by M. Planchon, eight or nine eggs. The mature insect is of a yellowish-brown colour; and, examined through a powerful microscope, is so transparent that the eggs can be seen in its inside. The eggs are equally transparent, and both are very easily destroyed.

Even the full-grown insect appears to be made of a thin transparent skin, easily broken, and of a thin transparent viscid matter internal!)'. The way into this breeding-gall is from the upper side of the leaf. We have never been able to discover any above ground, except those in the galls; and have seen only one of the insects with wings, which is supposed to be the male, and that was on the under side of a leaf, and appeared in a semi-dormant state. Underground, on the roots, they breed and spread with marvellous rapidity, and cover the roots so densely that they impart to them their own colour. They effect the destruction of the Vine by eating all the bark off the roots, and burrowing into the second coating of the young roots; and after destroying that, they seem to move on to fresh roots, for we have not in one single instance found an insect on a root after it has been peeled and begun to decay. Contrary to the French theory that it attacks the roots at the neck of the Vine, and works downwards towards the more young and fibry roots, it has been invariably found that they have begun at the points of the roots, and devoured upwards towards the bole of the Vine.

It is also quite evident that, like red-spider on the leaves, it thrives best in a dryish warm soil. Having decided to thoroughly stamp out the pest by removing the whole border, we did not cover the outside border with wooden shutters early in October, as usual; and, owing to the unusual rainfall of the autumn, the soil was of course very wet and cold outside. The most careful examination of the roots outside in this cold damp medium did not lead to the discovery of an insect on the roots up to the arches of the front of the house. The pest, however, was found in swarms to the very point at which the roots left the protection of the stonework, where the soil was much drier, and here there was an abrupt limit to their extension. On the worst affected roots not one was found beyond the arch, in which case it is clear they had worked from the inside along the roots, but in all cases did not move beyond the arches, proving that the insect does not like cold and wet. Prompted by this observation, some pieces of roots literally covered with the insects were steeped in clean soft water, and they were all dead in from forty-eight to sixty hours. So that any one receiving Vines who had any dread of this pest, would do well to steep them in a tank for four or five days.

We also found that three hours' exposure to 4° to 6° frost effectually destroys it. Pieces of fresh roots densely infected with it were also left exposed to the air in the vinery, and in two days the insects were all dried up and dead. Roots were also done up in brown paper without any soil, and on them they died in the same space of time; in fact, seemed to evaporate. A few drops of carbolic acid in a wine-glassful of water proved instant death to them, and a very weak solution of Condy's fluid had the same effect. In fact, everything that we have learned of this insect goes to prove that it is easily killed when it can be got at.

Numerous experiments have been tried to see if the insect would attack or live on other fruit-trees besides the Vine. A Currant-bush and a Fig were planted among the roots of the Vines on which it swarmed in legions. These plants were allowed to remain for weeks, and they pushed out quantities of young rootlets into the very centre of the pest's strongest hold, but not one insect could be found adhering to either the Currant or the Fig. A young Vine planted where the insect was not considered so strong was attacked by it in legions. Pieces of Vine-roots coated with the pest were laid on a board, and around them and touching them were placed fresh pieces of the roots of the Peach, the Cherry, the Pear, the Gooseberry, Black Currant, and Plum. The whole were covered with some soil, and a large bell-glass placed over them, and left for fourteen days: at the end of that time they were examined minutely through the microscope, but not one insect had gone on to the roots of these fruits. On to a piece of Vine-root that was put along with them in a clean state they did go.

These experiments go to prove that Phylloxera does not care so much for any of the fruits named as it does for the Vine. On pieces of Vine-roots laid upon the same board - not covered with soil, but merely covered with a bell-glass - the insect was found quite shrivelled up and dead. Tobacco-smoke, however strong, does not seem to affect the insect, for we placed it .in a glass vessel and filled it as full of tobacco-smoke as it could be, but the insect remained alive.

There are scores of decoctions that will kill this insect - such as salt, hellebore, etc.; but the difficulty to overcome lies in the depth of soil to be so acted on; for a few insects left still leave the enemy in possession of the field, and there can be no certainty of stamping it out in this way. We believe that to submerge the whole border and vines in clean water would destroy the insect; but what of the eggs or larvae? Mr Dunn, of Dalkeith Gardens, when at Powerscourt, in Ireland, got rid of it in some vineries there by lifting and washing the roots of the Vines, and merely picking all the roots out of the soil, and mixing dry soot and caustic lime with the old soil, and replanting the Vines; and great credit is due to him for the process. But we are certain that he will agree with us that that process leaves some risks in the way of stamping it out; and we know of a place in England where even more radical means failed. Therefore it must be admitted that the most certain way of stamping out this destroyer is to burn the Vines, remove right away all the soil, well salt the site of the border, and well wash and paint everything connected with the vinery before fresh soil is put in.

This is the process that we are adopting; and we think, in the interests of Grape-growing, all who have this pest in their vinery should pursue the same course.

We will be glad to publish anything that is forwarded to us that will aid in making the Phylloxera and its habits better known, and that may be useful to those who wish to stamp it out. All remedies that have as yet been applied to the soil - either in this country or on the Continent - have failed in destroying Phylloxera from off the roots of the Vine; and it is at present an opinion that it is not very likely that a remedy will be found that will do so, without, at the same time, destroying the Vines; and that in lifting and cleaning and replanting affected Vines, there is a risk of failure which is more certainly avoided by destroying the Vines and renewing the border.