Some. unmistakable specimens of the Colorado beetle were discovered a few days a potato patch near Tilbury. Under the direction of the Board of Agriculture all the grass and crops within the area affected, which was fortunately isolated, have been destroyed; and it is hoped that the invader has been completely driven out. Tt is nearly twenty-five years since the previous occasion when we were threatened with an invasion of- this destructive pest; and it was the law passed on that occasion, when some specimens of the beetle were found on a cargo vessel just arrived from Texas, that enables the Board of Agriculture now to take such drastic measures. Everybody who is old enough must have a vivid remembrance of were written about it and the comic papers were full of jokes about it. There was the story, for instance, of the seaside landlady who explained the strange shrinking of her Jodger's joint on the supposition that the "collar-larder" beetle had got at it. But the scare was not unreasonable, After her sister Ireland there is no country which depends so much on the potato for its food as England; and the tales of the ravages of the " potato-bug" in its progress from West to Bast of the United tates were alarming enough. It seems, however, that the eradicatic of the pest if begun in time is not difficult; and in this case action seems to have been taken very promptly.
The Cricket Season, The last regular county cricket matches came to an end on Wednesday. Surrey and Yorkshire have still a match to play, but it is purely an "exhibition" game arranged in consequence of the return match between these counties at the Oval having to be abandoned on account of persistent rain. Its abandonment. was very hard on Lockwood, who was to have had benefit on the occasion, and it is for his sake that the extra game is to be played. Yorkshire with its splendid record of twenty wins to a single loss, was secure of the championship long before the season was at an end; but the fight for second place was maintained to the last. Middlesex, who had second place, must have surrendered it to Lancashire if she had succumbed to Essex in the final match; but she beat Essex and strengthened her position. Middlesex, Lancashire und Essex were, however, ull close together to the end, and the struggle between them was watched with the keenest interest. Still_more exciting was the contest between Fry and Abel at the end of last week as to Which should be the first to complete his three thousand runs in the season. Fry won by about an hour, and almost simultaneously established the wonderful record of making five centuries in five successive innings. No one else has ever scored more than three centuries in succession. The moral of the season is, however, the supreme importance of bowling and fielding. Sussex has unmistakubly the two batsmen in Fry and Ranjitsinhji, and is only fourth, while Surrey, which with a very strong-batting team, is still weaker in bowlers, is two places lower. Yorkshire, which is now Playing a strong all-England team and holding its own against them, owes its success primarily to the bowling of Hirst and Rhodes, but also to the all-round excellence of its team. Its best batsmen do not compare with Fry or Abel or Ranjit. inhji,, but even in beating it has no tail, howling and fielding its pre-eminence is indisputable.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.