74 



Agricultural Experiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y. 



17.— A click- 

 beetle. 



for a time as if dead. Suddenly there is a click, and the insect pops 

 Lip into the air several inches. If it comes down on its back, it tries 

 again and again until it succeeds in striking on its feet, 

 and then runs off. We remember well carrying these 

 creatures into the old district schoolhouse, where all les- 

 sons had to be learned from books, and wdiere nature was 

 never given a chance to teach us anything. Here with 

 one eye on the teacher and one on this interesting jumper 



laid on our book 

 behind the desk, 

 we found a most 

 fascinating occu- 

 pation for the 

 tedious moments. 

 But the end was always the same ; 

 the beetle jumped so high that it 

 bctiayed us and was liberated, 

 and we w^ere disgiaced." {From 

 Comstoclis Mamial for the 

 Study of Insects, 2>- Sttoj. 



Many species 

 of wire worms are 

 not at all injuri- 

 o u s to agricul- 

 ture, but certain 

 others live in the 

 soil and feed on 

 the roots of 

 plants, and on 

 seeds. The lat- 

 ter species are 



^ 18. -The Eyed Elater 



o 1 1 e n exceed- lAiaus ocuiatus). 

 ingly injurious ; Pvud as they work 



16.— A corn-plant ffrowing in a root-cage infested in the gl'OUUd OUt of sight, they 

 by wirewoniis aid click ueetles (from a j«xii i i 



specimen in the Cornelllnsectary). are Very dlthcult to COmbat. 



Duiing three years (1889, 1890 and 1891) we made numerous 

 experiments to ascertain a practical method of preventing the 

 ravages of these pests. Unfortunately our efforts were not attended 



