AN ENCYCLOPADIA 
OF HORTICULTURE. 213 
Wireworms—continued. 
the names Click Beetle, Snap Beetle, Spring Beetle, or 
Skipjack. All four names allude to the method by 
which the insects, when laid on their backs, right 
themselves, and which is described below. There are 
many species of Click Beetles distributed amongst 
numerous genera, which differ among themselves in 
minor peculiarities; but all of them have so strong 
a family likeness that they are easily recognised as 
members of the family LElateride. Their form is 
elongated, with nearly parallel sides, but the body is 
rather pointed behind; the surface is hard. The head is 
deeply sunk in the thorax; the latter is prolonged back- 
wards at the hinder angles into two sharp points, 
which prevent lateral movements of the abdomen; it 
has a sharp, prominent spine on its front part below, 
and this spine fits into a groove in front of the base 
of the middle legs. The antenns, which are often 
serrated, can be laid, for protection, into grooves on 
the lower surface of the head — one on each side. 
The legs are short, but the wings are large and powerful. 
The Beetles are usually black, often with the basal 
two-thirds of the elytra some shade between rusty-red 
and blood-red, less often with short, fascous or yellowish 
hairs spread uniformly over the surface, or restricted 
to defined spots or patches. They seldom exceed jin. 
or fall below jin. in length. The number of British 
species of this family is large, and the Beetles are 
abundant everywhere during autumn; but only a few 
of the species are large enough to be familiarly known 
by anyone except an entomologist. They may be often 
seen crawling on walls and among herbage. When 
approached, they allow themselves to drop for conceal- 
ment; and their form renders them very liable to fall 
on their back. Their legs are too short to be of service 
in turning themselves over; but the spine on the breast 
18 an efficient organ for this purpose. When one of 
the insects wishes to replace itself on its legs, it bends 
the body backwards till it rests only on the head and 
the tip of the abdomen. In this position the spine is 
dragged out of its groove, but, on the Beetle bringing 
the head up smartly, the spine springs back into its 
groove, and the back of the Beetle is struck so hard 
against the surface on which it lies, that the insect 
is thrown some inches into the air, like a skipjack, 
and usually falls on its legs. The names Skipjack and 
Spring Beetle refer to this power of leaping; Click 
Beetle and Snap Beetle refer to the sound produced 
m the leap. It is probable that the larvæ of almost 
all of the Elateride are Wireworms in appearance 
and in habits; but only a few of the species are known 
to be very injurious to garden and field produce; and 
Some, at least, feed on decaying vegetable tissues. 
The following are the most hurtful species, according to 
the observations of those entomologists who have most 
carefully studied the subject: Agriotes sputator, A. line- 
atus, and A. obscurus. The first of these is little more 
iin. long, and is black, and slightly glossy, but is 
pubescent; the front edge and hinder angles of the thorax, 
"es the greater part of the elytra, are dull yellowish- 
LA or dusky; the legs and antenns are paler; the 
elytra are deeply punctate-striate. The other two species 
are about jin. or gin. long, and are thought by some to 
orms of a single species. A. lineatus is fuscous, with 
greyish pubescence ; the thorax is nearly black; the elytra 
are punctate-striate, the stris) (in pairs) greyish, the 
interspaces brown, so that the elytra are striped length- 
wise with dull grey and brown; the limbs are rusty-red. 
oo is dull brown-black, with dark pubescence, 
° elytra faintly punctate-striate, and nearly black ; the 
a are nearly black, the rest of the legs and the 
tennæ dullrusty.red. Still another species is probably 
à Serious foe to cultivated plants at times. This is Athous | 
hoidalis; the insect is from jin. to jin. long, 
Wireworms—continued. 
and is dusky-biack, with the elytra brownish; the limbs 
are dull red, except the black thighs. In the perfect 
state these insects are harmless: the damage is done only 
in the larval condition. This stage has been observed 
to continue in A. lineatus during five years; hence, the 
larve have time to do much mischief. ‘ It would be useless 
to enumerate all the plants on which they have been 
observed to feed; but among the more important garden 
plants are Cabbages, Carrots, Dahlias, Irises, Lettuces, 
Onions, Pinks, Potatoes, Turnips, and other favourites. 
They also often seriously injure the grass in lawns. 
Where ground is allowed to lie unbroken for a time, 
they multiply, and from it they spread to the adjoining 
pieces of ground. When soil that has lain fallow, or 
has been a lawn for some years, is broken up, the crops 
grown in it are apt to suffer severely from attacks of 
Wireworm. 
Remedies. When the larvæ are very numerous, the soil 
should be broken up, as this exposes the Wireworms to the 
eyes of birds. Deep-trenching has also been recommended 
as a useful measure. If practicable, one of the most 
successful methods is to starve out the larve by allowing 
the ground to lie fallow for a year, merely cutting down 
and destroying the weeds on it; or a crop of Mustard 
(Brassica alba) may be grown on it, as the larve avoid this 
plant. Frequent stirring of the soil is unfavourable to them ; 
and so, to a slight extent, is the employment of a heavy 
roller. Various applications to the soil have been used 
with success. On ground allowed to lie fallow for a year, a 
good coating of fresh gas-lime is of great use; but where 
crops have to be grown without a break of this kind, soot 
and guano are better, scattered before or during heavy 
rain. One part of nitrate of soda to two of common salt 
has also worked well. In gardens, paraffin has been used 
in solution (one in fifteen) with success, for watering 
infested plants, or along drills of Carrots, Ke, Where any 
plants are fading without apparent cause, the roots should 
be examined for Wireworms, and one of the remedies 
recommended above should be applied to the injured 
plants. Traps for Wireworms, formed of pieces of 
lettuce, carrot, or other favourite food, may also be used. 
These should be buried a little below the surface, and 
removed, examined every day, and the Wireworms on 
them collected and destroyed. 
WISTARIA (named in honour of Caspar Wistar, 
1761-1818, Professor of Anatomy in the University of 
Pennsylvania). Grape-flower Vine. Syns. Diplonya and 
Thyrsanthus. ORD. Leguminose. A small genus (four or 
five species) of hardy, tall, climbing, deciduous shrubs, 
natives of North America, China, and Japan. Flowers 
usually bluish, scattered at the sides of the rachis; 
two upper calyx teeth short and sub.connate, the lower 
ones usually longer; standard ample, 
ridges at the base; wings oblong-faleate ; racemes ter- 
minal; bracts very caducous. Pods elongated, torulose, 
two-valved. Leaves imparipinnate ; lcaflets entire, penni- 
veined and reticulate-venulose, often stipellate. Wis- 
tarias thrive in any good, loamy soil, and grow fast when 
once established. They are most readily propagated by 
layering the young growing shoots during the summer 
months, and detaching them from the the parent plant 
the following year. ss : 
brachybotrys .clustered). fl. violet-purple; standard 
ed pedicels geni namen ae than the acuminate, 
caducous bracts; racemes short, erect or loosely — 
April. L imparipinnate, four to six-jugate ; leaflets petio M K 
truncate or sub-cordate at base, ovate-lanceolate, — KR 
silky-canescent on both sides. Branches tortuous. A. Sft. 
Japan. (F. d. S. 880; S. Z. F. J. 45.) ` 
W. chinensis (Chinese).* Chinese Kidney-bean Tree. fi. large, 
inodorous, produced in g 
et Gene? flets ovate, 
(sometimes Ë second crop of flowers in ee ad lea! y 
with two parallel: — 
