Reports to tJic Board of Agrictdtitre. 137 



tbrtb, and examiuiui^ them every tew days. Cheat nuiiibers of Wire- 

 worin may be found l)nried in tlie baits, and may then be collected 

 and destroyed. 



" In flower-beds and borders where these pests do much harm to 

 tender plants, we can easily destroy them by injecting bisulphide of 

 carbon into the soil. This may be done as follows : — Pour a quarter 

 of an ounce of bisulphide of carbon into a small hole made in the 

 ground, and cover over with a piece of tile, and then put earth over 

 it at once ; this is enougli I'or every square yard. Care must be 

 taken not to let the bisulphide touch the roots of any plants, and it 

 must be remembered that the substance is both poisonous and highly 

 intlanunable. This is best done in the spring and early summer. 



Heaps of leaf mould and manure heaps should never be allowed 

 to have weeds growing on them, and are best covered with a coating 

 of gas-]ime, which prevents not only Click beetles but also Daddy- 

 Long-Legs from laying their eggs there. Gardens are frequently 

 infested in this way, unless proper precautions are taken. 



Eooks, Starlings, Jackdaws and Plover should be protected in 

 fields, but not encouraged in gardens and orchards. The Plover does 

 the greatest amount of good of all l)irds in this respect ; the recent 

 great increase in the Wireworm undoubtedly is partly due to the 

 decrease of the Green Plover, by the ruthless destruction of eggs. 

 Books do inestimable good, and can be kept oft' seed corn in various 

 ways, also in other cases where they do damage. The same with the 

 Starling, which is a great Wireworm and Leather- Jacket destroyer ; 

 the damage it does in orchards and gardens can be easily prevented 

 by men and boys with clappers and guns keeping them away when 

 the cherries are ripening. They should not be encouraged near 

 habitations, but should be nevertheless protected generally. 



Clean farming is one of the best preventatives. 



Fever Fly Grubs {Bihionidse) in Soil. 



Some larvffi or " grubs " sent l)y a correspondent from Grays, 

 Essex, were a species of so-called Fever Fly {Bihionidm) ; they were 

 probably Bihio hortulanus,^ which occurs in great numbers in the 

 soil in the way described by the sender. There is no doubt they do 

 some harm in the roots of various plants, but the damage is not 

 great. They will soon be entering the pupal stage, and no further 

 damage is likely to be done by them. 



* These hatched out and proved to be this species. 



