DADDY LONGLEGS. 39 



shady parts of pasture-fields, hedge-sides, and other 

 hke places, drives off a great deal of attack ; but the 

 chief difficulty is on land broken up from pasture or 

 clover-ley. 



The eggs are mostly laid, towards autumn, in such 

 localities (that is, pasture-fields or clover-ley) ; there- 

 fore, if these are merely broken uj), "without any 

 measures having been previously taken to prevent 

 egg-laying, or to kill the "Leather-jacket" grubs in 

 them, it is no wonder that the next crop should often 

 be totally devoured. Any measures that will serve 

 either of these purposes are highly desirable. 



Where pastures are to be broken up, it is a good 

 plan to fold sheep on the ground and hand-feed them, 

 thus making the ground obnoxious to the Cranefly for 

 egg-laying, and also, by the trampling and soddening 

 the ground with the droppings of the animals, de- 

 stroying most of the eggs or young grubs that may 

 chance to be on the surface. Heavy dressings of hot 

 lime are useful, and dressings of fresh gas-lime, or 

 alkali waste, which kill everything they touch whilst 

 in their caustic state, are an excellent j^reservative 

 from attack. These two chemical dressings cost little 

 (where they are procurable at all), and gradually turn 

 to a manure of the same nature as gyi^sum.''' 



Salt also has been found useful for dressing leys 

 with in autumn. Laid on at the rate of 10 cwt. the 

 acre, and ploughed in, it has been found to kill the 

 couch-grass (a very serviceable means of prevention of 

 insect-ravage), and there was no further trouble from 

 either grub or wire worm. 



Bush-harrowing does good, and j^aring and burning 

 the surface is also an excellent remedy ; but this has 

 drawbacks, on account of the expense of labour, also 

 wasting so much of what, in rotting, would have been 

 fertilizing material. 



Where eggs and maggots are in the ground, the most 



* For amount of gas-lime that may be applied per acre, and pre- 

 cautions to be observed in its use, see references in Index. 



