38 CORN AND GRASS. 
effect of hindering their progress very much; but the Rye has been 
bitten off by them in such large patches that it has become necessary 
to plough up the crop and re-sow.’’—(G. 8. W.) 
The ‘‘Choovie” or ‘‘Chovie” is one of the many local names 
given to P. horticola, enumerated by Curtis in his ‘Farm Insects’ 
(p. 509), as also Field Chafers, May Bugs, Bracken Clocks, Fern-shaw 
Beetles, &. The observation of Mr. Ware with regard to heavy 
rolling being serviceable in preventing the grubs travelling in the soil, 
is well worth observation. 
On Sept. 80th Miss Seagrave, in a note from Oakhurst, Sunning- 
hill, Berks, requested information as to how to get rid of Cockchafer 
grubs, which were in such numbers beneath lawn grass, that, though 
the thrushes, blackbirds, and starlings helped by digging them out, 
something further was needed as a means to get rid of them. 
On Oct. 8th Mr. Chas. E. J. Esdaile, of Cothelstone House, near 
Taunton, desired information regarding the best way of getting rid 
of a grub, which he was informed was that of the Cockchafer. He 
observed :— 
‘Tt has established itself in my park, and destroys several acres of 
grass. The rooks follow it, turning up the grass, which dies. 
The farmer who rents the after-grass complained so of the damage, 
that I had to make him an allowance.” 
On applying to Mr. Esdaile whether he could ascertain the species, 
he was good enough to write further :— 
«The grub that is doing so much mischief is that of the large 
Cockchafer ; so far as I can judge, I do not think the grub has come 
to its full size yet. . . . I tried rolling last year without any 
apparent effect. I am going to try dressing an acre with two cwt. 
nitrate of soda and forty bushels of soot, and will let you know the 
result.”—(C. EH. J. E.) 
Looking at the main points of the different above observations in 
abstract, we find rolling with ‘the heaviest roller” to be useful in 
preventing the chafer grubs travelling in the ground of tilled fields, as 
of Mustard and Rye, but not on park grass-land; also moles to be 
found decidedly of use in keeping the grubs in check, as well as rooks, 
thrushes, blackbirds, and starlings, and amongst domestic fowls, 
chickens. The fondness of young pigs for the beetles was also ob- 
served. Amongst methods of prevention, the use of soot thrown on 
infested grass, ‘‘when the beetles were flying,” is well worth notice ; 
this being followed by lesser presence of chafers in the following year, 
presumably from egg-deposit having been less. We have also obser- 
vation that where destruction of the beetles had been well carried out 
for several years, of there being in this past season a decidedly lesser 
number ; and another note yet tells of the attraction to the chafer- 
