92, STEM EELWORMS. 
me with a few little pieces showing the distorted buds closely placed 
on the stems as mentioned above, I should be very glad of the 
opportunity of having a good figure taken. 
PREVENTION AND RemepiEs.—-Details of these, with the reasons for 
the adoption of the preventive measures, have already been given in 
my Annual Reports referred to below,*—regarding Tulip-root and 
Clover Stem-sickness, most especially in the three first-named, Field 
Bean attack in the Fourteenth, and Onion ‘‘ Kelworm-sickness,” 
chiefly, in that of last year. It is therefore not desirable to go over 
the details again, but just a general note of points to be considered 
may be useful. 
With regard to spread of infestation.—A large proportion of the 
Eelworms leave the plants when dying and drying (as in Oats, for 
instance), and go into the surface soil, but some remain in the plants. 
To get rid of those in the land, common ploughing or digging is of 
very little service, it only disperses them about. But ploughing with 
skim-coulter attached, or trenching (true trenching, not mere double 
digging), will bury them well away. Infested stubble should be dealt 
with on the same principles. It is no use just lightly ploughing it in, 
at least it should be collected and burnt, and if cireumstances allow of 
it being burnt standing, it would be a most excellent treatment. This 
would not only destroy the infestation within the stubble, but would 
also get rid of many kinds of crop vermin in and on the surface of the 
land to a very beneficial extent. As before mentioned, in firing 
stubble a band should be burnt first round the edges of the field, or at 
least at the edge towards which the wind drives, so that the fire may be 
kept with certainty under control whilst there is still only a very 
narrow band burning, and this burnt-off surface will quite check the 
advance of the fire presently, and so prevent indiscriminate spread to 
the great damage of hedges, or possibly even more important losses. 
Returning to infested stubble or fodder: if what is carried from the 
field becomes mixed (as in litter, for instance) with manure, the 
EKelworms will in all probability be carried out again to re-infest the 
fields. It should also be remembered that they may be carried to an 
amount to do mischief in such surface earth of the infested field as 
may cling to the boots of workmen or agricultural implements or 
garden tools. In this manner patches of infestation, such as those 
mentioned at p. 89, are very liable to be spread. 
The principle of such rotation of crops as will not allow one of a 
nature that is very liable to infestation immediately to succeed another 
needs no comment. With us, Oats and Clover are the field crops most 
* Tenth, Eleventh, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Twentieth Annual Reports on 
Injurious Insects, by Editor. 
