10 FARMERS’ BULLETIN 725. 
to be brought to the surface by subsequent cultivation. One crop 
of weed seed is in this manner often a pest for several succeeding 
years. 
NATURAL ENEMIES OF WIREWORMS. 
Most of our common song birds feed rather extensively upon both 
the beetles and the wireworms themselves, and any regulation 
designed to protect these birds and encourage their increase will 
undoubtedly be effective in reducing the number of these pests. In 
the desert regions of the West thé small lizards, commonly called 
sand toads or horned toads (fig. 6), feed very extensively upon wire- 
worms and their beetles and should be protected by the farmers of 
these regions. The examination of the stomachs of a large series of 
field frogs collected on the shores of Lake Oneida, in upper New York, 
proves beyond a doubt that these frogs are of enormous value in 
destroying the beetles of the wheat wireworm when these beetles are 
laying their eggs in the grasslands. These frogs are slaughtered in 
enormous numbers every year for the summer hotel trade. Any regu- 
lation which would put a stop to this practice would be of great value 
to the agricultural interests of this and similar sections. _Wireworms 
are not severely attacked by parasites, so far as is known. How- 
ever, several parasites are being studied with the object of using 
them as a means of controllmg wireworms. The introduction of 
several known fungous diseases also is being studied. 
USELESS REMEDIAL MEASURES. 
The use of various substances upon the seed corn and wheat has 
proven of little value in fighting wireworms. The application of 
certain commercial fertilizers recommended as insecticides is also of 
but little use. The application of lime is not effective as an insecti- 
cide, but is of value in rendering the soil more easily drained. Late 
fall plowing has probably been the most universally recommended 
method of combating these insects. However, at least for the kinds 
of wireworms on which this method has been tried, it is quite useless. 
Trapping the larve with baits of poisoned vegetables may be of some 
value under intensive methods of farming, but it is impracticable in 
the growing of field crops. 
