CONTROL FOR WHITE GRUBS. 19 



Fortunately, as I have indicated above, these same organisms are 

 widely spread, occuring in most parts of the world ; hence, undoubtedly, 

 they are somewhere in each cane district. Therefore it is simply a matter 

 of help one another. Everyone should be on the lookout for dead grubs, 

 and as soon as they are noticed in a field, the fact should be advertised 

 among the growers of the district. In this way each and every sufferer 

 could use some of the soil to inoculate his fields. Of course, I would not 

 advocate the doing of this work blindly, but undoubtedly there is someone 

 in each district who is familiar with the characteristic appearance of 

 grubs that have succumbed to the Muscardine Jungus. Furthermore, 

 the main function of this bulletin is to make this work more sure and 

 easy. 



I have not had time to make a general survey for these diseases in 

 the various sugar-growing districts, but the few definite records that I 

 have secured may be of use, so I shall enter them here. 



28th May, 1918, I found the Muscardine fungus doing effective work 

 at Fishery Creek, on the farm belonging to the late Mrs. Hobson — fully 

 30 per cent, of the third-stage Lepidodenna albohirtum grubs had been 

 killed. 



29th September, 1918, this fungus was found doing effective w rk 

 at Mossman, out at Saltwater, on Donnelly's farm. 



12th August, 1920, I found the bacterial disease also at Mossman, 

 on the Mango Park Estate, and also at Saltwater, on tli" farm belonging 

 to Kadow. 



3rd September, 1920, Mr. G. M. Tooth, now farming on the Atherton 

 Tableland, informed me, when I showed him the dead grubs, that both 

 these diseases were very effective on the Herbert River, near Ingham, 

 in 1912. At his place on the Long Pocket line, near the Stone River, 

 he said he ploughed up quantities of both sorts of dead grubs. The land 

 had been planted to beans, and overflowed, shortly before planting. 

 This farm now belongs to an Italian named Menshaca. 



7th October, 1920, I learnt that the Muscardine fungus was abundant 

 at Innisfail. Mr. Davis, across the river at Daradgee, reported that he 

 had ploughed up the dead hardened grubs in great numbers on his farm. 



Numerous other reports have come to me during the past three years, 

 but in most instances they did not appear to be definite enough to record. 



MetJiod of Inoculating the Soil. — I have considered various ways 

 of doing this, the main object being to cover the spores in the soil of 

 grub-infested fields so that they will have an immediate opportunity to 

 multiply and become effective. Since the fungus probably depends upon 

 grubs and other insects for food in the field, I would not advocate the 

 inoculation of land where grubs do not already occur in destructive num- 

 bers Observafons at Greenhills would indicate that these diseases do 

 not multiply and continue under such conditions. I mention this because 

 some have taken the advice as a cure-all, and wanted spore-infected 

 soil to inoculate their ground, perchance it might some day be troubled 

 with srubs. 



