342 



poses using a solution of Paris green and dipping tlie roots into it when we next set 

 our strawberrry plants. Would it injure the plants ? Would it in anyway affect the 

 fruit next season ? Can you suggest any other preparation which would be as ef- 

 fective in destroying the grubs, but not so dangerous to handle ? We have several 

 acres of strawberry plants under cultivation, and of some 20,000 plants set last May 

 it is safe to say the grubs have destroyed 6,000 of them, which we have had to re- 

 place. As to the ground under cultivation, it is a mellow clay loam ; has been in 

 strawberry vines about seven years, plowed last autnmn and rest last May. In the 

 time mentioned the patch has been fertilized with about 125 cords of barn-yard ma- 

 nure, a little over 5 acres, 3 in vines, the rest in grass. Here I will say that in haul- 

 ing manure in August I have noticed hundreds, perhaps thousands of young white 

 grubs in it, which leads me to believe the beetle is more apt to lay her eggs in a ma- 

 nure heap than elsewhere. In working among our vines in June and Jnly, I have 

 frequently found the eggs of some insect which I suppose to be the May beetle ; they 

 are i)erhaps one-fourth the size of a small pea, perfectly round, break verj' easily, and 

 contain a whitish fluid. I remember of finding thirteen in one place. » *■ * xhe 

 grub seeius to feed on the roots of the jilant as long as there is life in it. I do not 

 know whether they go from plant to plant under ground or come to the surface nights, 

 I suppose the former, as 1 never see any at the surface during the day unless dug up. 

 Nor do I kuow whether toads hunt them below the surface, though I frequently find 

 toads buried in the ground around the plants. Yesterday I i»laced a full-grown grub 

 about 3 inches from a toad's nose; when he (the toad) made a move the grub disap- 

 j)eared as quick as a flash of lightning. We have previous to this year cultivated only 

 on the matted row system, and although the grubs destroyed many plants it was not 

 so noticeable as now that we cultivate in hills only. Generally it is only young plants 

 they destroy. After a plant has matured it is seldom they destroy it; although con- 

 tinually gnawing at the plant, it throws out roots faster than ane grub can eat them. 

 Generally there is but one grub under a plant, though not infrequently I find two 

 and three; even four are sometimes found working at one plant. But this is the ex- 

 ception and not the rule, except with young ones, when I frequently find six or eight 

 eight in one place. — [L. E. Fogg, South Thomastou, Me., August 1), 1886. 



Reply. — * * * The larvje which you sent were undoubtedly "White Grubs" and 

 probably the immature forms of the adult beetle which you also sent, and which is, as 

 you suppose, the common May beetle (Lachnostenta fusca). I must ask you again 

 whether you are very sure that these grubs are eating the roots of your strawberries. 

 If this is so I fear that you cau do no better than to dig them up by hand. Your 

 brother's proposition as to the use of a Paris green solution is not a practical one and 

 will be of no avail. The eggs which you describe are too large to be those of the May 

 beetle and are probably those of snails or slugs, and it is probable that the grub in 

 manure is a difi"erent thing. The adult beetles, as you are doubtless aware, are 

 readily attracted to light, and during the season of their flight (May and June) the 

 use of lanterns suspended over pans of water with a scum of kerosene on top will 

 doubtless destroy many beetles which otherwise would lay eggs in the ground among 

 your strawberries. — [August 18, 1886.] 



Larva of Cicada septendecim. 



* * * To-day 1 have the pleasure of mailing to you a tin canister containing 

 a Cicada larva in situ, and hope it will reach you intact. I almost despaired of 

 finding one at home, and my pleasure is great at having succeeded. I examined the 

 lump of soil carefully after finding the larva within and there was positively no hole 

 to be seen that led to the gallery in which the larva was found, which shows that 

 it does not travel about in search of food. You will see that the gallery is very short 

 and just large enough for the larva to turn about in. You will see a hole in the dirt 

 at one end of the gallery, but that I accidentally exposed when scraping the lump 

 smaller to make it lighter and less bulky to mail. I think the best way to get the 



