44 WORCESTER COUNTY FIORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



" (t(t) Water, or strong salt and water, is very useful for watei g Grass 

 " in the Autumn when attacked by these grubs.''* The late descrip- 

 tion ot this insect, and of its habits, that has fallen under the observa- 

 tion ot your Secretary, is so much plainer and more concise than any 

 in the accepted works upon Entomology that it is here quoted verba- 

 tim : — 



" The females laj^ their eggs in April and May, at the bottom of a 

 " hole some 4 in. or 5 in. deep, wliich they make in the ground. The 

 " eggs are about the size of a Hemp seed, and of a yellowish color. 

 " They seem to vary much in number, but probably less than fifty will 

 " seldom be found. The grubs are known by the narae of White- 

 " Worms in England, and of Connaught Worms in Ireland. They are 

 "hatched in June or July; they have fourteen joints including the 

 " head ; their bodies are much wrinkled and of a dirty white color, with 

 " a bluish tinge in the terminal segments. They have three pairs of 

 " legs, one on each of the first three joints. The head and legs are of 

 "a yellowish red. The insect in this state has no eyes. During the 

 " first summer and autumn the newly hatched grubs keep together, 

 " and the damage they then do is inconsiderable. Before the frosts and 

 " rains of Winter set in they burrow deeper in the ground and, having 

 "changed their skins, remain in a torpid state during the Winter. 

 " They come nearer the surface in the Spring, and then feed singly on 

 " the roots of nearly all herbaceous plants. When one year old they 

 " are about ^ in. long. At the approach of Winter they again descend 

 " deeper into the earth, change their skins, and remain torpid ; and on 

 " the approach of Spring commence their depredations with renewed 

 "vigor, attacking the roots of Fruit and Forest trees, as well as those 

 "of Herbaceous Plants. During the Summer they attain the length 

 " of 1 (one) inch. At the end of Autumn the}^ again bury themselves 

 " out of harm's way from frost and rain, as in previous winters, chang- 

 "ing their skins and remaining torpid until the return of Spring, when 

 " they are nearly full-grown, and about li in. long and nearly ^ in. in 

 "diameter. In July they descend to a depth of 5 ft. or 6 ft., and hav- 

 " ing made oval cells in the earth, by the movements of the bodies, 

 " lined with a glutinous secretion from their mouths, they assume the 

 "chrysalis state. Whilst in this condition the antennae, legs, and 

 " wing-cases of the insect are easily seen through the thin, pale reddish 



* Of this reeommendation it may be remarked that it would be almost Im- 

 possible to saturate the groiuid when parched, as now, by one of our American 

 droughts. E. w. L. 



