HOW TO GROW GOOD CORN. 195 



in early spring, and see the young wheat blades look- 

 ing yellow and sickly, we shall seldom be long in 

 finding the wire-worm, on carefully taking up some 

 of the affected plants. Its position will be at the base 

 of the plant, sometimes eating its way into its centre, 

 and so eating out its very heart ; or perhaps it may 

 nibble away the outer coat of the young stem, and so 

 prevent any nutriment passing into the blade. One 

 worm will be enough to kill a single blade ; but, alas ! 

 it frequently happens that he either visits all the 

 blades, or is assisted by many individuals to each 

 plant. This abundance we have observed more par- 

 ticularly on the breaking up of old pastures, old seeds, 

 or saintfoin lea, in which not only have we many 

 broods of wire-worms, but the eggs of a fresh lot, 

 which hatch in time to eat the spring wheats. Again, 

 this large increase we have ever observed in districts 

 where rooks are few or much molested. The rook is a 

 constant visitor to the clover field ; but when the plant 

 is young he is driven off, because the farmer " cannot 

 think what else he can come for but the clover buds ;" 

 and when he sees some of these strewing the ground 

 where the birds have been, he is confirmed in his 

 opinion: but, if he carefully looked at the buds 

 themselves, he would find them of a sickly hue, how- 

 ever recent the attack, and, if he looked cleepei*, he 

 might find the real enemy. 



Fortified, then, with repeated observations - of this 

 kind, if asked how best to keep under wire-worms, 

 we say most unhesitatingly, encourage the rook : he 

 is one of the farmer's best labourers ; and though, like 

 John, and Dick, and Hodge, he will sometimes run 

 into mischief, it is surely better to institute a judi- 

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