1G3 



Extensive experiineiits made I>.v I'rof. Forbes, in Illinois, and Prof. Slinger- 

 laud, in Xew Yorli, sliowed tlie nselessuess of many recommended remedies, 

 sucli as coating seed grain of all Ivinds with poison, the surface application of 

 salt and other tlieniicals, and even of a clean fallow to starve the wire-worms 

 out. — Fletcher. 



Experiments conducted by Prof. M. V. Slingerland. of Cornell Tniversity, 

 give the results of efforts to dise<;(ver a practicable method of preventing the 

 ravage.s of these pests, and a study of the life history of several connnon 

 siiecies, in Bulletin JS'o. 107. He says : " Both defensive and offensive measures 

 \\'ere used In our e.xperiments. Thus we tried to protect seed from the 

 ravages of the wire-w(U'ms, and we also tried to destro.v the insects iu each 

 of three different stages of their existence — as wire-worm <:ir larva, pupa, and 

 adult; no eggs were obtained upon which to experiment." The general results 

 are succinctly as follows: That it is not practicable to protect seed by the use 

 of the various poisons and other means. That starvation by the growth of 

 su|)posed immune crops, such as buckwheat, mustard and rape, was not 

 successful. That destruction b.v means of insecticides, such as kerosene, crude 

 petroleum, jioisoned dough and bisulphide of carbon, were useless against 

 wire-worms. That substances that also act as fertilizer.s, such as salt, 

 kainit, muriate of ijotash. lime, chloride of lime and gas lime, to be effective, 

 h.ad to be used iu such (piantities tliat ])lants were destro.vecl, and the expense 

 too great for practical purposes. <if starvation by clean fallow, he says: 

 •• It has been the general belief that the wire-worms wliicli infest our fields 

 could live but a short time in soil iu wlii<-Ii no vegetation w;is allowed to 

 grow. No experiments were recorded. Imwcver. to show how long the worms 

 could live in such soil. 



"We kept several experiment cages in 'clean fallow' for nearl.v a year. 

 and more wire-worms remained alive (many of them passed through the 

 trau.sformations to the beetle stage) in these cages than in similar cages in 

 which grass was kept growing. Therefore, we woulil not advise the farmer 

 to lose the use of his land for a season and the laliour necessary to keep it 

 free from all vegetation, in the hope that he nia.v thus starve out the wire- 

 worms." 



'/'/■'(////((If/. 



" Our experiments on preventing the ravages of wire- worms by trapping 

 were carried on in 1S8S and 1.S8!>. Two methods were eniiiloyed, trapping by 

 baits, and by lanterns. 



"On truppincj bii iKiilt:. — This method lias lieen discussed in detail in 

 Bulletins 3 and 33 of this Station, so that only the general results will be 

 given here. The baits, whicli consisted of sliced potatoes, wads of green 

 clover, and sweetened and unsweetened cornmeal dough, were placed under 

 boards in various parts of a badly infested corn field. Instead of attracting 

 the wire-worms, as was expected, their parents — the click beetles — came to 

 the baits in large numbers ; the clover attracted by far the larger number 

 — GO per cent. 



" It was found that the beetles were the most active at niglit, and that 

 they seek their food chiefly by running over the surface of the ground. 



