DADDY LONGLEGS OR CRANE FLY. 49 



" Spotted Crane Fly," a smaller fly of a yellow colour, spotted with 

 black, are the two commonest kinds. 



Prevention and Kemedies. — It may not be out of place to suggest 

 that one most excellent way of lessening the amount of this infestation, 

 of which the history, and circumstances which lead to its presence are 

 thoroughly well known by all who have anything to call a sound 

 acquaintance with the habits of our crop pests, would be for the local 

 teachers under the present arrangements for agricultural instruction to 

 make this information plainly and demonstrably known to their farm 

 pupils. 



Probably (under whatever name he may know it) every boy in a 

 village school, and every man or lad on the farms, knows the Daddy 

 Longlegs fly perfectly well by sight ; but the enquiries that occur 

 yearly show that its destructive grubs are much less known than is 

 desirable, and to impart information intelligibly, in any district, 

 showing how the presence of the fly and the grubs are connected, and 

 how, though the attack is very difficult to remedy, yet it is open to 

 preventive measures beforehand, would be a very practically useful 

 work. 



The points of prevention turn firstly, on making ground unsuitable 

 for egg-laying, or destroying the eggs, or young grubs, before the land 

 is broken up. Such measures as rough mowing and burning the 

 rubbish ; brush harrowing ; hand-feeding sheep on the land to be 

 broken up (an especially good preventive if done early enough in the 

 autumn) ; or again, strong dressings of chemicals, as salt, or gas-lime, 

 which would kill not only the grubs near the surface, but would also 

 so poison the Grass, that it would destroy this both as food and shelter, 

 are examples of various kinds of serviceable i^reventive treatment. 



In the case of the heavy chemical manuring, the land must of 

 course lie a few weeks untouched, that the applications may wash 

 down and become diluted to a safe strength, or, in the case of gas-lime, 

 may have gone through the requisite changes to form a serviceable 

 manure, before breaking up. Farm manure, on the contrary, would 

 be anything but a deterrent autumn dressing. The flies would in no 

 way object to its moist shelter above their eggs. 



Where labour can be spared, paring the lea lightly early in autumn, 

 and collecting and burning the parings is a great preventive of 

 infestation. This presents a bare surface, instead of the requisite 

 grassy shelters for egg-laying, and also if the surface is already infested 

 the eggs and young grubs are thus collected and destroyed. In 

 dealing with this attack, bad as it is, still we have not the trouble to 

 meet that there is in the case of Wireworms, or of Cockchafer grubs, 

 which live for several years in the infested ground, and which may in 



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