ROSE CHAFEE AND COMMON COCKCHAFEE. 31 



dressings ; but where they lie sufficiently in reach, the following 

 suggestions by John Curtis, or a modification of them, may be of use.* 

 "To kill these larvte, water the Grass in the autumn with one-tenth 

 gas liquor to two-tenths water ; it will do no mischief to the Grass, but 

 will extirpate the miners. "Where the gas liquor cannot be employed, 

 employ strong salt and water." These prescriptions would need some 

 care in carrying out, and experiment as to strength of application safe 

 to use, or they might only complete the mischief. There is, however, 

 very likely to be this benefit gained by their careful application, that 

 even if they did not kill the grubs, they would make the earth so dis- 

 agreeable to them, that the grubs would go lower down, and do less 

 mischief whilst the effect lasted. 



Potash, unslaked lime, and other alkalis, are stated to be useful to 

 strew over infested land before or after the winter season, and gypsum 

 also is mentioned as desirable ; but looking at the depth at which they 

 have been recorded as at work in the previous observations, and that 

 to which they can or do go down in winter, which is given, even in 

 November when frost has set in, as much as a spade's depth, it may be 

 doubted whether these applications would do more than help to restore 

 the Grass growth. There is also the point to be considered that the 

 strong smelling or tasted applications, hke gas water, might drive 

 off bird help. 



After examination of the various kinds of treatment advised for the 

 last fifty years or more for the extirpation of these pests, it still does 

 not appear to me that anything can be surely relied on, excepting 

 shaking down the beetles and destroying them. 



* See ' Gardeners' Chronicle ' for Oct. 19th, 1844, p. 700. 



