22 CORN ANB GRASS. 



In the further remarks of Mr, Service on coincidence having been 

 noticed between locality of attack of the Voles, his notes of the change 

 in the state of pasturage or herbage consequent on Vole-workings, 

 from rough coarse conditions to succulent fresh growths, precisely 

 agree with the description given by Kollar, and also by Curtis, that 

 the food of the caterpillars consists of " all kinds of tender grass," or 

 " of all the soft sorts of grasses." Mr. Service observed : — " I see you 

 refer, in the August Ent. Monthly Mag., to the 'hill-grubs' being 

 found in the same places as the Voles. As the latter were found to a 

 most destructive extent in practically all of the sheep farms of the 

 southern uplands, the 'hill-grubs' could hardly increase to a visible 

 extent on any of the sheep grazing lands without getting into grass 

 that had been so lately eaten down to the roots by the Voles. But the 

 point is this, although Prof. Wallace leaves it to be inferred : after the 

 sudden disappearance of the Voles the grass sprung up with great 

 luxuriance. The Voles had eaten off all the great tussocks of perennial 

 herbage, rushes, sedges, &c., some of it the growth of years, and the 

 new verdure was of the greenest, freshest, and most succulent nature ; 

 and some of the herds and sheep-farmers state that in all their lives 

 they had never seen anything like it on their hill-sides. And the 

 question thus arises, did this fine, luxuriant, 7iew crop furnish the 

 pabulum required by the ' hill-grubs ' before they could multiply to 



plague numbers ? ' ' 



On the 31st of August Mr. Service wrote me that " On Thursday 

 (yesterday) I saw a wonderful sight on a hill-side in Upper Nithsdale, 

 on a farm where the ' hill-grubs ' had not been conspicuously present. 

 About 10 a.m., when I arrived at a place where Juncus squarrosus was 

 the prevailing plant, the Antler Moths were in full flight, — in thousands 

 and thousands in all directions. This flight continued till well after 

 midday, when it in a great measure ceased, although the moths were 

 to be seen here and there the whole afternoon. Just before the 

 gloaming they again began to fly vei'y numerously." 



Summary and Means of Prevention and Kemedy. — The special 

 points noticeable in last year's attack were the large area over which 

 the infestation extended, also that in a portion of the area, presence of 

 the Antler Moth had been noticed in great numbers in the preceding 

 autumn (that of 1893), and that again, after the great caterpillar 

 infestation, in due time there was another enormous appearance of 

 moths in the autumn of 1894 ; these preceding and following appear- 

 ances, so far as I know, have been little recorded, nor has the great 

 amount of parasitism which we found existed in 1894 been previously 

 recorded. This point is well worth further investigation. 



In regard to remedial measures, the chief hope seems to be ip 



