170 MAINE STATE COLLEGE 



more and then carried down by applications of water to a depth of 

 about eight inches during the next two or three days, the treatment 

 will certainly prove effective. The amount necessary will vary with 

 the different soils, both of the emulsion and the water applied later 

 on to carry it down, easily permeable, sandy soils requiring less 

 than denser clay soils. 



Professor J. B. Smith has found potash fertilizers in the form of 

 Kainit, applied as a top dressing efficacious against root affecting 

 insects, such as wire worms. "We wrote Professor Smith regard- 

 ing the matter and below is his reply. 



New Brunswick, X. J., September 22, 1893. 



Dear Sir — Your card of the 20th inst., is at hand. The latest 

 on Lachnosterna you will find in Forbes' 17th Illustrated Report, 

 issued in 1891. I have had no pprsonal experience with these 

 insects from the economic side, and cannot give you any positive 

 or tried suggestions. You know my hobhy, and if the matter came 

 to me in New Jersey. 1 would advise heavy top dressings of Kainit 

 and Nitrate of Soda applied in combination after the flight of the 

 beetles is over in spring, or the former alone applied early in Sep- 

 tember. Yours very truly, Johx B. Smith- 



Professor F. L. Harvey, Orono, Maine. 



Mr. Wales in his article suggests the following : "In the days of 

 our fathers when the 'burnt pieces' were lighted up at night time 

 by the partially extinguished fires, the farms and orchards were 

 not infested by so many hostile enemies ; and would not fires 

 kindled in the neighborhood of orchards for a few evenings in late 

 May or early June destroy the beetles and thus prevent the pro- 

 duction of the white grub ?"' 



The rooting propensities of swine can be put to practical account 

 in destroying this pest. If I had meadow land on which the sod 

 was dead and could be rolled up like a carpet, I would construct a 

 movable fence and enclose the small areas and turn in a few hogs. 

 The land would have to be reseeded and the swine could do no 

 damage, and they would probably devour a large number of the 

 grubs 



Skunks and crows are known to be enemies of the "white grubs" 

 but owing to the demand by furriers for the pelts of the former 

 and our anti-crows law against the latter we have not much to hope 

 for in those directions. 



