44 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



more likely to be affected if planted on sod than were it to follow 

 clover, some small grain or even corn. Badly infested land can be 

 cleared to a considerable extent by pasturing with hogs. Professor 

 Forbes records one case of where a lo acre lot was pastured for 

 20 days with a lot of hogs, and at the end of that period there was 

 a reduction of about S6fo in the number of grubs. June beetles 

 deposit their eggs by preference where there is a surface growth of 

 vegetation, consequently cornfields kept free of weeds in June are 

 much less attractive to the beetles than weedy areas, hence clean 

 cultivation may be considered an important factor in avoiding 

 injury. Fall plowing is another measure which should be mentioned 

 in connection with clean culture^ since it is now well known that 

 many of the pests in badly infested fields can be destroyed in this 

 manner, provided they are in their pupal cells. This treatment ap- 

 pears to be fatal alike to pupae or recently transformed beetles. 

 Owing to the triennial life cycle this measure would be most service- 

 able the fall before the beetles are most abundant; namely, at three 

 year intervals. 



White grubs are occasionally found inflicting serious damage to 

 cultivated crops such as strawberries. One of the best methods 

 of fighting the pests under such conditions, if labor is not too 

 expensive, is to simply dig out and destroy the grubs. A little 

 experience will enable an intelligent man to go over a large field 

 in a comparatively short time. White grubs in nursery beds, as 

 noted above, may be fought in the same way, or if the insects are 

 too abundant and the area too large, resort may be had to treatment 

 with a kerosene emulsion. The standard formula should be diluted 

 with about six parts of water and the ground on either side of the 

 affected plants thoroughly wet with the preparation. This should 

 preferably be done a little before a rain or else followed with a 

 liberal watering with a hose. The latter application washes the 

 insecticide down and brings it into contact with the grubs. This 

 method has proved very successful in killing white grubs in lawns 

 and should be equally effective in the nursery row. Some care 

 should be exercised not to put too much of the mixture about the 

 plants, as kerosene injudiciously used is very dangerous to plant 

 life. Under certain conditions it may be advisable to take ad- 

 vantage of the beetles swarming in trees at night, from which they 

 may be jarred and destroyed in large numbers. Many are also 

 attracted to lights and could be destroyed in trap lanterns, but 

 ordinarily these two latter methods are not to be recommended for 

 our conditions. 



