248 FIELD, FOREST AND FARM 



got rid of? There is one way, and only one: col- 

 lecting and destroying both grubs and beetles. We 

 can count to a certain extent on the help of moles, 

 hedge-hogs, ravens, crows, and magpies, all of which 

 hunt the larvae, especially in newly ploughed fields ; 

 and we can also count on the aid of a host of birds 

 such as shrikes, sparrows, and others, which devour 

 the beetles ; but the number of the enemy is so great 

 that this destruction by natural means does not al- 

 ways suffice. We must then lend an energetic hand 

 ourselves. Which of the two is to enjoy the fruits 

 of the earth, man or June-bug? Man, if he will but 

 bestir himself and wage unceasing war on both the 

 insect and its larva. 



"The white grub, as I told you, bores into the 

 earth more or less deeply according to the season. 

 In winter it goes down half a meter, a depth at which 

 it is protected from the frost. Upon the return of 

 milder weather it comes up again, to be within reach 

 of the roots; and from the first of April it can be 

 found by digging down twenty centimeters. A fa- 

 vorable time, therefore, is chosen for turning up the 

 earth and bringing the larvae to the surface, where- 

 upon women and children, following after the plough, 

 gather up the white grubs in the furrows. A single 

 hectare has been known to yield in this way from two 

 hundred to three hundred kilograms of worms. The 

 vermin are pressed down into the earth with lime, 

 the whole making an excellent manure, and the enemy 

 of harvests thus serves to accelerate their growth." 



