58 FARM PRACTICE IN RELATION TO INSECTS 
pests thus destroyed, but the fowls themselves obtain a fair share of 
their living. 
In orchards several serious pests transform or hibernate in the soil, 
or hide away under weeds and in clumps of grass. Anexample is the 
plum curculio. Fowls will secure many of these. In the fields 
chickens will readily follow a plow, and will find many specimens 
that live in the soil, such as white grubs and wireworms. Bugs and 
caterpillars in grains and grasses are destroyed by the wholesale. 
Stimulating Plant Growth 
Where it is not possible to prevent the attack of an insect, it often 
is feasible so to stimulate plant growth that the injury will not prove 
disastrous. Or, to put it the other way, crops that are kept growing 
vigorously and are fed liberally are able to withstand insect attack, and 
to make a good yield in spite of it. Since we cannot always predict 
what pests will be prevalent in a given year, the wisdom and the ad- 
vantage of maintaining vigorous and healthy growth by all practicable 
means is apparent. The fact is again here emphasized that whatever 
constitutes good farm practice in one regard is apt to help out as well 
in others. 
