236 THE ENEMIES OF COFFEE :—WHITE GRUB, 
if any one can suggest a simpler I am ready to try it. 
1 fully agree with a neighbour who has some 300 jack 
trees, who proposes lopping the branches of two-thirds 
of them, leaving only one-third with the leaves ; he 
will thus concentrate the devouring armies, and be able 
to have all the trees shaken each night. I cannot 
follow those who wish to cut down all trees on the 
estates, giving as a reason that if the beetles have 
nothing to feed upon they must go somewhere else or 
perish. Nofear of the latter, I fancy, as their tastes 
seem very varied. This question, as also that of the 
beetles feeding in the jungles and coming down to the 
estates to lay their eggs, requires more observation, 
and I won’t venture an opinion upon it; but, whether 
‘they do or donot, I intend to kill allI can! and I 
wish I could persuade others to do the same. You 
perceive I do not enter into the question of the grubs 
eating the rootlets of the coffee trees: I am fully con- 
vinced that they do, both sound and unsound; at the 
same time I am as fully persuaded that close draining 
and thorough forking of the soil with, if possible, 
unslaked lime applied after, is the best remedy for the 
grub, besides all other advantages derived by the trees 
from the improvement to the soil. ie 
W. J. 
NITRATE OF SODA A CURE FOR WHITE 
GRUB) Save 
A proprietor of plantations in Ceylon resident in the 
old country favours us with the following bit of experi— 
ence, which he thinks may be of service to planters, 
troubled with grub :— 
I had a kitchen garden two acres in extent, and I was 
told that it was impossible to grow carrots in it, on 
account of the ‘‘ wire-worm.” I tried to grow them in 
different parts of it, but failed ; as soon as the carrots 
formed roots, they were perforated and of course died. 
I tried many remedies, such as quantities of salt, * hot ’ 
‘lime from the kiln, &c., but all in vain; at last I was 
compelled to grow my house carrots in the field with 
the other roots, such as mangolds, turnips, &e. Some 
years afterwards I was told that nitrate of soda would 
banish the wire-worm, I therefore tried on half an acre, 
ploughing and harrowing the ground and sowing on it 
by hand broad-cast three-quarters of a cwt. of the 
nitrate of soda. Three weeks after, I sowed the carrots 
in drill with manure and I had a splendid crop xoét one 
of them touched by the wire-worm. Nitrate of soda is a 
good manure and cost about 17s. per cwt. I believe it 
may be got cheaper now. 
