108 
Report  on  Wireworm. 
“ The  wireworm  this  year  was  much  better  than  last.  In  dry  unkindly 
springs  under  our  chalk  hills  the  Lent  corn  (oats  and  barley)  suffer  very 
much  from  it. 
“ R.  Cooke,  Detling,  Maidstone'' 
“ Loss  this  year  on  one  farm  a quarter  of  the  crop ; on  another  from  a 
quarter  to  half ; on  another  loss  estimated  as  usually  a quarter,  but  sometimes 
half  the  crop. 
“ Per  Rev.  J.  H.  W hite,  Weybread,  Suffolk." 
“ The  wireworm  has  this  season  been  a great  pest  in  the  fens,  and  also  on 
the  high  lands. 
“ C.  Caswell,  Peterborough.” 
“ On  one  of  the  farms  which  I occupy,  I lost,  when  I first  took  it,  an  entire 
crop  of  wheat : money  loss,  rent,  rates,  taxes  on  the  field ; also  seed,  and  labour 
of  putting  in. 
“ C.  R.  Colville,  Burton-on-Trent.” 
“ Wireworms  have  done  great  damage  in  this  district  this  season.  Some 
fields  of  grain  were  ploughed  down  last  month  (May)  and  re-sown,  so  that 
there  will  not  be  such  a great  loss ; but  there  are  many  more  in  which  the 
wireworms  have  not  left  half  a crop,  and  the  loss  in  consequence  must  be 
50  per  cent. 
“ M.  Dunn,  Dalkeith.” 
“ I have  17  acres  of  barley  injured  this  season  by  wireworms ; taking  the 
average  loss  over  the  field  at  2 quarters  per  acre,  this  is  31.  per  acre  at  present 
market  price. 
“ D.  Husband,  Struthers,  Cupar,  Fife.” 
“ Wireworms  have  (as  usual)  been  rather  numerous,  particularly  amongst 
lea  oats,  and  have  kept  back  the  crop  from  ripening  early.  Consequently 
where  wireworms  have  abounded  a good  many  farmers  have  not  yet  (Oct.  6) 
got  all  their  crops  into  the  stackyard,  and  they  deteriorate  by  long  exposure. 
“ T.  Dow,  West  Id  vies,  Forfar.” 
For  estimates  of  amount  of  injury  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  see 
Abstract  and  Tables,  pp.  133-143.  By  M.  C.  Kermode,  Ramsey. 
If  we  look  now  merely  at  the  amount  of  injury  named  in  the 
various  foregoing  estimates,  beginning  at  the  lowest  direct  loss 
stated,  we  find  two  instances  of  this  being  about  an  eighth  of 
the  crop,  one  of  loss  of  two-fifths,  two  of  a quarter,  two  of  a 
quarter  to  half,  and  four  mention  a loss  of  half  of  the  crop. 
Two  entries  give  notes  respectively  of  the  entire  loss  of  a field 
of  wheat,  and  of  crops  having  been  ploughed  in.  Of  the  others, 
of  the  17  returns  which  give  definite  amounts  of  loss,  one  is  at 
the  rate  of  5 bushels,  another  of  2 quarters  per  acre  : an  average 
of  loss  near  Canterbury  places  it  at  one-tenth  of  the  crop  ; and 
another  giving  the  average  of  money  loss  on  350  acres  of  a 
1000-acre  farm  in  Hampshire,  places  it  at  21.  per  acre.  This 
does  not  include  loss  on  roots  or  further  loss  consequent  thereon. 
These  statements  give  some  slight  idea  of  what  the  wireworm 
