Report  on  Wireworm. 
121 
“ All  light  land  subject  to  wireworm  ought  to  be  rolled  twice  with  a ring- 
roller  as  soon  as  the  seed  is  sown,  either  in  the  autumn  or  the  spring ; you 
cannot  well  get  the  land  too  firm. 
“ Joseph  Addison,  Mapledurwell,  Basingstoke .” 
“On  the  chalk  at  Mere  Down,  Wiltshire,  it  is  noted  that  the  Cambridge 
ring  roller  is  the  best  remedy — the  heavier  the  better — and  that  it  should  he 
passed  over  the  same  land  two  or  three  times. 
“ Thomas  Henry  Baker,  Mere,  Wilts." 
“ I have  tried  rolling  both  with  and  without  salt,  and  salting  without 
rolling,  the  two  former  with  good  effect,  the  latter  apparently  with  none. 
This  year  being  particularly  favourable  for  rolling  the  wheat  crop,  it  was  all 
well  rolled  in  good  time  ; we  have  not  suffered. 
“A.  H.  Bowles,  Clandon,  Guildford .” 
“ I have  suffered  considerable  loss  by  the  ravages  of  the  wireworm  in  my 
wheat  plant,  on  land  where  the  previous  crop  was  seeds,  and  the  most  con- 
venient method  for  destroying  them  is  to  roll  the  ground  and  make  it  like  the 
turnpike-road.  The  wireworms  come  to  the  surface,  and  the  crows  take  them. 
“ Thomas  Allen,  Thurmaston,  Leicester .” 
“ A field  on  my  farm  (light  soil  on  the  sea-coast  of  Pembrokeshire),  which  had 
been  under  grass  since  1878,  was  ploughed  two  inches  deep  in  the  spring  of 
this  year;  a second  ploughing  during  April  went  to  Is  inches  deep,  no  manure 
was  applied,  and  it  was  sown  with  barley.  The  wireworms  soon  appeared, 
more  especially  in  the  bores,  when  a heavy  Crosskill’s  ribbed  roller  was  used 
first  across  the  furrows  and  afterwards  along  them.  This  had  the  desired 
effect,  the  wireworm  practically  disappeared,  and  a good  average  crop  of 
barley  followed. 
“ L.  P.  Williams,  Penberry,  St.  David’s .” 
“ It  is  a general  custom  when  crops  of  barley  or  oats  are  injured  to  use  the 
Cambridge  roller  as  soon  as  possible,  which  no  doubt  does  good,  as  it  kills 
some  of  the  insects,  and  helps  to  keep  alive  the  plant  which  had  been  partially 
destroyed. 
“Thomas  Jones,  Penpont  Farm,  Brecon.” 
“ I have  found  that  compressing  the  soil  before  sowing  the  crop,  and  during 
the  early  growth  of  the  plant,  has  to  a limited  extent  prevented  the  worm 
from  working  : hoeing  the  crop  is  also  good — in  short,  any  means  of  disturbing 
the  worms  or  hastening  the  growth  of  the  plant  to  enable  it  to  get  away  from 
their  attacks  is  beneficial. 
“ Frederic  Beard,  Eorton,  near  Canterbury.” 
Mustard. 
Notes  of  the  serviceableness  of  mustard  as  a preventive  for 
wireworm  ; also  instances  of  wireworm  not  being  observed  as 
attacking  various  leguminous  crops,  as  clover,  peas,  &c.,  if  no 
grass  was  present  either  as  a part  of  the  crop  or  as  a weed 
amongst  it. 
“ It  has  been  found  by  practical  experience  that  the  growing  and 
ploughing-in  of  white  mustard  will  get  rid  of  wireworm.  . . . The  use  of 
mustard  as  a growing  manure  crop  is  not  sufficiently  resorted  to. 
, “ Per  C.  Caswell,  Peterborough.” 
