Report  on  Wireworm. 
123 
Salt  and  Kainite. 
Notes  of  heavy  dressings  with  salt  having  been  found  service- 
able to  kill  couch-grass,  and  also  to  destroy  or  drive  away  wire- 
worm.  Lighter  dressings  found  useful  in  promoting  vigorous 
growth  of  wheat.  Salt  also  serviceable  in  garden  cultivation, 
to  protect  cabbage  from  wireworm  attack.  Observations  of 
benefit  from  use  of  kainite. 
“Salt,  at  the  rate  of  5 or  6 cwt.  per  acre  on  light  land,  is  considered 
useful  if  sown  before  breaking  sainfoin  or  clover  leys. 
“ Joseph  Addison,  Basingstoke .” 
“In  former  years  I have  experienced  much  benefit  from  the  use  of 
common  salt,  applied  at  the  rate  of  5 cwt.  to  the  acre. 
“L.  P.  Williams,  Penberry,  St.  Davids.'” 
“ An  old  ley  was  dressed  with  10  cwt.  of  salt  per  acre  in  the  autumn, 
and  the  salt  ploughed  in.  This  plan  not  only  killed  the  couch  and  twitch, 
but  on  this  piece  of  land  there  was  no  trouble  from  wireworm  or  from  grub, 
and  none  has  been  known  to  occur  since. 
“ Per  Charles  E.  Curtis,  Alton,  Hants." 
“ I have  known  a heavy  dressing  of  salt  (10  or  12  cwt.  per  acre)  applied 
some  weeks  previous  to  sowing  to  have  a good  effect. 
“ On  the  lighter  lands  of  Radnorshire  I have  observed  that  wireworm  is 
most  destructive  on  old  and  poor  grass-land  ploughed  up  for  oats.  The 
land  being  light,  porous,  and  exhausted,  offers  every  facility  for  the  action 
of  the  wireworm.  In  such  cases  two  or  three  crops  are  frequently  destroyed 
in  succession.  The  general  treatment  is  to  lime  and  salt  liberally,  and.  to 
treat  the  land  by  consuming  the  root-crops  with  sheep. 
“ On  the  other  hand,  I have  known  strong  loam  rich  with  farmyard 
dung  and  artificial  manure,  but  without  lime  or  salt  suffer  severely.  I do 
not  think  that  either  salt  or  lime  will  directly  kill  wireworm,  but  1 venture 
to  suggest  that  soil  thoroughly  impregnated  with  one  or  both  may  become 
an  unfitting  abode  for  it. 
“ David  Rowland,  Titley,  Herefordshire.” 
“For  six  years,  previous  to  the  year  1873,  every  crop  in  a 13-acre  field 
belonging  to  me  and  in  my  occupation  was  more  or  less  attacked  by  wire- 
worm.  1 farmed  the  field  on  the  four-course  system,  and  on  two  occasions 
4 acres  of  wheat  in  the  middle  of  the  field  were  destroyed  by  wireworm.  In 
1873  the  field  was  a clover  ley,  and  was  dressed  with  8 cwt.  of  salt  to  the 
acre  previous  to  ploughing  for  wheat,  and  5 cwt.  of  damaged  decorticated 
cotton  cake  per  acre  was  also  put  on  it  at  the  time  the  wheat  was  sown  (the 
cake  was  best  decorticated  cotton  cake,  but  had  been  a little  damaged  by 
fire,  and  cost  51.  per  ton  delivered  at  my  station).  The  crop  of  wheat  was 
very  good,  and  that  portion  where  the  wireworm  had  previously  done  so 
much  damage  was  the  best.  Every  crop  has  since  done  well,  and  there  has 
been  no  return  of  the  pest. 
“James  Whitaker,  Worthen,  Shrewsbury.” 
“ A piece  of  old  turf  on  light  soil  having  been  broken  up  for  oats  was  then 
sown  with  turnips  eaten  off  by  lambs ; this  was  next  worked  for  potatoes,  and 
