Report  on  Wireworm. 
1 °Q 
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it  changes  its  state  or  the  crop  beats  it.  “ Seeds  and  certain 
grasses  which  harbour  the  worm  and  in  which  it  delights  to 
breed,  of  course  increase  the  scourge/’ 
“ A certain  amount  ” of  rooks  are  advised  ; and  for  moles, 
see  p.  132. 
Isle  of  Man.* 
Abstract  and  Tables. 
The  following  information  respecting  wireworm  and  the  means 
used  for  its  prevention  in  the  Isle  of  Man  has  been  kindly 
forwarded  by  residents  in  the  Island,  in  reply  to  forms  arranged 
and  circulated  by  Mr.  Philip  M.  C.  Kermode,  to  whom  I am 
indebted  both  for  his  assistance  in  procuring  these  contributions 
and  also  for  explanations  and  details  which  space  does  not 
allow  insertion  of  in  full. 
For  convenience  of  reference,  the  greater  part  of  the  informa- 
tion reported  is  given  in  tabulated  form,  the  name  of  the  parish 
in  which  the  observations  were  taken  being  prefixed  in  the 
first  column,  with  numbers  to  distinguish  the  different  localities  ; 
but  in  deference  to  the  implied  wishes  of  the  contributors,  their 
names  are  not  given.  In  the  following  Abstract  the  main 
points  noted  in  the  Tables  are  given  in  a connected  form, 
together  with  a longer  report  and  observations  from  Mr. 
McWhannel  of  Glenduff,  which  could  not  conveniently  be 
condensed. 
From  these  returns  it  appears  that  wireworm  attack  often 
occurs  to  a serious  amount  in  various  localities  in  the  island, 
but  that  the  damage  this  year  has  been  less  than  in  previous 
ones.  Three  of  the  largest  amounts  of  loss,  as  specified,  are  : — 
about  one-fourth  of  the  crop  of  wheat,  or  2 bolls  to  the  acre  ; 
2 bolls  of  wheat  and  of  oats  per  acre  ; and  about  1 boll  per  acre 
of  oats.  The  last-mentioned  is  noted  as  about  the  same  loss  as 
last  year,  the  two  previous  amounts  of  injury  as  less  “ than  usual  ” 
or  “ in  some  previous  years.” 
Another  observer  notes  loss  of  1Z.  10s.  per  acre  last  year  in 
wheat.  Turnips  have  been  injured  up  to  a loss  of  half  the 
crop  ; of  1 J tons  per  acre  ; and  in  one  case  to  a produce  of  only 
6 instead  of  15  tons  which  was  expected  per  acre.  Carrots  have 
suffered  loss  of  half  the  crop  in  one  locality,  and  in  another 
were  last  year  damaged  at  the  rate  of  10/.  per  acre. 
In  some  cases,  the  greater  or  less  amount  of  attack  corresponds 
with  the  nature  of  the  soil ; taking  four  of  the  northern  parishes  of 
the  island,  we  find  no  loss  on  the  black  soil  at  two  localities  noted 
* In  the  Isle  of  Man  a boll  of  barley  or  oats  equals  G bushels  ; a boll  of  wheat 
4 bushels,  weighing  64  lbs.  to  the  bushel. — E.  A.  O. 
