700 Reports of the Honorary Consulting Entomologist. 
not been noticed by the labourers ; and the other observations 
sent to me were by qualified observers after special search. 
I therefore submit that it is likely that the wingless females 
were depositing lice as freely in many places where they were 
not observed, and that now is the time, if not already too late, 
to check a large part of the coming attack. 
Attack may very likely come later in the season on the wing, 
also it is very likely that the circumstance of these females 
depositing living young so early in the season may be unusual, 
and an effect of the very mild winter. But in any case, now 
they are at work, it is of great importance to check attack, and 
any experiments, even if only applied to two or three hills, to 
find how to clear off what are on the shoot, or to prevent more 
creeping up out of the hills, would be of great service, and if on 
a larger scale, of proportionate value. 
Attack of Grubs of Daddy-longlegs. — This has been reported 
as occurring to a very injurious extent to corn crops after clover 
ley, and broken up grass pasture, and also in grass, at various 
localities both in England and Ireland. From the great number 
of the flies which were noticeable in the autumn, it appeared 
likely that such would be the case (see ' Journal of Royal Agri- 
cultural Society,' 1884, part 1, p. 325), unless means were 
then taken to prevent attack. For measures to carry the young 
corn over the attack, as far as can be done now the grub is 
present, I am advising the use of fertilisers, and also rolling 
with the Cambridge roller, or Crosskill's clod-crusher ; for 
although rolling by day is not at all certain to kill many of the 
grubs, as they are not then on the surface, it consolidates or 
" firms " the ground, so that the grubs cannot travel freely from 
one plant to another. 
The grubs dislike light and heat, and come on the surface at 
night, and, in examinations lately made, were found in great 
numbers on the surface of the infested field at 1 A.M. From 
this and other observations it appears that if the heavy rolling 
could be applied after sunset, or before sunrise, that a much 
larger number of grubs would be destroyed. Experiments re- 
garding this point have been promised on badly attacked land 
in Devon and in Lincolnshire, and the results will be reported. 
For fertilising applications I am suggesting a mixture of 
guano and salt, applied at the rate of 4 cwt. the acre ; or of a 
mixture at the rate, per acre, of guano, li^ cwt. ; salt, 2 cwt. ; 
and kainite and superphosphate, 1 cwt. each. 
Either of these mixtures has been found useful in checking 
attack, and as guano has been found to injure some kind of 
insects, and salt helps to make the surface tenacious, there 
appear to be reasons for their good effect, besides the manurial 
