The Wire-Worm 
109 
field. In the garden they may be trapped 
by placing a slice of carrot, beetroot or 
potato on the end of a stick, the 
vegetable being buried while the end of 
the stick protruding from the ground marks 
the spot where the trap is placed ; while 
they may be attracted, it is said by some, 
from more valuable plants, such as carna- 
tions and anemonies, by placing daisies 
in clumps or rows not far away, as the roots 
of this plant are preferred. It has been too 
clearly proved that soot, if well mixed 
with the soil in which seeds are sown, will 
drive away wire-worms from the vicinity. 
But to turn to the farmer and to his wider 
area and more difficult task. He has sown 
his field and in vain awaits the sprouting of 
the young shoots. He unearths some of 
his seed and finds either a round hole 
drilled through the centre of the wheat or 
detects the little thief with his head 
embedded in the corn in the very act of 
stealing its kernel. If he has already 
experienced the work of the wire-worm he 
will not waste any time in re-seeding his 
field, and possibly then if the new seed gets 
a start its roots may be stunted by the 
