Reports to the Board of Agriculture. 137 
forth, and examining them every few days. Great numbers of Wire- 
worm may be found buried in the baits, and may then be collected 
and destroyed. 
“ In flower-beds and borders where these pests do much harm to 
tender plants, we can easily destroy them by injecting bisulphide of 
carbon into the soil. This may be done as follows : — Pour a quarter 
of an ounce of bisulphide of carbon into a small hole made in the 
ground, and cover over with a piece of tile, and then put earth over 
it at once ; this is enough for every square yard. Care must be 
taken not to let the bisulphide touch the roots of any plants, and it 
must be remembered that the substance is both poisonous and highly 
inflammable. This is best done in the spring and early summer. 
Heaps of leaf mould and manure heaps should never be allowed 
to have weeds growing on them, and are best covered with a coating 
of gas-lime, which prevents not only Click beetles but also Daddy- 
Long-Legs from laying their eggs there. Gardens are frequently 
infested in this way, unless proper precautions are taken. 
Looks, Starlings, Jackdaws and Plover should be protected in 
fields, but not encouraged in gardens and orchards. The Plover does 
the greatest amount of good of all birds in this respect ; the recent 
great increase in the Wireworm undoubtedly is partly due to the 
decrease of the Green Plover, by the ruthless destruction of eggs. 
Eooks do inestimable good, and can be kept off seed corn in various 
ways, also in other cases where they do damage. The same with the 
Starling, which is a great Wireworm and Leather- Jacket destroyer; 
the damage it does in orchards and gardens can be easily prevented 
by men and boys with clappers and guns keeping them away when 
the cherries are ripening. They should not be encouraged near 
habitations, but should be nevertheless protected generally. 
Clean farming is one of the best preventatives. 
Fever Fly Grubs ( Bibionidse ) in Soil. 
Some larvae or “ grubs ” sent by a correspondent from Grays, 
Essex, were a species of so-called Fever Fly ( Bibionidse ) ; they were 
probably Bibio liortulanus * which occurs in great numbers in the 
soil in the way described by the sender. There is no doubt they do 
some harm in the roots of various plants, but the damage is not 
great. They will soon be entering the pupal stage, and no further 
damage is likely to be done by them. 
* These hatched out and proved to be this species. 
