Reports to the Board of Agriculture. 155 
The growth of a Millipede takes place by lengthening posteriorly, 
the growth evidently being between the penultimate and last seg- 
ments. Millipedes, according to Miss Ormerod, lay their eggs from 
December to May. As this does not agree with Sinclair’s obser- 
vations, it possibly applies to some other species of Millipede. 
The most injurious Millipedes belong to the Julidse and Polydes- 
midse. The latter are the flattened Snake Millipedes. The species 
most usually sent is Julus pulchellus. It is nearly half an inch long, 
slender, about the thickness of a fair-sized pin, pale yellowish-pink 
in colour, with a double row of purple spots on it. 
Julus terrestris , another common species, is black, and has a 
pointed tail. 
Young Juli have three pairs of legs on the second, third and fifth 
segments. These Juli feed upon all manner of roots. The smaller 
Julus pulchellus eats into potatoes, lilies, and often hollows them 
completely out. The larger species also feed upon snails, slugs, and 
some insects, according to some observers. 
The flattened Millipedes, or Polydesmi, develop in the same way 
as the Juli. The common species, Polydesmus complanatus, is pale 
purplish-white to a dull rosy tint, nearly an inch long, with the sides 
notched. The young have their legs on the second, fourth and fifth 
segments. 
Centipedes or Ghilopoda are beneficial, the food consisting 
of snails, slugs and ground insects. The eggs in Lithobius are laid 
from June to August. They are about the size of a No. 5 shot, 
spherical in form, and covered with a sticky slime. The female 
rolls them about in the earth until they are all covered with soil and 
resemble grains of earth. A small number only are laid by each 
female. The males frequently devour the eggs before the female 
coats them with earth. The earthy coat serves to protect them from 
the ravages of the male. In the other genera the habits vary to 
some extent. Geophilus are said to lay their eggs in an earthen cell, 
whilst Scolopendrci bring forth living young. 
Preventive and Remedial Measures against Millipedes. 
These pests are frequently distributed with leaf-mould, which 
should therefore be examined before being used, and if found to 
contain them should be mixed with lime. Their numbers in the 
field may also be lessened by broadcasting lime over the surface and 
working it into the soil. Soot and water in the proportion of a 
handful ot soot to half a gallon of water is found to drive them 
