Insects in the Garden 
305 
of Wireworms. Robins will follow the digger and feed on 
the worms as they are turned up by the spade. Starlings 
are also very fond of them. The ground may be turned 
up two or three times during the season to facilitate the 
work of the birds in searching for them. It is stated that 
these insects do not like seaweed, and land manured with 
seaweed is more or less free from this pest. Gas lime 
put on at the rate of about 
30 lb. per pole is also effective 
in thinning them out. Some- 
times a crop may be saved by 
giving a dressing of nitrate of 
soda at the rate of about 1 lb. 
to the pole. This stimulates 
the plants and causes them to 
grow rapidly at the time when 
they would fall an easy prey to 
the attacks of this pest. 
Craneflies or Daddy- 
long - legs. — Everyone is 
familiar with the Daddy-long- 
legs, which is, of course, the r Eggs ' 2 ’ ^ a | e g °‘ aIe . 3 ’ Pupa ' case ' 
perfect insect. The female lays 
her eggs at the base of plants. These soon hatch out into 
the larvae or maggots, known by the name of “ Leather 
Jackets”. They are brownish in colour — almost like a 
piece of decayed wood — and have a very tough skin, from 
which they take their name. They do a great deal of 
damage to vegetables, especially to young plants of the 
Lettuce and Cabbage species. They also cause havoc on 
the farm by destroying the roots of grass and corn. They 
( C 525 ) 21 
Craneflies or Daddy-long-legs 
