49 
was eaten freely by some of the worms without killing them. 
Twelve wireworms fed on corn soaked in Fowler’s solution 
diluted with an equal quantity of water were not affected, al¬ 
though a portion of the corn was eaten. Twelve others, fed on 
corn soaked in an alcoholic solution of arsenic, were not injured 
by the poison, though feeding freely on the corn. Experiments 
in June and July, when wireworms were fed on corn soaked in 
a solution of arsenic in boiling water, were less satisfactory be¬ 
cause the larvae were so near pupation that they ate little or 
none, pupal cells being formed five days after the experiment 
began. Corn soaked in a solution of strychnine—four grains to 
a half pint of water—over night, and fed to seven wireworms 
June 28, 1888, had not affected them by July 5, although the 
corn was slightly eaten. Twelve worms supplied with corn 
soaked twenty-four hours in an alcoholic solution of corrosive 
sublimate June 27. 1888, did not eat the corn. 
A repetition of these experiments in June and July, 1891, by 
a different assistant and under somewhat different conditions, 
gave substantially the same results. June 27, 1891, corn was 
soaked in a saturated solution of potassium cyanide and fed to 
three wireworms. July 3 one grain of corn was slightly eaten, 
and July 10 one grain was badly eaten and one worm missing 
—probably eaten by mice that had obtained access to the cage. 
July 20 several grains were badly eaten; July 27 the remain¬ 
ing two worms were active, but the corn was untouched; and 
the experiment ended without effect. 
In many of the experiments, particularly when alcoholic solu¬ 
tions were used, or where the corn was soaked for a consider¬ 
able length of time in arsenical solutions, it failed entirely to 
germinate; while in experiments where the grain was simply wet 
and rolled in the arsenites, or soaked for only a few hours, it 
grew almost as freely as did untreated corn in check lots. 
These experiments with the arsenical poisons and strychnine 
agree substantially with those of Messrs. Comstock and Slinger- 
land, published in November, 1891, and show that it is not 
practicable to protect the corn by means of them, even were it 
possible to use them without retarding or preventing the ger¬ 
minating of the seed. 
Coating the kernels with tar and soaking them in a solution 
of salt, a solution of copperas, a solution of chloride of lime 
and copperas, in spirits of turpentine, and in kerosene oil, have 
been tried by Comstock and Slingerland without encouraging 
results. 
Applications of kerosene emulsion and pure kerosene made to 
the worms in the earth were found by me in 1885 practically 
ineffective, any strength sufficient to kill the larvae killing 
vegetation also. Similar results were obtained by Comstock 
and Slingerland, who, after using crude petroleum, an emulsion 
of the same, and a common kerosene emulsion, concluded that 
4 E. 
