24 
CORN AND GRASS. 
With regard to the length of life of the maggots before changing 
to chrysalids, which is a very important practical point, it will be 
noticed Curtis only observes “it is stated” that they continue feeding 
for three years, and further on remarks, as his own opinion, that from 
the large size of most of them at the beginning of winter, he expects 
they are generally full-grown and prepared to enter the pupa-state ; 
and it is distinctly stated by Dr. E. L. Tasclienberg that the grubs do 
not live a full year (‘ Insekten kunde,’ part 2). 
Various applications have been suggested as being likely to destroy 
the creatures, but it is a very difficult matter to kill a maggot that lies 
at least an inch beneath the surface without hurting growing grass, 
and it seems very doubtful whether any watering, such as dilute gas- 
water, or any dressing, would answer well enough to pay the cost of 
application something, however, might be done to prevent attack. 
When the beetles come in the great numbers in which they appear 
from time to time, they are observable at once on the grass, and 
surface dressings put on at once of lime and salt, salt and ashes, or 
paraffin and ashes, would be very likely to be of use in making the 
surface unattractive to them, or by poisoning the young maggots as 
they hatched. Brushing the surface would also be a preventive. 
Where grass-land, which is infested, is to be broken up, it is a 
great object to do it whilst the grubs are still near the surface,—that 
is, before they have gone down for the winter,—and in this case a good 
dressing of gas-lime (such as mentioned in the extract from Dr. 
Voelcker’s pamphlet ‘On the Composition and use of Gas-lime’ at 
p. 5 of this Report) would be very desirable. Pigs put on at once 
would clear the grubs well, but all applications should be made 
immediately on turning the ground, or the grubs would soon bury 
themselves out of harm’s way. 
The beetles may sometimes be destroyed by shaking them down, 
as they congregate in large numbers, and if this is done at the time of 
day when they are quietest many may thus be got rid of. 
Haulm Fly; Ribbon-footed Corn Fly; “Gout”; “Poddle.” 
Chlorops tceniopus, Curtis. 
The attack of Chlorops tcsniopus, or Haulm Fly, which causes the 
swollen condition of Corn-stems commonly known as “ Gout,” is not 
often brought forward, though, from my own observations in different 
parts of the country, I should say this was not from want of damage, 
but from the distorted growth looking to general observers as if it 
was caused by some vegetable disease rather than by insect-attack, 
