CLICK BEETLES AND WIREWORMS. 
39 
Mr. James Kay, writing from the Bute Estate, Rotlisay, N.B., 
mentions:—“ Oats were a good deal wormed here in early spring, 
more especially in ground ploughed out of lea.I resolved 
to try the paraffin cure, and got several hags of sawdust, and after 
having it sprinkled with paraffin it was sown broadcast over the 
ground. Whether the worms were killed or not I cannot tell, but 
I am certain they must have been sickened with the fumes of the 
paraffin, as the crop seemed to regain vigour every day after the 
dressing.” 
Mr. J. R. Dunn, writing from Stone House, near Hawkliurst, 
Sussex, mentions that the land on his property, in a poor part of 
Sussex, is infested to such an extent that very frequently the 
whole of the corn crops are destroyed by these pests, notwithstanding 
the application of pressure by heavy Cambridge rollers and clod- 
crushers, &c., and treading by bullocks and sheep. 
The following experiment as to the effect of Indian Rape—that is, 
mustard-cake—was kindly undertaken, at my request, by Mr. D. Sturdy, 
of Trigon, Wareham, to complete my own observations of the previous 
year (see Rep. 1882). ... I had found that in the case of Wire- 
worms fed in common rape-cake, and with no possibility of getting 
at any other food, the worms throve, and did not appear to need 
anything else to feed on; but, on the contrary, those fed in Indian 
Rape- (mustard) cake throve for awhile, and at the end of about 
a fortnight some were dead and all the rest dying. This was where 
the Wireworms had no other food, and to make out what would occur 
in fairly natural circumstances Mr. Sturdy carried on the experiment 
in Oats sown in boxes, so that there was choice of food, but still that 
we might be sure of all points noted. He writes :— 
“ Two boxes were sown with Oats in March, and when about two 
inches high one box was well larded with bits of the Currachee Indian 
Rape-cake you sent me : the bits were about the size of hazel-nuts. 
Twenty Wireworms were then put into the Oats with the Rape-cake 
and twenty into the Oats without, and so they were left. The 
Oats with the Rape-cake flourished exceedingly compared with 
those that had none, and the former (the Rape-cake Oats) were 
scarcely touched by the Wireworms, while the latter were a good deal 
injured. This day (May 1st, 1883) I.turned out the Rape-box, hoping 
to find all the Wireworms non est, but instead I found everyone looking 
fat and well.” 
My own experiment had shown that the Wireworm in no way 
suffered from feeding on Rape-cake. Mr. Sturdy’s shows that how¬ 
ever bad the Mustard-cake may be as a compulsory diet, yet that 
where there is other food the Wireworm will not suffer in health 
from the presence of this special kind, and the observation certainly 
